Q I am the current board president of a 48-unit Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) co-op located in Manhattan. Recently, in an effort to bolster operating income, without increasing maintenance assessments, previous boards had…
Q Late last year, our board decided to make changes to our bylaws by an act of resolution; a move not authorized by our governing documents. A group of shareholders called a special meeting to oppose the changes, and they were voted on…
Q I am on the board of my Ridgewood, Queens co-op, and I have a problem with our current board president. Without consulting the other board members, the president has cancelled our upcoming meeting, saying that there is ‘nothing on the…
Q I’m curious! What is a fair sublet fee for a small Brooklyn co-op? Is it just a percentage of the maintenance, or decided upon by some other formula? —Brooklyn Shareholder A Michael Manzi, an attorney at Balber Picka…
Q We’re in the process of purchasing two studios in a small brownstone co-op. Our plan is to combine them into one apartment. How will reducing the number of dwellings in the building affect the overall co-op in terms of taxes, mortgage…
Q I’m currently the vice president for our co-op, a 334-unit community on Long Island. We’re having difficulties with two of our board members. One has been on the board for five years, and has been very destructive. For example, this b…
Q Our board president was given a violation for doing electrical work without a permit and blamed the superintendent for reporting the work to the New York City Electrical Board. She asked the board for the reimbursement for the cost o…
Q Our co-op board has been sued by a shareholder. We’ve notified our directors and officers (D&O) liability carrier of the lawsuit, and our carrier has in turn appointed a defense counsel to defend us against the lawsuit. Do we as a boar…
Q Our building (which is comprised of 17 one-bedroom units) is heated by a hot water gas boiler with baseboard radiators. The radiators are NOT individually controlled. The building is about 30 years old, and the boiler will soon need …
Q I am a rent-stabilized tenant in a co-op building. I was a tenant in the building before it became a co-op, and have had numerous problems with the owners. Currently at the top of my list is a discrepancy over my security depos…