Whether it's a co-op, a condominium, or other multi-family dwelling, a well-run board usually makes all the difference between a pleasant stress-free home and a building in disarray. Boards serve to preserve the common elements, maintain ar…
According to the June 2014 US census, New York City—the largest, most populous city in the United States—is home to roughly 8.5 million people, and a record-breaking 56 million folks stopped in just to visit last year alone. The Big Apple i…
The synopsis for the 2013 horror film The Purge is pretty extreme: in the future, society implements a 12-hour period called “the purge,” wherein any and all crime is legalized. Always wanted to vandalize your boss’s car? Thinking about sho…
Owners of co-ops and condos in New York are apt to find that the neighbors down the hall live according to a different set of rules and often pay less then they do for the same apartment. Thanks to the state law in effect when most cooper…
We all hope for good neighbors when we move into a new building or community. The same is true for commercial properties in residential buildings. Making a good match, one that benefits both the commercial tenants and unit owners, can go a …
In 1955, when many city neighborhoods were deteriorating and the flight to the suburbs was going full blast, the Mitchell-Lama bill, named after state Sen. McNeil Mitchell and Assemblyman Alfred Lama, was signed into law in New York State. …
Accepting a board position for a homeowners association is no easy task- you can please some of the residents some of the time, but rarely if ever can you please everyone. For board members, serving the community they live in may seem like …
When you live in a multifamily building, however, peace and quiet can be hard to come by. From the guy upstairs who gargles loudly at precisely 6:47 a.m. every morning to the neighbor with the yapping Chihuahua—at some point the soundtrack …
It happens in business, government, and industry every day: employees learn the rules of a new job, and before long they know those rules so well, they start going around them or taking short cuts. Rarely is this done with malicious intent.…
Being on the board of a co-op or condo is a big responsibility—one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. While some people may run for a board seat just to have the title, they need to be prepared to govern fairly and make decisions that are in …