Page 4 - CooperatorNews May 2021
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4 COOPERATORNEWS —  MAY 2021  COOPERATORNEWS.COM  PULSE  I        P      LAW   CooperatorNews  Presents  FREE  Webinars—a Valuable Resource for Boards   and Managers at CooperatorNews.com/events  CooperatorNews,   a Yale Robbins Publish-  ing publication, has been a resource for the   boards, managers, and residents of co-ops,   condos, and HOAs for nearly two decades,   both in print and online—and we are pleased   to provide another platform in our toolkit:   Cooperator Events, a series of FREE educa-  tional  ‘town-hall’ style webinars,  sponsored   by leaders in the multifamily industry and fo-  cusing on issues and challenges facing today’s   boards. We have assembled expert panels on   everything from legal questions around the   COVID-19 pandemic to optimizing your   insurance coverage to disinfecting your com-  munity’s pool. Registration and attendance are   FREE to all—just visit CooperatorNews.com/  events, choose the webinar you’d like to attend,   and sign up. It’s that simple. You’ll get an email   link and reminders for the event, and will have   the opportunity to submit questions for the   panelists before AND during the webinar it-  self. Past events are archived and available on-  demand at CooperatorNews.com/events.    Serving on your board is a big job, and a   big  responsibility,  but  sound,  timely  advice   from industry veterans can help lighten the   load and make your building or association   run more smoothly. We’re committed to help-  ing you achieve that, and look forward to ‘see-  ing’ you at an upcoming webinar!   LAW & LEGISLATION  New York State Mandates Workplace   Harassment Training  According to a release from Mackoul Risk   Solutions, New York State has enacted several   signifi cant measures regarding harassment in   the workplace. All New York State employ-  ers are required to adopt written workplace   harassment prevention policies and institute   annual anti-harassment training for all em-  ployees. Training for new hires must take   place within 30 days of employment, notes the   release.   For more information on this training   and to avoid costly fi nes for non-compliance,   Mackoul suggests contacting Rebecca Scanda-  liato at 516-279-1215 or rscandaliato@mack-  oul.com.  REAL ESTATE  Manhattan Sales Outpace Last Year in Q1  Th  e latest numbers released by real estate   consultancies Douglas Elliman and Miller   Samuel reveal that the fi rst quarter of 2021 was   a good one for co-ops and condos in Manhat-  tan. For the fi rst time in four quarters, says the   release, sales exceeded those from the prior   year.    Th  e quarter also demonstrated some su-  perlative activity for the Manhattan co-op and   condo sector: the market share of bidding wars   dropped to the lowest level since the agencies   began tracking such data nearly 13 years ago,   and the market share of fi nanced condo sales   was the highest it’s been in the seven years of   tracking.   Other salient data points noted in the re-  port include:   • Annual increases in listing inventory   skewing toward smaller units  • A decline in median sales price for co-ops   and condos individually year over year  • A near-100% increase in sales of co-ops   since the end of the spring lockdown last year  • In the luxury sector, all price trend indica-  tors declined from last year, and listing inven-  tory expanded year over year for the fi rst time   in fi ve quarters  • Sales of new development units priced   under $3 million surged over last year’s num-  bers  Contested Condos at 200 Amsterdam    Return to Market  Th  e Real Deal   reports that marketing has   resumed for the 112 units at 200 Amsterdam   Avenue aft er a lower court determined that   developers of the new condo tower had to cut   fl oors from their already topped-out building.   It’s “a big win for development in New York,”   says attorney Michael Zetlin, senior partner   at Zetlin & De Chiara who led the fi ling of   an amicus brief on behalf of the New York   Building Congress in the recent appellate case   brought by project developers SJP Properties   and Mitsui Fudosan.  As previously reported in this publication   and elsewhere, aft er the developers got ap-  proval for the project from the Board of Stan-  dards and Appeals (BSA) in 2018, a pair of   community groups—the non-profi t Munici-  pal Arts Society (MAS) and the Committee   for Environmentally Sound Development—  challenged the project, objecting to how the   previous  developer  amassed  air  rights  from   other sites to enable 200 Amsterdam’s soaring   height, and calling it “gerrymandered zoning.”   A judge remanded the initial approval for a re-  evaluation, but the project was green-lit again   in  2019,  prompting  another  legal  challenge   from MAS.  In February 2020, the judge in that case   sided with the objecting groups, and ordered   the developers to trim 20 stories from the   52-story tower. But last month, a New York   State Appellate Court overturned   that   ruling,   noting that the developer had a valid permit.  According to   TRD  , aft er spending a month   assessing the current state of Manhattan’s lux-  ury condo market, the project developers have   given brokerage Brown Harris Stevens the go-  ahead to market the apartments, with units   starting at $3.1 million.  “As the Board President of a 50 story UES   condo, I was tasked with leading a change   of our building’s management company.   Our choice was FirstService Residential. We   just completed a 30 day transition...it was   seamless. Their Transition Team worked   closely with our Board, Resident Manager   and building attorney, attending to every   last detail. Not only is our board happy with   the transition, but also Unit Owners and   staff.”    >> Les B., Board President  www.fsresidential.com/new-york  LetsTalk.NY@fsresidential.com  212.324.9944  New York’s Property   Management Leader  Making a Difference.  Every Day.  continued on page 9 


































































































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