Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo modified Executive Order 202.6, requiring that all businesses and not-for-profit entities operating in New York must reduce their in-person workforce by 100 percent, essentially ordering most New Yorkers to work from home as a way of slowing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. But the order failed to spell out […]
Habitat LIVE: Pandemic Best Practices (NY)
Habitat spoke recently with three professionals on the guidance they’re giving their co-op and condo board clients during the coronavirus pandemic. We spoke with Michael Wolfe, president of Midboro Management; Ken Jacobs, a partner in the law firm Smith, Buss & Jacobs; and Steven Sladkus, a partner in the law firm Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg […]
State Says Gyms in Co-ops and Condos Must Also Close (NY)
After Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an order that “any gym, fitness centers or classes” were to cease operations Monday evening in an effort to slow the galloping spread of coronavirus, the state has issued a clarification: the order also applies to gyms in residential buildings, including cooperatives and condominiums, The Real Deal reports. Read the […]
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Coronavirus (NY)
The coronavirus pandemic is forcing co-op and condo boards to navigate uncharted waters. No one has dealt with this kind of challenge before. In an effort to cut through the conflicting information that seems to multiply daily, we’ve put together a list of Frequently Asked Questions and posed them to players in the co-op and […]
No More Black Garbage Bags in Front of Co-ops and Condos? (NY)
Those ubiquitous and picturesque mountains of black garbage bags may soon vanish from the sidewalks in front of the city’s larger co-ops and condominiums. The Department of Sanitation (DOS) has announced two major initiatives to get filthy bags of seeping garbage out of the way of pedestrians and into on-street containers — the result of […]
A Novel Way to Prepare Buildings for Coronavirus (NY)
As cases of novel coronavirus continue to spread in the New York metropolitan area, co-op and condo boards are struggling to take smart steps to protect their residents without sowing panic. Here’s one piece of level-headed advice: prepare for coronavirus the same way you prepare for a doormen’s strike. Read the article…………………………..
Bulkhead, framing may be replaced on exterior of Pipes Cove condominium (NY)
The Pipes Cove condominium boat basin at the end of Sixth Street may see changes in coming months. Greenport Village trustees approved a conditional wetlands permit application last Thursday that was submitted by Robert Hermann of En-Consultants on behalf of the property’s Pipes Cove Management Association. The application calls for replacement of bulkhead and framing […]
For Manhattan Co-op and Condo Owners, Tax Increases May Depend on How Long They’ve Owned (NY)
Q. I’ve been reading about the proposed property tax changes in New York City. What does that mean for me as a Manhattan condo owner? Read the Q&A………………………………
Sea Gate cop pulls gun on NYPD officer more than a mile from the seaside community: suit (NY)
A gung-ho private cop for a gated Brooklyn neighborhood was way out of line when he pulled a gun on an off-duty, veteran NYPD officer in a gas station mini-mart more than a mile outside the seaside development, a lawsuit claims. Read the article……………………………
State agency rules against LI couple who let son play outside (NY)
The state Division of Human Rights has ruled against a Long Island family who said they were singled out and threatened by their condo association for letting their 4-year-old son play outside. State Human Rights Director William LaMot determined that South Shore Villas in West Babylon did not discriminate against Robert and Angelica Parker last […]
Judge Orders Developer to Chop 20 Stories from Condo Tower (NY)
In this soft real-estate market, we’ve all heard about the condo price chop. Now comes the condo top chop. In a closely watched case, a state Supreme Court judge has ordered the developers of a nearly completed 668-foot luxury condo tower on the Upper West Side to take the extraordinary step of removing 20 or […]
Elderly Residents Struggling With Cost of Compliance (NY)
Co-ops and condos with a high ratio of senior citizens that qualify as Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) are facing a dilemma citywide. Every time the Facade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP) cycle or some other major capital project comes around, boards have to get creative with their financing – or risk pricing out their […]
Facade Inspections to Get Stricter – and More Expensive (NY)
Just in time for the start of the city’s 9th cycle of the Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) on February 21, 2020, the Department of Buildings (DOB) has published a new amended rule aimed at increasing safety and holding negligent building owners accountable, RAND Engineering & Architecture reports. In the wake of architect Erica Tishman’s […]
Lansing Meadows seeks subdivision (NY)
Developers of the Lansing Meadows senior housing complex spoke in front of the Village of Lansing Board of Trustees on Jan. 6, requesting an amendment to district regulations of the complex’s Planning Development Area (PDA) to permit them to subdivide a parcel of land to sell off three individual townhouses. Read the article……………………….
Condo owners at 51 Jay sue Slate Property Group, Adam America (NY)
The blame game over construction defects at a luxury Dumbo condo now includes allegations of fraud. The board of managers at 51 Jay Street is suing Adam America Real Estate and Slate Property Group, the project’s sponsors and developers, alleging breach of contract, fiduciary duty and fraud. Read the article………………………
Lawsuit Says Stalled Access Agreement Led to Fatal Facade Failure (NY)
Most lawyers urge co-op and condo boards to be reasonable when negotiating access agreements with neighboring buildings. Don’t play hardball when a neighbor needs access to your building to make repairs to his building, the counsel goes, because one day you’ll likely need access to his building to make repairs to yours. Read the article…………………..
Homeowners association alleges defamation by City of Poughkeepsie (NY)
A homeowners association (HOA) has filed a notice of claim (NOC) against the City of Poughkeepsie seeking damages as a result of alleged defamation. Hudson Pointe Poughkeepsie HOA is seeking damages stemming from alleged comments made by Councilmember Natasha Cherry at an October 7 meeting of the common council. Read the article…………………………
Is Your Building An “A” Or An “F”? (NY)
Would you go to a restaurant that had anything but a letter “A” posted in the window? As recently reported in Curbed NY, Local Law 95, which is an amendment to Local Law 33, mandates that all New York City buildings post their letter grade on the building. Buildings are expected to receive their letters […]
Fire breaks out at Catskill condominiums (NY)
Fire broke out Tuesday afternoon at the Catskill Creek Condominiums. Just before 4, a caller told Greene County 9 1 1 that their home at 14 Marina Drive was on fire and their dogs were still in the building. Read the article………………………..
Malta seeks to take over snowy roads in development (NY)
Shoddy snow removal at the top of Travers Meadows development over the past two winters is prompting the town to try to take over the roads so residents don’t have to face a third snowy season of difficult driving and walking. Read the article……………………….
Short-changed workers at Downtown luxury condo receive $400k in back pay from legal settlement (NY)
City and state officials returned more than $400,000 in unpaid wages to building service workers of a luxury Downtown Brooklyn condo building as part of a multimillion-dollar legal settlement Tuesday. Read the article…………………………
No Thanks: The Lot of a Co-op Board President (NY)
Paranoia seems to be an inevitable part of daily life in this big city. And paranoia is in evidence among some co-op shareholders and condo unit-owners who, whenever a decision is made that they don’t like, immediately suspect the board of malfeasance. To these people, the board members have grown drunk on their power to […]
Bill Would Make Co-ops and Condos Eligible for Full Disaster Relief
U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler – a New York Democrat who, as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is overseeing the presidential impeachment hearings – has somehow found the time to co-sponsor a piece of legislation that has nothing to do with Donald Trump but has huge implications for co-ops, condominiums, and homeowners’ associations (HOAs). Read […]
Condo applicants dogged by pet interview requests (NY)
As competition heats up among home buyers in an increasingly tight market, some condominium and co-op boards are demanding that pet owners subject their furry friends to an ‘interview’ to make sure they’re a good fit. Read the article……………………
As Abatements End, Condo Property Taxes Soar (NY)
Nothing is certain but death of tax abatements. The 421-a tax abatement ended in 2016, but the benefits of the expired program continue for many luxury condo unit-owners. Now, as the 10- to 25-year abatements phase out, the owners of those apartments are seeing staggering increases in their property taxes – just as the once-robust […]
The Taxman Cometh for Some Condos (NY)
Buyers, take note: Discounts can be found as thousands of luxury apartments are set to lose a valuable tax break in the midst of a softening resale market. Read the article……………………….
The Landing at Dobbs Ferry sues Greenburgh assessor in condo tax dispute (NY)
For more than a year-and-a-half, Greenburgh Assessor Edye McCarthy has refused to certify tax parcels at The Landing on the Water at Dobbs Ferry, according to the owners, thus preventing them from having their deeds officially recorded when they sell their property. Read the article…………………………
Sea Gate adrift after local politician’s corruption scandal (NY)
Residents of Brooklyn’s Sea Gate say the state left their homeowners’ association marooned after a $500,000 state grant got washed away in a corruption scandal. They’ve been operating out of a pair of trailers for seven years since Superstorm Sandy destroyed the association’s office. Read the article………………………..
The two biggest headaches for New York condo insurers
There are two huge issues that all New York condo insurers must grapple with. One is on the liability side; the other is on the property side. “They’re the usual New York challenges,” said Robert G. Mackoul, vice president and chief underwriting officer at New Empire Group, Ltd. “On the liability side, we’re up against […]
4-year-old boy, his family unhappy over $150 fine for playing outside LI condominium (NY)
Outdoor play is a necessary part of a child’s life. But try telling that to Marie Dellafranca, vice president of South Shore Villas Condominium Association at West Babylon, Long Island. On May 20, 2019, she sent a warning letter to condo owners Robert and Angelica Parker. Their 4-year-old son Liam loves riding his tricycle and […]
Disclosure Law Now Exempts Condo Owners (NY)
There’s a new twist in the real estate law that required LLCs to list the names and addresses of all individuals with ownership interests. Condo owners are no longer included in the law – the law only applies to one- to four-family homes. Read the article………………………….
Co-ops Seeking Protection From the Tenant Protection Act (NY)
Two bills have been introduced in the state Legislature to carve co-ops out of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. The intention of the act, which was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on June 14, 2019, was to provide protections to the millions of tenants in rental properties in the state of […]
“Officially out of money”: Upper East Side condo in disarray (NY)
It’s a New York condo buyer’s worst nightmare. Three of them put down $11 million apiece for an “exclusive residence” in an elegant pre-war building with a landmarked facade in one of “the world’s finest neighborhoods,” only to see the condominium become nearly insolvent because of the developers’ bizarre family feud. Read the article………………………..
Can Co-op Boards Limit the Size of Support Animals? (NY)
A Bronx co-op board prohibits dogs larger than 30 pounds. When a shareholder asked if her brother could visit with his 70-pound emotional support dog, the board said no. Can a co-op board ban a support animal from visiting a shareholder because it exceeds the weight limit? Read the article…………………………
Town considers new stop signs for private condominium (NY)
It’s only a matter of time before somebody is injured or killed by a motorist speeding through a stop sign in the Courtyards at Pleasant Meadows Condominiums, homeowners say, but unless the signs meet state Department of Transportation standards and the intersections are annexed to the town, they cannot be enforced by police. Read the […]
Pollock or Matisse? Lobby Art Can Be a Battlefield (NY)
Remodeling the lobby, hallways, and elevators are among the most controversial projects any co-op or condo board can undertake. When an Upper West Side co-op board appointed a committee of three to select a rotating display of art works in the lobby – surprise, surprise – not all of the hundreds of shareholders were happy. […]
Brooklyn condo discriminated against people with disabilities, HUD alleges (NY)
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced charges Monday against developers and architects of a Brooklyn condominium that allegedly discriminated against people with disabilities. The charges name Toll Brothers, Greenberg Farrow Architecture and others involved with the design and construction of North 8 Condominium — a 40-unit residence in Williamsburg. Read the […]
Brooklyn condo discriminated against people with disabilities, HUD alleges (NY)
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced charges Monday against developers and architects of a Brooklyn condominium that allegedly discriminated against people with disabilities. The charges name Toll Brothers, Greenberg Farrow Architecture and others involved with the design and construction of North 8 Condominium — a 40-unit residence in Williamsburg. Read the article…………………………
Lawyers for Disabled Plaintiffs Targeting Co-ops and Condos (NY)
When President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990, it was touted as a breakthrough on a par with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Now, employers were required to make accommodations to people with disabilities, and public spaces had to be accessible to all. Three decades later, […]
Condo board at Trump’s Central Park West building votes to keep president’s name on signage (NY)
The condo board of the glass tower at One Central Park West on Tuesday voted unanimously to retain the Trump name on the signage at the front of the building, the New York Post reports. However, the word “tower” will be removed from the marquee over the front entrance, to be replaced with the building’s […]
Legionella Found In Water Supply At Two Bridges Condo: Officials (NY)
Health officials have found Legionella in a Two Bridges condo building’s water supply, the Health Department confirmed. After two residents at the Two Bridges Condominium Complex became sick with Legionnaires’ disease, health officials have discovered the bacteria Legionella in the water supply, the department said Thursday. Read the article…………………..
No go for 33-foot guru statue in Woodland Valley (NY)
Shandaken building inspector and zoning code officer Howie McGowan told the members of the Woodland Community Association (WCA) that the 33-foot statue Sanjay Rawal proposes to erect in Woodland Valley is not permissible under the town’s building code. At the WCA’s annual meeting on July 13, McGowan said Rawal had submitted a site plan for […]
Elevator Death Brings Call for Licensing of Mechanics (NY)
Many co-op and condo boards are scrambling to meet the deadline to install electronic door-lock monitors in their elevators by the end of the year. They will also have to install an emergency brake by January 1, 2027. But a tragic accident last week has brought urgent calls for even more safety regulations on the […]
CPW Resident To Condo Board: Your Bike Lane Suit Is Out of Order (NY)
A condo board’s lawsuit over the city’s construction of the Central Park West bike lane must be thrown out because the board’s action violates the building’s own by-laws, a miffed resident argued in a new filing in the ongoing case. Read the article……………………….
Second NYC condo owner busted for dividing apartment illegally
The Lower East Side condo owner who cut his apartment in half horizontally to rent bizarre pint-sized units to 11 desperate tenants wasn’t the only enterprising landlord in his building. The city Buildings Department issued 10 violations to Jing Ya Lin, the owner of unit 701 at 165 Henry Street, after a tip from the […]
Condo owner busted for building ‘Being John Malkovich’-like 4th 1/2 floor (NY)
The real estate market in New York has never been this tight. A Lower East Side condo owner turned his small apartment into a mini-village — by converting it into an illegal duplex with 11 sub-units that had ceilings as low as 4 ¹/? feet high, officials said Friday. Read the article……………………..
Security guard arrested after fight at Mount Sinai condominium complex (NY)
Police arrested a residential community security guard for allegedly assaulting a visitor Wednesday, Aug. 14. Suffolk County Police said John Ruggiero, while working as a security guard at The Ranches at Mount Sinai condominium complex, located along Route 25A, allegedly denied entry to a 68-year-old man who was attempting to visit a friend Aug. 14 […]
Governor Cuomo signs legislation enacting sweeping protections for homeowners (NY)
-Requiring Payment of Homeowners’ Association Fees (S.4182/A.1800)- This measure requires banks or mortgage holders of vacant and abandoned residential properties to continue paying homeowners’ association fees or cooperative fees as needed to maintain a property when it has been abandoned during the foreclosure process. This will help to ensure properties do not become dilapidated before […]
Legionnaires’ Outbreak Confirmed In Lower East Side Condo (NY)
he city’s Health Department is evaluating the water systems at a condominium building in Two Bridges after two residents were confirmed sick with Legionnaires’ disease. “The Health Department and building management are promptly alerting residents of the situation and providing guidance on how to prevent exposure, especially for those at higher risk for disease,” Health […]
Advocates to UWS Condo: Drop the Bike Lane Suit (NY)
Cyclists rallied Thursday outside an Upper West Side condominium where board members are suing to block construction of a 50-block protected bike lane. “This lawsuit is threatening our lives and that is not acceptable,” said Marco Conner of Transportation Alternatives. Read the article………………