Several lake residents came out to the Syracuse Town Council meeting Tuesday to call for council members to move forward with maintaining the dam at Crosson Mill. During the public comment portion of the meeting, John Earnest said while not a resident, he does own a lake house on North Shore Drive and serves as […]
Judge Calls Seward Park Co-op’s Legal Fees “Highway Robbery” (NY)
A Manhattan judge has slashed law firm Greenberg Traurig’s fee request by 62 percent – from $464,164 to $175,000 – in a lawsuit brought by Seward Park Cooperative shareholders against the co-op board in a dispute over the co-op’s parking operation. Read the article………………
Kushner Companies hit with $10M lawsuit over Williamsburg condo conversion (NY)
The Cuomo administration has directed its tenant protection unit to investigate the allegations of tenant harassment at Austin Nichols House. “Governor Cuomo has zero tolerance for tenant abuse of any kind and we will aggressively take on landlords who try to intimidate people out of their homes,” said RuthAnne Visnauskas, the Commissioner of the New […]
Judge Tells Madonna to Lay Off Her Co-op Board (NY)
Co-op boards wield significant power, even over pop superstars. Just ask Madonna. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits says the Material Girl was “merely harassing” fellow shareholders of her Upper West Side co-op for continuing to seek records from the board after she lost a legal bid challenging a rule that required her to be […]
NYS Assembly passes bill to end future condo tax breaks
The New York State Assembly has passed a bill that would end tax breaks for condominiums starting in 2021. The bill moves to the Senate in the last days of session. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s staff said he would review the issue. Read the article……………..
Co-ops and Condos to Get Letter Grades for Energy Efficiency (NY)
When the New York City Council passed a law last week that will require large co-ops and condos to post letter grades reflecting their building’s energy efficiency, some of the earliest and loudest applause came from the Urban Green Council (UGC). This nonprofit promoter of green initiatives had been an ardent supporter of the bill, […]
New York Public Library’s fight with Fifth Ave condo owners over renovation fee is shelved (NY)
The New York Public Library’s battle with the well-heeled residents of a Fifth Ave. condo building now belongs in the history section. The NYPL filed suit in August, alleging the board of the Fifth Avenue Tower was impeding exterior renovations to the Mid-Manhattan branch and seeking to force the library to pay a $15,000 per […]
Tax Watch: Ossining is ground zero in condo property tax fight (NY)
The New York law that lets condominium owners pay propertytaxes up to 65 percent less than similarly priced single-family homes is under attack in Ossining. That’s where single-family homeowners want the town to adopt the homestead option, which would put condominiums on equal tax footing with single-family homes. At stake are millions of dollars in […]
Two Harlem condo boards are suing L&M Development (NY)
Two Harlem condominium boards are suing L&M Development Partners over defects and damage in their buildings, court records show. The suits are part of a larger pattern of litigation that typically crests around six years after co-ops or condos are built. In 2012 L&M completed the conversion of a turn-of-the-century school at 220 W. 148th […]
Q&A: Addressing a Possible Conflict of Interest Within a Board
Q. I am a relatively new board member at-large to our HOA board in a small community with 44 homes. I recently learned that our previous treasurer was also receiving a “management” fee of nearly $4,000 a year for several years. I have further been informed that this fee was approved by board vote in […]
Fortis not responsible for $2M in defects caused by prior developer, judge says in ruling against 20 Bayard Street residents (NY)
A court decision in Brooklyn last week will let Fortis Property Group get away with selling allegedly faulty condominiums in Williamsburg, for the simple reason that Fortis wasn’t the one that built them in the first place. When developer Isaac Hager’s company went into bankruptcy at the 64-unit Bayard Views Condominium at 20 Bayard Street […]
Read This Before Switching to LED Lights (NY)
“If your building’s average savings are too high, then you’ll get no money from Con Ed to help pay for the cost of a building-wide upgrade,” says Justin Gillen, founder of a company called Retrofit and Relamp With LEDs, which specializes in lighting upgrades. “Approval for the Con Ed incentive is calculated from a formula […]
A Win for Co-ops and Condos (and Landlords) on Water Credits (NY)
Co-ops and condos are at a notorious disadvantage to small homeowners when it comes to paying property taxes. But not when it comes to paying water bills. In a rebuke to Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court has shot down that the mayor’s plan to give owners of one-, […]
Condo board sues VE Equities, Elliman over alleged defects at 250 Bowery (NY)
The condominium board at 250 Bowery filed a lawsuit against developer VE Equities, Morris Adjmi Architects and Douglas Elliman for allegedly selling them shoddy apartments. In a complaint filed with New York State Supreme Court Thursday, the board alleges that the 24-unit Lower East Side building’s water pipes weren’t properly insulated, leading one of them […]
Calculating a Cover Charge (NY)
Courts rule that co-ops and condos are entitled to fees for granting building access. Construction workers at the building next door to your co-op want to gain access to your property. In the past, if you did not come to terms with the builder, he would just go to court and get a license requiring […]
Court Ruling Gives Condo Boards the Power to Evict (NY)
In a major victory for condominium boards, the state’s highest court has ruled unanimously that a Manhattan condo unit-owner who refused to pay his common charges since 2007 can be evicted from his apartment, The New York Law Journal reports. Steven Wozencraft, who bought an apartment in 2006 at the 10-story luxury Heywood Condominium in […]
Macklowe sued over alleged defects at 150 E. 72nd St. (NY)
Residents of Harry Macklowe’s condo conversion at 150 East 72nd Street are very unhappy with their purchases — they’re taking the notoriously litigious developer to court over alleged construction defects and what they’ve said is a woefully inadequate building reserve fund. Read the article…………
New Flood Zones Could Slash Insurance Premiums (NY)
Federal officials, responding to an appeal from Mayor Bill de Blasio, have agreed to redraw the city’s flood maps, which is likely to reduce or eliminate insurance premiums for thousands of buildings currently in flood zones, Crain’s reports. Read the article…………
Ira Glass’ filthy bedbug- and rodent-infested condo is making his neighbors’ ‘American Life’ miserable
Here’s something Ira Glass won’t be talking about. The radio host is being sued by his condo board over an infestation of bedbugs in his Chelsea home. The board of managers at the stable-turned-luxury apartment complex say the “This American Life” host “caused and/or allowed an infestation of bedbugs” in his W. 24th Street unit. […]
New Midtown East luxury building is falling apart, lawsuit alleges (NY)
New York City has no shortage of shady landlords, but shoddy materials and deferred maintenance are less common issues in the city’s many luxury developments. According to the New York Post, residents of the recently-built Alexander on 250 East 49th Street are facing those issues and suing developer Alexander Gurevich for $67 million over them. […]
(Un)Civil War Continues at Seward Park
When the Seward Park co-op board announced a plan to convert the Lower East Side property’s 388-space garage and parking deck from park-and-lock to valet service – a move designed to shorten the waiting list for spaces while generating $200,000 in annual revenue – a group of vocal shareholders rose up to oppose the plan. […]
Water Torture Ends, Temporarily, for Co-ops and Condos (NY)
A Manhattan judge has temporarily blocked the city Water Board from raising rates and giving preferential treatment to owners of one-, two-, and three-family homes, while penalizing co-ops and condominiums, the Daily News reports. Read the article………….
Major Legal Win for Condo Boards (NY)
In a ruling that could have major consequences for condo boards across the city, the Appellate Division has upheld an earlier State Supreme Court ruling that a sponsor/developer can be held liable for breach of contract and its principals can be held liable for fraud over construction defects and misrepresentations in an offering plan. […]
Happy 100th Birthday, Co-ops!
In 1916, the nation’s first nonprofit housing cooperative was born in Brooklyn. A century ago, Finnish immigrants banded together in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn to address an acute housing shortage. Sixteen families formed the Finnish Home Building Association, chipped in $500 apiece, and got the architect Eric O. Holmgren to draw up plans […]
BK Heights (NY) condo board sues Magic Johnson’s firm over alleged building defects
The condominium board at 20 Henry Street is suing Magic Johnson’s development firm Canyon Johnson Urban Funds and its joint-venture partners for alleged defects at the building. Read the article…………
The Price of Smoking in Co-ops Just Went Up. Way Up
In a decision that’s sure to fuel the smoking debate in every co-op in the city, a state Supreme Court judge has awarded more than $120,000 in back maintenance, interest and attorney fees to a co-op shareholder who claimed that smoke from other apartments had permeated her unit and rendered it uninhabitable. Read the […]
ABC’s Dan Abrams Subpoenas Weil Chairman In Condo Suit
ABC’s legal news anchor Dan Abrams on Thursday hit Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP chairman Barry Wolf with a subpoena in an effort to ascertain the firm’s involvement with a condominium board that includes a Weil partner who is being sued for allegedly preventing Abrams’ renovations, his attorney confirmed Friday. Subscription required for full […]
Luxury Developer Accused Of Ripping Off NYC Condo Buyers Is Forced To Pay Up
Companies owned by luxury developers and accused serial fraudsters Shaya Boymelgreen and Lev Leviev will continue to be allowed to do business in New York under the terms of a settlement announced yesterday by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Read the article……..
Buildings Get Billions, Workers Get Bilked (NY)
While building owners in New York City – including many co-ops and condos – get more than $1 billion in annual tax breaks under the 421-a program, hundreds of workers in those buildings are being illegally underpaid, according to a new investigation by ProPublica. Read the article………….
Is the Trump Name Behind the Blizzard of Lawsuits in Brooklyn?
The Department of Justice announced on Dec. 23 that it has filed a lawsuit against Trump Village Section 4 co-op in Brooklyn, as well as its embattled former board president Igor Oberman, for violating the Fair Housing Act. The co-op, according to the suit, failed to accommodate four residents who require emotional support animals. Read […]
Brack sold us broken apartments: 15 Union Sq. W condo board
Condo owners at one of downtown’s most high-profile luxury buildings say the property is not all it was cracked up to be. The condominium association at 15 Union Square West has filed a $5 million lawsuit against developer Brack Capital Real Estate eight years after the building first launched sales Read the article…………..
SMA suing Gene Kaufman over botched Nolita condo specs
SMA Equities is suing architect Gene Kaufman for almost $9.5 million — with the developer claiming it sold its Nolita condo development site at 152 Elizabeth Street on the cheap last year because Kaufman “negligently misrepresented” the property’s buildable square footage. Read the article…………..
Bagel shop (NY) causing 100 degree heat for above condos: suit
Two Upper West Side condo owners say a ground-floor bagel shop is making their apartment “uninhabitable” by causing temperatures to reach a stifling 100 degrees, a new lawsuit charges. Read the article……….
Romulus (NY) Wins Assessment Lawsuit
The Town of Romulus has defeated a lawsuit by a local corporation that sought to reduce from nearly $300,000 total to zero the taxable value of several private properties that the corporation owns. In a decision dated Thursday (May 21), Acting Supreme Court Justice Dennis Bender ruled that Lakeshore Landing Homeowners Association Inc. (“Lakeshore Landing”) […]
Foiled plans: AG (NY) limits condo disclosures — but open government advocates say action is “contrary to law”
No matter what New York’s next multibillion dollar condominium project is, the details are likely to stay under wraps for longer than they do now. That’s because the New York State Attorney General’s Office stopped making condo offering plans available to the public before they have been approved. Read the article……….
PMG accused of mold problems at tony UES condo building (NY)
Kevin Maloney’s Property Markets Group is facing a lawsuit from residents at 823 Park Avenue who claim faulty insulation at the Upper East Side building has resulted in mold growth throughout the property. Condo owners at the luxury building, located between East 75th and East 76th Streets, are seeking a minimum of $2.5 million in […]
Condo board fumes over trust-funder’s ‘pot smoke’ (NY)
A 27-year-old trust-funder is smoking out the neighbors of her ritzy Chelsea condo by sending constant plumes of pot throughout the building, the board complains in a new lawsuit. Jacqueline Lasdon, 27, whose late pharmaceutical magnate grandfather left her a $2.5 million trust fund, bought a two-bedroom at the Onyx Condo on West 28th Street […]
Plywood blown from condo conversion fatally strikes woman, 37, on Manhattan sidewalk (NY)
A piece of plywood blown down from a high-end condo conversion project in Manhattan struck a woman as she walked down a sidewalk, killing her, cops said Wednesday. Read more………
NYC Board of Health to Ferrets: And Stay Out!
Nearly two months ago, we gave co-op and condo boards a heads up about a public hearing on the proposal to lift the ban on ferrets in New York City before the Board of Health. Had the ban been lifted, board would have had to review their existing pet policies and revise them as needed […]
Hardyston (NY) to back HOA loan for dam repair
The Hardyston Township Council is required to co-sign a loan with the Homeowners Association of Summit Lake for repairs to the Summit Lake dam. Read more……….
Judges (NY) show homeowners association a sign: Back off
A local couple has been successful a second time in court, as a mid-level appeals court ruled last week that Hudson Pointe Homeowners Association has no authority to restrict posting of political signs in front of the couple’s property. Read more……….
Cuomo’s Proposed Tax Credit Leaves Co-op and Condo Owners Wondering (NY)
Will co-ops and condos be included? It’s a fair question. Earlier this week, as part of his proposed budget, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a property tax credit that will affect more than 1 million homeowners and 1 million renters — but was worryingly quiet on whether co-op and condo owners would be affected. Read […]
Spa Castle neighbors sue over worry that condo views will be ruined by nude-friendly Manhattan (NY) resort
In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the condo board of the Ritz Tower at 465 Park Ave. says Spa Castle’s too-high renovations to an eighth-floor roof of the Galleria Building next door are ruining residents’ views — and the naked people aren’t even there yet. Read more……..
Sarah Jessica Parker Under Fire Over Shoe Photoshoot (NY)
Sarah Jessica Parker has come under fire from a homeowners association in New York City after she staged a photoshoot for her shoe line on the steps of the house featured in her hit TV show Sex And The City. Read more………
HUD Reverse Mortgages for Co-ops Unlikely
A long-awaited regulatory change that would open up the federal government’s reverse mortgage program to co-ops is unlikely to happen, presenting a problem for older New Yorkers. Read more……..
Pair of developers facing third lawsuit — but similar allegations (NY)
The developers of the L Lofts condominium in Brooklyn are facing an $8 million lawsuit for allegedly failing to correct extensive construction defects in the building, including water leaks, defective roof construction and other alleged code violations. Read more………
Lev Leviev & Partner Shaya Boymelgreen Ordered By Judge To Hand Over Control Of Luxury Manhattan Condominium To Residents
Lev Leviev’s Africa Israel group has substantial real estate development interests in New York, including residential condominium conversion projects. One of these, at 15 Broad Street in downtown Manhattan, is a luxury residential project that was converted from office space. Read more……..
New York State Tax Break Finally Coming to Co-op and Condo Owners
State Senator Tony Avella (D-Bayside) officially announced last week the inclusion of a tax-relief program for small homeowners, renters and co-op and condo owners in this year’s New York State budget. After the original proposal entailed tax relief solely for renters, Avella introduced legislation to include condominiums and cooperative owners and other homeowners. Read […]
Condo board loses bid to keep probation facility out of nabe
A Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled against a Lower Manhattan condo board, which was seeking to stop the New York City Probation Department from relocating its adult facilities to a residential area at 66 John Street. Read more……..
Condo board loses suit over ailing tenant’s air conditioning (NY)
Manhattan Supreme Court ruled in favor of an ailing 73-year-old man who accused the co-op board at 200 Central Park South of barring him from installing a state-of-the-art air-conditioning system in his unit. Read more……..