As the harmful effects of cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke have become more widely publicized and acknowledged, anti-smoking campaigns have gained traction across the country. Cigarette commercials have been banned from TV and ra…
Every condo and co-op has its own set of governing documents by which building administrators direct their community's day-to-day business. Bylaws, rules and regulations, and precedent-setting legal cases help keep boards within the le…
Aniello DeGuida is the resident manager of The Cocoa Exchange condo building in Manhattan's Financial District just a stone’s throw from Ground Zero, so he’s very aware of the importance of having an emergency plan in place for his resi…
The job of a co-op or condo board member seems pretty straightforward: have meetings, take votes on this or that item of business, approve checks, keep an eye on the budget, and so forth. That’s the administrative part of the …
Board members find themselves acting as referees so often, some may feel like they're wearing black-and-white striped shirts. Maybe they're mired in the middle of a conflict between homeowners because one group of gardening enthusiasts…
One of the most important recurring themes Cooperator readers are likely to encounter in these pages is that of communication; between board and manager, between building administrators and residents, and between neighbors. When commun…
The sitting president of a Connecticut condo board recently approached the property manager with a proposition: If he saw to it that her contractor boyfriend was awarded certain jobs in the building, the property manager would receive …
The vast majority of co-op and condo residents are normal folks who wouldn't dream of disrupting life in their building by being verbally abusive to neighbors, blowing up board members' phones and e-mail inboxes with endless complaints…
Holding regular meetings is one of the most essential tasks of a co-op or condo board, because that’s where the building’s policy is formed, where business decisions related to the community are made and usually where administration of …
Co-op and condo board members are generally volunteers who live in their building and give of their time and expertise to help make sure their home is well-run, and their investment protected. In a perfect world, new board members are a…