It is obvoius they want the apt. Document everything in every detail. I bet they are going to send you a bill for every time the security shows by your door. The best thing you can do is be part of a organization who fights for the rights of shareholders. They are not going to add anything to your wife. There are legal ways of doing it. Google coop inheritance. I believe the cooperator had an article on it. Look at COOPABUSE.COM. I know one of our member had a terrible time inheriting an apt after her grandmother died and there was a will. Send me a message at ROSA.NAZAR@GMAIL.COM and I will connect you to the person. It is important that your father in law do the correct paper work. Let me know if you found the article on coop inheritance. Do not waste on minute. Be smarted than they are and send them polite email about what they are doing and make sure you mention that you do not owe them any money and that you reserve the right to fight it in court. They just want you out so they can keep the apt and they might even send the owner to a nursing home DO not move your wife and your father in law needs you there.

Joe Quinn, Ms Nazar is providing incorrect information. The building can't take an apartment from a shareholder. The building does have the right to request information before allowing an additional shareholder as an owner.

As far as the dog goes - Steve in Inwood and Peoples Choice are giving the best advice here.

I do not have coops; I hate the fact that there is no law that protects our home. What they doing to Joe is extortion . Joe document everything. First why is managing collecting money for a shareholder. They are there to manage the building not as a collection company for an individual. Go back to what exactly happen on the day of the incident. It sounds to me like a fraud. Have you here of people who provoke car accidents to collect from the insurance company. To me it is very suspicions that the guy instead of talking to Joe said the management will handle this. The manager should only sent a letter to Joe not harass him and his family by trying to collect money without even telling him who is this money going to. I suggest you send a letter to the board and managing questing why are they doing this; it is not their job. If the person wants to get pay he should ask Joe directly; Joe acted in good faith but they did not.
To me this is harassment, extortion and worst because there is an 82 year old person involved.
Yes they can take the apt. If you leave your father in law alone they will call social service and claim he can't be by himself and send him to a nursing home. Then they will sell the apt probably for a very low price to somebody on the board, from the management company or a family or friend of them. They will deduct everything they want to claim that they spend and your wife will get a few pennies or nothing. THAT IS REALITY.
STAY there and find the link I told you about the best way to inherit a coop. You are there to take care of an elderly and that is your home. Send a letter to management questing their roll on this, copy all members of the board and let them know if they do not stop you will file a complain with the attorney general. If they do not stop file with AG.
By the way another way to get your apt is to make you an undesirable tenants. They used all kind of duty trI do not have coops; I hate the fact that there is no law that protects our home. What they doing to Joe is extortion . Joe document everything. First why is managing collecting money for a shareholder. They are there to manage the building not as a collection company for an individual. Go back to what exactly happen on the day of the incident. It sounds to me like a fraud. Have you here of people who provoke car accidents to collect from the insurance company. To me it is very suspicions that the guy instead of talking to Joe said the management will handle this. The manager should only sent a letter to Joe not harass him and his family by trying to collect money without even telling him who is this money going to. I suggest you send a letter to the board and managing questing why are they doing this; it is not their job. If the person wants to get pay he should ask Joe directly; Joe acted in good faith but they did not.
To me this is harassment, extortion and worst because there is an 82 year old person involved.
Yes they can take the apt. If you leave your father in law alone they will call social service and claim he can't be by himself and send him to a nursing home. Then they will sell the apt probably for a very low price to somebody on the board, from the management company or a family or friend of them. They will deduct everything they want to claim that they spend and your wife will get a few pennies or nothing. THAT IS REALITY.
STAY there and find the link I told you about. You are there to take care of an elderly.
By the way when they want your apt they make you an undesirable tenants; which I think in your case they are working on it. I am sure this is making your family very upset or depressed; this is not good for an 82 year old person. If they persist contact the human rights. Your step father has the right to spend his last days in peace.
Go to COOPABUSE.COM to read about horror coop stories. After your wife inherit the coop you can sell or keep it. But if you keep it you need to make sure to work to change the laws because we have no protection at all against the abusers. Or if you have a slave mind you stay there and take the abuse. I do not have a slave mind to I will make sure the laws are changed to protect our coop home; just like any other American home. Feel free to email me at ROSA,NAZAR@GMAIL.COM

I meant I do not hate coops. Actually I "own" a coop since 1987. The worst decision in my life. In a coop one does not own anything except the certificate of shares which means nothing againt the power and abuse of the boar. To change laws to protect our home go COOPABUSE.COM and email me at ROSA.NAZAR@GMAIL.COM

Joe,

As a dog owner, I would not "farm" out the dog unless everything else is resolved and they agree to what you need done subject to the dog leaving. At that point, there are people out there who will rescue and/or board pets.

If your father-in-law is a shareholder, he owns shares in the corporation which come with the right to reside in a specific apartment (the proprietary lease). There are cases of abuse by boards, I personally know of one which refused to let someone sell by turning down applicant after applicant. Unfortunately, although are some parameters and laws in place to protect shareholders, at times they fail to operate properly or dissuade boards from doing things until there is the threat of a lawsuit and even then it may actually have to proceed in litigation. I have mixed feelings about all of this. As an individual I would want to know, as a board member I believe that the reasons for an action on an applicant should not be discussed. We live in a litigious society and people abuse that.

There are a lot of attorneys out there who deal with coop matters. Some are expensive, some are less so. I have been on the board of my coop for many years and I assure you that despite what Rosa believes there are protections in the law.

If you want to email me offline, I will give you my phone number and would be happy to talk to you. You can email me at nycbut4u@aol.com. Just mention in the email that you are from the habitatmag forum.

Joe you have 2 problems, first look at your by-laws to see if it states anything about getting your names on the stock cert. or anything about in case shareholder dies. It will state if you'll need to pay a transfer tax or a fee. It took sometime to get my wife on my stock cert. but I did after a year. Did you write to the Board about wanting your wife to be on the cert. or the dog? If not please do so telling them all about the paperwork you handed in and feeling strong armed. If you need help go to your dad's lawyer for advice with all paperwork you already handed over. It would also help to read the Occupancy Agreement. your wife is a caregiver we have a law to protect us in cases like this.
The dog is another story, ask to see the Vet bills before you give any money. You need a name for signing the check to the dogs owner. That's when you'll see who it's coming from. When you talk to your lawyer for these problems things will come to light. One step at a time. Please do not take advice from Rosa Nazar it seems and looks like she Hates Co ops & condos. Best of luck.

Hi Joe,

To be frank, I am not sure you and your wife are ready for Co-op ownership yet in that you are still thinking like renters and not owners.

First of all, this is a Proprietary Lease and not a renter lease. It is rare for anyone to simply be “added to the lease” without a corresponding real estate transaction (i.e. a closing). I am not a lawyer. I think you need a lawyer to take you through the options. Your first place to take a look at is to see what the Proprietary Lease and any amendments may say about who can live in the unit and who can succeed to the shares (i.e. without a real estate transaction).

A real estate closing would mean that the Board would have an approval on who gets to live in the unit. The dog issue is a big one. Sure mistakes happen. Being an owner might mean not letting the dog get into a situation where damage might take place. (For example, this type of attitude – preventing problems - works well for having parties in the unit and similar situations where inconvenience or damage to others and their property “might occur” – prevent them in the first place).

My advice to you (since you are in the transition phase of hoping to become owners) is that if you really want to show the Board and Management that you are ownership material, give the dog away (hint: at least on a temporary basis) .

You and you wife may decide that ownership is not for you (or at least ownership in a co-op) – it’s not for everyone. If so, then don’t stick around. Your wife can still receive the shares, sell them and receive the funds.

Good Luck

Thank you very much for responding @Steve-Inwood, @people's choice, and @rosa nazar. I want to write back right away because I'm going away for a few days tomorrow, and will not have time to follow up on these suggestions until next week. But I want to make sure you know I'm listening. Please forgive me for the long posts -- I'm desperate and this forum looks like a great resource.

Steve, you are right that we do not understand co-op politics. I have never owned property in my life, I've always rented apartments. My wife has been counting on inheriting this for a long time, but she shies away from opaque legal jargon and bureaucratic paperwork. My father-in-law does not know a lot about how things work here either. Moreover, his hearing and memory are not so good. According to him, the more questions you ask, the more you'll just tick people off and the less sense anything will make. None of us have lawyers, or know where to find one without getting ripped off. I also have very little to spend -- I'm working on a PhD and teaching part time, and it will be another 2 years before I have a real job.

I will certainly investigate the proprietary lease. I will need to ask my father-in-law about that at the right time, and obtain a copy. However, we all were under the impression that under the circumstances, my wife has a right to succession, and that all she needs to demonstrate is that she's his daughter and has lived here for 2 years. Is this a misconception? I see info on NYC housing sites saying this is the policy for *rent* controlled/stabilized apartments. I would think one's succession rights would be even stronger in the case where the prior tenant *owns* part of the place.

We considered temporarily relocating the dog to appease the management. Unfortunately we have nowhere to send him. More importantly, the demand that we get rid of the dog is clearly not consistent with the policy written in the occupancy agreement, especially since I've done everything I can to make sure it never happens again. I'm beginning to think "ownership material" just means someone who lets people bully them and doesn't fight back, in which case maybe I'm not. I've already told my father-in-law that I would rather move out than see my dog put to sleep over this.

I did ask for a copy of the vet bill, and they delivered it. The other party's name was blacked out. Management will not provide that info no matter what, and wants a check made out to them, saying they'll pass it on. Compared to my experience, and the vet's description of the wound, the bill is about 3 times what it should be, but we haven't even mentioned that. All we're requesting is something official in writing saying what the payment is for, to protect ourselves. Without that, the other dog owners could still sue us and we wouldn't even be able to prove we'd already paid!

But I think a huge point that I was missing before, is the role of the Board of Directors. So far we have had no communication with them, only with the management. As a matter of fact, the people I meet in the building when I'm taking my dog out are extremely fond of the dog, and comment on how well-behaved he is, and I know that some of those people are on the board! I just never knew what that meant. For all I knew they played bingo and organized craft fairs.

So for now, I'm going to work on contacting the board of directors, getting a copy of the proprietary lease, and keeping close documentation of everything that happens. Thank you also Rosa for those links, I will keep that info in mind in case things don't improve.

Owning a coop is not owning real estate, actually, it is owning shares in a corporation, ie. the cooperative. There are instances when people who live in coops are covered by the New York Rental law, but not always. I think you should get a copy of the proprietary lease, house rules, etc, AND if you can locate a copy, The Condo and Coop Bible. The latter is a great intro to how coops and condos work, with particular attention to proprietary leases and such.

In my building, for instance, a shareholder can leave his/her apartment to anyone, but that person still has to pass the board (based on income etc) if he/she wants to live there. Usually heirs just want to sell. There are also instances when other names are put on proprietary leases. As far as I know, as long as someone is actually LIVING in the apartment, there's no way to prevent that, though in fact, there is usually a lot of paperwork involved.

Your dog situation does complicate things. Even if the board is predisposed to your situation, which isn't a given, a misbehaving dog on the part of a potential new resident is a potential problem for the board. This is true even if the house rules are silent.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Just a couple comments quickly before I take off (I'll be back Monday).

1. Isn't the board under any obligation to *justify* its approval of new residents? Clearly I have some learning to do, but I would think that the things in the occupancy agreement would need to be the basis of such decisions. Otherwise, what's to stop them from banning people based on say, race or sexual orientation or the like?

2. About my dog, he really is very well-behaved, much more so than other dogs in the building. In fact he has to be especially well trained so as not to react when poorly trained dogs bark at him and are allowed to pull on the leash trying to get at him. What happened was an isolated incident. It has never happened before and I can say with confidence, based on the precautions I've introduced, that it will never happen again. But what I'm discovering (I think) is that rumors matter much more than facts in a co-op. Would you say there is truth to that? In fact, security at one point thought I had 2 dogs, because the dog people were seeing so poorly matched the description of the problematic dog they heard rumors about.

Hopefully next time I post I'll have gotten my hands on some of the resources recommended. Thanks again so much for the advice.

Joe

Joe, coop's are unlike condo's, private housing or rentals. I've been a board member for over 20 years, and I am not a lawyer. Your father-in-law purchased the right to live in his apartment. There is no given right to succession, regardless of length or time or relationship, unless spelled out in the lease and bylaws of the coop. In my coop, it is not uncommon for an owner to request the addition of a spouse to be added to the lease.
We check out the spouse as we would a buyer, to see if he/she appears to have the financial resources to maintain the apartment in the event of death of the owner. Generally, we approve those and issue new share certificates/leases. We have had similar situations regarding adult children, generally not resident. So far, no one has complied with our documentation requirement in order to have another name added to the shares/lease. This is generally just a move to attempt to simplify estate proceedings. If it is not likely that the party would actually move into the apartment, we generally would not permit the name to be added.
In your case, your wife has been living there for a lengthy period of time, if she has shown finances capable of maintaining the apartment and paying maintenance, and has a financial reserve to fall back on in the case of an assessment, the board should be willing to add her to the shares/lease.
You can do a little research on the NYC website, some coop's record the shares/leases and you could check the building records to see if others have had additional names added to shares/leases.
Have you or your wife spoken or corresponded with anyone on the board? Or asked to meet with them? The management company/agent doesn't make decisions, the board does. The coop board may not want any lawsuits relating to your dog, so if you can resolve the issue with the vet bills, you might have a better chance of getting approval. You might need to agree to give up the dog as well if they fear a repeat. You can request or prepare a 'stipulation of release' (or have a lawyer do it) releasing you from all past and future claims for damages and claims from the one incident with the dogs, prior to turning over a check. Good luck!

Hi, thanks again for all the feedback. I've been busy with the new semester starting (I'm a PhD student / teacher) since getting back from my trip. Here's an update (sorry for the length).

I did submit a payment to cover the vet bills for that dog despite feeling they were disproportionate to what happened. Along with it, I sent a friendly letter to the other people, apologizing, explaining the precautions I'm taking now, and introducing myself in attempt to alleviate their irrational fear of me (didn't put it like that). The management read that and seemed to change their attitude after that, though still no change in the lease situation. I also made them sign some stuff saying they would deliver the letter and that they acknowledge that the payment is not an indication of guilt/liability. After my last apartment (basic Brooklyn slumlord situation) I learned a few things about creating legally admissible documents. I think the way I handled it made them decide to check themselves in how aggressively they were dealing with us. But like I said, nothing has changed with the lease.

My intentions for the next move are to contact the board of directors, and also try to get my wife, instead of her dad, to start sending the rent checks. This is all very difficult since I am not the main person involved here. My wife easily becomes overwhelmed by stacks of opaque paperwork, and my father-in-law easily gives up on anything that's not watching TV while eating ice cream. When I bring it up with him, he always says how the managements' main strategy is to intimidate people ... then he doesn't say much else: I take it their strategy is working on him.

@JG:
I'm curious about what your board's "documentation requirement" is. My wife got a list of documentation to submit, which she did comply with, only to receive another one which was harder to comply with. Some of the documentation on the second list, she did not have because she had already given it to them the first time. Also, they'd requested pay stubs, which she provided, only to be asked for tax documents which cost hundreds of dollars to order from the IRS.

I'm also confused about the income requirement. As I understand, one's rent is a function of their income here. I've been assuming that this is why we have been feeling pressure to leave; we don't make as much as most people they could probably rent to (at least right now - once I finish my PhD I will make a lot more). But my father-in-law is paying less than what I paid for my last apt in Brooklyn, which was half the size and infested with mice & roaches; basically anyone living in NYC could afford to live here. So, @JG (or others), what is the income requirement? But really before I delve into that we need to speak with the board, rather than the management. In my opinion it is obvious that the management is corrupt, I only hope the board has as much power over them as you all have advised.

I need to talk with my wife again about what I think we need to do. But ultimately she needs to be the one to do it (I think), since she's the one trying to get on the lease. And for that I need to wait until the time is right; our lives are hectic and those times are kind of rare for now. But the clock is ticking....

joe, in my building, when someone is added to the ownership of an apartment, we require 3 months of bank statements, 3 years of tax returns, 3 pay stubs, verification of employment/salary and the REBNY form. the reason for this is to confirm that the new person can potentially afford the full payment on his/her own. we require a minimum of 2 years worth of maintenance in the bank. even in the case of an estate, the person has to pass the board and would be required to submit this paperwork. hope this helps.

Yes, they need to publish the titles.
There was a thread in this subject not long ago, have a look
http://www.habitatmag.com/Board-Talk/Co-Op-board-roles-responsibility-to-publish#18460

Yes ... with the board's approval. You need to convince them that an investigation is necessary.

First, send an inquiry letter to the resident before you harass them with a camera and waste coop funds. You want to be courteous to your neighbors and shareholders - not just bully them and nose into their lives. Send a letter and see what they say. It may be a roommate or family member or a temporary situation.

Minutes should contain the names of all attendees. Unless someone specifically asks that a record of the voting (roll call vote) be recorded, it would usually be recorded as the board 'approved' or 'disapproved' of the item.

And what dates would these meetings be held on?

Time: 11am - 1pm
Location: 195 Montague Street,3rd floor, Brooklyn, NY

HPD owners, please go.

Are there any lawyers out there who will take on a class action case against the DA and AG to prosecute condo/coop corruption claims?????

We are also looking for lawyers who can initiate a class acction, because the Coop problems are SYSTEMIC, not anecdotical. If you make any progress, please share your information with and consider as as members of your class action suit. Gerard Grosof - CONCERNED CITIZENS for Coop Reform - g5grosof@outlook.com - 3015 Riverdala Ave - Bronx 10463

Please send me your contacts

Please send me your contacts

FAQ (Carbon Monoxide Law Compliance)
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/downloads/pdf/FAQ-Carbon-Monoxide-Brochure.pdf

CERTIFICATE OF INSTALLATION
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/downloads/pdf/smoke-carbon-monoxide-installation.pdf

The law applies to all, including condos. If you have a managing company, they should know what to do.

Thank you again for your response...my board president seems to understand the ruling differently...that condo owners only need to put in a detector if they rent out the unit. I don't read it that way. I read it the way you say. My other question is how does a board of managers enforce this law? How do we make sure everyone is compliant.

The best way of approaching this, is to simply have the super install the detectors at the buildings expense. For less than $300: you have apartments that are compliant, you end up with happy residents, and a much safer building.

Those devices save lives!

I can't find it on this website since the search function just gives you Board Talk hits more than anything else, which is useless, but somewhere here there's an article about security cameras or building security that says a board can put a camera in a hallway but CANNOT point it specficaly at one apartment, especially if it's angled in a way that shows the inside of the apartment when the door opens. Not even police can look inside that way without a warrant. I'd start by contacting your board's attorney, who might not be aware of this - any responsible attorney would want to keep the board from being sued.

the fact: co-op attorneys make mountains out of mole hills to create lawsuits because, obviously, it's a way for them to make money. naive boards are bamboozled by their lawyers and managing agents.

I would go directly to the police. Call your precinct and ask for 2 officers to come and remove the illegal cameras, which are violating the privacy of the citizens.
Report all abuses by the Totalitarian Coop Board. To all forums: politicos, legislators, the AG, the District Attorney, the Press, everybody...
Jerry Grosof - ConcernedCitizens4CoopReform@outlook.com-

This is a violation of your privacy. Report it to the police. Document it with a police report. Who knows what they will do next. Abuses in coops are a plague. We need to stay together to pass laws that protects our home. Email me at ROSA.NAZAR@GMAIL.COM and check out COOPABUSE.COM to see horrop coop stories. Register to make sure we pass laws to protect our home as any other homeowners.

despite many of the self-serving posts you see on this site about rampant corruption in co-ops, you should be able to reach out to your management company and your co-op attorney in this type of situation. provide as much proof/back-up as you have.

The board's atty and management agent serve the interest of those who pay them,

This is true. Management and board attorney do not work for shareholders or unit-owners. Neither does the board accountant. God knows we need an ombudsman. The Business Judgment Rule was never intended to shield AMATEUR, UNPAID, NON-PROFESSIONAL boards from doing whatever they like.

With all due respect to everyone here, I think we are trying to make blanket statements that something is all good or all bad. I would venture a guess that the majority of boards are responsible, however, from friends and others, I have certainly heard of situations where there is abuse of power by a board.

There is recourse, the simplest is that if you have a grievance, consult an attorney to determine whether you have a case.

Secondly, the Attorney General's office has a history of stepping in when there is abuse. Check the history of crackdowns by the AG's office on corrupt property managers taking kickbacks. Some property managers ended up in jail.

In terms of professionals around the industry, I know many attorneys who are honest, upfront and professional. We don't always get the answers we want, however, we do get their best legal advice. Unfortunately, the answer is not always what we want it to be. In terms of a blanket accusation of coop accountants, I can tell you that there are definitely cases where accountants have discovered something that looks unusual and, as is their responsibility, they have reported it to the board.

I also know from personal experience that boards don't always make the wisest decisions. Board members are human, but the majority of them are good intentioned, even if they have less experience in the matters that the boards deal with. From personal experience, I know that there are decisions that my board made over the years that I voted for, that with hindsight and learning more about the coop world, I wish I had voted differently. That being said, I can honestly say that, while I have made mistakes, I have no regrets. I have always made the best decision possible and I have always put the buildings interests ahead of my own, sometimes costing me money that I didn't want to spend. There are many board members out there who seek to fulfill their fiduciary duties.

While there are definitely bad apples, don't call the whole coop world evil. It simply isn't.

Lastly, as a shareholder in a coop, you do have recourse. The board is elected by the shareholders to represent their interests. If the shareholders are substantially unhappy, they can vote the board out. If the board or property manager throws a monkey wrench into getting a fair election, that is the time to consult an attorney or contact the AG's office. As long as a majority of shareholders aren't willing to come forward and vote the board out, then they get what they are allowing to happen. Many years ago, my building was unhappy and we threw out 5 of 7 board members at the next election.

I am sure some boards are responsible but the reason we are here is because our board is irresponsible and we are looking for answers. If you are happy great - you don't need this forum. Just live in peace but the rest of us cant/.

Yes we are here because we are not happy and we need change to protect our home. The coop industry without reform is doomed to collapse. It could be recover but only if we get protection for our home under the law. We need coop reforms and accountability for the board and management actions.

So I guess I am a little confused. Can you explain what reasonable reform to the law you would like to see and what it would solve?

And Bruno, I understand you are here for a reason. How exactly is your board irresponsible? Perhaps if we know, someone might be able to offer up a reasonable suggestion for a solution.

daughter of person running for board was appointed election official, parent won, husband runs next, husbands wins, president prev was picked by board, now the husband ran for pres, and his wide still tallying the votes, won. Management compny owner came to qnual meeting with a person they daid was the coopatorney , stated that NYS changed the law on coop voting and the previous 10 plus years of cumulative voting was no longer allowed by law.
There was no such change to coop voting laws,i researched it. Cant vote them out as we might with cumulative voting, or get one person in there to look at the finances, i have written AG, DA for mortgage fraud , they refuse to enforce the laws of the state,including the criminal ones.Zero transparacy , and now more renters than we had at conversion in 1985, but they tell buyers it is 90% owner occupied.I have a list a mile long as i have been studying these sites for over 4 years, however lawyers want $450 plus an hour and their main clients are boards,managing companies. i do not want to deal with a lawyer that works both sides, unless i hear they are good and have satisfied clients, Never met a satisfied shareholder, and their claims were legitimate.
I am going to start a Facebook page, google plus page , tumbler page for coopshareowners that want to trade notes, trading notes is power, we can also check references on all the trade businesses and also prices for like like buildings. There are so many scams out there that you white-collar who think you have a great board and such, , are probably being smoozed over and robbed blind. Unless you have personally gone over the books and checked for all the fraud tricks, you know nothing. the annual audit is a joke.,since nothing is forensically checked, i also hope to crowdsourced this problem of cash cows , plus corruption going back to the fraudulent conversion plan with fake buyers, whick i can prove. I am disabled am need to be moved to an ADA accesiable and comparable rental building, plus have them buy my apartment at the market rate it should be, So we are are talking a large civil suit, i am sure this site has more hits now then it ever had. Check your buildings STAR tax records, theey are public , look for non owneroccupied apartments collecting STAR, turn them in for tax fraud with managing company ,BOD conspiracy, maybe get the FEDS to use the RICO act.

i don't know if the same people write all of these posts or not but -- my building is well run, the board is responsive and responsible and our management company and law firm are honest. same goes for at least 15 other people i know who own co-ops in manhattan. those of you who use these messages for their own self-serving interests without a bit of truth to back up their claims - you are wasting the time of those who really want to get something out of this site. go set up your own site and promote yourselves the honest way rather than wasting our time.

i was one of the lucky shareholders who lived in a co-op with a responsive board, as you are now. but i moved into a building with a naive board easily bamboozled by a corrupt lawyer and managing agent. i am grateful to the people, like rosa, who are activists. i get valuable info from them as well as hope that we all will be able to live with dignity in co-ops.

Because only a few board are good board is why we need laws that protects our family home. ONLY TOGETHER WE CAN DO THIS. In my coop the management company was a company of the sponsor (remember the landlord who converted his building to coop to avoid NYC rent regulations of the 70's). One day, we manage to removed the president for life, and when the new president questioned why some checks were being paid from our coop accounts, the management company cancel our contract immediately (but only for the shareholders, they are still here managing the renting business of the sponsor who still own more than 50% of our coop). We are Americans without home rights. A home is a human right. Yes we need to keep fighting to get our freedom but we can only do it together. NO WE ARE NOT THE SAME PEOPLE. That is what politicians try to tell us "you are an isolated incident". Why don't you take a look of our website COOPABUSE.COM so you can see by yourself. As a matter of fact every time I post something I get a few emails from abused shareholders who join our cause. As a matter of fact we are looking for a lawyer to take our class action case against the estate and maybe attorney general because we are the only American who has no right to protect our home in bankruptcy court, housing court and they failed to act no matter how much we complained. Maybe they will listen to us in court. Any lawyer or anybody who wants to know more about us email me at ROSA.NAZAR@GMAIL.COM

Rosa how much $$ do you ask these unsuspecting people for your hate of co ops or condos? You give out your e-mail for what? MONEY. You sound very bitter, I find that sad. I hope one day you find peace. Your really turning good people off who have great advice, who can help. Sad they are leaving this forum. I bet that makes you happy. If you have such a problem with your board, managing agent and lawyer get out, move, leave, sell or how about sublet your apartment. If you want to give some advice make sure it's correct, these people are looking for constructive advice. They want help and understanding. Not something in the 70's.
Instead of calling every person a thief or corrupt without proof Shame on you. Maybe you should run or suggest your board to research and change managing agents and lawyers like fhjd. Also your board hires these people who you as share holders vote for. You Rosa being an Ex Realtor try giving names, or are you afraid of "Slander" Maybe this will help people not to buy into your co op. Please stop calling everyone involved corrupt or a thief if you do have proof go to your attorney general with it. It's free That is the American way. I don't think any Attorney General or lawyer in there right mind will ever take your case. I know I sure wouldn't. Rosa, Did you ever go to the CNYC Conventions? Oh you can't your not a board member. Too bad you may learn something. Peace, Happiness and Joy to All.

Where do you get the impression -- and make an accusation based on it -- that Rosa Nazar is soliciting money? That's quite a loaded accusation. Do you have any evidence, or are you just tarring her?

JB Thanks for your support and NO I do not know who JB neither the other people defending me. I do want to thanks them all. I do not ask for money and the website COOPABUSE.COM does not ask for money either. On the contrary boards need honest people like me who will protect the coop home of a family. I am not the one making people leave; the people attacking me are; it shows their lack of professionalism. They are afraid that people are getting up in arms to defend their coop homes. The solutions is not to attack me but to introduce coop reforms to protect the coop home just like any other home. People are aware of the coops problems and reforming the coop laws would be beneficial for everybody because people would not be afraid to buy a coop as they are today. Unless coop reforms laws are passed the coop business is doomed to collapse.

Aren't you lucky that your board is well run or are you on the board and afraid of being exposed. If your building is so wonderful - you don't need this site - unfortunately this isn't the case for most. Being on a board is a license to steal and it must stop

fhjd, since you seem so happy with those that manage your building, please share the name of the management company that your building uses.

i fear the comments from these serial posters. i do not want to open a good honest company to rogue comments. if you would like to give me your email, i will send you a list.

So you have a list - yet you say "your building" - I suspect you are a management firm looking for business and if people didn't have any truth to back up their claim - why would they bother coming here. In fact the "truth" is that boards and mangement firms make their money from kick backs.

we recently compiled a list of good management companies. our contract is coming up and while we are happy, it's always good to see what pricing looks like in the marketplace. of a list of 25 companies, we came up with 7 strong contenders. we determined who was a contender based upon talking with people who reside in those building plus our experience with a preliminary phone call with them.

you may want to become a bit more open to believing that not everyone is corrupt.

you must be kidding. the co-op attorney and management company are often corrupt and take advantage of a naive, lazy board or equally corrupt board.

I wish I could give you hope to remove him but your situation is not unique. It is happening all over NY. The creation of the coop was a fraud and there is no law to protect us and the little protection is on the hand of the attorney general and he refuse to even listen to us. We need to unite to fight to protect our home. We are looking into class action law suit. We are not second class citezens. Everybody"s home has protection except the coop home. Register in COOPABUSE.COM and email me at ROSA.NAZAR@GMAIL.COM. politians had ignore us for too long. It is time we remind them that they are elected to serve the public not the real estate lobbiest. Try reminding them that they have a fugidity duty to the shareholders and said everything in the meeting. Write a letter to every shareholder. Remember we win and can make reforms if we are united.

I support Rosa Nazar's efforts. It is too easy for bad boards to keep on self-dealing by refusing transparency and claiming the Business Judgment Rule protects virtually anything they do. They don't have to show shareholders or unit-owners the minutes, and even if they do, the minutes are white-washed. At my condo, and at many others, no board member names accompany the votes., so we don't know who votes FOR the homeowners and who votes for their own interests. WHAT OTHER ELECTED BODY DOES THAT?

In my coop the management company was a company of the sponsor (remember the landlord who converted his building to coop to avoid NYC rent regulations of the 70's). One day, we manage to removed the president for life, and when the new president questioned why some checks were being paid from our coop accounts, the management company cancel our contract immediately (but only for the shareholders, they are still here managing the renting business of the sponsor who still own more than 50% of our coop). We are Americans without home rights. A home is a human right. Yes we need to keep fighting to get our freedom but we can only do it together. NO WE ARE NOT THE SAME PEOPLE. That is what politicians try to tell us "you are an isolated incident". Why don't you take a look of our website COOPABUSE.COM so you can see by yourself. As a matter of fact every time I post something I get a few emails from abused shareholders who join our cause. As a matter of fact we are looking for a lawyer to take our class action case against the estate and maybe attorney general because we are the only American who has no right to protect our home in bankruptcy court, housing court and they failed to act no matter how much we complained. Maybe they will listen to us in court. Any lawyer or anybody who wants to know more about us email me at ROSA.NAZAR@GMAIL.COM

You just rant and rant and offer no useful information. I think we have all had enough. We get yout point. Enough is enough.

No, please go on. Until some political traction gets started on this important issue, I would think an activist has a reponsbility to keep getting the message out in approrpriate forums.

Rosa please don't ever stop - you are needed and those who want to stop you are probably self serving board members - ignore them. Also post any public officials you may find in your corner.

Thanks. Yes we can. Now remember that is up too all of us to bring the needed changes to protect our coop homes. Please register at coopabuse.com or email at rosa.nazar@gmail.com. We need to take a stand and make our politicians understand that we are not second class citizens and we, like any other americans, need protection under the law for our home and against the abusers.

MTD you think people are stupid. In my coop the management company was a company of the sponsor (remember the landlord who converted his building to coop to avoid NYC rent regulations of the 70's). One day, we manage to removed the president for life, and when the new president questioned why some checks were being paid from our coop accounts, the management company cancel our contract immediately (but only for the shareholders, they are still here managing the renting business of the sponsor who still own more than 50% of our coop). We are Americans without home rights. A home is a human right. Yes we need to keep fighting to get our freedom but we can only do it together. NO WE ARE NOT THE SAME PEOPLE. That is what politicians try to tell us "you are an isolated incident". Why don't you take a look of our website COOPABUSE.COM so you can see by yourself. As a matter of fact every time I post something I get a few emails from abused shareholders who join our cause. As a matter of fact we are looking for a lawyer to take our class action case against the estate and maybe attorney general because we are the only American who has no right to protect our home in bankruptcy court, housing court and they failed to act no matter how much we complained. Maybe they will listen to us in court. Any lawyer or anybody who wants to know more about us email me at ROSA.NAZAR@GMAIL.COM