Page 25 - New York Cooperator March 2019

COOPERATOR.COM
THE COOPERATOR
— MARCH 2019
25
RESTORATION GROUP, LTD.
Phone: 718.993.5700
info@yatesrestoration.com
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• Local Law 11
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Formerly known as
Lipner, Sofferman & Co., LLP
and Katz Viola Lebenhart & Mauro, LLP
Over 50 Years Serving the
NY Coop/Condo Community
KVLSM LLP is a full-service accounting firm
with a staff of professionals available to guide
its clients through every facet of business and
personal tax processing. The firm has been
providing the highest level of professionalism
and guidance to the New York coop/condo
community for over 50 years.
The firm’s services include,
but are not limited to:
Contact Ken Lipner:
klipner@kvlsmcpa.com • 516-294-0400
• Financial Statement Preparation
• Audits, Reviews, and Compilations
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• Tax Preparation
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415 Crossways Park Drive, Suite C
Woodbury, NY 11797
Phone: 516-294-0400 • Fax: 516-938-0491
kvlsmcpa.com
Cesarano & Khan, PC
Certified Public Accountants
PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TO
THE COOPERATIVE AND CONDOMINIUM COMMUNITY
Reporting on Financial Statements • Tax Services
Budgeting & Consulting • Election Tabulation Services
For additional information, contact
Carl M. Cesarano, CPA
199 JERICHO TURNPIKE, SUITE 400 • FLORAL PARK, NY 11001
(516) 437-8200
and
718-478-7400 • info@ck-cpas.com
cesarano &khan1_8 use this_:cesarano &khan 4 7/22/15 4:59 PM Page 1
“Further, to avoid any ambiguity and en-
sure proper attention is given to your request,
make it in writing and send it pursuant to the
notice provisions of your proprietary lease for
notice on the board of directors.
“Th e board can also require you to come
to its or its offi ces to inspect the materials you
are entitled to inspect, but it must also allow
you to make copies of the materials (or pro-
vide the materials electronically if they are
maintained that way). Th e board of directors
may also charge you for the reasonable costs
of making such copies.
“Since, in this respect, cooperative corpo-
rations are no diff erent from other corpora-
tions, it is imperative to remember that the
cooperative’s ‘books and records’ do not be-
long to the board of directors, but to the coop-
erative corporation, of which you are a share-
holder. Th us, provided you make a request
in writing, with suffi cient detail, and in good
faith, the board of directors should promptly
comply with your request.
“If you have made a written request and
nonetheless have been denied access to the
materials requested, which the writer indi-
cates is the case, you may petition the court
for an order compelling the board to permit
you to inspect the materials identifi ed in your
notice, consistent with New York law.”
Marion R. Harris, an associate at Pryor
Cashman, assisted in the preparation of this
response.
Neighbor’s Leaky Radiator
Q
Recently I had a leak from a faulty
radiator coming from the co-op
unit above me that damaged a part
of my ceiling – roughly a 30” x 40” area. Th e
superintendent fi xed the leaky radiator, and
some time later scraped the water-damaged
part of the ceiling. Th e building agent told me,
by way of the super, that she wasn’t going to
allow the super to further scrape, since it is all
dry now, spackle and sand. She wants me to
call my insurance company.
Th is is the third time in 28 years that this
has happened in the same spot. Th e two other
times, someone came to scrape, spackle and
sand. I was told then by the managing agent
that this is all the co-op is required to do. Now
I’m told to call my insurance company. Th e
agent told the super to not do anything more.
I looked at my proprietary lease and house
rules. All it says is that I’m required to main-
tain my apartment; nothing about repairs by
the co-op for damages incurred by radiators
inside the walls (which is the co-op’s respon-
sibility to maintain). I thought I read some-
where that at another time the co-op is re-
sponsible to repair damages caused by pipes,
etc., located in the walls of the building. Th at
the co-op is responsible to repair the damaged
walls and fl oor, but not paint them.
I emailed the agent and board members
asking them to show me where it is written
that they are not responsible to repair dam-
ages in a shareholder’s apartment that was
caused by a faulty radiator in the walls, for
which they are responsible to maintain.
Where can I fi nd this information like on
on a boilerplate proprietary lease? I don’t ex-
pect the managing agent to get back to me.
According to the proprietary lease, the board
is not supposed to respond to my request. In
the meantime, where and how can I get an-
swers? Who is responsible for repairing my
damaged ceiling?
—Seeking Redress
A
“Th e inquirer’s question re-
quires a careful review of his
or her proprietary lease,” says
Mindy Stern, a partner at the New York City
law fi rm of Schwartz Sladkus Reich Green-
berg Atlas LLP. “Every proprietary lease typi-
cally contains clauses describing the co-op’s
and shareholder’s respective responsibilities
for maintenance, repair and replacement
of equipment such as radiators, and stating
whether the co-op’s duty to repair apartment
interiors aft er leaks are fi xed extends to paint-
ing and other cosmetic work inside the units.
“Lease provisions regarding this allocation
of responsibility vary signifi cantly, so without
being able to review the inquirer’s lease I can-
not answer his or her specifi c questions. But
Q&A
continued from page 7
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