Taking its name from one of the most photographed buildings in New York City, the Flatiron district is named for the iconic Flatiron building, which sits on the wedge-shaped intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. In the last two de…
Each year, our representatives in the New York State Legislature propose, debate, and ultimately pass or reject scores of laws and pieces of legislation. This issue of The Cooperator is devoted to the legal and legislative issue…
While most residential buildings in the city are either purely rental or purely co-op/condo, there are many co-op and condo buildings that are home to rental tenants. This usually is the result of the building converting from rental to…
When it comes to something as valuable as the place we call home, almost any dispute has the potential to turn into a legal crisis—and that goes double for New Yorkers. For tenants and landlords, these issues usually arise over problem…
It may sound like an oxymoron, but in the world of co-ops there is such a thing as “bad income.” The federal tax code requires that cooperative buildings receive at least 80 percent of their income from their shareholders—usually in th…
This is a transitional time for the New York City Council. This year, there is a new City Council Speaker in the person of Christine Quinn, a Democrat from District 3 on Manhattan’s Lower West Side who, since becoming speaker, has anno…
Considering that she’s still a few months away from turning 40, Christine Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council, has achieved a great deal in politics and is thought of as the second most powerful figure in city government, after…
Q Our board president was given a violation for doing electrical work without a permit and blamed the superintendent for reporting the work to the New York City Electrical Board. She asked the board for the reimbursement for the cost o…
Q Our co-op board has been sued by a shareholder. We’ve notified our directors and officers (D&O) liability carrier of the lawsuit, and our carrier has in turn appointed a defense counsel to defend us against the lawsuit. Do we as a boar…
Q Our building (which is comprised of 17 one-bedroom units) is heated by a hot water gas boiler with baseboard radiators. The radiators are NOT individually controlled. The building is about 30 years old, and the boiler will soon need …