2011 September
Focus on... Energy & The Environment

 The cost of producing energy is on the rise, a seemingly never ending ascent  that places big heating and cooling bills in the hands of building owners.  These costs are then passed down to residents. As a result, many boards are  searchi…

 Some multifamily buildings have direct metering—the utility owns each apartment’s meter, and each resident pays directly to the utility based on an individual  utility rate. Others don’t have electric metering of individual units—the enti…

The sun is hot and people are thinking about beaches and cooling off in pools and air conditioners, and surely the last thing anyone wants to think about is that brutal winter of snow and ice we just had. But this is precisely…

 In an era of tight budgets and growing green consciousness, more co-op and condo  communities than ever before are moving toward energy conservation and  sustainable resources. For those residential buildings lucky enough to stand  tall i…

 Living in a condominium community means working together. Cooperation and a  spirit of volunteerism are visible every day in community gatherings, board  meetings, even in the scheduling of time on the tennis courts. The men and  women wh…

 In March 1947, a group of nearly 600 onlookers gathered on the sidewalk in front  of the home of bachelor brothers Homer and Langley Collyer on Fifth Avenue and  128th Street in Manhattan. Residents of the neighborhood had speculated and …

 Not so long ago, the idea of a 'retirement community' conjured images of elderly  folks in cardigans playing shuffleboard, or perhaps enjoying a placid round of  bingo in the dining hall. As the country's population ages however, ideas ab…

 Most cooperatives and condominiums in New York City traditionally own both the  building and the land around it. There is, however, a real estate scenario  where the cooperative (and in rare instances, the condominium) owns the  building,…

 The concept of 'greening' has become so firmly entrenched in our national  discourse over the last few years, it's hard to imagine a time when recycling,  clean energy, and reducing our carbon footprint were novel ideas with just a  few v…

 If it weren't for the man-made boundaries, Bayside, situated on the northeastern  edge of Queens, could be considered a Long Island town. Its manicured lawns;  sometimes tasteful, sometimes gaudy home design; and the profusion of white  k…

 So, did your building comply with the new benchmarking requirements that were a  part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s Greener, Greater Buildings Plan? Local Law 84, new legislation passed in 2009,  required all of the city’s private build…

 Many co-ops in New York lease, rather than own, the land beneath their apartment  building. For the board of a leasehold co-op, navigating a contested land valuation, in  which the amount of the co-op’s ground rent is determined through a…

 Most boards of co-ops and condominiums spend a lot of time negotiating the terms  of their contracts with general contractors; however, it is often  subcontractors who do most of the work. Sometimes the Boards are not even aware  of how m…

 Two research and development projects are currently underway in Manhattan where  the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the  state agency that promotes energy efficiency, is supporting the development and …

Phone hacking. Password hijacking. Virtual identity theft. With new technology comes new challenges, and online security threats are chief among them. When it comes to protecting and insuring the privacy of one's residents, it's impera…

 Consider the following all-too-common scenario: your condominium association has  one delinquent unit owner who owes three months of common charges totaling  $915.00 before late fees. Statements have been sent without response, and  telep…

Q I am a shareholder in a four building, 68 unit co-op. Two years ago, shareholders voted down a board proposal to replace the building’s 23-year-old windows. Recently, the board has decided to go ahead with the project which will co…

Q Does corporate law require that co-ops have an annual audited financial budget for shareholders? —Budgeter in Brooklyn A “The law imposes no such requirement on co-op apartment corporations,” says Thomas E. Kass…