The energy crisis of the 1970s created long lines of cars, with drivers waiting to fuel up at gas stations. These days, increasing fuel demands and rising prices are forcing the cost of everything from groceries to construction materia…
New York City officially became a leader of “green” initiatives when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced his “PlaNYC 2030” initiative in 2007, although many elements of this omnibus serious of measures were public policy in the city wel…
Q The president of our 75-unit co-op instructed the management company and the superintendent to knock on each shareholder's door and ask for their proxy. The president was up for re-election and wanted to secure his position. The co-op i…
Q Can we have a superintendent on the board of directors although he is not a shareholder? Is this a conflict of interest? What are the pros and cons of an employee being on the board? —Confused & Conflicted A “There is no pro…
Q I am on the board of a cooperative building in New York City. We have recently received two requests from shareholders looking to borrow additional funds by taking out a second loan, (in each case an equity line of credit arrangement) t…
Q We have a number of apartments in our condominium where owners have not paid maintenance for a few months. As our condo is in the process of legal action and collection against these owners, can we stop their access to the apartment unt…
Q Our board of managers want to replace the terraces in our condominium without the consent of the unit owners that have them. If you look at Real Property Law, Article 9-b of the Condominium Act, Section 339-i, Common Elements, u…
New building codes went into effect on July 1, 2008 that have completely revamped the inspection and testing procedures for elevators, escalators and other vertical transportation equipment in buildings. The new and more stringent elevat…
One impact of climate change is being felt as natural disasters of increasing frequency and strength are causing extensive damage to homes and businesses. The four hurricanes of 2005—Katrina, Rita, Wilma and Dennis—caused more than $57 b…
On July 1, 2008 the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) put into effect a new plumbing code. It is the first major revision of the code since 1968 and it puts a new focus on backflow prevention—the reverse flow of contaminated wa…