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CLIENT: Con Edison JOB#: 04728 PUBLICATION: Habitat AD: - AE: NM STUDIO#: TMC MACHINE: Timothy Cozzi PREV OP: PREV MACHINE: Timothy Cozzi BLEED: - TRIM: 6.875 x 9.75 SAFETY: - DATE: 4/26/13 - 12:38 PM CREATED: 4/26/13 - 12:15 PM FILE NAME: 04728_CON_6p87x9p75_m1a.indd FONTS: Helvetica Neue 55 Roman, Helvetica Neue 97 Black Condensed, Helvetica Neue 75 Bold, Helvetica Neue 87 Heavy Condensed, Hel- vetica Neue 77 Bold Condensed GUTTER: - IMAGES: CON_GT_6505543QR_Gry_v1.eps, ConEd_10067_20_85338_BUS_C_300.tif, ConEd_10067_18_85096_C_600.tif, ConEd_10067_16_84971_C_600.tif, CONED_NYC_Brownstones_C_300.tif, CONED_NYC_DUMBO_C_300.tif, CONED_NYC_ParkSlopeView_C_300. tif, CONED_NYC_LES_C_300.tif COLORS: C=100 M=10 Y=0 K=0, C=30 M=0 Y=100 K=0, C=25 M=20 Y=20 K=20, C=25 M=20 Y=20 K=45, C=30 M=0 Y=100 K=5 DOC PATH: Creative:Work:C:con_Edison:04728_CON_PRINT_ExersEnerEffcy:04728_CON_6p87x9p75_m1a.indd LINE SCREEN: 133 SCALE: 100% 2 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com Contents July/August 2013 42 Teachable Moments 2013 management LEADERs SURVEY Writers & Artists dale J. Degenshein is a special counsel at the 6 Put to the Test law firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. An Upper East Side co-op uses LIZA DONNELLY, a contributor to Habitat since a hands-on board and in-house 1982, is a cartoonist at The New Yorker. She management to generate a is the co-author, with her husband, cartoonist Michael Maslin, of A Cartoon Marriage. whirlwind of activity.

Eleanor Selling is on the renovation committee by Ronda Kaysen at her Manhattan co-op. jennifer v. hughes has written for The New York Times. ronda kaysen writes about commercial real 12 They Want to estate for The New York Times. bill morris, a reporter for 34 years, formerly Regulate You worked for the Daily News and currently writes for A “co-op bill of rights” resurfaces. The New York Times. by Jennifer V. Hughes Patrick b. Niland is president of First Funding, a mortgage brokerage. richard Siegler is of counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. He currently teaches a course in real 18 When Business Becomes Personal estate law. If you’re making staffing decisions, popularity and daniel teboul is an award-winning French performance should not be confused. photographer who has been working in New York by Bill Morris for over 25 years.

Columns 76 From the editor Noises heard at night. 4 Publisher’s Note by Tom Soter by Carol J. Ott 80 puzzle 26 Refresh. 61 board talk Chaos and the captain. A conversation about by Myles Mellor Restore. Redo. a nuisance shareholder. The art of the Property Reports lobby light-touch. 63 My Turn by Ronda Kaysen Renovation Rx. 74 Building Loans by Eleanor Selling 74 Management Transitions 65 Ask the Mortgage Broker Refinancing is not for 75 Planner amateurs. by Patrick B. Niland 75 Advertiser index 68 Case Notes Projects Around Town 32 Constraints of Fighting over a commercial 78 Spotlight on 537 Broadway. lease. History by Richard Siegler Or, why a simple window and Dale J. Degenshein 79 recent sales replacement job ballooned to over $500,000. by Frank Lovece www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 3 Publisher’s Note

What can you learn in a flash? A lot – if you take the time to ask New York’s leading property managers to share a “teachable moment” with you. That’s what we did in this year’s annual “Management Leaders” survey. Forty-six executives shared their thoughts and good-humoredly followed our photo-posing instructions to create this special “Management Library,” offering quick takes on the many challenges board directors face. One of those challenges has reared its legislative lobbies have been head again. Bills have been introduced in both the city refreshed – and council and state legislature attempting to regulate co- budgets have been op admissions, a process that, frankly, doesn’t seem held in check– at two broken. In fact, the housing downturn that devastated Manhattan co-ops most of the country didn’t much harm New York’s co- and a Brooklyn co-op ops, in large measure because board directors are so (page 26); and, at 5 deliberate in their admissions review. We cover what is Riverside Drive, the renovation committee completely being introduced and the legislative players in “They revamped the co-op’s alteration agreements, creating Want to Regulate You” (page 12). order out of renovation chaos (page 63). Lots of other activity to report this month: 201 For a deeper dive into these stories, including audio East 66th Street has been the site of a whirlwind of interviews and slide shows, be sure and read Habitat productivity – the Third Avenue co-op replaced aging on an iPad. And if you download our free app, you’ll elevators with ones that use something called permanent get our mid-month zine called Board Room. It offers magnet technology, finished a major façade job, and practical solutions to common problems we all face as will soon overhaul its mechanical systems (page 6); board directors. 227 Tenants Corp., a 20-unit building in the Upper Enjoy the issue. West Side-Central Park West historic district, replaced its windows and ran into Landmarks Preservation Commission requirements that caused replacement costs to balloon from $400,000 to $571,000 (page 33); publisher and editor-in-chief

Serving New York Board Members & Property Managers of Co-ops & Condos july/august 2013 VOLUME 32 NUMBER 300 HABITAT® (ISSN-0745-0893; USPS 681- 510) The Magazine serving New York Co-op/ FOUNDED 1982 Condo Board Directors & Building Managers, is published monthly except for a combined issue in July/August by The Carol Group Ltd., 150 W. 30th St., Suite 902, New York, NY 10001. Periodical postage paid at New York, NY and at publisher and editor-in-chief contributing writers web content editor additional mailing offices. POST­MASTER: Send Carol J. Ott Dale J. Degenshein Frank Lovece address changes to: Habitat, 150 W. 30th St., [email protected] [email protected] Jennifer V. Hughes Suite 902, New York, NY 10001. Copyright © 2013 by The Carol Group Ltd. All rights editorial director Ronda Kaysen advertising director Stephen Hanks reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part Tom Soter Myles Mellor [email protected] [email protected] Bill Morris without permission is prohibited. The editors assume no responsibility for unsolicited Patrick B. Niland operations manager digital and managing editor manuscripts or photographs. Postage must Eleanor Selling Jennifer Wu Ian MacFarland accompany­ all materials if return is requested. [email protected] [email protected] Richard Siegler Editorial and Advertising Sales Offices: 150

art director collections supervisor W. 30th St., Suite 902, New York, NY 10001; associate editor Michael Gentile Bill Hoover (212) 505-2030 fax: (212) 254-6795. Co- Aparna Narayanan op/condo board corporate subscriptions are [email protected] [email protected] cover photo $70.00 per association, entitling up to 4 board editorial assistant contributing artist Tom Soter directors to receive their own copies of each Kathryn Farrell Liza Donnelly issue. Additional board members’ subscription [email protected] rates can be found at www.habitatmag.com/ contributing photographers subscribe. Individual subscriptions are $49.95 proofreader Carol J. Ott for one year. Canadian and foreign subscribers­ Dave Baker Tom Soter must contact Habitat for rates. Single copies of Daniel Teboul most issues are available prepaid at $5.

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For full program rules please see the program site www.amptwc.com. ©2013 Time Warner Cable Inc. All rights reserved. Time Warner Cable and the eye/ear logo are trademarks of Time Warner Inc. Used under license. Habitat_8.1__MDU_leadtheway_2013_8.125x10.875 www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 5 An Upper East-Side co-op takes advantage of cheap debt, a hands-on board, and in-house management to generate a whirlwind of activity. Put to the Test By Ronda Kaysen

201 East 66th Street, Manhattan: new balconies, new elevators, big plans. photos

by

carol

j . . ott

he past three years have been a dizzying time of capital improvements for the residents of 201 East 66th Street, a 21-story co-op at Third Avenue. The building finished a major façade improvement, replaced all its elevators, and will soon overhaul its mechanical system. Perhaps even more impressive: the board has not raised maintenance fees to pay for the work, although it did levy an assessment. The secret to the building’s success lies in an unusual combination of cheap debt, a hands-on board, and in-house Tmanagement. Self-Managed By taking advantage of historically low interest rates, the board was able to pay for much of the work with a new underlying mortgage and a line of credit. However, its unique management structure has also played a critical role in how work gets done.

6 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com Unlike most large Manhattan buildings, this 256-unit co-op is self-managed, meaning it does not BORED employ an outside company to handle its business. Instead, the property manager works directly for the board and lives in the building, saving the co-op money on management fees BOARD and giving the board tremendous Financials on track. Shareholders content. Staff happy. control over operations. The result is a building with a lean budget that Your building running smoothly. From boiler to roof. has successfully completed a series of complicated and involved projects all Our clients don’t do our job. on its own. “With an outside management LAWRENCE PROPERTIES company, and a less active board, you couldn’t do the kinds of things we’re Residential managers doing in the way that we’re doing since 1925 them,” says Burt Spiegel, the board president, who is retired and spends Call Anton C. Cirulli, Managing Director (646) 454-2932 about half of each day dealing with 150 West 30th Street, New York, NY 10001 the business of the co-op. www.lawrenceproperties.com The building hasn’t always been self-managed. Until 2000, executive manager Jon Schechter served as the property manager through an outside company. But shortly after Mamais Schechter moved to another firm, the Construction co-op board approached him with RENOVATE • RESTORE • REMODEL a novel idea: quit his day job and MAKING PROJECTS SIMPLE work for the building exclusively. The superintendent was leaving and Schechter needed a new apartment, so he took the post and moved in. The arrangement saves the co-op about $100,000 a year in additional salaries – Schechter doubles as the superintendent – and voilà, the building has an in-house property manager, a luxury usually reserved for white-glove buildings (for which they pay a premium). The co-op, however, forgoes the sort of discounts that large management companies pass onto their clients, like buying goods and services at a bulk rate. On the other hand, when problems arise, the board doesn’t have to call an off-site manager who could be busy tending to one of the other properties he manages. Spiegel can just head downstairs to speak with

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 7 Schechter anytime he needs him. Spiegel assists with bids, researching projects and hiring consultants. He speaks with Schechter almost daily. “It’s a collaboration; it’s a team effort,” says Schechter. “It requires the board to roll up their sleeves and really dig in.”

Testing Times Since 2010, the building’s management system has been put to the test. A Local Law 11 inspection revealed that the building would have to do immediate and extensive façade work, including replacing about 20 balconies. The building had thought that it would not need to do work of that magnitude for at least another five years. However, according to Schechter, new city regulations changed how and when the work could be done. The building’s balconies were being repaired at a leisurely pace – one or two a year; now, however, they had to be done all at once; the $2 million bill came as a shock. “We were blindsided,” observes Schechter. At the time, because of a large prepayment penalty the board wanted to avoid, the underlying mortgage could not be refinanced. So, the directors had two options: they could raise the maintenance to cover the cost or levy an assessment. As it is, maintenance fees have gone up annually to cover rising real estate taxes. The board was loath to tack a $2 million project onto the fee. In the end, the members decided a short- term assessment was the better of two unwelcome choices. The board held an emergency meeting with all the shareholders and told them about the two-year assessment of $11.63 per share. For a two-bedroom apartment, that came to about $330 a month, or 20 percent of maintenance.

8 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com legal guidance – resourceful solutions

“That’s never a conversation contact: Marc H. Schneider, Esq. you like to have. It’s painful,” says www.schneidermitola.com Schechter. Some residents balked at (212) 485-9400 • (516) 393-5555 the news, but Schechter compares it 666 Old Country Road, Suite 412, Garden City, NY 11530 to living in a single-family house and 462 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1600, New York, NY 10018 discovering that the roof needs to be replaced. It’s expensive, but it can’t be ignored. Ultimately, all the residents Co-op Managers - Shareholders - Residential Owners - Managers paid the assessment. This spring, the Turn water metering to your advantage! work was completed. Other projects went more smoothly, Automatic Meter Reading Reduce water bills as much largely because they were planned. Save money – Save time as 30% to 40% easily! Put your meter on line! Fix DEP bill errors forever! The mid-century building had three aging elevators that broke down frequently. Only two of them went Vantage Group all the way to the basement. “They Helps Buildings “GO GREEN” – and Save Money – were kind of limping along,” says with Strategic Water Cost Management. Schechter. www. vantageh2o.com The board decided it was time “Saving billions of gallons & millions of dollars!” to replace them with a newer, more Strategic Water Cost Management Call Us: (888) 860-2990 Automatic Meter Reading Specialists Email Us: [email protected] efficient system. The building also had to resurface and waterproof its 115-car parking garage and needed to upgrade its mechanical system. Together, the three projects would be expensive. Replacing the elevators alone would cost $750,000. The new mechanical system could run to about $1.7 million. The board did not want to levy another assessment on weary residents. By this time, the 10-year underlying mortgage had matured. So, in October 2012, the board refinanced. Because of historically low interest rates, it was able to take out a new mortgage that was $1.1 million larger than the previous one, without substantially raising its monthly payments. The new $7.6 million mortgage has a 3.59 percent interest rate, compared to the previous rate of about 5.5 percent. At the same time, the building took out a $2 million line of credit with a floating interest rate. The additional cash flow has allowed the building to take on several major projects without dipping into its reserves. “It was a way of doing the projects with little impact to the building,” says Spiegel.

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 9 So clean you could (almost) eat off the floor: resident manager Schechter in the elevator room.

Elevators First The building has one more project in the works: The building updated the elevators first. But the a new mechanical system. The co-op heats both the road to a smooth ride was paved with a grueling building and domestic hot water with steam purchased work schedule. For nearly a year, one elevator was from Con Edison. Steam heat is expensive as it is constantly out of service. The board sent residents generated at a Con Edison plant and then piped updates in the building’s bimonthly newsletter into the building through city pipes. Not only is the and Spiegel sent monthly letters as needed. building saddled with an expensive and inefficient Announcements were posted in common areas to system, its equipment is aging. Its chiller for air keep residents up-to-date. “Communication is key. conditioning needs to be replaced. The more you talk to them, the more they know and the more they leave you alone,” says Schechter. But Cogen is the Future there are always “some people who you’ll never make Schechter first began thinking about options five happy,” he observes. years ago when a Massachusetts energy company The elevators were replaced with new motors, cold-called him on the idea of cogeneration. controls, and cabs. Perhaps most significantly, the new Cogeneration is a method of generating electricity with motors use a permanent magnet technology and don’t a motor and then capturing the steam that is produced need a generator to convert from AC current to DC, during the process and reusing it to heat the building reducing the building’s electrical bill. or the water. They’re also pretty. To come up with the new design For 201 East 66th Street, it would mean installing a for the elevators, the board set up a design committee, natural gas-fueled cogeneration system and converting gathering input from residents. The result is a much the building to natural gas. Schechter suggested the lovelier ride. The old elevators were slow, bumpy, and idea to the board. The board at the time rejected it had dreary Formica walls. The new ones have granite out of hand, largely because few other residential floors, a marble trim and frosted glass panels and buildings in the city had gone cogen system. There provide a smooth, fast ride. All three now descend to are currently fewer than 200 cogen plants citywide, the basement. “It’s just really nice,” said Schechter. according to Con Ed. “The residents are happy. They’re impressed.” When Spiegel was elected president, he too was

10 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com intrigued by the idea of cogeneration. After doing his Weinschreider. “There were a lot of questions. They own research, he brought the idea up to the board. wanted to understand why it saves so much money. The members rejected it. He set out to woo them, That was the largest time chunk in educating them.” presenting them with information, examples of successful models, and data on how much the New System building could save. Still, the matter was repeatedly The new system will include a new chiller, tabled. For two years, the board punted. Finally, four new boilers, and a cogeneration system. Spiegel moved in for the hard sell. Weinschreider anticipates that the cogen will “Burt said, ‘I’ve been killing myself on this, and generate about 70 percent of the electricity for the I’m about to pull the plug,’” recalls Schechter. “‘Are building’s common areas. you people ready to pull the trigger or not? If it’s Although the board did not need the support of something you want to do, let’s do it.’” the shareholders to move forward with the work, it Finally, the board relented. The potential savings wanted to keep them informed. The board called a were hard to ignore. Schechter estimates the building shareholder meeting in early April to present them will save $315,000 a year in energy costs, with a with the idea. This time, unlike with the façade five-year payback on the $1.7 million project. Just work, the cogen project was an easy sell. The the savings made by converting from steam heat to shareholders were overwhelmingly supportive of the natural gas is extraordinary. Steam costs about $2.90 measure. The board hopes to begin work before the per unit compared to $1 for the equivalent amount end of the year. of natural gas, according to Joe Weinschreider, an “Here’s where the beauty of it comes in,” says associate at Energy Concepts, the Rochester-based Schechter. “When you say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, consultant designing the co-op’s new system. we are going to do this infrastructure work that won’t “Cogeneration is something different. It’s not cost you anything and it will save the building money,’ like a boiler that buildings are used to,” says how can you say no?” n MANAGE SMART RAISE VALUE Rudd Realty Management transforms its cooperative and condominium properties to INCREASE CURB APPEAL We improve how your building looks & operates, raising value and increasing sales prices.

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www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 11 They

Want to City Councilman Lewis Fidler Regulate

You State Assemblyman N. Nick Perry By Jennifer V. Hughes

evicka Doobay figured she had a great shot at a $170,000 Queens co-op when she applied in 2010. Her credit score was well over 700, her income more than $66,000, and her only debt a car loan for $15,000. However, when she got turned down without even an interview, she had the nagging feeling that it Dmight have had something to do with her name. “Everything was good, I had all the documents, and they wouldn’t even give me a meeting,” says Doobay, 50. Friends in real estate said it sounded fishy and suggested she file a complaint, but she never did. “I was busy looking for

A “Co-op Bill of Rights” resurfaces City Councilman Brad Lander

12 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com a home, bogged down and overwhelmed,” through. “A broker’s interest is just to close she says. “It made me feel bad, like I wasn’t the deal as quickly as possible,” he says. welcome there.” “They don’t care about the mess they leave Just three months later, she submitted behind.” the same application to another Queens co- op and was admitted almost immediately Turning Ugly for that apartment, which was priced at Bills that would fundamentally change $180,000. the way co-ops handle admissions have Bills are pending before the city council been bandied about for almost a decade. and the state legislature that would institute Two bills were introduced before the timelines for when boards have to reach a city council in 2010, and the one from decision and also require boards to either Councilman Lewis Fidler, which is widely give a reason why they rejected a potential thought to have the best chance at passage, buyer or to swear that the reasons for was subject to a contentious hearing rejection were not based on discrimination. before the housing committee in April. If those standards had been in place, Co-op admissions bills were introduced in Doobay thinks she might have been Albany in early 2013 and await transfer to accepted after all. “Maybe there would committee. have been a reason, or maybe they would All of the bills contain time clocks that have accepted me,” she says. “I had all the would require boards to acknowledge requirements they needed.” receipt of a completed application after Doobay is not alone in her complaints. 10 days and accept or reject an applicant For years, would-be purchasers and within 45 days of receiving a completed sellers have complained of delays and application. What’s the punishment for disappointments, of turning over tons of not meeting the clock? The bills proffered paperwork to boards and then waiting for by Fidler and by State Assemblyman N. months, only to get rejected. “People have Nick Perry would automatically grant the right to know why they are denied,” acceptance to a shareholder if the board argues Barbara Ford, director of the New doesn’t meet the deadline (with a 10-day York State Association of Realtors. “You grace period). Fidler’s bill would also allow can’t correct a problem if no one will tell the prospective shareholder to pursue civil you why you were rejected.” action against the co-op corporation, the But co-op boards and their spokesmen board of directors, and the managing agent. argue that there is no problem to correct, Fidler’s version of the bill would require that most cooperatives move with deliberate boards to sign statements swearing that speed, and that the examples frequently they were not rejecting based on a protected cited are extraordinary exceptions. Given class such as age, race, or religion. City the low number of complaints about co- Councilman Brad Lander’s bill, which op discrimination (see box, page 15), Bob has not progressed as far, takes the more Friedrich, president of Glen Oaks Village, a controversial step of requiring boards to 3,000-unit co-op in Queens, argues that the state reasons for rejection. issue is manufactured by realtors, who are Fidler notes that agencies routinely losing out on commissions when deals fall investigate discrimination in rental housing

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 13 Defining a New Era

of Property Management by sending in people of different races with identical applications to see who is rejected. That doesn’t work for co-ops because buyers don’t go We’ve upgraded every aspect of our operation before a board until a deal is reached to better serve the growing needs of our with the seller. clients and residents. As for the argument by opponents that no other form of housing requires this type of scrutiny, Fidler responds that’s because no other form of housing has a third party deciding Opening New Launching New Rolling out whether the buyer gets the home. Office Mobile-Ready Exclusive “No one likes to give up their little Headquarters Website Online Tools perch of power, and we have given Doors open July 2013 Online this Summer Coming Soon co-op boards virtually absolute power over people,” he says. Arguing that discrimination doesn’t exist is “ridiculous. They’re not living in the same world I am.” centuryny.com Success Story 440 Ninth Avenue 15th Floor New York, NY 10001 | 212.560.6400 Although similar bills have failed at the council and state levels in 2004 and 2005, one bill with both time clocks and required reasons for rejection was enacted in Suffolk County in 2009. At The Commons at North Babylon, in Suffolk County, Board President Linda Bacchi says there has been no negative fallout. “The time frames are not a problem, and if we need to, we have a special interview meeting,” she CONDOMINIUMS AND COOPERATIVES says. “I feel that if you are rejecting •Audits •Tax Preparation and Planning someone, they deserve a reason. You have to put yourself on the other side •Forensic Audits and Examinations •Consulting – we were all there in the other seat

at some point. Wouldn’t you want to “UNCOMMON EXCELLENCE” know why you were rejected?” Alvin Wasserman, director of asset 250 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10177 management at Fairfield Properties, Office: 212-867-5220 says the law is working very well. www.kanecpas.com “I can’t think of a single instance where this has prompted litigation,” says Wasserman, whose company manages about 2,000 co-op units on Long Island. “All of the [ambiguous] reasons why a board might reject someone are gone now. Now, it’s only The firm’s managing director, Monte Kane, co-authored the AICPA Audit and about the financials.” Accounting Guide for CIRAs, covering Cooperatives and Condominiums He also argues the time clocks are [email protected] or [email protected] fair. “If people don’t get an answer in a reasonable time, they can lose their

14 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com THE CASES AGAINST CO-OPS t’s an oft-cited statistic in the debate over bills that would fundamentally change the way co-ops handle admissions: only 22 cases have been filed by the city’s Human Rights Commission for discrimination by co-ops since 2000. The stat comes from a statement by Mayor Michael Bloomberg when he opposed Councilman Lewis Fidler’s bill, which would institute deadlines for when boards would have to decide on admissions, and require them to swear they were not acting with prejudice. IThe mayor’s office did not return calls seeking an elaboration on how they arrived at the figure. The commission’s annual reports list numbers of complaints and the protected class – age, race, etc. – but don’t specify whether it was made against a rental or resident-owned property. The individual complaint might contain that data, but since many accusations are made against a corporation – and co-ops are usually corporations – that would be difficult to uncover. Clifford Mulqueen, deputy commissioner and general counsel for the city’s Human Rights Commission, says he’s not sure how the mayor’s office came to the figure, but says that “there are not a lot of complaints about co-ops. It’s mostly [concerning] rentals.” If that figure of 22 cases is correct, it would indeed be a tiny fraction of overall complaints. According to the annual reports, from 2009 to 2012 there have been 6,039 inquiries from residents about possible discrimination in housing. In that four-year time span, the commission filed 481 cases of housing discrimination. During that time, 28 percent of cases were filed on behalf of people who believed they were discriminated against because of their disability, the most commonly cited protected class. In 2012, there were 109 cases filed by the commission for housing discrimination, compared with 342 cases for employment discrimination. – JVH

loan commitment, and that can take months to get again,” “Housing is such an important part of our culture,” says he says. Ford, who is also an attorney and the director of the Long Island Board of Realtors. She notes that before the Suffolk Different in NYC law was passed, she received monthly calls from people Suffolk County’s experiences, however, don’t apply suspecting they had been discriminated against. “After that to New York City, says Friedrich, the board president in bill passed, I haven’t gotten a single call,” or heard of any Queens. “We have so many more co-ops, you’re far more litigation. likely to have increases in litigation just because of the And while it’s not illegal discrimination, the bills would sheer numbers,” he says. also address a problem with co-ops and the housing He also argues that co-ops have plenty of occasions market, says Richard Haggerty, chief executive officer of when they might need to reject an applicant without Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, which includes stating a reason, recalling the example of a prospective Westchester County, where similar bills have been shareholder who arrived for an interview obviously proposed. intoxicated. The board rejected him, but had they been “In a difficult market, we hear from our members forced to list that as a reason, an attorney would have had that applicants are being rejected because of price,” says a field day. “He would have argued, ‘How did you know he Haggerty. “The board doesn’t want to see sales go through was drinking? This is arbitrary and capricious.’ Then you’d at a certain price and you can have sellers who are trying have a lawsuit and a year down the road, we might have to sell and see three, four, five sales fall through. That’s not won, but we’d spend thousands to win.” fair to anyone.” Still, argues Barbara Ford, the concept of giving a reason for rejection is not totally foreign in housing: federal law Got a Beef? Go to Court requires that mortgage lenders give customers a reason if Eva Talel, a co-op attorney and partner at Stroock they reject them for a loan. & Stroock & Lavan, argues that the proposed law

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 15 is unnecessary since there are plenty of other civil remedies to discrimination. Some argue that using the threat of fines or admission if a board doesn’t meet a timeline will be counterproductive. “If you put in that kind of presumption, any rational board is just going to simply reject a property transfer if they don’t feel like they have enough time to consider the factors they should weigh,” she says. At the Byron Apartments, a 132- unit co-op in Murray Hill, Board President Silvana Vlacich asserts that the timelines are unreasonable. “Some boards just don’t meet as often,” she says. Besides, it is already in a board’s best interests to act quickly. “From a business standpoint, it’s a good thing to act within a reasonable time frame.” If boards need more time, she asserts, there are probably good reasons for it. “We pride ourselves on being prompt and doing what is right for a prospective shareholder. I’d hate the idea that we have to accept someone automatically because the paperwork is not correct.” “It’s totally unfair to impose this burden on a volunteer board,” Talel says. “We think it will have a chilling effect on who would sit on a board, and boards are crucial to the successful running of a co-op.” Concludes Friedrich: “There is simply no evidence that this is a problem. It’s only based on whims and hunches, and legislation should be based on facts and real statistics.”

Political Chances There is admittedly “less resistance” to Fidler’s bill compared to Lander’s, which is the bill that demands reasons for rejection, says co-op attorney Geoffrey Mazel, a partner in Hankin & Mazel. “But the co-op community is vigorously opposed to both bills.” Politicians have spoken softly, with variously sized sticks. In a statement at the hearing on Fidler’s bill, Mayor Michael Bloomberg

16 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com opposed the measure because it creates burdensome record-keeping for co-ops and the automatic acceptance clause is “draconian.” Mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, the city council speaker, said through a spokesman that she is “reviewing the [Fidler] bill and testimony from the hearing.” She is flatly opposed to Lander’s bill, calling it “overbroad,” adding: “It may have the unintended impact of making home ownership less attainable and more expensive because complying with this law will be costly.” The Real Estate Board of New York backs the part of Fidler’s bill with the time clocks but not the portion that would require boards to swear they are not discriminating, which Frederick Peters, co-chair of the board of directors of the group’s residential division, calls “unrealistic.” He adds: “I would say that the chances of this bill getting passed in its current form are not so great. What I am hoping is that it’s the jumping-off point for a conversation about a bill that would be passable and would bring about some urgency to the way the process of co-op admissions is managed.” Matters will get more complicated because term limits are forcing Fidler out of office in January 2014. He says he’s not sure whether another council member will pick up the cause. As for the state bills, Stuart Saft, chairman of the Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums, says he doesn’t think they have a chance as long as Republicans control the Senate. “The [Assembly] has passed versions of these bills for decades and they don’t go anywhere because there is no support in the Senate.” So, if the bills die, does Saft think we will see more versions of them resurfacing? “Oh, absolutely,” he says. “I expect we’ll see this regularly until elected officials understand how complex a job it is for a volunteer board to handle all the issues that arise. It’s not as simple as some people would make it out to be.” n www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 17 If you’re making staffing decisions, popularity and performance should not be confused.

18 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com When Business Becomes Personal

By Bill Morris opularity (defined as the “state or condition of being Pliked, admired, or supported by many people”) is a funny thing. It can be the result of legitimate virtues or the byproduct of shrewd self-promotion. When it comes to hiring, firing, and promoting staff, co-op and condo boards need to know how to tell the difference. “If somebody is popular, it’s usually for one of two reasons,” says Steve Greenbaum, director of property management at Mark Greenberg Real Estate. “Either he’s reliable, or he does people special favors. There are a million little things staff people can do. Boards need to ask: is he popular for the right reasons, or is he just a schmoozer?” It’s not a theoretical question, either. The board at a 110-unit Brooklyn co-op learned the hard way that letting popular sentiment trump hard logic can have dire consequences. When this co-op’s

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 19 Watching over you for 35 years!

longtime doorman was let go after years of sloppy work, the porter, with 10 years of experience in the building and a high level of respect from the shareholders, put in a bid for the doorman’s job. “It clearly was a popularity contest,” says a board member who spoke on condition of anonymity, noting that she considered the porter’s shaky English skills inadequate for the job of doorman. “Who should get the job,” she went on, “someone who’s been in the building for years, or someone who’s qualified for the job?” A group of “unruly” shareholders sprang into action, getting one-third of the building to sign a petition in favor of hiring the veteran porter as a doorman. “What they did was an invitation to chaos,” the board member notes. “It’s not up to the shareholders at large to make these decisions. It’s up to the board, with rofessional the managing agent’s advice.” P But the board wound up bowing to popular sentiment and hiring the Results porter as doorman on a 60-day trial basis. “No disasters yet,” says the board member, “but it hasn’t been 100 In percent satisfactory.” In one instance, the new doorman was unable to Daily understand the word “perishable” on a box that was delivered to the building, and the contents wound up Endeavors spoiling. Did the board member learn a lesson from the experience? “We should have had our candidate in place before the shareholders got their petition drive going.” Boards need to remember that they have the legal authority to Strong, Reliable, Hands-on Property Management make decisions on hiring and firing For Pride in ownership, call (212) 690-0800 staffers, and smart boards rely on internal debate and the advice of their property managers – not on the Pride Property Management, Corp. L 708 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 sentiments of fellow shareholders and 212-690-0800 • Fax 212-690-1186 11 New Street, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 unit-owners. PRIDE 201-567-2150 • Fax 201-567-1960 PROPER TY MANAGEMENT Bram Fierstein, president of www.pridepropertymanagement.com

20 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com Natural gas you can buy anywhere.

Here you can manage it. Gramatan Management, says: “If a staffer is terminated or doesn’t get promoted and residents ask questions, we tell them that personnel issues are Let Castle’s supply professionals work the board’s job, and we don’t discuss with you in this unique climate for them. The board and the managing natural gas. agent should know who’s efficient and who’s not.” The manager advises boards that it’s often the “right political move” t’s tempting to buy a At Castle, we’ve been to interview current staffers when a commodity like natural looking out for our vacancy opens in the building – even Igas on price alone, but there customers’ interests for if the board is looking on Craigslist or elsewhere for outside applicants. are other variables to consider. over eight decades. Length of contract. Risk Takeover While such popularity contests tolerance. Weather can indeed invite chaos, they pale impact. Usage swings. in comparison to what can happen when a staffer’s popularity serves as Whether your locations a wedge to buy into a building and, in some extreme cases, gain control of are  rm or interruptible, the board of directors. commercial, residential Greenbaum, the property manager, saw such a scenario unfold several or industrial, Castle years ago at a co-op he handles in analysts can show you Freeport, in Long Island. The live- in super bought two apartments the pricing products that and eventually won election to the meet your needs based five-member board, where he and two cronies gained control of the on your usage over time. building. “It played out horribly,” Greenbaum And if you burn both fuel says. “He had his own faction that oil and gas, we show you Clean burning had its own agenda – catering to fossil fuels investors, not residents. Everything how dual-fuel users can take are important that could go wrong went wrong. advantage of market swings. to our energy future. The landscaper he recommended was horrific. Some repairs got done, All of which can improve others didn’t. As a managing agent, your bottom line. how do you discipline an employee who’s also your client?” The experience, and several similarly grim ones, has driven Customers TM Greenbaum to give a piece of advice to all the boards he works with: TM “Don’t let your staff buy apartments. Rule, ® If you do, stipulate that they can’t run for the board.” Abbey Goldstein, a partner in the TM law firm of Goldstein & Greenlaw, Castle Energy Solutions , LLC 440 Mamaroneck Avenue, Harrison, NY 10528, www.castle.us Carla Romita, Senior Vice President (914) 381-6506 Joseph W. Colonel, Senior Vice President (914) 381-6540 www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 21

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Insertion Date: all area AFFORDABLE Realty Services, Inc. EFFICIENT agrees. “A person shouldn’t be both The Cooperative & Condominium Authority ™ employer and employee,” he says. Full Management / Back Office Services “Mixing the two roles is untenable. I can’t say it’s illegal, but it’s an abuse. 99 Tulip Avenue Floral Park, New York 11001 The abuse of having an employee 866-333-6182 www.aarsny.com on the board is that he’s judge, jury, and executioner. He does favors and builds up a lot of loyalty. I’ve seen supers become owners of one or many units, collect all the proxies, and eventually control the board. You can get rid of him in his capacity as super, but he still lives in the building and he may be a bitter individual who can cause problems. The conflict is WHAT SETS US APART: quite obvious.” Tara Snow, a partner in the Management has been our focus for over 100 years law firm of Novitt, Sahr & Snow, We attract the Best Managers—and they which represents some 50 co-ops stay with us, sometimes for decades and condos in the city, agrees with Our Financial Analysts carefully consider Greenbaum and Goldstein that your budget and investments allowing staffers to buy apartments Our Central Purchasing Power saves you and serve on boards is a “horrific” money on everything from energy to idea. She adds that boards need insurance to remember that it’s unwise to AS A FULL-SERVICE MANAGEMENT underestimate the importance of COMPANY WE ALSO PROVIDE: a staffer’s popularity. This came home at a co-op Snow represents Our Closing Department acts as your in Jackson Heights, Queens. The Corporation’s transfer agent and oversees board terminated the super’s contract sales, leasing and refinancing shortly before an annual meeting – Our cutting-edge Local Law Compliance Oversight helps you avoid fines and and promptly got blindsided. violations “We thought nothing of it,” Snow Our Electronic Statements option makes says. “We went to the annual meeting viewing your building’s Financial Reports – and it was full of irate shareholders easier and “greener” who felt they should have been Pay Online using credit card or e-check consulted. They loved their super. We explained to the shareholders that the board makes these kinds of decisions. It’s not for the shareholders to decide. But people were very, very unhappy.” EST. 1911

Promoting the Professional Scan code to visit our Facebook page Managing the Finest Properties facebook.com/DouglasEllimanPropertyManagement Then there’s the board of directors Since 1911 at the 78-unit Yonkers co-op who needed to replace the super. The 675 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 Telephone 212.370.9200 Fax 646.843.2424 logical choice was the building’s E-mail [email protected] EllimanPM.com longtime porter, who knew the quirks Scan code to read our Blog DouglasEllimanPropertyManagement.wordpress.com of the 1920s vintage building and was highly popular with the shareholders. Only trouble was that English was the

22 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com It’s a Quality of Life...and a Lifetime of Quality Experience the Fairfield Advantage: • Premium Property Management • Insurance • Mortgage • Sales and Leasing porter’s second language. And he was • Management That Pays For Itself not very fluent at it, either. “It’s really hard to find a good Fairfield Property Services super,” says Dariusz Walec, the www.fairfieldproperties.com current president of the board. “We Alvin Wasserman, Director [email protected] knew our porter, Jorge, could do all 718-659-6477 516-482-4934 631-499-6660 Ext. 229 the jobs around the building. He’s very handy, and he works long hours. But his English wasn’t very good, and it was hard to communicate with him.” Since communication skills are We invest in more vital to a superintendent than to a porter – and since knowledgeable, their hardworking, and well-regarded employees are at a premium – the Future board found itself in a bind. The members decided to straddle the fence. “The board agreed to promote the porter to super – provided he worked on improving his English,” says Walec. “Jorge bought some tapes, he studied, he got some help. It was slow but steady improvement, and, after a while, there were no more problems with communications. We have no regrets. Everyone loves Jorge.” “I’m always trying to groom staffers for promotions, urging them to take courses in heating and air conditioning, plastering, electrical,” adds the building’s property manager, Fierstein, of Gramatan. “We gave Jorge the job on the condition that he improve his English. And he did it. And now he’s one of my best supers.” But that happy ending was the beginning of another story that didn’t play out quite so tidily. Once Jorge had been promoted, the building It’s one of the most important things we do!!! had to hire a new porter, and this one proved to be a disaster. He There were many factors in our developing a Green Management Program. We wanted to was, simply put, lazy. But since the reduce dangerous carbon emissions, avoid building’s two staffers are members using toxic chemicals, conserve energy and of Local 32BJ of the Service actually save money. Employees International Union, Most of all, we wanted to create a healthier Management•Brokerage•Consulting certain procedures had to be followed environment for our children. before the board could terminate the Please contact us to learn more. new porter. “It’s not that easy to push someone Ira Meister, President • 127 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022 • T: 212.699.8900 F: 212.699.8939 [email protected] • matthewadam.com

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Donald E. Wilson president 212-645-7333 / 914-524-8600 out in a union building,” Walec BlueWoodsMgmt.com says. “You have to document the employee’s performance. If he’s drinking on the job or committing 215 West 92nd Street PROUDLY MANAGED SINCE 2001 crimes, that’s one thing; but if he’s lazy, it’s harder to push him out. It took us three years – we gave him a second and a third chance. Union guys came to the building to check his performance. Finally, they decided he wasn’t doing the job, and they agreed to let us push him out of the building.” Which brings us back to the desirability of sticking with the professional over the popular. After all, boards should remember those famous words: when dealing with staff, it’s not personal, it’s strictly Hands-on, Proactive business. n Management Since 1985.

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Connect with us on Facebook www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 25 Before After Forbes- E rgas Design A Design rgas ssociates

165 East 72nd Street ygrove A S ygrove ssociates Design G Design ssociates roup

1150 Park Avenue ygrove A S ygrove ssociates Design G Design ssociates roup 1717 East 18th Street Refresh. Restore. Redo. 26 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com The Art of the Lobby Light-Touch

By Ronda Kaysen

WO point two. Million. As in dollars. That’s the price tag for a two-bedroom apartment at 1150 Park Avenue. Dumpy. Once upon a time, that was the best word to describe the lobby at 1150 Park, a Carnegie Hill co-op that featured imitation 18th-century green fabric, English-style furniture in the lobby, and wallpaper that imitated stone in the vestibule. “The lobby looked dilapidated, tired, and old,” recalls board president Lillian Brash. Can you spell dilemma? How about “kiss of death”? That’s what the board of 1150 Park Avenue faced in a situation that is not unique: it had a bad lobby and desperately needed to refresh it – without spending too much money. As the housing market heats up, many co-op and condo boards are taking a fresh look at their lobbies and realizing that if shareholders want to get top dollar, the lobby needs to wow a potential buyer. At the same time, co-ops are flush with cash as they refinance their underlying mortgages at Thistorically low rates. Suddenly, that floral seating starts to look more shabby than chic. Introducing the Building “The lobby really is the introduction to your building’s interior,” says Susan Lauren, president of Lauren & Chase Design Group, an interior design firm. “It’s the first impression and it speaks a lot about the maintenance and the character of the building. Sales are either won or lost before a buyer even enters the apartment.” Renovating a lobby is an expensive undertaking that can cost anywhere from thirty thousand to several hundred thousand dollars. Eager to keep costs down, many condo and co-op boards are looking for ways to refresh their lobbies without draining their capital reserves. But navigating the terrain of a lobby upgrade on a budget is a path best traveled with care. Here are the steps you should take:

Hire a Designer The first rule of a lobby refresh is this one: hire an interior designer who specializes in building lobbies. The president of the board may be a fashion designer, but that does not mean he knows how to select the right commercial-grade sofa for the foyer. Or just because the super did a fantastic job painting the mail room doesn’t mean he can select the appropriate vinyl wallpaper. Interior designers charge a set hourly fee, or take a percentage of the total job cost. Boards should interview several designers. As part of the process, designers will offer the board an assessment of

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 27 the work they think needs to be done and present a budget present two options to the shareholders and poll residents based on that. for the favorite. Once work begins, send out regular Using a designer has several benefits. The designer updates so they know how long it will take and what will oversee the job, can often get industry-rate prices inconveniences lie ahead. on furnishings and materials, and knows contractors. A designer also acts as a buffer: if a shareholder doesn’t like Decide on an Approach the finished product, he or she can’t (or shouldn’t) blame The most affordable lobby upgrades tend to be the ones the board for poor taste. where the building takes on cosmetic improvements like replacing the lighting or wallpaper, or refinishing the Keep Everyone in the Loop floors. Replacing floors can cost far more than buffing a No one likes a surprise, especially when it’s the first dull surface. space on view when someone walks into a building. When Josh Field became co-op board president of 165 Aesthetics tend to fuel controversies. “Lobbies bring out East 72nd Street, he joined a board that wanted to restore the worst in people,” says Brash, of 1150 Park Avenue. the lobby of the mid-20th-century building, which had “But the lobby is not an extension of our living room. It is a never been updated. “It was a hodgepodge; it didn’t have public space and it cannot reflect personal taste.” that wonderful mid-century flavor,” recalls Joel M. Ergas, To avoid shocking (and horrifying) shareholders with president of Forbes-Ergas Design Associates, the designer the sight of a new velveteen sofa, designers recommend for 165 East 72nd Street. “Our whole focus was on keeping residents in the loop. To do that, you should create bringing it back to a beautiful, elegant, mid-century style.” a design committee, consisting of board members or a Field and the other members decided that a conservative combination of board members and residents. Once the approach – in Ergas’s words, “refurbishing the original committee decides on a design, put a poster of the winning finishes and adding appropriate new wall finishes” – entry in the lobby for all to see and have the designer on would be cheaper and, in the long run, more aesthetically hand to answer questions. In some cases, buildings will appealing than a complete renovation. Forbes-Ergas

28 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com refinished the checkerboard floors, replaced light fixtures “The [idea] was to bring the lobby back to its original with vertical chandeliers and custom sconces, rearranged style,” says Brash. artwork, and replaced the wall coverings. “What we didn’t want was one of these lobbies where Work With What You’ve Got they put in the wood paneling and the brass and it looks In many cases, buildings have lovely pieces of artwork nice for a year and then it looks like every other building in or interesting details that have been ignored. Moving a the city,” says Field. sculpture to a new location, for example, can breathe new At 1150 Park Avenue, the building’s lobby was woefully life into it. out of date. Board members decided that the space had Forbes-Ergas took artwork that was scattered in different stylistically lost its way. The best remedy was to restore parts of the lobby at 165 East 72nd Street and brought it to its late Art Deco/Art Moderne style, a decision that them together on a single wall, creating an art wall without would ultimately save the building money, as it would not spending money on new art. The designer also moved a require any major structural renovations. sculpture that was too small for the lobby to the end of Rather than install new floors, the building polished a hallway, making it the focal point of the hallway. By and restored the terrazzo floor. They replaced the faux moving existing pieces of art around or giving them new stone wallpaper in the vestibule, restored the wooden wall frames, a building can add new life to an existing piece of coverings in the lobby, and added recessed lighting to work at a lower cost. brighten gloomy corners. They replaced the outdated green Adding entirely new lighting can be expensive and may furnishings with custom-made, commercial-grade furniture require an electrician to open up a wall. To keep costs appropriate to the period. The price tag for the job came to down, a building can replace existing lights with new $150,000, the maximum amount the building was willing fixtures or add affordable table lamps. to spend. But, according to Brash, another nearby building “If you have a beautiful lamp with a shredded light spent more than $600,000 remodeling its lobby. shade and you just change the shade, all of a sudden the

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www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 29 lamp looks like a treasure,” says Marilyn Z. Sygrove, president of Sygrove Associates Design Group, which designed the lobby for the Park Avenue co-op. Adding something as simple as plants can make a space look fresh and inviting. If the lobby is too dark for plants, consider silk – seriously. “I had a client on Park Avenue who wanted plants,” recalls interior designer Liz Morehouse, president of Morehouse Design Associates. “There is a source that makes ficus and palms that are artificial. They use the real bark of the trunk. You really can’t tell the difference – it looks so good.”

Do Everything at the Same Time Once a board decides to upgrade its lobby, it is best to do the work all at once. Although doing the work in spurts is a financially attractive option on the surface, it can ultimately cost a building more, as the new sofa may not match the even newer wallpaper. Also, elected boards change, and if one board settles on a design and only finishes a portion of it, a later board might have an entirely different vision. Buildings also miss out on the pleasure of a new, cohesive look to their common areas. “If you do it piecemeal, people are kind of disappointed,” says Morehouse. “You lose the ‘wow’ factor.” But lobbies don’t exist in a vacuum. When a building updates the look of the lobby, it can affect the hallways and elevators. If the lobby extends into a hallway, that area needs to have the same aesthetic. And if elevators open onto the lobby floor, the elevator cabs should also be updated. These changes, however, can add significantly to the final price. Boards should consider all of these factors when determining a budget. Sometimes, the problem isn’t the shareholders, but the board members. At 1717 East 18th Street, a co-op in Brooklyn, the lobby hadn’t been

30 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com ONE NAME, ONE COMMITMENT TO SERVICE EXCELLENCE COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT | GITTLEMAN | RMI MANAGEMENT updated in more than 20 years and ARMSTRONG MANAGEMENT SERVICES | ROSSMAR & GRAHAM | MERIT wallpaper was peeling from the walls. CROSBY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT | COMMUNITY ONE | ABBOTT ENTERPRISES The demographics of the building WENTWORTH PROPERTY MANAGEMENT | SIMERRA PROPERTY MANAGEMENT had changed, with younger tenants CONDOMINIUM FIRST MANAGEMENT SERVICES | PREMIER COMMUNITIES who wanted their building to look WOLIN-LEVIN | COOPER SQUARE REALTY | ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT fresh and appealing to buyers. But the VANCOUVER CONDOMINIUM SERVICES | THE CONTINENTAL GROUP board had no interest in updating the common areas. So, five years ago, an entirely new board was voted in and Our local companies already share our passion for service the new members decided to redo the excellence. Now they also share our name. Cooper Square Realty lobby, elevator cabs, and hallways, is now FirstService Residential. and build a community room. Making a difference, every day, for the residents and properties we serve. That’s Designed by Marilyn Sygrove, the the FirstService Residential mission and the driving force of our 18 organizations new common areas have a decidedly across the U.S. and Canada – each the premier property management company in its local market. Mad Men look, says Samuel Thomas, president of the board. In all, the Now, all of our organizations have changed their names to ours, uniting under project cost $350,000, and the one brand renowned for consistently adding value and enhancing lifestyles for properties like yours – FirstService Residential. building paid for it out of its reserve funds. How can FirstService Residential serve you? “There certainly was some tension,” recalls Thomas. “But our fiduciary responsibility as a board is Making a Difference. Every Day. to look at the values of apartments, www.fsresidential.com and this was something that needed to be done.” n

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www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 31 Constraints of History Or, why a simple window replacement job ballooned from $400,000 to $571,000. By Frank Lovece

32 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com effrey Sosnick was first shown an apartment in a building on Central Park West in 1982. The property was converting from a rental to the 227 Tenants Corporation, a cooperative. He remembers it

well. “The broker said, ‘Prewar – like pre-World War I.” As Sosnick, who is 62 and board president for 30 of the 31 years he’s lived there, describes it: “You feel like you’re going into some European apartment house because of the design elements.” That’s one reason the lovely, 20-unit building is part of the “Upper West Side- Central Park West” historic district designated by New York City’s Landmarks Preservation photos JCommission (LPC) – and one reason why a window-replacement project ballooned from a by

tom $400,000 budget to $571,000, triggering the first special assessment in the co-op’s history. soter

Windows at 227: the board spent more money than planned, thanks to the LPC.

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 33 Working with the LPC What’s the process for working with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, a New York City agency established to protect the city’s architectural heritage shortly after the 1963 demolition of the original Penn Station? If you’re in a landmarked building or a building within a landmarked district, you need to apply for an LPC permit before undertaking certain repairs or capital improvements. By law, the commission must review proposals for such alterations and determine whether they have any effect on significant features, and if so, to ensure that any effect be “harmonious or appropriate,” in the LPC’s words. A staff preservationist reviews the application – which consists of an application form and supporting materials that describe the proposed alteration – and works with the building to find solutions that meet contemporary needs such as safety standards. Once all this is completed, the LPC can issue a permit administratively without involving the full commission. As an alternative, a building can request a public hearing. Sosnick (above) and ground-floor window (below): Once your application is complete, the LPC is a changed window profile caused Sosnick’s co-op to implement a first-time ever assessment. required to decide within a certain number of days to issue one of three types of permits: “Certificate of No Effect” (30 business days); “Permit for Minor Work” (20 business days); or “Certificate of Appropriateness” (90 business days). The LPC also offers two options it calls “FasTrack Service” and “Expedited Reviews.” With the former, a team of preservationists works exclusively on permits for specific types of work, such as window replacement or HVAC installation on non-visible façades. Projects are approved within 10 days if the application includes the required documents and materials and there are no outstanding LPC violations on your building. With the latter, a building can request that an application for interior work above the second floor be reviewed on an expedited basis. Interior work eligible for such review cannot involve any change to, replacement of, or penetration of an exterior wall, window, skylight, or roof, including penetrations, replacements, or changes for ducts, grilles, exhaust intakes, vents, or pipes. Full details are at nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/ pdf/pubs/App_Guide_Complete_Version.pdf – FL

34 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com “The landmarks commission rules with absolute autonomy, which creates significant challenges for buildings under its jurisdiction,” Sosnick says bitterly. Other cash- strapped boards often feel the same way. Is it a fair charge? Is there anything you can do about it? And what exactly happened here that you could possibly avoid – or failing that, for which you can be prepared?

Window Pain With this co-op, it began at the April 2010 quarterly meeting of the seven-member board. Sosnick and managing agent Louis Sandberg, president of Sandberg Management, presented a window-replacement plan with the idea to do the installation in summer 2010. The board solicited bids from architectural firms, and that August hired Michael Notaro, a principal with Zaskorski & Notaro. Together, the professionals, the board, and the shareholders chose a quality window with a wood interior and a type of metal exterior called “cladding,” which means metal coating bonded to a metal core. “At this point it was our feeling we’d still be within five percent of our budget,” Sosnick says. Because the building lies within a 34-block-long historic district, Notaro in January 2011 filed an application with the LPC. “Generally, the landmarks commission takes jurisdiction of things that are in either landmarked buildings or landmarked districts,” explains attorney Steven Wagner, a partner at Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, who is unaffiliated with this building. “If you’re doing work that requires a building permit and the work is in a landmarked district, one of the things the Department of Buildings will require is approval of the work from the landmarks commission.” After some back-and-forth that included photos and revised drawings, Notaro heard from an LPC preservationist, Rita Wong, who said that for a staff-level approval, the commission would require www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 35 PODCAST SERIES “installation of the new windows in the same plane as the historic LEGAL TALK window and replication of the original brick molds.” Co-op and condo board members make the crucial This LPC requirement meant decisions that keep their communities going. When there that the simple remove-and-replace are no easy answers, who do they turn to for advice? project suddenly became much more A lawyer. complicated. “We immediately 2013 brings a whole set of new board concerns and recognized it would involve a more questions, and Habitat’s Legal Talk podcast tackles them. expensive renovation due to the In every episode, we present a real-life question from changed profile,” says Sosnick, since someone on the front lines of board service and invite two expert attorneys to break it down to the fundamentals. moving the window position would expose openings that would have to RECENT PODCASTS be covered up by additional trim. It •Whistle-Blowing: What’s Right, What’s Legal And What’s A Stake also meant more architectural fees. • Don’t Buy Blind • Washing Out The House Rule Hearings Aid • Discrimination And Punishment The board had two choices at this point: accept the ruling and make Real questions. Practical answers. the adjustments as indicated, or Legal Talk doesn’t have to be complicated. appeal the decision by requesting a public hearing. “A public hearing Look for new installments every other Wednesday. would require a large output of Listen online: www.habitatmag.com/podcasts additional money and a delay of at Subscribe in iTunes: http://bit.ly/attorneypodcast minimum several months because

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36 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com the co-op would have to get on [the LPC] schedule for a public hearing,” says Sosnick, who adds: “Worst- case scenario, we’d miss the summer [construction season], which would delay it another year.” “The commission reviews 20 to 30 applications every Tuesday at public hearings,” notes LPC Director of Preservation Sarah Carroll, who oversees more than 10,000 applications annually as one of seven directors for various aspects. “There are a couple of ways to get an approval at the landmarks commission: through the staff and through the full commission. Our Properties Tell The commission has adopted a set of rules, and if you follow those rules the staff can issue a permit our story administratively without having to get the full commission.” In this instance, she says, preservationist Wong “reviewed the application and If buIldIngs could speak, you’d hear a As the windows initially didn’t meet chorus of praIse for kaled ManageMent. building owners configuration details.” starting as a family owned-and-operated business in ourselves, At this point, says Sosnick, “we the late 1920s, we’ve been providing a comprehensive we understand discussed the possibility of canceling range of real estate management services for four the challenges the project because of the financial generations, to an ever-growing list of satisfied clients. you face… consequences of the landmarks ruling, but realized the windows were the properties we manage, including our own, really continuing to deteriorate and were do tell the story. Listen, and you’ll hear them speak of only going to get worse.” our fierce dedication to our clients… our intense After having C & M General commitment to the highest standards… and our Contractor install a sample window unique approach to management. with the profile the LPC required, the LPC signed off on it, and Notaro We know how to to make your property run as prepared a bid sheet. The architect smoothly, efficiently and economically as possible. found potential contractors, and the board met with finalists within the next six weeks, approving Basonas Construction Corp. in April 2011 and executing the contract a month later. On the first day of work, Sosnick says, the board learned that because of the changed window profile, the original sash pockets would have to be completely torn out and the surrounding areas repaired, requiring Please contact Peter Lehr for a complimentary property assessment, to evaluate the key areas that can impact more time and more work. the profitability of your building. The installation was substantially complete by mid-November that year, www.kaled.com • 516.876.4800 • [email protected] and all concerned are happy with Corporate NyC the results. “The shareholders were 7001 Brush Hollow Road 757 Third Avenue Westbury, NY 11590 New York, NY 10017 mostly sanguine” about paying for the overage, Sosnick says. “However, as

1KALED 13-0001_4.5x7.25.indd 1 1/22/13 4:06 PM www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 37 The view is fine: two windows, exterior (left) and interior (right).

a result of all these additional costs it became necessary for the first time in our history to declare a shareholder assessment,” for $70,000. “We had always prided ourselves on never spending more than we had.” “I know the building feels it was forced to spend extra money to do this,” Notaro says. “All in all, I think it added value to the building. I would look forward to working in the same manner with the landmarks commission because I feel it went very well.” Sosnick disagrees, noting that potential buyers “do not give a hoot about [buildings being] landmarks and changing the profile four inches. Our board and our building are fully supportive of [LPC’s] mission to preserve and protect the architecture in our neighborhood, which we value.” But, he adds: “We could have kept the profile exactly as it was and no one would have said it’s inauthentic or not historically accurate.” Notaro counters: “I think that it makes a difference. The shadow line and the relationship of the plane of the glass to the exterior of the wall – it can look odd and contrary to the historic configuration if it’s pushed too far in or too far out. Getting it just

38 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com It’s time for CROSSOVER® right was important to the landmarks commission because their mission is In a class by itself to restore historic character and for new work to be appropriate.” “It would be much more equitable if there were a mediation process that could issue rulings that were both timely and inexpensive,” observes Sosnick. “In that way, the problem faced by my building and undoubtedly others could be adjudicated in a way that would, at Crossover by Wascomat is built to last 15,000+ cycles the very least, give applicants the – more than double the life of appliance washers! perception that there exists a system of checks and balances, which is sorely missing in the current process.” • 60% less water and 15 minutes less time in the dryer than Elisabeth De Bourbon, an the average top loader - huge savings! LPC spokeswoman, says that the • Built to commercial standards with pump, professional commission is ready to make grade 8-point suspension, and heavy duty SKF bearings compromises – if the applicant • 300 G-force extraction for huge energy savings reaches out. “The commission’s staff • Extra-large load drum—double plus capacity is always open to helping applicants • Won’t oversuds and stays in balance address cost concerns and would have • Coin, card or central payment system compatible been happy to work to find a less costly solution in this situation had it Increase your profits!You will save time and money – been brought to our attention.” In a and improve customer satisfaction. Call today to learn more. later clarification, she adds: “Nobody came to us and said [this cost] is going to wreck the project. That never came up.” The board did not try negotiating (800) 862-1752 • [email protected] with the LPC directly because, When laundry means business. Sosnick says, “Our executed agreement with Michael Notaro

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 39 FSP_HabitatAd_FireSuppression-July-August_2 copy_FSP_ResidentAd concept.1 6/27/12 12:56 PM Page 1

references that during the regulatory LAUREN & CHASE phase and the documentation phase, he was our designated representative DESIGN GROUP to LPC. I know that Michael was as concerned as we were regarding the impact of LPC’s decision on our budgetary limitations, and I’m certain that he communicated these concerns directly to LPC. I admit to being perplexed that LPC would respond in this way.” Notaro, in response to an e-mail concerning the LPC’s comment, says in an e-mail: “I believe that LPC helped [the building] to the extent they could without triggering a public hearing.” In a follow-up interview, he notes: “They did work with us. They did come to the site. We avoided a very expensive and time-consuming Well-designed interiors are exciting to experience. Let us help you….. full commission hearing. We couldn’t Lauren & Chase is your resource for outstanding, full-service design have asked for more.” created specifically for your building. But perhaps someone should Please contact Susan D. Lauren for a complimentary design consultation. have, because, notes De Bourbon, the meetings referenced by Notaro www.lauren-chase.com • 212-799-6633 • [email protected] Licensed NCIDQ – certified LEED Green - certified were to deal with a specific issue concerning the window placement – not to discuss the bigger issue of “blowing a hole” in the budget. “There was no overall complaint that 24/7 Academy Mail Box Co., Inc. Fire Safety this was going to sink the finances of As of January of this year, The NYC Fire Department is actively enforcing the 2008 Fire Service Academy Intercom Co., Inc. the building,” she notes. The lesson Code requirements for inspecting, testing and maintaining fire suppression systems. since 1914 from this exchange: in dealing with Understanding the new code is hard enough. Making sure you meet all the requirements and Academy Engravers, LLC LPC, boards must be clear about what certifications is another story altogether—especially if you have not been actively maintaining We’ve been working with NYC they want and ensure that channels of these systems in recent years. (Did you know certain pumps now require weekly testing and plumbing for almost as long as Specializing in Apartment House Security Since 1948 communication are open. documentation? Or that the FDNY Certificate of Fitness you may have now is no longer valid?) there’s been NYC plumbing. “They often will work with If you haven’t gotten a visit from the inspectors yet, it’s only a matter of time. Will you be Besides fire safety, you can also Ask how buildings,” Wagner says of the ready? Can you afford not to be? Before you subject your building to large fines or worse, call us for expert help with: commission. “They understand that a dangerous condition, call Fred Smith Plumbing and Heating. Since 1914, our plumbing and ▪ Custom / Standard Mail Boxes Academy cost is a consideration. They will heating expertise has helped keep hundreds of NYC buildings running smoothly. We also • Plumbing can save you time ▪ Entry Security Intercoms work with them on materials, they’ll have full time crews dedicated to providing expert fire suppression and maintenance services. • Heating HVAC and money! work with them if something is not One ca ll to us, is the equivalent of dialing 911. Our comprehensive Inspection, • ▪ Access Control • High Pressure Steam absolutely identical but is similar and Testing and Maintenance Service begins with a thorough evaluation of the • Pump Repairs (718) 539-1000 ▪ Engravings gives a similar appearance.” building’s fire suppression system. Then, we’ll work with you www.academymailbox.com • Culligan Water Purification So what should boards tell residents to correct any issues and craft an individualized service www.academyintercom.com ▪ CCTV contract to keep you safe, sane and in compliance with • Drain Cleaning www.academyengravers.com when faced with a landmarks- the NFPA 25 Standard. Stop playing with fire and call today. • Roof Tank Cleaning 120-10 15th Ave., Queens, NY 11356 mandated expense? Observes • Private Repairs Wagner: “First of all, [say,] ‘We don’t Fred Smith Plumbing & Heating President, Philip J. Kraus, holds a Master have a choice.’ And second, they have Plumber’s license (#620), a Master Fire Suppression Piping Contractor’s AUTHORIZED license (#269B), and both S-12 and S-13 Certificates of Fitness. A number of to realize they are custodians of the the company’s technicians and supervisors also hold S-12 and S-13 certifications.

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Fred Smith Plumbing and Heating | 1674 First Avenue New York City, N.Y. 10128 | phone: 212.744.1300 | fax: 212.249.3420 | www.fredsmithplumbing.com Academy Mailbox Ad_4.5 x 4.75.indd 1 12/15/2011 8:37:28 AM 40 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com 42 HABITAT July/August 2013 www.habitatmag.com 2013 management LEADERs SURVEY Teachable Moments our managing agent knows. A lot. with new regulations, running spreadsheets, and overseeing And when your board faces what seems like an collections and payables. Yinsurmountable problem, chances are your agent For this year’s annual Management Leaders Survey, has seen it before. In fact, most management executives we decided to publish these “books.” We asked each could write books about what they have seen – and fixed. executive to write about a “teachable moment” that they That is, if they had the time, which of course, they don’t encountered in the course of their business lives. Short and … because they are too busy going to board meetings, sweet, each moment offers an idea or solution that your supervising staff, responding to e-mails and phone calls, board can put to use. dealing with contractors, organizing inspections, grappling Welcome to New York’s management library.

shareholders by keeping the maintenance board members in order to effectuate Andy down. A series of unforeseen major both short- and long-term fixes. expenditures depleted the reserve fund. President It is now time to refinance and the Metro Management Development Ashwal board will be forced to impose a special Tap Into It We recently had an assessment and a significant maintenance association that was looking at hurricane increase – a situation that could easily Mitchell preparedness. They had a plan in have been avoided. place based off their Hurricane Sandy experience that enabled them to save a Senior Property Manager lot of the core systems in their basement. Awaye Realty Barry We were able to take our experience Proven Practices Century recently from other emergency preparedness David started managing a co-op where the work to include action steps and other board had a mix of tenured board preparedness items into their emergency members and newly elected ones. plan manual, such as call lists for all Clashing ideas about reform and proper of the residents and contractors to use Baron procedures were routine at monthly during and after a storm. The takeaway Team Up! Regardless of the forum, meetings. We introduced procedures and here is that management has a wide issue, or board, Metro Management practices that had not been in place, such experience to draw upon that, if tapped, utilizes its role as manager to proactively as collecting arrears, sending reminder can help boards achieve the goals they and collaboratively resolve the issues notices of building house rules and have set for their buildings. confronting our clients. This is most aptly procedures, and ensuring shareholder Executive Director demonstrated by our daily interactions issues come to management’s attention KW Property Management & with board members who seek our first. We were confident that what we Consulting guidance and input. Rather than simply knew as good practice would work provide answers to the questions posed to for this building. Slowly, the board us, we offer our insights and professional began seeing a change at the property Anne Marie judgment to develop strategies in a because of these procedures. The lively team-based environment focused upon discussions were subdued and the board solving immediate problems, as well as is now working much more cohesively. implementing long-term strategies. We While spirited board discussions are Barker routinely provide guidance aimed at common, it does not mean we must Timely Increases We had been promoting self-help through the use of a deviate from the fundamentals of good recommending small annual maintenance structured and thoughtful analysis. No management. Proven processes work and increases at one of our co-ops to keep the matter the topic or level of complexity, we this board has begun to recognize them. building financially sound. The board welcome the opportunity to partner with CEO members kept refusing the increases, Century Operating Corporation thinking that they were protecting the

www.habitatmag.com July/August 2013 HABITAT 43 Michael Carl Andrea Berenson Borenstein Unlock the Details For one Storm Warning Akam recently used Riverdale co-op, the obvious choice the comprehensive hurricane expertise Bunis wasn’t necessarily the best one. We Move It Up In the management field of our South Florida affiliate, Akam On- manage a building with two No. 6 oil every problem is teachable. One of our Site, to cope with Hurricane Sandy and burners with differently dated triennial buildings always flooded, and Hurricane its aftermath. That enabled us to mobilize certificates: one earlier and one later Sandy made the problem worse. After our internal staff, the resident managers/ than July 2012 – the date after which the destruction, we pleaded with the superintendents of our managed certificates wouldn’t be renewed under board to consider moving electric pumps properties, and the boards and residents the city’s No. 6 oil phase-out. What and motors higher up in the building with detailed storm preparedness and initially appeared to be the problem – to prevent future outages. After long management directives. In several different triennials – turned out to be the conversations, the board finally agreed. instances, we got complaints from boards solution. Instead of wasting the board’s that questioned our shutting down all President “energies” on how to fund a No. 4 oil building elevators before the storm hit. Andrea Bunis Management conversion or an expensive running of gas But experience compelled us to stand lines, we worked with the Department of firm. After the storm, those same boards Buildings to move forward the expiration sent letters commending the decisive Anton C. date to coincide with the earlier expiring management we provided. Boards also burner. This less obvious approach gave were concerned about communication, the co-op time it thought it didn’t have, especially since the building housing and unexpected savings when Con Ed our corporate headquarters was closed Cirulli later decided to run gas lines as part of Wise Eyes When you have 87 years down during and after the storm. Akam a separate initiative. The lesson: think of management experience you become maintained uninterrupted contact with outside the box. smarter just because you’ve already our boards, resident managers/supers, jumped eight decades’ worth of hurdles, and residents through our proprietary President Veritas Property Management and you see everything through wise phone and text broadcast system. eyes. Because of this, we were able to President reveal several crucial, undiscovered Akam Associates Paul T. issues for a new client. For 10 years, individual owners were benefiting from Brensilber improper wiring, and the building was Steven W. Success! Buildings are living paying for their electricity. We corrected organisms, and they need to adapt to the wiring and collected the money – all change. As long as people work with 10 years’ worth. We also found an excess Birbach one another, and not against each $12,000 in an escrow account because the Experience Counts One of our other, the building will be successful. bank held more money than was required. co-ops was left with a mess by the When a building has infighting, has The lesson we teach is the importance of sponsor. The sponsor had defaulted on prolonged capital projects, doesn’t do awareness. maintenance payments to the co-op, and things properly from the outset, or is Managing Director the underlying mortgage was coming due ineffective, that’s when the tone of the Lawrence Properties within the year. Because a third of the building changes and values drop. When building was not paying maintenance, potential buyers go through minutes and cash was dwindling. The previous see that there are fights over issues such Neil B. management firm had no experience in as smoking, garbage, smells, and these dealing with unsold shares or knowledge types of things, this depresses values of the rental market. When we were hired Davidowitz and makes the building more difficult to Diverse Needs The board at an Upper we immediately put a plan into place manage. Inherently, people want to be to take over the unsold sponsor units West Side prewar building decided to part of a success – to buy into a building refinance its 20-year self-liquidating and rent them out at market rents, thus that’s successful – and successful covering the maintenance fees. Within mortgage with a new 10-year loan. The buildings are happy buildings. Everybody purpose of the loan was to generate two months, all of the apartments had (the board, staff, management, and been rented. The building refinanced, funds for a capital plan. The board, on owners) has to work together. The goal the advice of Orsid, held a building- reducing its mortgage payments. Adding is to make it a better building, and the to the building’s cash reserves, the wide meeting to discuss the refinancing better buildings are where you see higher proposal. Many shareholders at that co-op sold several of the unsold units. values. The board members never thought there meeting were looking forward to a would be a positive outcome when they President debt-free building and wanted to finance were left with the defaulted units and a Jordan Cooper & Associates capital projects via assessments. The large monthly shortfall to overcome. building had a history of “pay as you go” and those shareholders disapproved Chairman of the refinancing. Other shareholders Carlton Management

44 HABITAT July/August 2013 www.habitatmag.com www.habitatmag.com July/August 2013 HABITAT 45 46 HABITAT July/August 2013 www.habitatmag.com on fixed incomes were concerned about key board members is vital, and that’s hundred thousand dollars to convert from future assessments and wanted to proceed what we did in several of our buildings No. 6 oil to natural gas. We felt that the with the mortgage. Orsid recommended that were devastated by floodwaters conversion would have a payback of two a compromise whereby the annual and evacuated after Hurricane Sandy. to four years. This is an amazing 25 to mortgage payment savings would be used Because of quick action in two buildings, 33 percent return on an investment, and to create a capital improvement reserve for instance, we were able to get residents we convinced the board to go forward. fund. No assessments and no additional back into the building within two weeks Once the gas had been brought into debt. In addition, we secured a $1 million of the storm, which was nothing short the building, we changed the two oil line of credit as an additional source of miraculous. Since then, we have burners to dual-fuel, so the building had of funds. In this case, Orsid and the had annual meetings, and both the flexibility and options. The building board recognized that a co-op is made shareholders and the board of directors got several financial incentives totaling up of diverse shareholders with varying were very appreciative for the quickness $100,000, and when you combine this philosophies, needs, and economic and decisiveness that occurred during this with energy savings of $50,000 per year, positions. The board heard the voice of its time. In such situations, communication the actual payback was about two years. constituencies and acted accordingly. can be tough and if you don’t act quickly, It was a very successful project for the President you will be left waiting weeks for building, and since then we’ve completed Orsid Realty contractors and people to come and do eight or nine more projects like this. It’s a the work. complicated process, but we have it down Principal to a science. Pamela Einsidler Management Director of Management Rudd Realty DeLorme Robert M. Take the Lead Most boards are Steven unfamiliar with how an insurance Freedman claim is processed, not to mention one Time to Act The condominium did Greenbaum that wiped out 50 percent of one of our We manage a not have substantial reserves, and capital Three-Part Solution clients. As a result of Hurricane Sandy, 127-unit building in which the windows projects were exclusively funded through a condominium in Oceanside required were literally falling out of their casings. assessments, since the bylaws prohibited the cleanup and total replacement of 31 The building did not have sufficient borrowing. Converting the heating system units. My office was the lead agent in the money in its reserves to replace the to natural gas was a difficult option coordination of all the trades, insurance windows, and its residents were facing because of the upfront expense involved, companies, the Federal Emergency a large assessment that many could not including bringing gas to the building. In Management Agency, and utilities. After afford – the median age is about 70 order to comply with the New York City hearing what was needed, the board gave and most are on fixed incomes. This Clean Heat program, the board agreed us approval to get things done as we was a two-part problem – replacing the to burn No. 4 oil. Then we learned that thought best and to supervise all entities windows and terrace doors and figuring if the building acted quickly, gas would involved every day. The residents were out how to pay for them. We did some be available from Con Ed at no charge, displaced for five months. We listened research, and found that the Obama making the conversion to gas affordable. to all the cries, coordinated the move- Administration had an “energy-saver” The issue of financial flexibility and out of personal items, the hiring of the loan, which was actually a tax credit. planning was brought to the forefront as necessary contractors, and the payments Everybody had assumed that you couldn’t the payback from the projected savings of all vendors. When it was completed, take advantage of this in a co-op, but from burning gas would be so favorable. a total renovation of $3 million has we spoke with a few accountants and Management successfully worked with given 31 unit-owners a new home in found out that if we did install windows the board so that Con Ed brought gas which to live and a board of managers that had the Energy Star emblem by a service to the building without a charge; a greater appreciation of insurance and certain deadline, the residents would be negotiated favorable contract terms for the professionalism of its management eligible. This credit equaled about a third the changeover of the equipment; and company. of the cost of the windows and doors. worked to amend the condominium’s Another third would be drawn from the Principal bylaws to permit borrowing funds for this reserve fund; and the final third would Delkap Management and other capital projects in the future, if come from an assessment. The lesson: needed. keep plugging away. We thought we were Don President stuck, but through diligent investigations, Maxwell-Kates we figured out a way to get it done. Director of Property Management Einsidler Mark Greenberg Real Estate Quick Decisions When a disaster hits, Steve it’s vital to act quickly and decisively. And sometimes there is no definite right or wrong answer – you make your best Furman decision at the time and you go with it. Spend to Save One of our buildings Direct and constant communication with was really reluctant to spend several

www.habitatmag.com July/August 2013 HABITAT 47 affected other units as well. The board Timothy Stuart agreed with my advice, and last year we completed a highly successful $200,000 roof replacement project and obtained a Grogan Halper 20-year, no-dollar-limit warranty. Lease Windfall We manage a 50-unit Form Over Substance One of our President co-op where the sponsor had retained cooperative boards was concerned about Siren Management the commercial space under a master- Fannie Mae’s new requirement that they lease situation. When we took over the budget 10 percent of the co-op’s revenue property and were preparing the first for reserves. The board believed that Mark year’s financial budget, we found that the current maintenance was extremely the commercial rent was low. We then high. The members were dead set went back and looked at the master lease against increasing the maintenance to Hoffman and recalculated what the rent should cover this new regulation because they Hoffman’s Way We had a situation have been from the inception of lease up believed their reserve fund balance was at a beautiful prewar building on to the time that we had taken over the sufficient (about $150,000) for a 60-unit the Upper West Side of Manhattan. property. The net effect ended up being cooperative. The risk of not complying The board, independent of our firm, a $160,000 windfall for the corporation and having large banks reject prospective engaged a restoration consultant for an (we calculated for six years, which is as purchasers’ loans to purchase units was at extensive lobby project, which included far as the statute of limitations allows). issue. With management’s help, the board refinishing the exterior front doors. The Following that, the additional rent scrutinized the budget and shifted the contractor wanted about $15,000 for that the corporation brings in has also revenue lines to create the budgeted line this part of the job, and it was the final increased because the base rent has been item “monies to reserve,” while reducing improvement. The building ran into increased. This wasn’t picked up by the non-fixed expenses by the respective financial constraints for this portion, building’s accountants, the board, or amounts that would could be absorbed by and for several months I listened to them anybody else until we came on. The real the reserve fund. These items included discuss this issue. Finally, when it was lesson behind this is knowing how to unanticipated repairs and maintenance clear they couldn’t come to a solution, address commercial leases and having that the cooperative normally would I recommended one of our contractors commercial lease abstracts put together have paid out of regular operating funds. who could refinish the doors for around so that you know when your commercial For budget purposes, it was form over $3,000. The board agreed, the doors were leases are up, what escalation charges are substance. The lesson learned? Budgets refinished, and everyone was happy. Why out there, how to charge them, and when need to be looked at from many different didn’t we get involved sooner? We always they need to be charged. angles and views. try to accommodate the needs of our President Principal clients, but the one thing we will never Grogan & Associates Impact Real Estate Management do is make aesthetic decisions for them. The teachable lesson: it always behooves the board to involve the managing agent Gary M. Jeffrey at the outset because he brings years of experience and contacts to the table. Gutekunst President Demystify It! Several years ago, Heidings Hoffman Management when the cost of fuel began to rise Sore Point Saga I manage a precipitously, we started tracking condominium built in 2003, in which oil deliveries, the number of gallons the upper-floor apartment has the entire Joan dropped, and the cost per gallon for our terrace and roof rights. This apartment properties. This information was captured began showing signs of water penetration in a spreadsheet where we analyzed the on a very limited basis in 2005 when we usage per season, usage per year, average took over management. My research and Konow Savvy Boards members can be very cost per gallon, and cost versus budget. experience told me that the “sore point” hands-on and take charge, without relying This spreadsheet was presented at each in new construction is generally cheap on the experience of the managing board meeting as a springboard for a waterproofing/roofing work, so I called in agent. Such has been the case with discussion of the property’s energy costs, an engineer to inspect the various roofs. the city mandate to convert boilers/ and what actions the board needed to The engineer discovered – and this was burners to lesser-polluting fossil fuels. take into account for these costs. We also augmented by an older waterproofing Many boards have struggled with and discussed fuel assessments, price-locking inspection conducted by the developer, have been concerned that, despite the or capping, and entering in to a budget which I located in the building’s archives distant compliance deadline, certain plan with the provider. The spreadsheet – that the roofing systems were poorly incentives would be lost if conversion and discussions demystified the process installed with cheap materials that was not done soon. All things need to be of making energy-cost decisions for our typically deteriorate rapidly. I advised weighed and considered: the present-day boards and allowed them, no matter their the board that the best approach was to and future costs, and the economic loss backgrounds, to act confidently. replace all the roofing systems with new of such factors as greater BTUs (more ones before the penthouse apartment Vice President heat) generated with oil than gas. Only sprang continuously large leaks and Gramatan Management recently has the historical trend of cost

48 HABITAT July/August 2013 www.habitatmag.com www.habitatmag.com July/August 2013 HABITAT 49 50 HABITAT July/August 2013 www.habitatmag.com changed in favor of using gas; gas has the windows, the board hired a real estate with a $250,000-plus exterior repair, and not gotten any cheaper, but rather oil has broker and placed the unit on the market they were unsure how to move forward. become more expensive. The future costs for $1.5 million. The apartment needed The directors discussed going back to are unpredictable (particularly given a lot of work and did not show well. the original contractor or contacting the objections over fracking). So what Management strongly recommended the vendors from the Yellow Pages to come sounds like a good idea today may, in board consider a $140,000 upgrade to in and take a look at the problem areas, retrospect, become a bad decision. The the apartment, remove it from the market but we told them that it is better to do takeaway is that, as managing agents, we until the renovations were completed, the job correctly the first time. We need to listen to board needs, while at the and re-market it as a newly renovated suggested the board meet with our chief same time guiding boards on issues and apartment with first-class finishes. The financial officer to come up with different experiences that are shared by all of our board of directors took management’s financing options, figure out a way to clients. advice and went along with the plan, do it right, and pay for it. I could see Principal ultimately selling the unit for $2,250,000, that we were getting through to the new Key Real Estate Associates a much higher price than was originally board president, and she stood up and asked. With funds now available to said, “We’re going to do it, we’re going purchase new windows, the cooperative is to follow your suggestion because I don’t Josh proceeding with the capital project. want to pay anymore for what we should Vice President have been doing and done right the first The Lovett Company time.” The project will begin some time this summer. I think it will go forward Koppel smoothly and won’t bother this board Stranger in 1A The tenant in 1A was Alex K. anymore. dead. But then who was that man living there? When I learned that a long-term Director of Management resident in a rent-stabilized apartment in Kaled Management a co-op I managed had died in prison a Kuffel decade before, I was surprised. The board When to Stop A client came to claimed not to know who the stranger us with many problems, including a Jack in 1A actually was, although several 15-year-old lawsuit that was eroding members had relationships with both the corporation’s financial solvency. the late tenant and his replacement; they The board was inclined to approach the Lerner were clearly bending the truth. Eviction resolution by continuing the countless Outside the Box A 60-unit co-op proceedings began, but several board legal filings and contributing to the in Chelsea owned a small office space members advocated for the mystery man’s exorbitant legal expenses that were off its lobby that presented challenges neighborliness. When a private detective already spiraling out of control. Our firm for attracting quality tenants and uses. discovered the impostor had a felony recommended the board approach this This had been an issue through various record and had left a threatening note matter by stripping back the layers of market cycles and was not indicative on the president’s door, things escalated. attorneys and getting all parties together of the weakened economy. Recently, Still, several members wanted to forgive – in person – to negotiate a settlement the apartment became vacant and we “in the spirit of community.” Only when I with which all parties would be satisfied. suggested considering other uses. We hit them with hard facts – about liability; The board rejected this idea. However, established criteria based on highest/ the principles of fairness, community, they eventually grew tired of seeing the best use, added shareholder value, and and rent stabilization; and the dangerous legal fees as the primary expenditure in potential revenue stream. The building precedent of awarding a lease to someone their budget and reluctantly agreed to try did not have any storage space available who had been committing fraud – did our approach. It worked. The resolution to its residents, and we learned several they vote unanimously to evict the wasn’t easy, but it came without e-mails of the shareholders were making use of enigma in their midst. or court filings and demonstrates off-site storage facilities throughout the President how a good, old-fashioned, common- city. A feasibility study determined the HSC Management sense approach may pave the way to a number of storage spaces we could install resolution. and a market survey determined demand President and rates. Thinking outside of the (tiny Ellen Pride Property Management office) box, we were able to add an amenity for the shareholders and increase the apartment’s revenue by 16 percent. Kornfeld Peter President Seize the Moment In an 89-unit Plymouth Management Manhattan cooperative, the board of directors was exploring ways to finance a building-wide window replacement project. A two-bedroom, two-bath apartment owned by the cooperative LehGet It Right The board at rthis building became vacant and the opportunity had finally had enough; its members were presented itself to sell the unit. Based on tired of paying for the same repairs over estimated costs of $2 million to replace and over again, and now they were faced

www.habitatmag.com July/August 2013 HABITAT 51 allow the board to focus on the bigger with monthly project updates along with Mark picture. any other business that was noteworthy. Executive Vice President At one 40-unit co-op’s annual meeting, Excel Bradshaw Management Group only three non-board shareholders attended. How easy was that? Levine President Diffuse It Different boards have Georgia Barton Management different relationships with their shareholders. Some rely on management to be the point of contact while others Lombardo- Anastasios get involved in every issue, no matter the size. We had one board that seemed to be Barton alienating its constituents by confronting Communicate! Spring tends to be Magoulas Sponsor Success We recently residents over rules they were breaking annual meeting season for many co-ops/ came across a condominium property in and threatening them with fines. This condos. These annual gatherings can Elmhurst, Queens, that was facing very board-wide interaction was causing be a pleasant get-together or a dreaded serious problems that were jeopardizing distress for everyone, and slowly a group riot act. Our strategy is simple yet often the many aspects of its operations. We of shareholders was forming to try to overlooked: communication. Whether were faced with multiple problems, combat them. We were able to work with you distribute quarterly newsletters such as budgetary inequities, building the board to set a policy that the board or send e-mail updates, keeping unit- structural defects, and nonpayment of should allow management to deal directly owners informed regularly will result in common charges by the sponsor. We with shareholders and their problems a harmonious annual meeting. This year, instituted an operational and financial and issue letters or fines as needed. By we had quorums with over 80 percent in plan and were able to return to various taking the board out of the day-to-day proxies, particularly in buildings with normal operational activities within interaction with the shareholders, we major capital improvements currently in a reasonable period of time. With the were able to diffuse the hostility and progress. We provided those unit-owners assistance of an attorney, we presented

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52 HABITAT July/August 2013 www.habitatmag.com Hankin & Mazel PllC Proud to provide personal legal services to co-ops and condos, large and small, for over 20 years. our case to the attorney general’s office, and the condo received a substantial attorneys at law monetary compensation from the sponsor. Based on this experience, we believe the best way to deal with such serious problems is to have an active and Mark Hankin and Geoffrey R. Mazel, Partners informed board that takes the manager’s 7 Penn Plaza, Suite 904 • New York, NY 10001 recommendations seriously. 212-349-1668 • [email protected] CEO All Area Realty Services Vito Mangini retro No More Steam Our client, a postwar co-op in Greenwich Village, was using Con Ed steam for heat and hot water. to the We suggested that they install a boiler with a dual-fuel burner to eliminate their Future! dependence on steam. This involved taking parking spaces from the garage Retro-commissioning, that is. to create a boiler room and an oil- tank storage room. We also installed a New York City Local Law 87/09 takes chimney for the exhaust – we were able to install one with mechanical induction effect this year, requiring properties because it was at the required distance 50,000 square feet or larger to have from residential units. The building’s an energy audit conducted followed by energy costs have declined by 50 retro-commissioning—adjusting and percent since this work was completed. To this day, board members thank us maintaining building systems for better for presenting this idea to them and operating effi ciency. That adds up to encouraging them to make this energy- greater energy savings, now and saving change. for years to come. Director of Management Tudor Realty Services Buildings with block numbers ending in 3 have to fi le an Energy Effi ciency Report with the city Beth by December 31, 2013; those ending in 4 must fi le by the end of 2014, and so on. The audit, Markowitz retro-commissioning, and fi ling process can take Define the Line When you sit on the a year or more, so now is the time to start. board, you’ve got to define the line. In dealing with your staff, you’ve got to To get on track for Local Law 87/09 compliance, contact define who’s responsible for what. This RAND at 212-675-8844; [email protected]. Because when isn’t as simple as it sounds. We manage it comes to going retro, the future is now. a high-end condo, and at the annual meeting, a number of unit-owners raised the issue of small repairs being done in their apartments by the staff. They felt their common charges should cover those. You want to provide service, but the issue is liability. When staff members enter an apartment, are they still legally employees of the building? Or have they now become contractors for the unit-

www.habitatmag.com July/August 2013 HABITAT 53 owner? And if something happens and they either get injured or cause damage, Sami Louis who’s responsible? After consulting with our attorney and insurance broker, we crafted a policy and defined the line of Sandberg Financial Footwork We took on responsibility, and then in conjunction Najjar When to Step In At one of our management of a small co-op last year with this, we put insurance requirements annual shareholders’ meetings, a heated that had been managed by the sponsor. in place. Essentially, the policy says that argument began between the president of The co-op was running an operational anything requiring a licensed professional the board and a disgruntled shareholder deficit, had no reserve fund, and owed – a plumber or an electrician, for example regarding excessive noise and music real estate taxes of over $60,000 – would be the responsibility of the unit- emitting from the shareholder’s unit. The (almost one year in arrears). We were owner. Simple things – such as changing shareholder began to accuse the board asked to come up with a plan to get the a light bulb or snaking a drain – would president of being prejudiced toward shareholders back on their feet. Working be covered by the condo association. her religion and race. At that moment, with the board, we implemented a Additionally, nobody from the building I intervened because I take prejudice maintenance increase and two concurrent is allowed to enter an apartment and do accusations very seriously, and when assessments: one to pay off the tax any sort of work unless the unit-owner I was told by the shareholder that she liability and one to start building a signs on to the “super policy,” which says was not talking to me I made it clear reserve fund. The maintenance increase that he/she understands those terms, and that I represented the co-op and all her also covered a line item in the budget to that he/she will furnish management with remarks and comments should go through operate a 10 percent surplus that lenders an insurance policy (including personal me. I closed the discussion and told her like to see in refinances. We also worked liability). to continue any legal actions through out a payment plan with the Department President her lawyers. The lesson here is that the of Finance to avoid late fees on the Merlot Management managing agent should always be neutral arrears. These steps were accomplished but also has to know when to step in and in 45 days. Ira put things in the right place. President Partner Sandberg Management Meister Sandra Greer Real Estate The Hoarder Challenge Hoarding Brian has gained recent attention as a problem Gerard J. in many communities. It creates risks to safety and health. We recently took over management of an Upper East Side Scally Setting the Stage With Hurricane co-op that had a longstanding problem Picaso Because Sandy bearing down on the East Coast, with a woman in her eighties who was a The Picaso Solution of a requirement that 85 percent of I worked with my staff to plan and then hoarder. Newspapers, items she picked shareholders vote in favor of any implement the steps to hold back the up off the street, and other detritus were amendment to their bylaws, a co-op we storm waters. We also prepared for the crammed into the apartment. Residents manage was vainly struggling to get a cleanup: I contacted three restoration complained about the conditions and transfer fee (flip tax) implemented. The companies, requesting they be on site smell and the building staff refused shareholders were not against it; they immediately after the storm. Prior to to enter the apartment because of the were just apathetic and wouldn’t turn Sandy’s arrival, the staff was advised to unsafe conditions. No one knew of any up (or give proxies) for a meeting. But fill all the gas cans, trucks, and pumps relatives, but after an extensive Google then, along with the co-op attorney, we with gas, and set them at designated search, we found a son in Wyoming, discovered that the board had the right locations. Next, we hired a contractor to who was not in touch with his mother. to implement certain fees. Consequently, install two-by-four studs with plywood We got him involved, along with the the board passed a capital contribution, in front of each garage. We also placed city’s Department of Social Services, which stated that any new purchaser over 1,000 sandbags at strategic locations. and hired a firm to clean up the mess. would pay 1.5 percent of the total Just before the storm, we coordinated the Working with the woman’s son, we had price they paid for their apartment as a evacuation of the shareholders. The staff an administrator appointed and got his contribution. Although not a transfer fee stayed on site to man the pumps, with mom the care she needed. The teaching or flip tax, it served the same purpose. the advice to evacuate if necessary. In lesson: resourcefulness pays off. short, being prepared led to an immediate President President & CEO cleanup response afterward. Gerard J. Picaso Inc. Matthew Adam Properties Property Manager Garthchester Realty

54 HABITAT July/August 2013 www.habitatmag.com Managing Your Building’s

Stuart D. lectricity Costs Smolar Should be Easy! An Informed Board The risk of assuming that all board members, inding a fair way to allocate electricity costs in unit-owners, and/or shareholders are Fa co-op or condo building can be a challenge. fully versed in every issue allows Now, Quadlogic will be your partner and make your for misunderstanding and errors in job very easy, while being fair to all stakeholders. the decision-making process. The Our Advanced Sub-Meters are approved for use opportunity to explain all components Model S-10 in the new NYSERDA Electric Reduction in Master In-unit residential meter of an issue shouldn’t be wasted, whether Metered Buildings (ERMM) Program, which offers dealing with budgeting, capital projects, payments up to $250 per meter, plus other incentives. In addition, legal issues, or any other matter. It Quadlogic will help you untangle the regulations, so you can receive the provides those with little understanding incentive payment faster. What’s more, we offer Reading & Billing Services, of the matter a background to make so you don’t have to. Result: your building saves by conserving electricity, rational decisions, or at the very least, to and you are saved from the hassles of managing it. ask pertinent questions. For those with an understanding, it gives them the up- Call today and ask for Eric Jacobson. It’s that easy! to-date details necessary to understand where the matter is at that moment in (212) 930-9300 [email protected] time. The value of teaching an issue is www.quadlogic.com rarely a waste of time, and, in the long run, makes the board’s, building’s, and manager’s lives more productive. Vice President Andrews Building Corporation Jeffrey Stillman Surprise Solutions What do you do when a plan you are in the middle of implementing gets derailed through an unexpected event? In the middle of installing energy-efficient gas boilers in all four sections of this property, there was a major gas leak and a building structural issue. The problem the property faced was how to finance the completion of the boiler project when funds, which were earmarked for the project, had to be diverted to make emergency repairs. The property could not draw down on an existing line of credit, refinance the mortgage, or assess the owners. We were able to assist the board by contacting an energy company that offered a new financing program for boiler installations. The company will advance all the payments to the contractor, install the boilers, and be repaid through the savings obtained by switching from oil to gas. Vice President Stillman Management www.habitatmag.com July/August 2013 HABITAT 55 Valley (192 apartments, Garden City) or for buyers looking to obtain a Peter spent $295,816 on oil, and this year spent mortgage. The lesson is that the board has $152,599 on gas – a savings of $143,217. a tough task in deciding what is best for von Simson Cherry Valley’s treasurer wrote to thank the entire community and must look at all Resolve It While working on a large Fairfield for convincing shareholders at of the consequences of their policies. The Local Law 11 project in a condominium an annual meeting to convert to gas. He board is now reviewing its sublet policy, building in Brooklyn, the contractor was added that Fairfield kept daily pressure including a restriction on how many years forced to stage the work on the terrace on National Grid and Garden City one can sublet. of the penthouse (it was the only staging officials to expedite a resolution and kept President area available). The owner was upset the board informed. The community is Blue Woods Management Group about this, but seemed to accept that very pleased with the result. there were limited options. Halfway Director of Asset Management through the project, while conducting Fairfield Property Services John D. an inspection from the scaffolding, the engineer for the project found additional conditions that needed to be addressed, Jeffrey M. which would extend the project an additional three months. The penthouse Wolf Beyond the Limit The bylaws in a owner was very upset and threatened condo I manage required the board to legal action. The board, confident in Weber restore individual units to “builder-grade” the right of the condo to use the terrace, Deficit Into Profit When we condition in the event of a disaster. After prepared for what seemed to be a certain took over a previously self-managed Hurricane Sandy, the building’s insurance legal battle. The building’s attorney cooperative, we found many of the company paid the building more money gave the board very sound advice: if this vendors were taking advantage of the than was needed to restore units to issue goes to court, it will take months co-op. The fuel company was charging a builder grade. The owners, who wanted of legal work, cost thousands of dollars, dollar a gallon extra for maintenance of to use the additional money to cover their delay the project, and result in a possibly the boiler. What was the incentive for the claims, were upset because the bylaws unfavorable opinion. The lesson? The oil company to maximize the efficiency did not permit this, and the board was board should look at alternatives to of the system? So, the co-op was burning caught in a tough squeeze. There will be resolve the issue in a way both parties more oil and being charged more per a change down the road, however, with a can live with, even if the building incurs gallon. We were able to turn a $69,000 rewrite of the bylaws essentially saying additional cost. deficit per year into a profit of $60,000 that, in future disasters, the unit-owners Director of Management per year. will receive most of the insurance money, New Bedford Management President less any deductions for legal fees or Weber-Farhat Realty public adjustors. Alvin President Wasserman Donald E. Alexander Wolf & Company Gas Switch From 2005 to 2011, the Michael J. price of natural gas dropped 55 percent, and the U.S. increased gas production Wilson by 27 percent. Observing this trend, Tough Sublet Love We manage a Fairfield Properties prepared a cost/ co-op that permits subletting with board benefit analysis for properties that were approval. I became concerned because Wolfe Feasibility First Boards have wish burning oil to convert to natural gas. several shareholders have been subletting lists for amenities that may sound great, Fairfield then contacted boards to offer for many years without any apparent but, in the final analysis, may not be assistance to convert and to purchase gas intention of returning to the building. feasible. In one case, a board wanted from an energy supply company. Three Given the tightened lending policies that to install a sizable roof deck adorned clients – Woodlands Cooperative, Cherry the banks are now following, my concern with planters, roof furniture, and a gas Valley Cooperative, and Town House was that if new sublets were approved, it grill – unbeknownst to the manager. A Village Condominium – are now reaping could lead to problems for shareholders board subcommittee had been formed to significant savings. Last year, Cherry who needed to refinance their mortgage research vendors, plants, and furniture.

56 HABITAT July/August 2013 www.habitatmag.com However, the board members didn’t realize that there needed to be an analysis of the roof load to ensure structural integrity; that the roof warranty needed to be reviewed by management and the manufacturer’s technical division to confirm that the deck installation would not void the warranty; that, depending on materials used, there might be annual maintenance issues that would affect staff schedules; or that watering and winterization plans had to be considered. The lesson here is that it is imperative for any construction or other project to be overseen by management and the professionals equipped to perform the analysis to see if the project is feasible. President Midboro Management Dan Wurtzel Deep Pockets One of the immediate challenges confronting some of our clients after Hurricane Sandy was how to move forward with property repairs/ restoration with little or no reserves and an insurance claim process that would not release enough funds to allow rebuilding to proceed. To ensure the safety and well- being of our residents, we responded by establishing a $10 million hurricane relief fund that allowed our clients to access funds on a short-term basis at competitive interest rates while waiting for insurance claims to be settled. This provided relief to our clients – who were able to proceed quickly with repairs and restoration of their buildings – while demonstrating the benefits of a partnership between the client and a well-established management company. President, Property Management FirstService Residential New York (formerly Cooper Square Realty) n

www.habitatmag.com July/August 2013 HABITAT 57 SpeciaL ADVERTISING SECTION Management Showcase

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58 HABITAT July/August 2013 www.habitatmag.com SpeciaL ADVERTISING SECTION Management Showcase

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60 HABITAT July/August 2013 www.habitatmag.com Board Talk

A Conversation about a Nuisance Shareholder Pat The board is faced number of oppositional Kate Very good points what he is saying, just keep with a shareholder who folks who seem to enjoy on the importance of calling him a racist – that is has been posting notes the power that comes with establishing bonds with the stock answer and might in the lobby about the manipulating opinion. shareholders. Personal stop him. board and what he calls Board members will, communication is much mismanagement by the therefore, always have to better than memos. Steve Rosenstein I don’t managing agent. Although respond to misinformation Maybe a bit off-topic, think responding to the the board members do and continually but I think one mistake nuisance shareholder by not get paid for the time communicate with those from “professional” calling him a racist will and services they provide, solve anything. It usually he is insinuating there is has the opposite effect and some underhandedness oin our online discussion escalates the problem (he’s going on. This is an HDFC Jforum where board getting the reaction he (Housing Development members post questions and wants). Fund Corporation) building the board director community Instead, try publishing where no one other than chimes in with responses. a one- or two-page the managing agent gets Topics range from mouse- newsletter every month or paid for his services. The proofing to management every quarter explaining shareholder is spreading – really, anything, and all the reasons why the vicious lies, and there things, that boards encounter “mismanaged” decisions on a daily basis. are a number of new were made or actions were Want to participate? shareholders who don’t taken. Do not refer to the really know us or the things Go to: shareholder’s accusations, we have done throughout www.habitatmag.com/board-talk but simply describe the years. He was on the the truth in general, board, but he was voted off informational terms. Toot because of his bad attitude your own horns! Slip a copy and racial remarks. What under each apartment door, can we do? or send via co-op-wide shareholders, providing backgrounds make is to e-mail. You are under no MT If the postings contain clear, factual information. think that memos are all it obligation to provide “equal information that is correct, You and other board takes to gain shareholder time” for any responses. then it should be okay. members need to be trust. Also, please do Do this enough, and I Also, if you think you are strategic about having not overemphasize your bet the annoyances will doing a wonderful job, then informal discussions professional jobs – that will decrease because they what are you afraid of? with shareholders. People alienate you from those won’t gain any traction. The Why not just post facts on appreciate the give-and- who do not have similar nuisance shareholder will the lobby board to correct take of conversations in status. In my last building, start to look like an idiot. him? which their questions and we had a blue-collar guy concerns can be answered, who was treasurer. He was Frankie D Turn the tables Liz People will often more so than the one-way conscientious, good with on the shareholder – create believe what they read, communication of written numbers, and did a very a task force or committee even in anonymous notes, memos. If you split up the good job. And, I am curious and ask him to run it. and especially if your work – and track the people as to whether Pat got HDFCs are not known for nuisance shareholder is you interact with – you can anything out of our various efficiency, so this could pushing people’s buttons (re)gain shareholder trust comments. Hope that at help the cause and get concerning their money. and will have an easier time least some of this helped. the naysayer doing some Part of co-op life involves managing the building. productive work. n dealing with a certain Sara If you can’t disprove

Board Talk: Some of the responses have been edited for clarity. Opinions expressed in Board Talk do not reflect the opinions of Habitat.

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62 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com Eleanor Selling Renovation Committee Member, My Turn 5 Riverside Drive, Manhattan

Renovation committee members

ott (left to right) Rob Anzalone, John . j McCormack, and Eleanor Selling,

carol with board president Bill Barrett.

Also, we didn’t have the kind of rules in place to deal Renovation Rx with the demands of multiple construction projects taking t was trouble in paradise, a classic case of balancing place at once. The three existing alteration agreements Idiffering needs, of responding to the requests of the new we used were written in 1985 and did not cover a host of with the concerns of the old. And the board was caught areas. Moreover, without written building standards, each right in the middle. renovation was treated on a case-by-case basis. This added To back up a little: I believe that 5 Riverside Drive, the to the responsibilities of ­– and the time spent by – the board. co-op where I live, is a wonderful place. A classic Art In addition, without written procedures that showed Deco high-rise designed by the team of Boak and Paris in shareholders how to navigate the process, our residents had 1937, the 109-unit co-op sits on the corner of 73rd Street to turn to someone in authority to answer questions about and Riverside Drive. It has a variety of apartments, many renovations – yet there was no point person designated for including dropped living rooms, dining galleries, and that purpose. Many people were involved in the approval decorative fireplaces. The shareholders love the proximity process: a part-time, on-site office manager; a managing to Riverside Park and enjoy the wide vistas of the Hudson agent; an architectural firm; and the 13 members of the River. The building, which went co-op in 1966, has round- board. the-clock service and a live-in superintendent, laundry, To deal with these issues, the renovation committee made storage, and a bike room. changes in four areas: With those attractions, however, come challenges, Schedule. The scheduling of jobs was the first issue as we learned when the real estate market took off. addressed. A letter was sent to shareholders, explaining Ten percent of our apartments were sold within three why only two major renovations could be scheduled years, many for between $1 million and $2 million. at once, along with several smaller decorating jobs. A number of shareholders submitted larger and more The longer-term goal was to delegate coordination of complex renovation plans than we’d ever handled. I had these projects to the office manager, while having the served as president of the board in the past and had done superintendent review insurance and schedule jobs. shareholder outreach before, so I was asked by the president With that in mind, a checklist was utilized to track all to be a liaison between the board and the shareholders. documents received from each unit. I recommended that we set up a committee because we Alteration Agreement. We reviewed the Real Estate needed a lot of expertise and hard work. Board of New York’s alteration agreement, written in We found that the building and its staff were not geared 1999. Then the committee consulted our managing agent, up for the kind of work these new owners envisioned. superintendent, and the architect from the firm hired to For instance, we do not have a service elevator, so during advise the board on renovations. We also read alteration construction, one of the two passenger elevators had to be agreements used by similar buildings. These discussions used to ferry men and supplies up and demolition debris gave us a handle on the issues we faced. After four months down – meaning the other residents had to wait longer to get of work, we customized our own alteration agreement. a lift. These addressed our legal, operational, and financial www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 63 concerns and included a checklist that shareholders could use to track the documents they needed and the steps to take. The board approved our recommendations. We posted the documents on BuildingLink (an online database to assist in the management of real estate) so our shareholders could access them as needed. Insurance. To avoid confusion by shareholders and contractors, instructions were added to our insurance requirements and to our “hold harmless” agreement. The superintendent was made the central point of contact for approving these documents, since he was the focal point for scheduling work, from the capital improvement project to the 10 or more renovations occurring simultaneously. The committee consolidated the whole process into a one-page checklist, written from the point of view of a shareholder, and published it on BuildingLink. Standards. Our committee also addressed specific issues that had been raised by shareholders. We agreed upon a louver color and a design for through-the-wall air conditioners, so that the building would begin to have a more uniform façade. We addressed requests for new vents to the outside where there had not been any before. We set standards for windows in different elevations. We established who was responsible for reviewing and approving the work before the walls were closed. And all the while, we kept in mind the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s (LPC) potential jurisdiction, working with LPC to determine what the procedures were for buildings such as ours that weren’t yet officially designated as part of historic districts but whose neighborhoods were “docketed.” With input from our professionals, the guidelines and requirements were approved at the same time as the alteration agreement. The upshot? We are very pleased with the way this has all worked out. We now feel that we have a tightly controlled process that meets everyone’s needs, protecting the corporation while addressing the concerns of those renovating. n

64 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com Ask the Mortgage Broker By Patrick B. Niland

Closing Is Not for Amateurs Our co-op just received a commitment for a new advisers. Refinancing an underlying mortgage affects not underlying mortgage. Should we call our regular only the monthly maintenance but also the market value attorney to handle the closing, or should we call of every shareholder’s apartment. The ramifications of someone special? making a mistake when refinancing are long-lasting and can be very expensive. Whether your new loan is big or We are planning to refinance our existing underlying small, short-term or long-, simple or complex, I strongly mortgage with a new loan of the same amount. Do we urge you to consult all of your cooperative’s professional need our attorney for such a simple transaction? Her advisers, including your attorney. rates are very expensive. That said, I always like to draw a distinction between credentials and experience. Not all attorneys are well One of our board members is an attorney. Is it OK to versed in the refinancing process. Some have never closed use him to close our new underlying mortgage? It would a loan of any type, some have never closed an underlying save us some money, but someone suggested that it mortgage loan, and others have not closed an underlying might be a conflict of interest. loan in years. A lack of recent and specific experience does not automatically mean that your attorney cannot close receive questions like these several times each year, as your loan. However, there is a strong possibility that an Iwell as similar ones about accountants and managing attorney who has closed many underlying loans will give agents. It always surprises me that board members, who you better advice, will close your new loan faster, and will have a fiduciary responsibility to protect the interests encounter fewer “hiccups.” That experience might come at of their fellow shareholders, would undertake the a higher cost than your regular attorney would charge but, most important transaction of their tenure without the I assure you, it will be money well spent. involvement of all of their cooperative’s professional So, if you are contemplating a refinancing of your

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 65 Specializing in quality management services, cooperative/condo conversions, cooperative/condo sales, cooperative’s underlying mortgage, general contracting and more. by all means, contact your regular attorney. He or she will tell you whether the terms of your existing MAJESTIC loan allow you to refinance and, if so, what the prepayment terms (if PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CORP. any) might be. He or she can also 60 Cutter Mill Road – Suite 303 give you a list of issues to consider Great Neck, New York 11021 as you formulate the type of new loan you want. You also should T: 516-466-3100 www.majesticpropertymgt.com have a frank discussion with your regular attorney regarding his or her experience in closing underlying loans. If you decide to use a different attorney to handle your refinancing, your regular attorney can be very helpful in identifying and evaluating candidates. The overarching goal is for your cooperative to have the best legal representation for this very important transaction. Some cooperatives do not have A long and illustrious history a regular attorney, either hiring working with housing developments someone different as each individual transaction presents itself or handling such issues on their own. Norris McLaughlin & Marcus (formerly Szold & Brandwen) When confronted with an underlying offers full service representation of cooperatives and loan commitment, though, the condominiums, based on over 85 years of experience, boards of many of these cooperatives including: come to the (correct) conclusion that they need some professional • Construction, professional and service contracts help. Searching the Yellow Pages or • Commercial, retail and professional leasing online listings might turn up a few • Litigation names to call, but a much better way • Landlord/Tenant proceedings and actions to find a skilled attorney would be • Corporate governance to ask friends, neighbors, and work colleagues for recommendations. • Shareholder disputes Should a board member perform • Special expertise drawn from other areas of practice in the firm any professional service for his or her cooperative beyond his or her The firm’s cooperative and condominium clients range from board duties? It depends. Board smaller buildings to large multi-building developments. All members come from all walks of life receive timely and responsive service from our team of and every profession. That diversity experienced attorneys. of knowledge and experience can be a great benefit to any board. Cooperative & Condominium Law Group Unfortunately, it sometimes can be a hindrance to effective administration and timely action. In those cases, it Ezra N. Goodman Dean M. Roberts might be best to retain the expertise Burt Allen Solomon Karol S. Robinson of an independent third party. Michael T. Reilly Danielle M. Wanglien However, there is no legal or ethical reason that a board member who is 875 Third Avenue • 8th Floor • New York, NY 10022 trained and licensed as an attorney t: 212-808-0700 • f: 212-808-0844 • e: [email protected] could not close your cooperative’s new underlying loan. Likewise, there www.nmmlaw.com would be no conflict of interest,

66 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com unless that attorney board member did something to his or her benefit at the expense of the cooperative or its other shareholders. Closing a new underlying mortgage loan is not a terribly complicated process, but it does have many steps. Each of those must be completed to the satisfaction of the lender’s attorney before a closing can be scheduled. The cooperative’s attorney is responsible for satisfying most of those requirements. That is where past experience in closing loans comes into play. Finally, unless there is some special situation to be addressed or complicated problem to be resolved, most new loans should close within 45 days of commitment acceptance. The majority of my clients close in about three weeks, and one closed in three (very long and hectic) days! I hope that all of your closings go smoothly. n

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www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 67 Case Notes By Richard Siegler and Dale J. Degenshein The Commercial Sublet Fee Quagmire

ay a co-op board charge sublet fees to a commercial Eviction Notices Mtenant-shareholder based upon broad language in Greene Street served a notice to cure, dated October the proprietary lease and a board (rather than shareholder) 28, 2011, which asserted that Campaniello breached amendment to the bylaws? That was the issue in Thomas the proprietary lease by subletting the commercial Campaniello v. Greene Street Holding Corp. and the unit without paying the required sublet fee, i.e., 10 Board of Directors of Greene Street Holding Corp. percent of the monthly rent. The notice stated that

Background Thomas Campaniello was a tenant-shareholder who owned the shares allocated to a commercial unit at Greene Street, a cooperative housing corporation that owns the property at 136 Greene Street in Manhattan. Campaniello sought an injunction (commonly known as a Yellowstone injunction) to enjoin Greene Street from evicting him. Greene Street’s board of directors is elected by the shareholders of Greene Street to manage and operate the building. The parties entered into a written lease agreement in 2006. Campaniello was provided a copy of the proprietary lease and bylaws of the cooperative when he became a shareholder.

The Sublease Campaniello claimed that he sought to sublease the commercial unit in 2010, at a monthly rental of $60,000, and that Greene Street refused to consent to the if the monies were not paid within 30 days, Greene sublet unless he paid an “exorbitant sublet fee.” Both the Street would terminate the lease. On November 22, lease and the bylaws set forth the conditions under which 2011, Campaniello began this action and sought (a) shareholders could sublet. Greene Street claimed that it was a declaration from the court that the amendment to permitted to implement a monthly sublet fee of 10 percent of the bylaws by the board, which purported to allow for the rent payable under the sublease based on an amendment a sublet fee, was not authorized by law or corporate to the bylaws that had been adopted by the board. documents and was therefore unenforceable; (b) a Campaniello asserted that he was forced to sign a written declaration from the court that the proprietary lease agreement consenting to pay the sublet fee as well as $3,000 did not contain a sublet fee provision; and (c) an order for Greene Street’s legal fees, and that he was told that if enjoining the co-op from collecting a sublet fee from he did not sign, he would have been denied permission to Campaniello. Finally, the complaint sought an order sublet. requiring Greene Street to make repairs to cure the Notwithstanding having signed the written agreement, leaks in Campaniello’s unit. Campaniello withheld the sublet fees for two reasons: the Presumably because Campaniello is a commercial lease did not authorize the fees and there were water leaks in tenant, he also sought a Yellowstone injunction, i.e., the commercial unit that had not been repaired. an order that asks the court and would prevent Greene

68 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com Street from terminating his lease before Campaniello had time to cure the default. Campaniello was granted an order temporarily restraining Greene Street from evicting him. Greene Street moved for summary judgment to dismiss those portions of the complaint that sought an order declaring the sublet fee as improper. The court noted that a grant of summary judgment is a drastic remedy to be granted only if there are no triable issues of fact. The party moving for summary judgment must demonstrate an entitlement to judgment by showing sufficient evidence in admissible form and the absence of material issues of fact. Assuming Greene Street was able to make such a showing, the burden would shift to Campaniello to produce proof in admissible form sufficient to establish the existence of material facts. The court noted that its role in deciding a motion for summary judgment is limited to determining if triable issues of fact exist, not to determine the merits of any claims. In addition, the court is required to view the evidence in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. If there is any doubt as to whether to grant summary judgment, the motion must be denied.

The Documents The court analyzed the relevant documents. Under the terms of the proprietary lease, a commercial shareholder such as Campaniello had the right to sublet his unit after Using knowledge and expertise obtaining the consent of the board, which “shall not be unreasonably to provide withheld.” The lease also provided condominiums, cooperatives, that a consent to subletting “may be subject to such conditions” as the developers and managers board “shall impose.” with answers for over 25 years! The original bylaws had provided that upon a sublet, the board had the authority to fix and assess a “reasonable fee to cover actual expenses and attorneys’ fees” in 5 Penn Plaza, 19th floor | New York, NY 10001 | 212-835-1584 connection with the sublet. Greene 1200 Tices Lane | East Brunswick, NJ 08816 | 732-846-3000 www.wgcpas.com | [email protected]

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 69 Street contended that the board of directors met in 1979 and voted to impose a sublet fee as an amendment to the bylaws. The vote was distributed to shareholders. Greene Street asserted this was in accordance with the bylaws, which stated that they could be amended by the shareholders or the board, but added that the board “may not repeal a bylaw amendment adopted by the shareholders.” Campaniello did not dispute that, since 1980, the co-op had collected a sublet fee from all shareholders who sublet, including those who owned commercial units.

The Holding The court determined that the broad language in the proprietary lease – “any consent to subletting may be subject to such conditions” as the board “may impose” – gave the board the right to charge sublet fees even without the consent of the shareholders. Further, given that the proprietary lease permitted WC7250_NY HABITAT_COLOR:WC5393D.NY COOP MAG AD 9/20/11 3:22 PM Page 1the board to amend the bylaws TENANT STORAGE SOLUTIONS

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70 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com without seeking shareholder space is owned by the co-op notice of meeting in this instance, the approval, the bylaw amendment had and leased to a tenant, whether shareholder was able to argue that the been properly adopted. Although through a “sweetheart” lease to the meeting was not properly announced. Campaniello argued that it appeared sponsor or an arm’s length lease Here, the board was able to locate that the notice of meeting for the to a tenant. In those situations, persons who had served as board 1979 meeting had been lost, so the commercial occupant is only members more than 30 years ago, there was no evidence that the 1979 a tenant, and the lease forms the and those persons were able to recall meeting was properly noticed (i.e., agreement between the parties. In the sum and substance of the notice no evidence that the amendment arm’s length transactions, those of meeting on this issue. Without to the bylaw was set forth in the leases are negotiated and the terms their affidavits, we do not know how notice of that meeting), the court of any sublet would be contained the court would have resolved this noted that Greene Street introduced in the commercial lease. In this issue – although there appeared to be affidavits of three people who situation, the commercial units were evidence that the shareholders were attested that they received the owned by shareholders of the co- advised of the bylaw amendment. notice of the 1979 meeting, and op, so that the agreements between Additionally, this case underscores the that the notice set forth the sum the parties were the same as the importance of uniformly implementing and substance of the then-proposed agreements between the co-op and lease and bylaw provisions, as the bylaw amendment. Further, the its residential shareholders – the court noted that the sublet fee had been court acknowledged that Greene proprietary lease and bylaws. charged to all shareholders – residential Street had demonstrated that it This case reminds us that it and commercial – for more than 30 uniformly imposed the sublet fee is important for the managing years. n for the past 32 years. Accordingly, agent to maintain accurate and the action was dismissed and complete records of meetings and, Attorneys Greene Street was permitted to in particular, votes by the board or For Plaintiff pursue its remedies in landlord- shareholders. In order for a board Horing, Welikson & Rosen tenant court. to amend bylaws, the terms of the amendment should be set forth in the For Defendant The Takeaway notice of meeting. Because the board Braverman Greenspun In many co-ops, the commercial (or agent) did not have a copy of the MANAGE SMART $AVE GREEN Rudd Realty Management is the only property management fi rm to offer RECSS OUR GREEN ENERGY INITIATIVE saving our cooperative and condominium properties tens of thousands of dollars.

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www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 71 Marketplace The premier directory of suppliers and professional services to New York’s co-op/condo board directors and building managers.

Marketplace ACOUSTICS/NOISE/VIBRATION RATE INFORMATION AKRF Inc...... 646-388-9829 consulting engineers Line listings offer our Contact Benjamin Sachwald or visit www.akrf.com CK Engineer, P.C. most economical advertising. Christopher Kelly, P.E. Principal.....212-986-3619 One rate for one full year - Building Condition Surveys and Reports. All 11 issues of Habitat: AIR Duct & Chute Cleaning Disciplines, Cost Estimating, Design-Specifications & 1 line – $370 4 lines – $660 1-800-CHUTE-ME...... 800-248-8363 Plans. Construction Administration. LL 10-80/LL 11/98. 2 lines – $469 5 lines – $724 Get your chute together. 3 lines – $556 6 lines – $767 Chutemaster Indoor Environmental 800-234-4656 Falcon Engineering, Spotlight Display Architecture & Energy Consultants 1-3 issues – $417 per issue ArcHItects/lobby design Building Envelope Consulting/Inspections/Specs, 4-10 issues – $345 per issue Baron Design Inc, NYS Licensed…... 212-242-6567 Parking Garage Investigation/Design, Capital Re- 11 issues – $265 per issue Lobby and Hallway Specialists for 20 Years serve Analysis, LL 11/98 Inspections/Reports, LL 84 & Get happily involved. barondesigninc@gmail www.jonathanbaron.com 87 Benchmarking and MEP Design/Evaluation Contact: J. Wu, Advertising Coordinator 646-292-3515 [email protected] Ivan Brice Architecture/Engineering 212-505-2030 x3006 LL 11-98 & Landmarks Filings, Condition Reports, Ivan Brice Architecture/Engineering F: 212-254-6795 E: [email protected] Budgeting, Plans, Specs, Construction Adminis- LL 11-98 & Landmarks Filings, Condition Reports, tration, Interior Renovation, Exterior Restoration Budgeting, Plans, Specs, Construction Administra- 212-274-0056 tion, Interior Renovation, Exterior Restoration 212- 274-0056 Robert Cane Architect, PLLC…...... 212-769-9605 Accountants & Auditors Designers of Distinctive New York Lobbies. RAND Engineering & Architecture...212-675-8844 Bollam, Sheedy, Torani, & Co. LLP..212-661-8640 Visit our website at: www.cane-architects.com EXT. RESTORATION * LL 11/98 INSPECTIONS/REPAIRS Offices in NYC, Long Island, and Albany Bldg. Surveys, Design & Specs, Construct. Admin., [email protected] Structural, Roof Replacement, Windows & Doors, HVAC/Elec/Plumbing, Architectural Design, Douglas Condon, C.P.A, LLC...... 718-788-3913 aTTORNEYS Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson, LLP Green Roofs, Energy Audits, Expediting...randpc.com Co-management & other services available. Contact: Neil B. Garfinkel or Barry G. Margolis 212-201-1170 Jay M. Menachem, C.P.A...... 516-877-9277 Borah Goldstein Altschuler ENERGY/FUEL Nahins & Goidel, P.C...... 212-431-1300 Kane & Company, P.A.…...... (212)867-5220 Castle Oil Specializing in Co-ops and Condominiums Corporation...... 914-381-6600 Braverman Greenspun...... 212-682-2900 www.kanecpas.com High-quality fuel oil and burner service, chemical water treatment, boiler cleaning, heating equip- Gallet Dreyer & Berkey, LLP...... 212-935-3131 ment installation, and computerized heating Marin & Montanye LLP………………..516-625-3700 control and monitoring systems. Serving New York’s Ganfer & Shore...... 212-922-9250 x277 most successful property owners and managers MayerMeinberg LLP...... Syosset: 516-921-8900 Contact Matthew Leeds: [email protected] for over 75 years. NYC: 212-631-9500

Newman, Newman & Kaufman, LLP Hankin & Mazel, PLLC...... 212-349-1668 Dual Fuel Corporation...... 347-6NYCGAS Tired of high oil prices? Considering a switch to ��������������������������������������������������������� 516-364-0700 Contact Geoffrey Mazel, Esq. Visit us on the web: www.nnkllp.com clean, economical natural gas? Call DFC today to Himmelfarb & Sher, LLP...... 914-682-0040 see how our NO-cost conversion can provide you with substantial savings. Hoffman Wachtell Koster Maier Rao & Goldenberg, LLP METRO ENERGY...... 718-383-1400 Contact Ira S. Goldenberg, Esq...... 914-997-0999 We’re leading the way in clean energy. Besides quality heating oil and natural gas, we’re proud finance Marcus Rosenberg & Diamond, LLP to offer competitively-priced biofuel alterna- 212-755-7500 tives. We service many NYC Cooperatives and Schneider Mitola LLP...... 516-393-5555 Condominiums of all sizes with our dedicated fuel also 212-485-9400 supply. Talk to us about your options.

Stark & Stark……………609-896-9060 Email: [email protected] ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION Visit us at: www.Stark-Stark.com SERVICES Tane Waterman & Wurtzel, P.C...... 212-766-4000 1-800-CHUTE-ME...... 800-248-8363 Get your chute together. Wagner Davis P.C...... 212-481-9600

Wolf Haldenstein Adler FInance Freeman & Herz, LLP...... 212-545-4600 Meridian Capital Group, LLC Contact: Jeffrey Schwartz, Jeffrey Reich or Underlying Cooperative Financing Steven Sladkus Robert P. Corso, Jr. 212-612-0117 or [email protected] www.meridiancapital.com Bicycle Parking & Storage WireCrafters...... 718-359-1619 Insurance York International Agency LLC...... 914-457-1285 Contact Barbara Strauss...... [email protected] Clothes DRYER/VENT CLEANING 1-800-CHUTE-ME...... 800-248-8363 Get your dryer drying. INTERCOMS & MAILBOXES Chutemaster Indoor Environmental Academy Mailbox Company Inc 800-234-4656 Est. 1948. Intercoms • Mailboxes • CCTV • Access Controls • Engravings www.academymailbox.com COMPACTOR Sales & Repairs 718 or 212-539-1000 Chutemaster Indoor Environmental 800-234-4656

72 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com Marketplace

investment and provide an exceptional quality of LAUNDRY SERVICES life for residents...... www.coopersquare.com Automatic Industries.....Toll Free.1800-THEWASH Too often we hear “I hate my laundry company.” H.S.C. Management Corp...... (main) 914-237- Replacement windows You can learn to “love” your laundry company. 1600 35 Years Professionally managing Co-ops, Ross Window Corporation...... 212-221-1800 Providing coin & debit card operated laundry rooms Condos, and investment properties with Honesty also 914-668-2050. to the Co-op & Condominium community. and Integrity. Contact Josh Koppel, CPM, direct Family owned & operated. 718-414-2073 www.automaticindustries.com www.hscmanagement.com STORAGE SYSTEMS Bargold Storage Systems...... 718-247-7000 Kaled Management Corp...... 516-876-4800 Fully Enclosed Steel Storage Units. Custom Built Co-op/Condo/Rental/HOA Property Management and Installed. Excellent income producer. LOBBY AND HALLWAY DESIGN Contact: Peter Lehr Art & Interiors...... 516-626-6555 FREE INSTALLATION. Specializing in Full Scope Lobby and Hallway Design. Versatile Style that can meet any request. Newgent Management, LLC ...... 347-707-1010 WireCrafters...... 800-626-1816 Expert handling of your real estate headaches! Woven Wire and Solid Enclosed Storage Lockers Attention to all co-op/condo issues - delivered and installed. maintenance of detailed financial records, Ask about our FREE TRIAL OFFER. Property management owners’ charges and payments (including online), Alexander Wolf & Company suggesting “to-do” ideas, tracking and reporting NYC Toll Free ...... 866-316-6672 maintenance and repairs, etc. or LI (516) 349-0540. Specialists in Co-op/Condo/ WATER COST MANAGEMENT HOA & Senior Housing Management. 24 hour New York Water Management...... 718-686-0400 Quantum Management Inc...... 914-592-1100 emergency availability. Real Estate Management Consultants Specializing in all areas of real estate property Contact: John D. Wolf, President Water & Real Estate tax reductions management. Call Tom Bundarin Sub-Meter Installations and meter reading ALL AREA REALTY SERVICES INC. RLH Management...... 516-944-3595 SERVING COOPS & CONDOS IN Vantage Group Inc...... 888-860-2990 35 years experience in Nassau County Complete Cost Reduction Programs, NEW YORK AND LONG ISLAND Managing Co-ops/Condos/Rentals/HOA www.aarsny.com...... 1-866-333-6182 NYC Bill Correction, TURN WATER METERING TO YOUR ADVANTAGE! Siren Management Corp...... 212-483-0700 AUTOMATIC METER READING SPECIALIST! Barton Management...... 212-682-9693 “Managing to be the future of your real estate” Specialists in Co-op/Condo/Residential Specializing in co-op, condo & rental management Management. Contact Georgia Barton: Contact: Jeff [email protected] [email protected] www.sirenmgt.com WINDOW FILM www.bartonmanagement.com Chutemaster Indoor Environmental. 800-234-4656 Vintage Real Estate Services Ltd....212-736-3680 Cooper Square Realty…………..…..212-634-8904 Co-ops/Condos/Mitchell-Lamas Premier NYC residential property management WINDOW PARTS AND SERVICE Contact: Avi...... [email protected] Ross Window Corporation...... 212-221-1800 company. Portfolio includes 60,000 residences in also 914-668-2050 400+ condos, co-ops and rental properties. Learn Veritas Property Management...... 212-799-2365 how our professional approach will maximize your Co-op & Condo Excellence – Call Carl Borenstein or James Maistre – www.veritasmanagement.com

Ask the Experts Boards meet. They research. They get bids. They make decisions. LOG ON Sometimes, though, it would be nice to have an tinyurl.com/habitatexperts expert on hand. To answer your questions, to bring out the important points, and to just make things a Ask the Experts bit more clear. That’s what “Ask the Experts” does. Key players from leading companies provide succinct video answers to important questions facing your co-op/condo board.

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www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 73 Stats

“Stats” is a listing of important facts, 718 Apts. figures, and statistics of concern to Queens 718 Broadway the co-op/condo world. It is subdivided Flushing Noho, Manhattan Colden Owners into “Building Loans,” which represents 39-unit co-op, 0% unsold shares 42-42 Colden Street a sampling of cooperative underlying loan: $2.8 mil term: 10 years 160-unit co-op. Transition to: FirstService mortgage refinancing deals; and rate: 3.96% closing: 4/15/13 Residential (8/1/13) “Management Transitions,” which line of credit: $500K includes a sampling of buildings that bank: NCB Joyful Tower Condominium hired new management firms (takeover loan officer: Mindy Goldstein 31-22 Union Street dates appear in parentheses). All data, building rep: ABC Realty 24-unit condo. Transition to: All Area covering the past three months, has Realty Services (6/1/13) been voluntarily submitted, and the 84-31 Van Wyck Expressway omission of any professional from this Jamaica, Queens section is no reflection on his or her 74-unit co-op business. To have your item published Building Loans loan: $2.25 mil term: 7 years + in an upcoming issue, call (212) 505- 5-year option 2030 ext.3006, fax (212) 254-6795, 43rd Street Co-op rate: 3.5% closing: 4/24/13 or e-mail: [email protected]. Woodside, Queens bank: Capital One Bank 217-unit co-op building rep: Kaled Management Corp. loan: $13.5 mil term: 10 years key: rate: 3.19% closing: 4/25/13 3240 Riverdale Avenue Corp. BR bedroom at press time loan officer: Avi Weinstock, Meridian Riverdale, The Bronx B bathroom MTNC monthly Capital Group 68-unit co-op, 20% unsold shares DR dining room maintenance The Townsend House Corp. loan: $3.3 mil term: 10 years EIK eat-in CC common 176 East 71st Street rate: 3.5% closing: 4/23/13 line of credit: $500K, 10 years kitchen charge Upper East Side, Manhattan bank: Valley National Bank LR living room RE TAXES real 96-unit co-op, 0% unsold shares loan officer: Richard Freund square feet estate taxes loan: $2 mil term: 99 months SF building rep: Noel Dent, Veritas Property rate: 4.05% closing: 4/23/13 OTM on the Management bank: NCB market loan officer: Edward Howe NA not available West 23rd Street Co-op building rep: FirstService Residential Chelsea, Manhattan 345 Montgomery Owners Corp. 74-unit co-op Crown Heights, Brooklyn loan: $3.5 mil term: 10 years 99-unit co-op, 23% unsold shares rate: 3.38% closing: 7/3/13 loan officer: Ami Levin, Meridian loan: $2 mil term: 10 years Management Capital Group rate: 3.9% closing: 4/23/13 line of credit: $500K Transitions Columbus W 82 Apartments Corp. bank: NCB 139 West 82nd Street loan officer: Mindy Goldstein Manhattan Upper West Side, Manhattan building rep: A. Michael Tyler Realty Upper West Side 74-unit co-op, 9% unsold shares Corp. The 235 West 71st Street loan: $4 mil term: 10 years Condominium Ivy League Apartment Corp. rate: 4.05% closing: 4/1/13 16-unit condo. Transition to: FirstService 675 Academy Street bank: NCB Residential (7/1/13) Inwood, Manhattan loan officer: Mindy Goldstein 60-unit co-op, 40% unsold shares building rep: Superior Management Washington Heights loan: $2.1 mil term: 10 years Michelangelo Apts. 508-512 West 162nd Street rate: 3.59% closing: 4/23/13 687 Bronx River Road 31-unit co-op. Transition to: Finger line of credit: $500K Yonkers, Westchester County Management (6/1/13) bank: NCB 89-unit co-op, 39% unsold shares loan officer: Sheldon Gartenstein loan: $4.2 mil term: 10 years building rep: Metro Management & Central Harlem rate: 3.6% closing: 4/10/13 100-106 West 141st Street HDFC Development line of credit: $250K 58-unit co-op. Transition to: Veritas bank: NCB Property Management (8/1/13) Coral Gardens Owners Corp. 144-07/11 Sanford Avenue loan officer: Mindy Goldstein Flushing, Queens building rep: Westfair Property Brooklyn 83-unit co-op, 29% unsold shares Management loan: $2.4 mil term: 30 years Gravesend Sea Gull Garden Apartment Owners rate: 5.32% closing: 4/11/13 Contello Towers #2 Corp. bank: NCB 321-unit co-op. Transition to: Metro 474 Fulton Street loan officer: Edward Howe Management Development (5/1/13) Farmingdale, Long Island Queens building rep: SLJ Realty

74 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com Stats

20-unit co-op, 0% unsold shares ADVERTISER INDEX loan: $400K term: 36 months Advertiser Page Academy Mail Box ...... 40 rate closing : 4.5% : 4/22/13 Akam Associates...... 29 bank: NCB All Area Realty Services...... 22 loan officer: Edward Howe Amalgamated Bank...... 38 building rep: Metropolitan Mobile Real Argo Real Estate...... 64 Estate Management Bargold Storage Systems ...... 67 Blue Woods Management ...... 24 Mayflower Owners Corp. Braverman Greenspun...... 55 69-10 Yellowstone Blvd. Buchbinder & Warren ...... 30 Rego Park, Queens Calray Gas Heat Corp...... 8 153-unit co-op, 16% unsold shares Carlton Management...... 28 loan: $5 mil term: 10 years Castle Oil...... 21 rate: 3.6% closing: 4/3/13 Century Management...... 14 line of credit: $500K Cesarano & Khan, CPAs ...... 39 bank: NCB Chutemaster...... 67 loan officer: Sheldon Gartenstein Con Edison...... 1 building rep: John Lovett & Associates Crossword Puzzle, Sponsored by Orsid Realty...... 80 Douglas Elliman Property Management...... 22 380 Riverside Tenants’ Corp. Fairfield Property Services...... 23 Morningside Heights, Manhattan FirstService Residential...... 31 132-unit co-op, 0% unsold shares Fred Smith Plumbing & Heating...... 41 Gerard J. Picaso Inc...... 20 loan: $6 mil term: 10 years Habitat Ask the Experts ...... 73 rate: 3.49% closing: 4/16/13 Habitat iPad...... 62 line of credit: $1 mil Habitat Board Subscription Update...... 77 bank : NCB Habitat Legal Talk...... 36 loan officer: Mindy Goldstein Halstead Management...... 25 building rep: Blue Woods Management Hankin & Mazel...... 53 Group HSC Management...... 64 Impact Real Estate Management...... 37 320 West 76 Corp. JMPB Enterprises: Lobby & Hallway Renovation ...... 52 Upper West Side, Manhattan Kaled Management ...... 37 71-unit co-op, 8% unsold shares Kane & Company...... 14 loan: $750K term: 80 months Lauren & Chase Design Group...... 40 rate: 4.5% closing: 4/12/13 Lawrence Properties...... 7 bank: NCB Lovett Company, The...... 16 loan officer: Mindy Goldstein Mackoul & Associates...... 16 building rep: Akam Associates Majestic Property Management...... 66 Mamais Construction...... 7 Mark Greenberg Real Estate...... 69 Matthew Adam Properties...... 23 Maxwell-Kates, Inc...... 9 Midboro Management...... 31 Planner National Grid...... 2 NCB...... Cover 2 July 31 New Bedford Management...... 24 Water frontage rates and New York Water Management ...... 67 Newman, Newman & Kaufman...... 67 sewer rents due. Norris McLaughlin & Marcus...... 66 NYARM...... 57 Orsid Realty...... Cover 3 August 1 Plymouth Management...... 24 J-51 tax exemption and Pride Property Management...... 20 Quadlogic Controls Corporation...... 55 abatement program. First Rand Engineering & Architecture...... 53 day to file applications Rosen Livingston & Cholst...... 30 Rudd Realty...... 11, 71 with Department of Schneider Mitola...... 9 Housing Preservation and Skyline Restoration / CGI Northeast ...... 35 Time Warner Cable...... 5, Cover 4 Development J-51 office Tudor Realty Services...... 70 for the third filing period in United Metro Energy...... 17 Vantage Group...... 9 2013. Veritas Property Management...... 30 Wascomat Laundrylux...... 39 Wilkin & Guttenplan...... 69 Wirecrafters...... 70 Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz...... 31

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 75 From the Editor | By Tom Soter

Voice from the Wall I was sick to death of the whole business. The broker had brought my board an unsuitable potential I remember a dispute over noise that took place in buyer not once, but twice. And now she was asking us to another pair of units in the building. A fifth-floor owner “pre-screen” (her phrase, not mine) two potential buyers complained to me – as her neighbor and as board president for the same apartment, letting her know which one was – about the noise being made at night in the apartment more likely to win approval. above her. And we were to make this “pre-decision” (my phrase) “I can’t sleep at night,” she said. “They’re always how? clomping around up there, opening drawers, and making With a kind of executive summary of the potential all sorts of racket.” She said she had talked to them – a purchasers, that’s how. This summation gave nice young couple – and asked me if I’d breezy one-line rundowns of the would-be talk to them as well. The husband, a board buyers’ financial stats that read more like member, told me that they were trying to want ads than an accurate financial picture be quiet but that their downstairs neighbor that we could “pre-judge.” was a little over the top. “She was hitting her As I wrote to the board: “We shouldn’t be ceiling with a broom, telling us to be quiet,” in the business of ‘pre-clearing’ (whatever he recalled. “But we weren’t making any that means) anyone. We are being asked noise.” to make educated guesses about potential That noise dispute died suddenly and buyers. We should tell the broker the way to without warning. The fifth-floor owner find out if we will ‘clear’ a potential buyer phoned me one night at 10 and said, “They’re is for the buyer to fill out – in full – the at it again, opening drawers and clomping application form. That’s what it’s there for. This ‘pre- around. Can you come up here and listen to what I have to clearing’ stuff is for the birds.” put up with?” But if you really wanted to “pre-screen” for something, I dutifully went upstairs, sat in a chair, and listened. how about pre-screening for noise? That’s one of the And heard nothing. biggest problems in apartment house living, as I learned “They stopped,” she said. “Wait. It’ll start up again.” soon after I moved into my unit years ago. With little, So I waited. And waited. And waited. For 20 minutes. if any, insulation in the walls, my life was like a 1930s But no noise. radio drama – or farce. I could hear people talking in my “They must have heard you were coming.” neighbor’s bedroom – which abutted my bedroom – and Although I thought she was nuts, I smiled politely and although most of the time it would be a low murmur of said, “Well, at least it’s quiet now.” indistinct voices, like something out of The Haunting. So, yes, I’d like to “pre-screen” potential neighbors for Other times it would be quite clear. noise – but that’s where the business side of a co-op board “I don’t know if I want to do that,” said a disembodied trumps the personal side. So, too, with purchases. It would voice from the other side one evening. As I lay there in have been easy for us to OK someone, anyone, just to be bed, trying to sleep, my mind would race with questions. done with the whole situation. And, with a one percent What is it that he doesn’t want to do? Will he finally give flip tax, the corporation would make a nice profit. Yet the in? And what was she saying? I sometimes felt like I was board members – bless them – were conscientious enough in a strange hybrid mystery, blending Wait Until Dark with to feel they couldn’t approve the proposed sale and still Rear Window, and I was the man who heard too much but be doing their fiduciary duty. Noise – or potential noise – didn’t know what it meant. never entered into it. On yet another night, I was startled when the In the end, that’s what being on the board is all about; disembodied voice actually spoke to me, albeit briefly. I not doing the right thing for you, personally, but doing sneezed loudly, and to my surprise (and consternation) a what’s best for the corporation as a whole. And if that male voice on the other side said, “Bless you!” How much means a few sleep-interrupted nights, so be it. That’s why more did they hear of my conversations? Should I care? they make ear plugs. n

76 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com SUBSCRIBERS BOARD

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www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 77 Projects Around Town

There was lead on the courtyard visible from the street, replacing Spotlight on façade that needed abatement and them with a lighter alternative was 537 Broadway lead on the Broadway façade. There not a landmark issue. Called the “Father of Soho,” was also asbestos on the roof, The shareholders were kept in the Lithuanian-born American artist requiring a partial abatement around loop throughout the process. “A lot George Maciunas was a visionary. the flashing. All that work required of the work involved their units,” In the late 1960s, he stopped the city approvals from the Department of says Gigliotti, “and all that was from running a highway through Buildings and the Department of taking place right outside their units. (and razing) the neighborhood south Environmental Protection. We kept them informed what was of Manhattan’s Houston Street by Since the building is in a going to be happening.” buying dilapidated loft buildings, landmarked district, all work Levinson estimates the costs converting them to co-ops, and then also required approvals from the for the project at $1.7 million, selling them as places where artists Landmark Preservation Commission, and the money for that came from could live and work. Now, one of which was time-consuming but the shareholders and also from those buildings – a loft co-op at not onerous. “We went through the income the co-op took in when 537 Broadway – has gotten a major whole landmark filing process,” it renegotiated its lease with its facelift. And just in time, too. says Levinson, “and they OKed our commercial space in 2008. The eight-unit, five-story property replacing everything in fiberglass “It was a pretty intricate job,” was literally falling apart. In 2007, instead of stone. There was even a concludes Levinson. “There was an “a piece of cast-iron fell off the intense level of detail that went into building, and that was kind of a it. Even if it’s built in the same way, red light to us,” observes Davidson every building is different. Every Gigliotti, former president and building has its own personality.” current treasurer of the five-member – Tom Soter board. The board hired Howard L. NEIGHBORHOOD Zimmerman Architects to prepare a • Soho, Manhattan top-to-bottom report on the state of VALUE the property. “It was built in 1868, and not a great deal had been done 537 Broadway Property Taxes since that time,” Gigliotti recalls. Estimated Market Value: The report found deficiencies in balustrade railing at the lower level – $13,792,000 the roof, causing leaks; windows I think that’s the second floor – that Assessed Value: $1,190,189 needing repair and/or replacement; was redone in fiberglass. It looks Recent Sales and cast-iron façade work that had exactly like the original. Fiberglass 12/7/06: $2,200,000 “exploded” (i.e., was poorly attached holds up better longer, and it’s a 6/30/05: $1,333,000 to the façade). whole lot less weight.” “There was a group of deteriorated Gigliotti, an artist and writer, was pieces of ornamentation, and we on the committee that communicated BUILDING INVESTMENT wound up photo-documenting them with Zimmerman and the contractor, all, and then identifying how many DJM. Gigliotti’s background in PROJECT pieces that needed to be recast and architecture helped expedite the • Cost: $1,700,000 replaced,” explains Jordan Levinson, process, which involved weekly • full cast-iron restoration a project associate at Zimmerman, meetings. “We talked the same • coating fabrication of decorative who worked with the senior language,” he notes. The window elements manager, Marco Muhaysin, on the replacement was handled by • waterproofing job. “The recasting was done in another contractor, Artistic Doors & • roof replacement fiberglass instead of stone.” Windows. • window replacement After immediately repairing There were a few surprises along CONTRIBUTORS areas that were dangerous, the the way. The windows looking • Howard L. Zimmerman board saw the major overhaul of out on an interior courtyard had Architects: Jordan Levinson, the property begin in 2010. That rolldown gates from the days when project associate; Marco included putting in a new roof and the structure was a factory. These Muhaysin, senior manager restoring the windows facing an were quite heavy and weighed • DJM Contracting Corp. interior courtyard. Sidewalk bridges down the windows, which – instead • Artistic Doors & Windows were in place for two years. “They of being pitched out to shed water • Davidson Gigliotti, former wound up splitting the job into just away from the building – were now president and current treasurer three phases for the façade, and then throwing water into the building, the fourth phase was the windows,” which created water infiltration Work started: September 2010; work reports Levinson. issues. Since the gates were not completed: December 2012.

78 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com Recent Sales

05/30/2013) Spotlight on • $352,000 for a studio (closed 216 Eckford St. 5/14/2013) No. 4B • $325,000 for a studio (closed Greenpoint, 4/1/2010) Brooklyn 1.5BR/1B duplex 5800 Arlington Ave. condo. Terrace with views of Greenpoint No. 16F and Manhattan, Riverdale, The Bronx private deck, 2BR/1B co-op. A fully renovated hardwood floors, high unit with hardwood floors in a 435- ceilings, and option of unit, 20-story co-op built in 1961. a baby room, den, or Windowed kitchen features onyx home office. floor and counters, stainless steel 216 Eckford St. No. 4B 817 SF. CC: $390. appliances, and cherry cabinets. Taxes $25/mo. DEAL MAKERS Bathroom also has onyx floor. Karen Berman, Beth Littman, and Amenities include 24-hour doorman, DEAL MAKERS Sheryl Berger, Argo Marc Batista, aptsandlofts.com Residential (for seller); THE SALES SKINNY Maddy Tyree, Douglas the ASK: $699,000 Elliman (for buyer) the GET: $720,000 THE SALES SKINNY the PRICE PER SQ FT: $881 the ASK: $349,000 the WAIT: 2 weeks (closed the GET: $335,000 6/18/2013) the WAIT: 4 weeks MOST RECENT SALES (closed 04/10/2013) • $629,000 for a 1BR/1.5B (closed THE BUILDING 05/30/13) 2012/13 taxable value: $7,717,474 5800 Arlington Ave. No. 16F 243 West End Ave. Market value: $17,446,000 elevator, concierge, on-site laundry, No. 1211 Annual property taxes: $925,562 Upper West Side, Manhattan health club, and pool. 1,200 SF. Studio unit in elegant 183-unit, MOST RECENT SALES Mtnc: $969. • $335,000 for a studio (closed 15-story co-op built in 1924. DEAL MAKERS Gut-renovated Linda Lepson, Argo Residential (for kitchen with seller); Lola Livingston, Halstead granite countertops, Riverdale (for buyer) maple cabinets, and stainless steel THE SALES SKINNY appliances. Brand- the ASK: $259,000 new vanity, sink, and the GET: $250,000 white subway tile the PRICE PER SQ FT: $208 in bathroom. Two the WAIT: 1 weeks (closed April closets and a south- 19, 2013) facing window with city views. Elevator THE BUILDING building with 2012/13 taxable value: $8,083,615 24-hour doorman, Market value: $19,334,000 on-site laundry, and Annual property taxes: live-in super. 80 $1,021,621.53 percent financing MOST RECENT SALES allowed. 43 percent • $165,000 for a 1BR/1B (closed tax deductible. Close 04/01/2013) to both Central Park • $280,000 for a 2BR/1B (closed and Riverside Park, 4/02/2013) Lincoln Center. 243 West End Ave. No. 1211 • $170,000 for a 1BR/1B (closed Mtnc: $722.79. 05/15/2013)

www.habitatmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2013 HABITAT 79 Chaos and the Captain Created by Myles Mellor

Chaos is something that co-ops try to avoid, often by relying on the captain of the ship. If Sponsored by that sounds cryptic, it’s meant to – as our way of reflecting on the reality of being on a co-op or condo board, where members must deal with puzzling concerns every day. That said, we thoughtCrossword we’d challenge by Mylesyou with a Mellor crossword puzzle to test your knowledge of the industry (among other things) while giving you a chance to have some fun. Happy gaming!

Across 1 2 3 45 6 7

1. Pointing work is often done 8 here 9 10 11 12 4. When finished reviewing admissions packages, boards 13 often shred them to protect this 14 15 16 right

8. Passed in 1934, this act 17

formed the basis of financial 18 19 20 market regulation (acronym) 21 9. Realty Corp. that is experienced, proactive and 22 23 24 25 responsive 26 10. From Ezekiel 12:13: "I will spread my ___ over them" 27 28 29 30

11. The super uses one to keep 31 the hallways clean 32 33 13. A deciduous tree having simple serrate leaves, widely 34 distributed in temperate regions 35 36 37 14. Moving to a new residence

16. Buildings in New York City will be required to phase out the most-polluting grades of this fuel condo apartment buildings not (acronym) (slang) in future over 3 stories high and co-op apartment buildings (2 words) 5. Japanese word for "Chaos"; 21. You need one of these to 18. Each co-op shareholder gets also, Kurosawa film, 1980 legally collect rent, but not to one 35. Condition where one can manage properties pay bills and handle financial 6. What apathetic shareholders 20. Boards often ask residents to obligations don't do 23. Fund to cover potential work this complaint out on their future expenses own 36. Build a new wing, for 7. All of a condominium except example (with on) the individual units (2 words) 24. A character in TV's "Doctor 22. Loan cost, above principal Who", also used in construction 37. Beatles song, "The Two of 8. 1954 MGM film depicting the 25. Where Freddie sings to Eliza __" internal struggle for control of a 26. Nominated for 12 Grammy furniture manufacturing Awards, this industrial rock 27. Ways out, key elements in company "Executive ____" project's full name is Nine-Inch fire code compliance Down _____ 12. Withdraw from, a deal for 29. Reduction or exemption 1. example (2 words) 28. Drive forward from taxes What is often cleaned by "11 Across" 15. A condo owner does this 30. A human being's opposable 31. A computerized facility, 2. with real property, while a co- thumb is useful in manipulating accessible by modem, for Replacing a roof is often op owner does it with shares in a these collecting and relaying considered among the ____ things you can do corporation electronic messages and 34. Heating control, abbr. software programs (acronym) 3. A co-op or condo owner is 17. Property in foreclosure would be called _____ 32. In a co-op, he's often called, entitled to do this with mortgage interest "The captain of the ship" 19. Humphrey Bogart was one 4. in the movies, and James 33. Property tax category A board should probably Garner played one on television comprising rental buildings, consult with this person when it For solution to puzzle: plans to replace a roof habitatmag.com/ julyaugpuzzle

80 HABITAT JULY/AUGUST 2013 www.habitatmag.com Don’t be left puzzled… Orsid Realty Corp. is your solution. Proud Sponsor of the Habitat Crossword Puzzle.

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Shared Savings Plan is available to qualifying residential buildings in Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey service areas. Savings is applied to regular retail rates for services included in the Shared Savings Plan. Additional restrictions may apply. Contact Time Warner Cable’s New Market Development/MDU Department to discuss eligibility and program requirements. Some restrictions apply. Time Warner Cable and the eye/ear logo are trademarks of Time Warner Inc. © 2013 All rights reserved. Habitat_8.1_MDU_shared_2013_8.125x10.875