We recently had an assessment imposed in out Coop of about 380 shareholders. While it is apparent work needs to get done, a few shareholders requested in writing access to financial records. There was a letter sent to the Property manager by am attorney, and he seems to have gone crazy. It is important to mention that the Property manager is kind of the gate keeper. There is no way we can speak with the Board and when we asked for the records in a meeting, the president said "No". In the last 14 years has been no quorum, therefore, the Board Members have remained by default in their position. Please share best practices on how to get shareholders to participate so when November comes we are prepared for a new board. None wants the actual Board, but the property manager seems to intimidate people and they are scared to act.
Can we create a Facebook group? or any other platforms we can utilize?
Hello,
Looking for references.
My coop insurance (Allstate) has gone up more than 25% this year over last year. Is anyone else experiencing this kind of rate raise? And if not, does anyone have an insurance company or broker they would recommend?
Thank you!
A new Managing Agent was recently hired by the board of a large NYC coop. Some shareholders are unhappy with the performance of the board and the new Managing Agent.
At the annual meeting the board members who hired the new Managing Agent also appointed them to act as the exclusive Inspector of Election. In this capacity the new Managing Agent / Inspector refused to make the results of the election available for review and would only announce the "winners" of the election (which happened to be the same board members who hired the new Managing Agent).
This behavior appears to violate the coop’s by-laws and Section 610 of the Business Corporation Law, but the controlling board members and Managing Agent insist they have the right to act in this manner. Shareholders who ran in the election but were told they “lost” have no way to examine the results and feel disenfranchised. Any thoughts on how to address this matter would be appreciated.
If the BY-LAWS are silent—no mention—regarding Zoom or online meetings, Can the Board only implement Zoom-online meetings with Shareholders until they decide to change them?
> Join the conversation Comments (2)Can Shareholders in a Mitchell Lama Cooperative requesting access to the community room to discuss the Election be denied by the Board and Management?
> Join the conversation Comments (3)Can a board impose a sublet penalty of $3k while the original shareholder is living in the apartment and renting the second bedroom via airbnb? By definition, sublet occurs when the shareholder is not present; which is not the case.
> Join the conversation Comments (1)We have an owner who owes quite a bit of money to our building. They use an old email address that often does not work well, e.g., our emails to them often bounce back. If we hire a debt collector, and the debt collector identifies the person's current, working email, does the board then have the right to use it? (This might be a work email.) Thanks for any insight.
> Join the conversation Comments (1)
I'm attempting to calculate the Gross Floor Area of my building (a small coop). What is not clear (to me) is whether outdoor, uncovered, roof decks are used in the calculation (description below).
GFA is one metric used to determine if a building is classified as "covered" under Local Law 97, which mandates reductions in greenhouse gas emissions starting this year (but getting serious in 2030).
Per 1-RCNY-103-06: "Gross floor area is the total number of square feet measured between the
exterior surfaces of the enclosing fixed walls. It includes vent shafts, elevator shafts, flues, pipe shafts,
vertical ducts, stairwells, light wells, basement space, mechanical/electrical rooms, and interior parking.
It excludes unroofed courtyards and unroofed light wells. For atria, gross floor area only includes the
area of atrium floors. For tenant spaces, interior demising walls should be measured to the centerline of
the wall."
Another definition I found says balconies should be included. Nothing I've found either includes or excludes roof decks.
WITHOUT including our roof decks my building is likely just under the 25,000 gross sqft threshold specified in LL97. Including them puts us over. This has serious implications for the finances of our coop in the near future.
So we have a strange situation. We have neighbors (another building not part of our co-op) coming to our laundry room and using our machines. Not sure how many but from time to time. It’s not a laundry room in the basement so easy to get on the property . Laundry room has its own space. I feel that a sign needs to be posted …. No trespassing …private property! Has anyone experienced this?
> Join the conversation Comments (2)If a parent purchases a condo apartment for an adult son or daughter, does that mean that the adult occupant of the apartment is the person who gets to vote in condo elections, rather than the purchaser? Our managing agent sometimes cc's the parent on messages about the condo and does not cc the occupant (though they usually do cc the occupant). As a board member, I've asked the occupant to clarify whether they want the parent to receive these messages, and they have not responded. (I'm considering reaching out directly to the parent regarding their understanding/ preference for receiving messages about the condo association.) I'm also unclear about whether the occupant is the person who should be voting in elections rather than the parent. The occupant has, in fact, been invited by management to attend the annual meetings and has voted in our annual elections. (To my knowledge, the parent has never requested to attend the annual meetings.) Any advice is welcome.
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Facebook group is a good way to involve shareholders in the coop but if you have had 14 years without getting enough votes for quorum you have an issue with shareholder apathy.
Do you have mostly residents who are shareholders or are many apartments being sublet.?
Does the coop still have unsold shares?
I am a shareholder in coop that 2 years ago started a Facebook group that was able to influence shareholders to get more involved and was able to make changes in the board in the 2022 coop election.
In the 2023 election it was harder to reach quorum.
Both elections used online voting plus the standard paper voting proxies.
Roy
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