As presidential candidates on the national scale rally around the idea of "it's time for a change," so too is the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB), rolling out its first major set of changes to the city's building code in 40 y…
A Bergen County, New Jersey jury in November rendered a $1.3 million dollar verdict against a cooperative corporation and its management company for failing to remediate a longstanding water problem that led to mold growth and expos…
Everyone knows that building construction and renovation work can be difficult and dangerous and that lawsuits are not unusual. While most lawsuits involve the contractor on the project, there can certainly be lawsuits against the d…
As lawyers for many of Manhattan's cooperative and condominium boards, we often advise clients on issues that go far beyond proprietary leases and bylaws. Boards are frequently faced with situations ranging from fiery domestic disputes t…
Condo and co-op boards are always looking for ways to save money and one area where some cost-cutting opportunities might be found is in your legal bills. Your building's attorney likely performs many different types of services, works d…
While we were toiling away at our respective law schools and then studying endlessly for the bar examination, we never expected to be confronted with the wide range of issues that our cooperative and condominium board clients have approa…
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…
The world of insurance, although not necessarily simple, is usually cut and dry, not the stuff of excitement. While condos and co-ops have insurance for the common areas like roofs, stairways, lobbies and often the apartments as well, th…
Rodney Dangerfield made a career out of getting no respect, but in the world of condominiums and co-ops, building superintendents may be able to empathize with the comedian. While managing agents and board members seem to get all the accola…
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced his $59.0 billion budget plan for Fiscal Year 2008 and presented his updated four-year financial plan for New York City. In preparation for a possible economic slowdown, the mayor's proposal focuses o…