2009 Feb
Focus on... Board/Shareholder Relations

Turn on daytime television and you might get a false impression that people like to go to court to work out their differences. There are so many cookie-cutter judicial shows like “The People’s Court,” “Judge Judy,” and “Judge Joe Brown,…

Every co-op or condo has rules and regulations that have been put in place to define the board’s authority and limitations of power, as well as outline the rules for the community, residents or shareholders. And although the governing d…

Everyone loves a Top 10 list and the co-op and condo world is no different. Besides, if Letterman can do it, so can we. With that in mind, this month we’ve got the top ten things that drive board members crazy about their residents and …

In managing the affairs of a building or a community, all board members are far from equal in their abilities and skills. Some bring experience in construction or a background in law, finance, or other professions that can be helpful to…

It’s a time-worn pattern that plays out in workplaces, classrooms, and residential buildings everywhere: rules are set, and enforced strictly for awhile. Over time, enforcement wanes a little; the rules are bent, then broken—until such t…

Remember in Seinfeld how you would always see Jerry’s bicycle hanging from the ceiling in the background? Perhaps if his building had had a storage room or a bike rack in the basement, this cumbersome space-saving method that many New Y…

Bear Stearns in Danger of Collapse… Dow Falls 400 in One Day… Big Three Automakers Seek Emergency Aid… Citigroup Shares Tumble Below $5 a Share… Dow drops below $8,000… Federal Regulators Shut Down Two California Thrifts… More Consumers S…

A recent British survey found that the typical person spends an average of five years of their life in either their kitchen or their bathroom. That might not compare with the number of hours logged behind a desk or the wheel of a car, …

A two-mile long sliver of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens, Roosevelt Island sits a mere 700 feet from Manhattan’s East Side. Still, many New Yorkers know nothing about Roosevelt Island’s expansive green spaces and unr…

Bugs, rodents, and other pests are always a potential problem in a city or densely populated suburban area—and even upscale, well-maintained buildings are not impervious to the occasional unwelcome interloper. Cockroaches invade kitchen…

Most people assume that the board of directors runs the building. Actually the responsibilities for maintaining the building are usually divided between the board of directors and the managing agent. Both parties perform their functions…

Q I live in a 15-unit co-op in Queens. A single tenant owner lives in one of the apartments. She has requested, while still living here, to remove her name from the stock certificate, and replace it with her daughter’s name. Is this le…

Q I reside in a co-op apartment in the Bronx. For one year I incurred damages to my bathroom and kitchen ceilings from a washing machine above. The damage allegedly came from a negligent tenant of the shareholder. Each time the leak oc…

Q I am newly elected to the board of a small (32-unit), self-managed condominium, where traditionally there has been little transparency between the board of trustees and the unit owners. The board has been stingy with information and …