New York's Cooperative and Condominium Community
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If you have Shs who see/hear no evil even if corruption or other wrongdoing by board members is supported by evidence and thrown in their faces, they probably don't understand it or know how to deal with it.
If you have Shs who don't gripe about repeated maintenance increases or assessments, maybe they have so much money they don't care (unlikely!), or they know the coop is in bad shape financially and rising charges are necessary, or they complained about things in the past and got nowhere so they figure there's no point to complaining about this.
Apathy can defeat the best intentions and plans. Once it sets in and gets deeply rooted, it's hard to overcome. The best thing to do (my opinion) is get off Apathy Road at the first exit and slowly find a new route to where you want to go. De-emphasize negatives. Stress positives. Work toward better communication with Shs and when you see a glimmer of reaction from them, respond to it. Work to re-build their confidence and interest in the coop. Show them that what they think, want or don't want matters. Don't focus so much on getting them on your side. Focus on letting them know you're on their side and decisions made will benefit them.
Sounds good, huh? It can be done. That's my philosophy lecture for the day. :-)
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