Page 9 - CooperatorNews NY March 2021

COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS — MARCH 2021 9 ROSENWACH TANK THE FIRST NAME IN QUALITY CEDAR WOOD TANKS WE ARE CERTIFIED and IT MATTERS! 718.729.4900 43-02 Ditmars Boulevard, 2nd Fl., Astoria, NY 11105 www.rosenwachgroup.com Rosenwach is proud to announce that Rosenwach’s tanks are certified to NSF/ANSI 61 by NSF International, a leading global independent public health and safety organization. NSF/ANSI 61 addresses crucial aspects of drinking water system components such as whether contaminants that leach or migrate from the product/material into the drinking water are below acceptable levels in finished waters. To receive certification, Rosenwach Tank submitted product samples to NSF that underwent rigorous testing to recognized standards, and agreed to manufacturing facility audits and periodic retesting to verify continued conformance to the standards. The NSF mark is our customers’ assurance that our prod- uct has been tested by one of the most respected indepen- dent certification organizations. Only products bearing the NSF mark are certified. the loan forgiven. Any loan proceeds that are not forgiven must be repaid over a five-year period, at 1% interest. The formula for the amount of the loan is 2.5 times the co-op’s payroll, capped at a maximum loan amount of $2 million. It is extremely important to check with your co-op’s legal and financial profes- sionals to determine the appropriate loan amount, and how much of it is forgivable. How It’s Going Clearly, the PPP loans will provide tremen- dous financial benefits to many co-ops. It is for this reason that co-op advocacy groups fought long and hard to ensure that co-op commu- nities are included in the PPP. The PPP was initially created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March 2020, when the COVID pandemic was taking hold of the economy, prompting Congress to pass the measure to keep as many people employed as possible. At the time of the initial rollout last spring, many co-ops were getting ready to submit their PPP applications in hopes of receiving much-needed financial relief from this pro- gram. Unfortunately for the co-op commu- nity, the SBA issued interim regulations on April 2, 2020 that specifically excluded “pas- sive entities” from the Program. According to the SBA, a business is considered “passive” if it is not engaged in a “regular and continuous business operation”—and according to the SBA at the time, receipt of payments such as rents and lease payments was not considered a “regular and continuous business operation.” That classified co-ops as passive entities, and therefore excluded them from accessing PPP funds. This was a devastating blow to the New York City metro co-op community, which at that point in time was experiencing an explo- sion in COVID cases and was the hardest hit part of the country. Many regional and local co-op advocacy groups, including the President’s Co-op & Condo Council and the New York Council of Cooperatives & Condominiums (CNYC) engaged elected officials to see what could be done to amend the CARES Act to include their constituents in the program. Many elected of- ficials realized this injustice and acted swiftly to see what could be done. For example, New York City Councilman Paul Vallone intro- duced a resolution to the Council calling on the Federal Government to include co-ops in the PPP. This resolution had over two dozen sponsors from fellow city council members. In addition, over a dozen members of the US House of Representatives were contacted by co-op groups who actively lobbied for their inclusion in this program. As a result of the support of these members, the House of Rep- resentatives passed the Heroes Act in May 2020, which included explicit language that would qualify co-ops for the PPP. Congress Members Grace Meng and Nydia Velázquez were instrumental in its passage. The Heroes Act languished in the United States Senate from May 2020 until the end of the year. US Senator and then-Minority Lead- er Chuck Schumer (himself a co-op resident) championed this cause and announced on December 21, 2020 that co-ops would finally be eligible for PPP loans. The results of the efforts of many people have netted a great benefit to the co-op com- munity. Now is the time to review your co-op’s circumstances and determine, with profes- sional assistance, whether your co-op needs and qualifies for this loan. Follow the loan’s stated guidelines, and your co-op may be able to receive some much-needed relief during these unprecedented and uncertain times. n CO-OPS NOW... continued from page 8 owner—must issue a notice of non-renewal premises and to deduct appropriate compen- or rent increase if the rent will be increased by sation for repairs from the security deposit. more than 5%, either 30, 60, or 90 days prior to the expiration of the lease, depending on ment for landlords has to do with security the length of the lease. Reminders must be deposits, “which must be returned within sent by email and text message 45, 30, or 15 two weeks of the expiration of the lease.” A days prior to the deadline—again, depending landlord who does not abide by these require- on the length of the lease. “The second requirement imposed by strictions. the law pertains to walk-throughs,” Cooper- smith continues. “Walk-throughs must be enough, the problem for individual unit own- performed within a one-week window that begins two weeks before the lease expiration date.” It’s important to know that the walk- through is critical for the landlord to assess any damage the tenant may have done to the And, says Coopersmith, the third require- ments will be subject to fines and other re- While all this may seem reasonable 2019 NY RENT LAW... continued from page 8 continued on page 17