A gas leak has led Con Edison to shut down the gas in a large Midtown condominium, a situation known as red-tagging. The fix could take up to a year. Meanwhile, the condo board has provided each unit with an electric hot plate. Unit-owners ask: Aren’t we entitled to a reduction in common charges to […]
A Healthy Building Will Limit the Rising Cost of Insurance (NY)
Carriers hitting the exits. Insurance carriers have exited the New York market because of claim frequency. For example, the fatal Bronx fire in January and the condo collapse in Florida last year — these things play a role in carriers’ appetites. So some buildings are no longer insurable with the carrier they’re currently using. Read […]
Top Three Electrifying Tips (NY)
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 has passed. It comes with significant rebates and tax incentives for electrifying homes and apartments. If taken advantage of at the fullest, the IRA will help NYC coop and condo owners and boards minimize their fines as part of Local Law 97. Read the article………………………..
Wage Transparency Requirements (NY)
The way co-op and condo boards advertise job openings, recruit applicants and promote employees is about to undergo a radical change. Starting on Nov. 1, 2022, all New York City employers with four or more employees, including co-op and condo boards, must include a “good faith” salary range for every job, transfer and promotion opportunity […]
How Much Liability Insurance Can Co-op and Condo Boards Require? (NY)
Most New York City co-op and condo boards typically require shareholders and unit-owners to carry $300,000 to $500,000 in liability insurance, Jeffrey Schneider, president of Gotham Brokerage, tells Brick Underground. The cost is about $25 to $50 per year and is purchased as part of a comprehensive homeowners insurance policy. Read the article………………………..
In Co-op and Condo Disputes, Mediation Beats Litigation (NY)
Going to court over a nuisance issue is time-consuming and expensive. You recently dealt with a Manhattan co-op that handled a noise dispute in a different way. Read the article………………………..
Fannie Mae Shakes Up the Co-op and Condo Lending Game (NY)
In the past, Fannie Mae bought apartment loans based on a building’s financial health,” says Jerry Niemeier, an authority in co-op lending. Then came the deadly Florida condo collapse. “Now Fannie Mae is asking lenders to essentially certify that there are no significant deferred maintenance issues or unsafe conditions in the building. And if repairs […]
Issues In Apartment Buildings When There is No Mending Wall (NY)
……case law around a myriad of noise complaints in apartment buildings and how and how boards and cooperative owners can make sense of a 2022 Ruling in O’Hara v. Board of Directors of the Park Avenue and Seventy-Seventh Street Corp., 206 A.D.3d 476 (1st Dep’t 2022). Read the article………………………..
Problem Solved: Keeping an Insurance Carrier From Walking Away (NY)
A bump in the road. We had a condominium building in Westchester County that was looking for a new insurance carrier, and we thought we had come up with an unbeatable option for them, including a very attractive package insurance policy quote, which includes both property and liability insurance and represents 80% or more of […]
The Good, the Bad and the Scary News on Local Law 97 (NY)
The New York City Council enacted Local Law 97,/a> in 2019 as part of the pioneering Climate Mobilization Act aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. The law zeros in on large buildings, including co-ops and condos, setting limits on their emissions. The city’s one million buildings generate nearly 70% […]
Supporting Aging Residents: Empathy, Strategy, & Care
Aging shareholders often contend with two serious problems: declining health and limited finances. As people age, it’s of course more common for them to live with health challenges related to genetic propensity, lifestyle choices, and the aging process itself; Read the article………………………..
Clearing Up Confusion Over the Climate Mobilization Act (NY)
The Climate Mobilization Act — the landmark legislation aiming to reduce carbon emissions in New York City’s building sector by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 — exists in a strange place in cooperative and condominium circles. Read the article………………………..
Top Tips for Fire Preparedness (NY)
Remember the old Smokey the Bear commercials, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires”? Well, consider that living in a NYC coop or condo, or even rental building with hundreds of neighbors and how just one of them could adversely affect the entire community. Read the article………………………..
The Right Way for a Co-op Board to Deal With a Hoarder (NY)
What should a co-op board do — and not do — when it’s made aware of a hoarder living in the building? Follow these steps: Read the article………………………..
Cybersecurity tips for condo and co-op boards (NY)
As the number of devices connected to the internet (known as the Internet of Things, or IoT) grows, so does the risk of cyberattacks. With the increase in technology used in coops and condos, the board has a responsibility to protect the association and its owners from these threats. Here are some tips for NYC […]
How Co-op and Condo Boards Can Avoid Conflicts of Interest (NY)
Most co-op and condo governing documents underscore that self-dealing by board members is prohibited. However, there are some important practices to employ to further prevent any claims of a breach of fiduciary duty, Brick Underground reports. Read the article………………………..
New York Condominium Act Amendment Authorizes Electronic Unit Owner Meetings
Many condominiums have hosted virtual unit owner meetings since the start of the pandemic and have found them to be a positive mechanism for unit owner participation. The authority for these meetings has now been codified. Read the article………………………..
How Co-op and Condo Boards Can Fend Off Challenges to Assessments (NY)
Co-op and condo boards sometimes need to impose special assessments on the shareholders or unit-owners. Predictably, the owners may be displeased when they are assessed, especially when the assessment is unexpected or when the owners perceive it as being unnecessary or excessive. Read the article………………………..
NY Condo’s Can Now Legally have Owners’ Meetings by Means of Electronic Communication
The Governor signed into law on June 30, 2022, a change to the Real Property Laws that govern New York condominiums. Effective immediately, boards, in their “sole discretion”, irrespective of what the bylaws say, can decide to hold owners meetings solely or partially by “means of electronic communication”. Read the article……………………………
Courts Uphold Condo’s Demand for $1 Million Bond in Licensing Agreement (NY)
New York is a city where thousands of buildings must, by law, undergo costly facade repairs every five years. It’s a city where new buildings are constantly being shoe-horned into vacant lots, and where old buildings are constantly being razed so new ones can be put up. As a result, it’s a city where neighbors […]
Co-op and Condo Insurance Costs Will Continue to Rise (NY)
From 2010 to 2020, we went through an unprecedented period of rate stability in the insurance industry. Rates for our co-op and condo clients were largely flat, with relatively small increases or decreases, depending on claims experience, property valuations and other underwriting criteria. Read the entire article……………………………….
For Co-ops and Condos, Slow Greening of the Grid Is a Red Flag (NY)
Co-op and condo boards keep hearing that electrifying their buildings — and getting rid of fossil fuels — will be the key to complying with the carbon emission caps that start in 2024 under Local Law 97. Buildings larger than 25,000 square feet, including co-ops and condominiums, that do not meet the caps will face […]
Legislative Session Was a Mixed Bag for Co-ops and Condos (NY)
For the thousands of New York City co-op and condo boards wrestling with ways to cut their buildings’ carbon emissions enough to avoid looming fines, the recently concluded session of the state Legislature was, in the words of one observer, “a few little steps forward, but a really big step back.” Read the entire article……………………………….
Co-op Boards Must Exterminate Bedbugs. But Who Pays? (NY)
When her apartment was infested with bedbugs, a co-op shareholder spent several thousand dollars having them exterminated. Now, a year later, the co-op board is updating its proprietary lease so that treatment of bedbugs is entirely the responsibility of residents. Does a board have the power to do that? Read the entire article……………………………….
Co-ops Face June 17 Deadline to Post Accommodation Rights for Disabled Residents (NY)
Last year the state Legislature passed a law that requires qualifying housing providers — including co-op boards and landlords — to provide written notice to their shareholders and tenants of their rights to reasonable accommodations and modifications. The new law also required the New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) to promulgate regulations regarding […]
Dealing With Conflict in Co-ops & Condos – Noise, Odors, & Leaks: Oh My!
Even before the pandemic and social unrest of the last few years, interpersonal conflict and outright hostility often surfaced in the co-op and condo environment, forcing boards and managers to deal with both legitimate grievances and conflicts that are sometimes less than rational. Whether a conflict arises between neighbors, between residents and management, or between […]
Professionals Advise, but Co-op and Condo Boards Decide (NY)
Serving on a co-op or condo board in New York City requires a surprising range of knowledge and skills. Yet every year, thousands of people who have absolutely no experience managing buildings join co-op and condo boards and are then expected to make intelligent judgments that affect the value of their (and their neighbors’) most […]
Sometimes the Fastest Route Is a Straight Line (NY)
….the matter of Trump Village Section No. 4 v. Gene Vilensky a/k/a Gene Vilenskiy, Index No. 522355/2016 (Kings County), where a residential housing corporation’s concern about alleged statements made in a purchase application played a central role. Read the entire article……………………………….
Co-ops and Condos Oppose Bill Requiring Higher Temps in Buildings (NY)
In New York City, tragedies give birth to laws. It happened in 1979, when a chunk of a building fell to a sidewalk on Upper Broadway and killed a college student, moving the City Council to enact Local Law 10. It required building owners, including co-op and condo boards, to perform regular inspections and repairs […]
At Last, Co-op and Condo Boards Get Something for Free From the DOB (NY)
New York City co-op and condo boards have grown accustomed to the high cost of complying with a never-ending deluge of new city rules — widely derided as “unfunded mandates” — but during May the city is flipping the the script by offering no-cost, no-penalty inspections of decks, porches, retaining walls and business signs. Read […]
Co-op Boards Have a Word for the Climate Mobilization Act: Terrifying (NY)
A group of co-op board members have gone public with how they feel about the looming cost of the retrofits that will be required to bring their buildings into compliance with the Climate Mobilization Act (Local Law 97). They are, in a word, terrified. Read the entire article……………………………….
Cost Going Up: Co-op’s Elevator Modernization Brings Surprises (NY)
Elevator work is always a major headache for boards and residents, but you recently ran into a very unexpected problem on what you thought was a routine job. Read the entire article……………………………….
Co-op Board Learns That Hoarding Is a Mental Disorder (NY)
A shareholder in our small, self-managed co-op is in his eighties and is suffering from dementia. Because of his hoarding, the building now has a roach infestation. At significant cost to the co-op, we fumigated the building; we also packed up and removed items in his unit, fumigated them and returned them to him. New […]
How Russian Sanctions Affect the Collection Procedures and the Administration of Co-ops & Condos (NY)
The sweeping economic sanctions spawned by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impact co-op and condo operations in terms of admissions and collection procedures and the administration of certain services to building residents. This is because conducting business with foreign nationals or entities who are subject to the sanctions could expose an association to enforcement proceedings by […]
The Hard Truth About Soft Costs for Co-op and Condo Boards (NY)
Many co-op and condo boards tackling capital projects are finding themselves caught in a perfect storm: as city regulations have become more stringent, the demand for scaffolding and sidewalk sheds has risen, while the cost of that protective equipment has also risen thanks to high insurance costs, inflation and simple laws of supply and demand. […]
NY: Co-op and Condo Boards Can Lead the Charge on Electric Cars
A co-op shareholder in Woodside, Queens, is facing a dilemma. He has sole access to a dedicated garage, and he wants to buy an electric car. However, the co-op board will not give him permission to install an electric car charger, even though Con Edison has agreed to connect the charger to the grid. Can […]
Can A Home Owner’s Association Legally Take Your House In NY
Homeowner’s associations can be a pain in the behind, but can they really take your home if you don’t abide by their rules? We’ve all heard of HOA horror stories. Sometimes you pay your HOA fees and they do absolutely nothing to make the neighborhood better or enforce basic rules to keep the neighborhood beautiful […]
Problem Solved: What To Do When the Lone Elevator Goes Down (NY)
When a building’s lone elevator goes out of commission, it can be a nightmare. A big issue can be financing the repairs. You’ve had experience with both of these challenges at an HDFC co-op in Hamilton Heights. Can you tell us about it Read the entire article……………………………….
Unknowns of Litigation Could Outweigh the Possible Rewards (NY)
When my co-op and condo board clients decide to start a lawsuit against one of their tenant-shareholders or unit-owners, they want to know what the litigation will be like. Will they win? How long will it take? How much will it cost? The answers to those questions are rarely satisfying because litigation can be uncertain, […]
Is It Time to Electrify? (NY)
You’re on your coop or condo board and you keep hearing about electrifying buildings. What is the buzz about heat pumps and where do you start? For decades, NYC building owners, property managers and coop and condo boards have been recommended and incentivized to switch from oil to natural gas. The energy efficiency codes are […]
What does ‘right of first refusal’ mean when you are selling a NYC condo?
A New York City condo board has limited ways to exercise control over sales in the building (unlike a co-op board, which has much broader authority over deals). But condo boards have what is called the right of first refusal. This is an option to buy a condo from a seller at the same price […]
Problem Solved: How Co-op and Condo Boards Can Prevent Garage Decay (NY)
For co-op and condo boards, a parking garage can be a prized amenity and a great source of income. But neglect can turn those amenities into liabilities. In your engineering work, do your clients tend to ignore problems in their parking garages before they call you? Read the entire article……………………………….
Westchester’s Biggest Co-op Tackles a Security Breach (NY)
Its 778 units make Sadore Lane Gardens the largest co-op in Westchester County, and since its five buildings don’t have doormen, security is a major concern. So when hundreds of shareholders started experiencing glitches with their intercoms, the property manager got busy. Read the entire article……………………………….
Proactive Condo Board Takes Steps to Prevent Tragedies (NY)
In early January, a massive fire roared through a Bronx apartment building, killing 17 people, including eight children. The cause was a space heater that apparently had been running for days inside an under-heated apartment. That tragedy comes on the heels of last year’s deadly collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Florida, where […]
Top 5 Tips on Keeping the Sidewalk Safe (NY)
Many of us have been there. Face down after stumbling on an uneven or slippery sidewalk. We are not talking on the way home from a happy hour. We are talking about broad daylight when going to the store or the subway. That begs for the question, who is responsible for the sidewalks? Read the […]
Condo Board Goes in for Early Detection of Water Leaks (NY)
Ask any co-op or condo board member or their property manager to name the biggest headache they get from their building, and the answer is guaranteed: water leaks. Whether it comes through the building envelope or passes from one apartment to another (or many), water is Enemy No. 1. A condo board in Toronto — […]
Tax Abatement Crunch Time: When Must Coops and Condos Pay Their Employees Prevailing Wages? (NY)
Certain cooperatives (coops) and condominiums (condos) that wish to be eligible for the coop and condo property tax abatement are in a mad dash to submit the newly required prevailing wage affidavit. Read the entire article……………………………….
East Village Co-op Board Fails to Evict “Neighbor From Hell” (NY)
Ever since the Court of Appeals of New York issued its landmark Levandusky decision in 1990, co-op and condo boards have been protected by the sturdy armor of the business judgment rule. It states that so long as a board acts in good faith, within the scope of its authority and for the purposes of […]
For Co-ops and Condos, Garages Are the New Facades (NY)
The clock has begun ticking on the latest unfunded mandate for co-op and condo boards: periodic garage inspections and repairs. The first two-year cycle for completing an inspection and filing a required report without penalty began on Jan. 1, 2022 and will run through Dec. 31, 2023. It affects garages located in Community Districts 1 […]