Even in the best of economic times, preparing a co-op or condo’s annual budget can be a tiresome task, fraught with uncertainty, estimations and shifting numbers. Factor in one of the most harrowing economic downturns in a century, with…

Q I am the president of a 60-unit condominium in Brooklyn. Years ago, the board created some bicycle storage space (a room with some bicycle racks) in the basement and allocated the two spaces to owners on a first-come, first-serv…

Q  I have used my sister’s co-op apartment as my primary residence for 12 years. She holds the  proprietary lease and owns the shares but she has never lived here. Recently  the old co-op board was replaced, and the new board is tryi…

New York City’s skyline is distinguished by thousands of rooftop water tanks. While they make for interesting architectural conversation pieces, the 5,000 to 10,000-gallon tanks actually serve a vital purpose. Since the New York City st…

 As attorneys who represent a large number of cooperative and condominium  buildings, we’re seeing more and more often that, instead of attracting community-oriented  individuals, New York City condominium and cooperative buildings often a…

 Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has unveiled a $59.4 billion budget plan for Fiscal  Year 2010 that reduces the city’s workforce by about 13,000 jobs and counts on givebacks by organized labor to  reduce a projected $4.8 billion budget gap. …

With a worldwide fiscal crisis in full swing and many New Yorkers more stressed than usual over lost jobs, pay cuts, and dwindling assets, the last thing any co-op or condo community needs is the additional expense and acrimony of a la…

At the height of the housing boom, some builders attempted to recapture profits lost in the price they paid for their properties by cutting costs spent on labor and materials, and many others could not find good contractors or obtain l…

 Sometimes our neighbors can be our best friends. They’re the people we turn to for emergency babysitting help, or for a cup of sugar,  or for that friendly chat in the elevator. Sometimes, though, the people we  live in close proximity to…

 Consider the (fictional) couple, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. They love their co-op  apartment, and have lived in their comfortable and convenient New York City  neighborhood for the last seven years, moving in when Mr. Smith took a job as  editor…