2008 June
Focus on... Law & Legislation

Daisy Okas works for the American Kennel Club and obviously loves dogs, so when she was looking for an apartment for herself and Olive, her six-year-old beagle, there was no negotiation—she had to live in a pet-friendly building. Wh…

Co-op apartment buildings were originally formed in New York City to allow building residents to buy into and have a say in how their building was administered, as well as who their neighbors were, and what those neighbors were allowed t…

Co-op and condo owners often complain that their board doesn’t do enough, or that the board members aren’t involved as much as they would like in the administration and maintenance of their building. While a disinterested or apathetic board…

In addition to their boards and managing agents, co-op and condo communities depend on the many workers who take care of building maintenance and residents’ needs. Building staff, maintenance workers, the super, and other employees are a…

The current sessions in both Albany and in the New York City Council are now well under way, and housing-related bills are very much a part of the mix. Some of the bills have been around for years in one form or another, but that doesn’t…

The best rule of thumb for boards is to act as ethically as possible. That way, shareholders will never have a problem with the decisions the board makes, right? Wrong. We live in an increasingly litigious society, where shareholder…

Timeshares have been around for decades, and these partial property ownership arrangements are more familiar to many people in part because of their increasing popularity. It’s easy to see why they are so popular: A family wants a vacation …

The phrase “jack of all trades” could have been coined simply to describe the profession of residential property manager. To succeed in this fast-paced business, a property manager has to master a wealth of information and skills. More i…

For over two decades, The Cooperator’s annual Co-op & Condo Expo has been a perennial save-the-date for anyone and everyone associated with the tri-state area’s co-op and condo building communities. Since 1987, vendors, service providers…

Two months ago, Sam Levy felt like he was spending more time on the phone with Time Warner than with his girlfriend Nikki. Levy, who lives in western Brooklyn, a region served exclusively by Time Warner, was having trouble with his cable…

The heart of New York City is Times Square. Named for the good times you have when you are…in it,” says Michael Scott in the NBC comedy, The Office. He then heads into Sbarro for a ‘real’ New York slice. Although Times Square is act…

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposed a $59.1 billion budget plan for Fiscal Year 2009 and presented an updated four-year financial plan for New York City. The mayor’s budget plan maintains the city’s financial footing in the near term by …

Most New Yorkers are familiar with New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, but how many people have heard the name Kenneth Demario before? If you’re someone concerned with co-ops, condos or any real estate issues in the city, Demar…

While increasing energy costs are financially painful, they do help motivate all of us to think a little bit more about resources and conservation. The combination of increasing energy costs and a general increased consciousness of …

On March 31st, 2008, the Supreme Court of New York County rendered a decision illustrating the importance for cooperatives and condominiums of documenting board and owner action properly. As cooperatives and condominiums age, the proper …

In this world, nothing is a certainty but death and taxes. So how does a co-op or condo owner prepare for the certainty of death, as it relates to ownership interest and protect the asset for inheritance and possession purposes? Likewise, h…

If you’re contemplating buying a new home, there are a few vital questions that should be asked, even before you start attending open houses and getting your heart set on one property or another. Among those questions might be, “How do I…

Recent studies of energy usage in multifamily buildings have revealed that the least efficient buildings use up to seven times the energy of the most efficient—even when those buildings are otherwise similar. It should surprise few …

Most people living in a co-op or condominium building don’t have much experience with managing major construction projects. They may have skills that can be very helpful to their board—such as financial acumen, to name just one—but not c…

Q I am a rent-stabilized tenant in a non-eviction plan Queens co-op. (It was converted in 1986.) A shareholder gave me a ballot proxy so that I could attend the annual meeting of the co-op. Am I allowed to ask questions at this meeting…