If you live in a co-op, as opposed to a condo, in New York State, chances are that your co-op has been organized under the designation of the Business Corporation Law, or BCL. But what is the BCL? The BCL, which has been in force for m…
Being on a board of a condo or co-op is no picnic. There are tons of decisions to be made, disputes to settle, finances to keep track of and a chance of being sued for a slip-up. So why do so many people decide to serve on a board—some for …
Q I live in a building in New York City that is currently operated as a rental. It’s in terrible shape. Many of my fellow tenants and I have considered the co-op route. How does one go about this? —Going Co-op A “I th…
Q As a board member of an Upper West Side Building, we have grappled with the notion of washing machines in apartments. Those that have them may keep them and update them. Those that do not already have washing machines cannot install …
Q I live in a condo with indoor parking facilities. The board recently sent a notice informing residents with current parking that the identity of each vehicle would be kept in order to ensure that owners do now allow unauthorized u…
Q Our board is thinking of instituting move-in fees. What is a fair move-in fee? How could we implement this policy without a shareholder vote? What could we do with the money we collect? Could it go into the reserve fund or would it ha…
Q I am a shareholder at a co-op. A radiator (which is located in my wall) was leaking water to the apartment below. I was not aware of it. The super came and fixed a valve and replaced the radiator (which had a hole in it) with a new o…
Q What happens if board members consistently miss meetings, or don’t attend, messing up the voting process for a board? What recourse do we have? —Attentive Board Member A “Removal of a member of the board of…
Are homeowner association's governmental or quasi-governmental entities? Until last year, most attorneys who practice community association law would have said the answer was clearly, and appropriately, no. But a New Jersey appeals court…
Sobering studies published last month by the International Energy Association and the National Petroleum Center suggest that the supply of traditional energy sources may not meet demand by 2015, strong evidence yet again that electric co…