New Yorkers are used to their fair share of urban wildlife. There are the famed New York City cockroaches, of course. And mice and rats are expected in any gritty city. But the proliferation of bedbugs is a phenomenon that has gained a …
As the harmful effects of cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke have become more widely publicized and acknowledged, anti-smoking campaigns have gained traction across the country. Cigarette commercials have been banned from TV and ra…
Every condo and co-op has its own set of governing documents by which building administrators direct their community's day-to-day business. Bylaws, rules and regulations, and precedent-setting legal cases help keep boards within the le…
Aniello DeGuida is the resident manager of The Cocoa Exchange condo building in Manhattan's Financial District just a stone’s throw from Ground Zero, so he’s very aware of the importance of having an emergency plan in place for his resi…
The job of a co-op or condo board member seems pretty straightforward: have meetings, take votes on this or that item of business, approve checks, keep an eye on the budget, and so forth. That’s the administrative part of the …
Board members find themselves acting as referees so often, some may feel like they're wearing black-and-white striped shirts. Maybe they're mired in the middle of a conflict between homeowners because one group of gardening enthusiasts…
One of the most important recurring themes Cooperator readers are likely to encounter in these pages is that of communication; between board and manager, between building administrators and residents, and between neighbors. When commun…
The sitting president of a Connecticut condo board recently approached the property manager with a proposition: If he saw to it that her contractor boyfriend was awarded certain jobs in the building, the property manager would receive …
Q “My co-op recently charged a shareholder for a letter written to her by the co-op’s attorney. Other shareholders have received similar letters but haven’t been charged for them. Is it permissible for the board to charge such a fee an…
Ladies of the Night? Q I am writing to find out information on how to deal with a current problem in our condo building in New York City. We have recently noticed a couple of apartments being used as brothels. We live in a new, …