2010 September
Focus on... Energy & The Environment

Board members and building managers have a lot on their plates—maintenance issues, resident complaints, construction projects, and the hundred little tasks that make up the administration and upkeep of a multifamily residential building…

The Big Apple is looking awfully green these days. After all, there’s so much going on in the city to make it greener, more environmentally conscious and more energy efficient than ever before. A few years ago, New York City was named o…

Saving money is always a top concern of any co-op or condo board, but with tough economic times and high fuel prices, saving on energy costs can be a challenge. Thanks to deregulation of the New York energy market a little over a decade…

Lighting in the U.S. alone accounts for approximately 22 percent of all electricity used, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. It is no wonder that in the current economic and environmentally-sensitive climate a lot of effort is…

Mom was right. Her admonition to “Turn out the lights when you leave the room!” is as valid today as it was a generation ago. And yet many co-op and condo buildings, while energy-conscious in so many ways, seem to feel it’s better to jus…

The vast majority of co-op and condo residents are normal folks who wouldn't dream of disrupting life in their building by being verbally abusive to neighbors, blowing up board members' phones and e-mail inboxes with endless complaints…

Linda Cunegin is extremely proud of the fact that she has lived and worked in South Jamaica, Queens since 1957—and she's planning to stick around. She is owner of Tri-County Home Nursing Services Inc., a company started by her mother in…

The buzzword in energy today is “sustainability.” More than the installation of the sexiest new technology, sustainability is a melding of renewable energy and energy efficiency. It’s a blend that forms the foundation of the Northeast Su…

Q rior to giving owners or shareholders consent to seek work permits from the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB), condo and co-op boards should review their buildings' Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) for record of Class B or…

Q The board of directors at my co-op recently mandated that every apartment must carry homeowner’s insurance and list the complex as “additionally insured.” My insurance agent says that by listing them as “additionally insured” on the po…

Q If a co-op board member collects proxies from other shareholders and she or he uses those proxies to advance her/his own interests orpersonal opinion, to move forward a proposed amendment of the proprietary lease, for example; is t…

Q Does the sunshine law pertain to co-ops? And if so how, as far as keeping shareholders in the dark about misused finances? We recently overturned our board except for the president that still is finishing her term. The new vice pre…

Ladies of the Night? Q I am writing to find out information on how to deal with a current problem in our condo building in New York City. We have recently noticed a couple of apartments being used as brothels. We live in a new, …

Q “My co-op recently charged a shareholder for a letter written to her by the co-op’s attorney. Other shareholders have received similar letters but haven’t been charged for them. Is it permissible for the board to charge such a fee an…