For decades, New York State’s laws governing cooperatives and condominiums have largely remained the same: co‑op boards make decisions about sales and finances behind closed doors, condos run on their own governance, and residents’ rights b…

In a final legislative onslaught at the end of his term, former Mayor Eric Adams vetoed 19 City Council bills. With Adams now out of office, the Council voted recently to override 17 of these vetoes—three of which affect co-ops and condos: …

Q. If a shareholder's only way of learning what a board is working on is through email communication, do they have a legal right to access board members’ emails, including personal or business accounts that may be used, and are these righ…

As with most questions regarding the functioning of co-op and condo communities, the answer to who can or can’t serve on the board usually lies in the community’s governing documents. To explain that for us today we have Richard Klein, an a…

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Manhattan’s Upper West Side still had many modest prewar co-ops relative to today’s market. Sales records from the mid 1990s show classic wood-floored two-bedroom co-ops in prewar doorman buildings on the UWS s…

The heart of community association governance lies in the network of interactions, responsibilities, and relationships that shape board members’ decisions—many of which can create liability risk. Because these everyday activities can lead t…

Despite their sizable influence, and the fact that their members are residents of the communities they govern, co-op and condominium boards are often misunderstood. What can they do? What can’t they do? Can they approve a request from one r…

It’s a truism that nothing lasts forever—and that includes management contracts. Shared interest communities change management companies all the time, and for a variety of reasons. Those reasons can range from cost to effectiveness and ever…

The question of who can or can’t serve on a co-op or condo board may seem obvious at first; you just have to live in the building and be willing to serve…right?  It might not be quite that simple. As with most questions regarding the funct…

In December of 2025, an amended RPAPL Section 881 went into effect with significant changes that clarify and streamline the process to procure access to adjoining properties to effectuate building repairs or improvements when a neighbor ref…