Most kids these days have never had more options when it comes to fun: video games and electronic entertainment of every kind are ubiquitous, and all sorts of mobile toys, too. But amid a national childhood obesity epidemic, the need for ch…
Q At our last annual meeting, the president, vice president and all other members of the board were present. However, without any explanation to the shareholders present, the corporation’s counsel proceeded to conduct the meeting by fir…
While for many laypeople cooperatives and condominiums are essentially interchangeable, from the legal point of view they are radically different institutions. Much of this difference can be attributed to history. Co-ops have …
One of the biggest political buzzwords of the past 10 years or so is “transparency.” Observers demand transparency in meetings of elected bodies in local and state governments, transparency in the proceedings of public agencies, and at time…
Q Who owns the handicapped parking spaces set aside in the parking facility of a newly constructed condominium? —Keeping it Accessible in Kings County A “Sponsors of newly constructed condominiums are responsible for creating th…
Concerted efforts by a group of industry professionals are about to bear fruit, as a Big Apple Chapter nears certification by the international Community Associations Institute (CAI). The new chapter—representing condominiums, cooperatives,…
Concerted efforts by a group of industry professionals are about the bear fruit, as a Big Apple Chapter nears certification by the international Community Associations Institute (CAI). The new chapter—representing condominiums, cooperatives…
Co-ops have several ways which they could explore monetizing untapped potential. These opportunities range from air rights sales, to creating retail components, to selling the entire property outright. When shareholders come together with a…
New York boards have a more difficult time understanding and managing the transition process than other places in the country because specific rules and regulations exist elsewhere to guide them through the process, according to experts at …
Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and members of the City Council reached an historic agreement for an on-time and balanced New York City budget for Fiscal Year 2017, marking completion of the earliest budget deal …
Like beauty, what constitutes an 'amenity'—particularly a 'luxury' amenity—may well be in the eye of the beholder. Young families may want indoor and outdoor play equipment, while professionals may appreciate a well-appointed gym, and senio…
On a base level, character traits reflect whether a person is ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Likewise, a board is comprised of a group of individuals who collectively become one ‘character’ charged with steering their community in the right direction. De…
With so many people leading busy, sometimes hectic, lives that revolve around work, kids, social functions, and other obligations, it’s often very difficult for co-op/condo/HOA administrators to find residents willing and able to serve thei…
Community living – the very basis of co-op, condo and HOA life — is based on the idea of trust. In a community of potentially hundreds or thousands of residents, every resident can’t be involved in the making of every decision. Too many coo…
They are subjects no one ever really wants to discuss: death and divorce. But when it comes to safeguarding an asset as valuable as a family co-op or condo, those discussions become imperative, however uncomfortable they may be. Should the…
Creating and adhering to an operating budget is a delicate financial balancing act that boards, management, and staff do every year in buildings and associations all across the country. The object is to predict expenses, balance cash inflow…
Halloween may be over, but that doesn't mean that living in a co-op or condo community can't be scary sometimes. And while multifamily real estate is rarely haunted in a truly spectral sense, eerie goings-on still take place, sending chills…
It is not easy being a board member. There are meetings to attend, documents to review, decisions to make, and neighbors to mollify. There are also a number of rules and regulations that must be followed in order to ensure that the individu…
People feel ‘harassed’ all the time – by crowded trains, loud noises, and even the weather. Co-op and condo residents often feel that their board, or even a neighbor, is ‘harassing’ them. But what qualifies as harassment in the legal sense?…
2018 – and the first half of 2019 – have been anything but dull, from the global level all the way down to co-op, condo and community association communities. While it’s somewhat beyond The Cooperator’s scope to opine on geopolitical curren…