2007 Jun
Focus on... Law & Legislation

Legislatures are in session, both in the city and in Albany, and, as always, housing is a hot issue. What bills should co-op and condo board members, managers and owners be looking at that may impact their residences? While there ar…

You would think that trying to get to know the city's first female Speaker, Christine Quinn, would be difficult when you've only been granted ten minutes in the demanding politician's day. However, in such a short timeframe, Quinn has enoug…

We all have nightmares. Whether it's hungry sharks nipping at our feet or shadowy figures lurking in the woods, there will always be things that wake us in the middle of the night. If you're a co-op or condo owner, manager or board membe…

The old saying goes that the only two sure things in life are death and taxes. According to the experts, for owners of co-ops and condos in New York City, there's a third inevitability: you're going to be taxed at a higher rate than owners …

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced his $59.0 billion budget plan for Fiscal Year 2008 and presented his updated four-year financial plan for New York City. In preparation for a possible economic slowdown, the mayor's proposal focuses o…

Rodney Dangerfield made a career out of getting no respect, but in the world of condominiums and co-ops, building superintendents may be able to empathize with the comedian. While managing agents and board members seem to get all the accola…

With some 72,000 members, the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is the largest voluntary statewide association of lawyers in the country, and the official organization of legal practitioners in the state. While more than half i…

Superintendents are a lot more than just handymen—an important point learned at a roundtable discussion hosted by The Cooperator last month. Six representatives from three of New York City's seven superintendent organizations gathered for a…

Reading the papers you've just been served, your heart quickens in fight-or-flight mode. Part of your mind can't believe your eyes. You've just been sued, and you aren't sure what your next step should be. To people who aren't lawye…

For the past two decades, The Cooperator's annual Co-op & Condo Expo has been a destination event for anyone and everyone associated with the tri-state area's co-op and condo building communities. Vendors, service providers, board member…

For all the incredible diversity embodied in its population of eight million people and the many industries that call it home, New York City has always been a center of commerce. The city was founded not by a nation but by a corporation—…

When a townhouse exploded on Manhattan's Upper East Side last summer, New Yorkers ran terror-stricken into the streets. As smoke billowed from the wreckage, no one knew what had caused the explosion, or how many people had been hurt. Jus…

Q I live in a co-op in Manhattan and am planning to renovate my bathroom. My managing agent has informed me that I must pay a $500 fee to file my application for the renovation, which seems unusual. The renovation is simple—to replace t…

Q Some members of my co-op board want to change our transfer fees upon sale to assign a lower per share fee for those shareholders who purchased after the year 2000. Their reasoning is that real estate values decreased after 2000. Othe…

Q In the event that a shareholder has a “dispute” with another shareholder—and claims that many other residents of the building have complained regarding  the same issue—but refuses to provide the names of other complainants—how should th…

Q We’ve had problems with a corrupt management in the past. I’m suspicious of our current management and several board members receiving  kickbacks from vendors. Are there any steps that I can take to find out if this  is repetition of ou…

Q We have a two-building, 146-unit cooperative that has a five-hundred-square-foot ground floor of commercial rental space. It has been vacant for about a month now. We, the board of directors, would like to know: Can this space be con…