East of the busy intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues in Downtown Brooklyn, where the Long Island Rail Road and almost 10 subway lines intersect, one finds, in the shadow of the landmark Williamsburgh Savings Bank building,…
An old adage of the real estate game speaks of the importance of "location, location, location," meaning that value goes up (or down) depending on where a property for sale is located. The hot 'location' in New York is constantly moving. Al…
While the real estate market across the country has cooled in general, it's still going strong in New York. The New York City market has always stood apart from the rest of the country, for reasons that everybody here practically knows b…
Thirty-eight of the 400 individuals on Forbes magazine's list of the richest Americans—almost ten percent—call New York City home. All thirty-eight are billionaires. Some of them, like Ralph Lauren and Donald Trump, are household names. Two…
Nothing worth doing is ever easy. That rule of thumb certainly applies when it comes to the creation of co-ops and condos. Whether constructing a new building or converting an existing one, it can be a tricky business. The person o…
As the trees start greening and the last dregs of winter ice and slush melt away, it's once more time to turn our collective attention to The Cooperator's annual Co-op & Condo Expo—to be held this year on Wednesday, April 25th on three floo…
Sometimes being on the board of a co-op or condo is like being a politician. Fellow residents look to you to solve problems. They can vote for you, or they can choose not to vote for you if you do something they dislike. You feel li…
Every year, the shareholders of co-op apartments gather together—in their building's community room, or even in the basement in the shadow of the laundry machines, on flimsy chairs that are only used once a year—to discuss their mutual inve…
The Bronx has quite a reputation. Grim and featureless slums as far away as Catena, Sicily have been dubbed "The Bronx" by their local residents. For decades, the name of the once-promising borough of New York City has been synonymo…
The northeast corner of the Bronx is one of New York City's most diverse areas. It's home to Co-op City—the state's largest housing cooperative—and includes such neighborhoods as Throgs Neck, Pelham Bay, Westchester Square and others. As a …
Lobbying for one cause or another has always been a part of the daily life in New York City. These days, in the Bronx, it's the borough president who is the most prominent person lobbying for the interests of those living in the bo…
One of the fundamental truths about condominium life is that, eventually, your building will need extra money. A leaky roof, an inefficient boiler, busted pipes, elevators that don't elevate—the list is endless. If your boar…
Living in a co-op or condo might not seem like an exercise in democracy, but when election time rolls around for your building's board, being a shareholder/owner means being a voter as well. One person's vote might very well mean t…
New York City and its surrounding boroughs have always been known for its robust population of vermin—rats and cockroaches have been part and parcel of city life ever since the Dutch settled here and founded New Amsterdam. While roach and r…
We've all heard the phrase "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." The old saw applies to legislation as well. We've often seen laws passed with what seemed to be the best intentions, only to discover later that they have left a t…
Whether you're buying or selling a condo or co-op, the goal is to engage a real estate broker who will get you the best price or the best apartment in the shortest period of time. Unless you already work in the real estate industry, you …
With so much talk these days about costly security projects designed to benefit buildings over the long term, it's easy to overlook a far more approachable option. Updating older video-based surveillance technology with a digital se…
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for persons who perform labor on or furnish materials to the common elements of a condominium to assert that they have not been fully paid for the labor performed or materials supplied. The possible asserti…
Q I have a young toddler at home and my wife is a breast cancer survivor. For several years, our next-door neighbor’s chain-smoking home health nurse has filled up the hallway outside our apartment with smoke. The smell is so strong …
Q My co-op has not had elections in many years, as the number of candidates always equals the number of seats on the board. This year, however, there will be more candidates than seats. Someone mentioned that we are supposed to have cumu…