Most board members are volunteers—some may have experience with certain aspects of running a building, but most come to the job relatively green, armed only with a sense of responsibility and a desire to serve their building community. S…
For the past year or so, PlaNYC 2030, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s sustainability initiative (“sustainability” being a new buzz word for “environmentally friendly” or “contributing to a better quality of life”) has taken center stage at …
The Cooperator headquarters in Midtown Manhattan again played host to a group of real estate industry professionals gathered to discuss their strategies and challenges, trade anecdotes (both the positive and not-so-positive), and me…
My family and I have been living in Glen Oaks Village in Queens for over 25 years. Originally built for the families of soldiers returning after World War II, the garden-style cooperative community is one of the largest in the New Y…
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…
Spring means many things to many people—but for anyone involved in the tri-state area's residential real estate industry, The Cooperator's 21st Annual Co-op & Condo Expo—to be held this year on Tuesday, April 29th on three floors of the …
The "mortar" that cements together the building blocks for community is communication between homeowners and the leadership team. The following types of communication are extremely important: (a) member surveys—both written and via focus…
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…