Category: Q&A

Q I am a rent-stabilized tenant in a non-eviction plan Queens co-op. (It was converted in 1986.) A shareholder gave me a ballot proxy so that I could attend the annual meeting of the co-op. Am I allowed to ask questions at this meeting…

Q One of our board members has been president for many years. She runs the building on a unilateral basis, giving out very little information about the business of the condo. Unit owners have little influence because the she is elected by…

Q I live in a Mitchell Lama co-op which is starting the process of privatization. We have a very large mortgage that has many years to go until it is paid off. We also have a large reserve fund for various contingencies. At a meeting r…

Q Our condo gives out gifts (in monetary form) to the employees of the building. The gifts go through the president of the board first. The president has created a separate bank account for employee gifts. Is this breaking any laws? Shoul…

I have lived in a co-op for the past three years. I am planning on having my boyfriend move in with me in a few months. Are there any rules or regulations that will prevent that from happening within my co-op? —Subleasing Sh…

Our board has unilaterally determined that a “majority” of residents want an exercise room. And the board, in spite of this, continues  to spend our money to pursue the project despite our requests to “cease and desist” and hold a general m…

Q Does a co-op board have any involvement in an individual building shareholder securing a reverse mortgage? —Curious Shareholder A “Yes—a board of directors of a cooperative apartment corporation is involved wh…

Our co-op elected its new officers, as usual. However, this year, there were two  amendments to the proprietary lease, one for staggered board terms and the  other to change our transfer fee, or flip tax, from one month’s maintenance to two…

 Certain shareholders in our building keep some personal belongings (i.e., bikes,  baby strollers, skates) in the hallways next to their apartments. Sometimes we  have to squeeze by their hallway clutter to get to our own units. Is there an…

The original condo declaration, bylaws, amendments and house rules allow for  renovations without board approval to interior units if they do not affect  common area are not structural in nature. I installed a wall partition (does  not affe…