In Co-Op Wars, Emails From Shareholders Are Getting More Attention

Over supper in the Financial District, I complained to a friend and fellow shareholder that I never hear back from our representatives in Washington, D.C., when I contact their websites. “Why don’t you write to them?” he said. “Letters are so rare, they may get more attention.”

He’s probably right. But in my building, letters — the digital kind, that is — aren’t rare enough.

Shareholders in my Lower Manhattan co-op frequently email the board. Unfortunately, the more personal, irrational and illogical the email, the more likely the sender will cc the entire shareholder list. Sometimes it’s done accidentally, when a typing finger slips and clicks the group address list for shareholders instead of co-op board. But most times it seems to be done accidentally on purpose, so that we all understand why the writer should be exempt from rules the rest of us have to follow, bills the rest of us have to pay and the common courtesies that put the cooperation in our co-op.

As eye-popping as these email threads can be, I follow them as I might a cringeworthy reality show. And just as the season finale of “Sister Wives” leaves me with postseries depression (the melancholy one feels when a favorite program or movie ends), I’m strangely disappointed when one of our co-op dramas is over. I know we’re approaching the last act when the board responds by explaining that 1) yes, the rules apply to everyone; 2) no, the board is not a 24-hour concierge; 3) yes, we all have to pay for repairs and replacements; 4) no, nothing comes free of charge; and 5) you are welcome to start a committee to explore your suggestions.

At my building, shareholders have just finished a doozy of a thread about the seemingly endless assessment we’re paying for our seemingly endless Facade Inspection & Safety Program work. My neighbors certainly deserve a group rant about the unavoidable delays and expenses when it comes to repairing our old building. But a few shareholders let us all know in their emails to the board how the project’s cost has been especially burdensome to them. One irritable shareholder threatened to take “radical action” if the monthly charge didn’t end.

It’s easy to empathize with the financial pain. But we all were at the annual meeting when the board handed out information about upcoming projects and also discussed the likelihood that costs would increase once the work began and additional problems were discovered. My guess is that those who now express shock were not caught unawares, but instead are hunting for scapegoats for expenses they’d rather not pay. 

Still, I’ve yet to read a reply-all email from the board that tactfully rebukes the sender’s desire for homeownership without discomfort. Then again, it’s possible the board does what I do: writes — and then deletes — snarky replies that ask complainers who will pay these bills and contribute to matters of co-op peace, safety and security if they don’t.

Perhaps instead I should email the board, accidentally on purpose cc’ing the shareholder mailing list with these (snarky) suggestions:

1. Do promise you’ll catch up on months of unpaid maintenance and assessments just as soon as you return from summer vacation. Knowing your priorities helps us understand the need for delinquency fines.

2. Do tell the board that you discovered a spill in the lobby — and that someone (else) should mop it up. Someone (else) will be right down. And won’t forget.

3. Do threaten to move if there’s another assessment. We could use the flip tax.

4. Do demand immediate repair of the broken elevator because your dog doesn’t like to walk on the stairs. We can use the laugh.

5. Don’t reference your financial advisor as support for your claim that maintenance increases and assessments are especially difficult for you.

6. Don’t pretend you have a cadre of shareholder backup for your position by referencing unnamed “others like me.”

7. Don’t demand to know why the board delayed a major repair that became more expensive over time, when last year, and the year before, you urged the board to delay the project to save money.

8. Don’t insist the board use its line of credit instead of assessments unless you can explain how we’ll avoid paying interest on the loan — unless you’re offering to cover the cost.

9. Don’t recommend the co-op avoid future assessments by creating a reserve fund but not raising maintenance — unless you’re willing to lend the board your magic wand.