Considering that she’s still a few months away from turning 40, Christine Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council, has achieved a great deal in politics and is thought of as the second most powerful figure in city government, after…
This is a transitional time for the New York City Council. This year, there is a new City Council Speaker in the person of Christine Quinn, a Democrat from District 3 on Manhattan’s Lower West Side who, since becoming speaker, has anno…
It may sound like an oxymoron, but in the world of co-ops there is such a thing as “bad income.” The federal tax code requires that cooperative buildings receive at least 80 percent of their income from their shareholders—usually in th…
When it comes to something as valuable as the place we call home, almost any dispute has the potential to turn into a legal crisis—and that goes double for New Yorkers. For tenants and landlords, these issues usually arise over problem…
While most residential buildings in the city are either purely rental or purely co-op/condo, there are many co-op and condo buildings that are home to rental tenants. This usually is the result of the building converting from rental to…
Each year, our representatives in the New York State Legislature propose, debate, and ultimately pass or reject scores of laws and pieces of legislation. This issue of The Cooperator is devoted to the legal and legislative issue…
Taking its name from one of the most photographed buildings in New York City, the Flatiron district is named for the iconic Flatiron building, which sits on the wedge-shaped intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. In the last two de…
Imagine this scenario... you are in charge of a residential property, as either a board member or a managing agent. One of your residents has just advised you that the lock on the front door of the building has been known to malfunctio…
Flush into his second term as the city’s chief executive, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposes a $52.7 billion budget plan for 2007 and updated his four-year financial plan for New York City in an attempt to keep the city’s finances on …
Spring is here, and with it comes a lot of renovation—especially of homes, weekend homes and co-ops. With all that work comes inevitable disputes between homeowners and their architects, interior designers and contractors. For many yea…
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 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 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…