As with most questions regarding the functioning of co-op and condo communities, the answer to who can or can’t serve on the board usually lies in the community’s governing documents. To explain that for us today we have Richard Klein, an a…
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Manhattan’s Upper West Side still had many modest prewar co-ops relative to today’s market. Sales records from the mid 1990s show classic wood-floored two-bedroom co-ops in prewar doorman buildings on the UWS s…
The heart of community association governance lies in the network of interactions, responsibilities, and relationships that shape board members’ decisions—many of which can create liability risk. Because these everyday activities can lead t…
Despite their sizable influence, and the fact that their members are residents of the communities they govern, co-op and condominium boards are often misunderstood. What can they do? What can’t they do? Can they approve a request from one r…
It’s a truism that nothing lasts forever—and that includes management contracts. Shared interest communities change management companies all the time, and for a variety of reasons. Those reasons can range from cost to effectiveness and ever…
The question of who can or can’t serve on a co-op or condo board may seem obvious at first; you just have to live in the building and be willing to serve…right? It might not be quite that simple. As with most questions regarding the funct…
In December of 2025, an amended RPAPL Section 881 went into effect with significant changes that clarify and streamline the process to procure access to adjoining properties to effectuate building repairs or improvements when a neighbor ref…
Q. I live in a 192 unit co-op in Brooklyn where the sponsor still owns about 20 units. The sponsor does not come to the annual meetings, but sends in proxies. The current board president, who was also on the ballot, uses the sponsor’s sha…
Q. How much influence does a co-op board have over which tenants a holder of unsold shares (HUS) can rent their units to? Can a board enact a bylaw requiring board review and approval of tenants, or set specific financial requirements the…
While climate change may have reduced the frequency of multi-foot snowfalls in the New York metro, when we do get dumped on, the precipitation tends to be heavier and icier than the fluffy drifts of decades past. With that shift comes conce…