Page 2 - CooperatorNews New York August 2021

2 COOPERATORNEWS — AUGUST 2021 COOPERATORNEWS.COM TABLE OF CONTENTS Yale Robbins Publisher Henry Robbins Executive Vice President Joanna DiPaola Associate Publisher Hannah Fons Senior Editor Darcey Gerstein Associate Editor Pat Gale Associate Editor Shirly Korchak Art Director Anne Anastasi Production Manager Alan J. Sidransky Staff Writer CooperatorNews is published monthly by Yale Robbins Infomedia, 205 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10016, (212) 683-5700. President: Yale Robbins, Executive Vice President: Henry Robbins. Subscriptions are available free by request to co-op and condo board members and homeowner associations. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CooperatorNews, 205 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10016. Yale Robbins Infomedia 2021. All rights reserved. Application to mail Periodicals postage rates is pending at New York NY. FREE Subscriptions for Board Members, Property Managers and Real Estate Decision Makers. To Subscribe, please visit us at: cooperatornews.com/subscribe Peter Chase Director of Sales Fred Marks Director of Sales N K B ........ Across the country, one of the biggest challenges to governing co-ops, condominiums, and homeowners associations is finding new members who are willing to volunteer their time and energy to serve on their community’s board of directors. In addition to a time commitment that can seem onerous to those whose lives are already packed with work, families, hobbies, households, and more, board service comes with myriad tasks, responsibilities, and politicking. After all, who would want to take an unpaid gig that potentially makes you the recipient of all your neighbors’ grievances? I B I ...... . Even among otherwise conscientious, community-minded co-op and condo residents, the idea of running for and serving on their board often ranks somewhere between taxes and dental work. It conjures thoughts of endless meetings...arguing about the minutiae of vendor bids...confrontations with neighbors unhappy with board decisions...gossipy remarks in the elevator...the list goes on. More often, however, the issue is simply apathy. Many if not most co-op and condo owners just don’t care enough to take on the respon- sibility and challenges of board service—they’d rather their neighbor do it. Consequently, those who are willing to serve often hold the same position for years—sometimes for decades—and that can bring its own set of problems. D D .... Paper, or electronic? It’s now a choice for everything, from the books we read for plea- sure to the books we keep on our associations and corporations. Even restaurant menus are digital today in the wake of the need for ‘touch-free’ environments amid the COVID- 19 pandemic. With that said, co-op and condo communities generate volumes of infor- mation and data every year, from minutes of meetings to receipts for expenses and pay- ments to financial information on unit and share buyers. But how much of all that really needs to be kept, and for how long? And is there anything that should be kept specifically in paper form, as well as digitized? P ..................... Q A..................... 8.586 8.19 7.47 10.85 16.5 5.517 2.277 3.672 2.34 2.394 5.049 5.148 2.34 5.049 2.277 4.293 3.177 4.293 4.284 2.277 3.64 2.34 5.526 3.177 2.2775.418 5.517 5.517 5.049 2.34 5.526 7.84 5.319 3.036 10.278 6.732