2006 Mar
Focus on... Real Estate Market/Expo

By now, the New York City real estate market has become nearly legendary. Always one of the top three costliest American cities in which to live, the Big Apple also gives Tokyo, London, and other notoriously expensive cities a run for …

New York City — especially Manhattan — may seem to have little room left on which to build, but when it comes to finding space for new residential construction, there’s always something new around the corner. While the occasional co-op…

When Harris Scher was listening to his instructors in class last year, he took a good look at the jam-packed room filled with 300 students who had the same aspirations as he had — to have a successful career as a licensed real estate s…

It’s March, and along with springtime comes The Cooperator’s Annual Co-op & Condo Expo at the New York Hilton. This year marks the Expo’s19th outing and once again, the exhibition floors will be abuzz with a full day of information, sem…

Ever try to sell — or buy — an apartment in Manhattan without using a real estate broker? It’s sort of like that joke about lawyers who try to defend themselves: They have a fool for a client. When dealing in the real estate jun…

If Manhattan is the black-Amex-carrying Wall Streeter of the New York City real estate scene and Brooklyn is the too-hip-to-care rock star, then Queens is the hardworking third sibling, eschewing the spotlight while slowly-but-surely a…

Historical district. Garden sanctuary. Street food paradise. Jackson Heights Queens is all of these things. From its humble beginnings as dirt-paved farmland to its construction renaissance in the 1940s and 50’s, Jackson Heights is re-…

Of the over 2 million people who inhabit the borough of Queens, there are probably at least one or two members of actual royalty. They might be from countries few have ever heard of, or from places so remote they don’t often show…

Water damage and related liability has always been — and always will be — a big issue for co-op buildings and their shareholders. Few other issues are as complicated and potentially volatile as the challenge of tracing the leak, repair…

NYSERDA Provides Energy Assistance Boiler Maintenance and Repair By Erik Neumann Replacing your heating and domestic hot water plant is one of the costliest projects that your building management can undertake—which…

All communities, be they nation-states, municipalities, or co-op or condo buildings, have rules. Respect for -- and adherence to -- these rules is essential for many people to coexist peaceably in the same communal space. In the co-op …

Q I have been a shareholder in my Brooklyn co-op since 1986, and am facing a problem that has come up since my husband’s death almost 18 months ago. My husband was an active participant on our board of directors—past president, vice pre…

Q I moved out of my Queens co-op apartment two years ago, right before the building started having numerous financial problems including bankruptcy and sponsor embezzlement. I am trying to sell my apartment, and have finally found a ba…

Q Our board selected a Nominating Committee, which chose only the current board members as candidates. Six additional residents wanted to run, but their names were left off the ballot. The committee claims it selected the best for the …