By Adam Leitman Bailey April 10th, 2013 Since the Legislature gave birth to the first cooperative and condominium laws, very few issues have had as much attention and confusion as boards’ concerns about the extent of unit owners’ access to inspect the management books and records. Regarding cooperative buildings, many of the most prominent questions Full Article…
Manhattan Newly Constructed Condominium Takes Over Sponsor Controlled Board and Receives $450k + Apartment + Significant Construction Work without Judicial Intervention
The unit owners of a 24 unit luxury new construction condominium in Manhattan hired Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. after the unit owners’ complaints and concerns about construction defects were ignored by the sponsor-controlled Board, and demands by the unit owners to the sponsor that the sponsor turn over control of the Board to the residents Full Article…
Q&A: Questions About a Washing Machine
By: Jay Romano January 4th, 2013 Q. I am on the board of a Brooklyn co-op. One of the rent-controlled tenants in the building has had a washing machine in her apartment since she moved in. Such appliances are prohibited by the co-op because of the age of the building’s plumbing system. Can the building require the Full Article…
Advising Boards on Handling Secondhand Smoke Issues
By: Adam Leitman Bailey & John M. Desiderio January 30th, 2013 Some of the most intense combat occurring in modern times may not be that which has taken place on the battlefield, but rather in the ongoing conflicts that occur between shareholders, owners, and renters of apartments in multiple dwelling buildings, between themselves and/or with Full Article…
Q & A: Maintenance Rises After Units Are Combined
By Jay Romano Q We recently bought a small studio apartment next to our one-bedroom and created a two-bedroom. We are paying maintenance on the two units as if they had never been combined. There is a similar apartment in the building that has fewer shares — and pays less maintenance — for the same-size apartment Full Article…
Directors and Officers Insurance Does Not Cover Intentional Discrimination
By Adam Leitman Bailey & Colin E. Kaufman In a recent decision that sent shivers of concern across New York co-op and condo boards, the state’s highest court held that the Business Judgment Rule does not protect individual condominium and cooperative board members against some personal liability. In response, real estate and insurance attorneys are reviewing directors and officers (D&O) policies and Full Article…
Laws Versus Rules: You Need to Know the Difference
New York’s co-ops and condos are both governed by a multitude of laws and rules… Sometimes, laws that are enacted that mandate change can cause conflict with co-ops and condos that are used to doing things a certain way. For example, the Fair Housing Amendments Act mandates that a multiple dwelling with a parking lot Full Article…
Q & A: An Inheritance, With Restrictions
Q. My mother inherited a co-op in Manhattan, but the co-op board will not give its approval for the shares to be transferred into her name. Can a co-op board do this? A. A co-op board may not prevent the estate of a deceased shareholder from being transferred to a beneficiary, according to Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., a Full Article…