BOARD LEADERSHIP PORTRAITS, PART 1, P.2

Explains Mayer: "You have to know when to pull in the ropes and when to let go." He insisted on answering questions and giving face-to-face assurances with any and all shareholders. Believing communication is the key to harmony, he also saw to it that the co-op put out daily newsletters that kept everyone informed of the projects underway. And he says that the board and management staff are united as a team committed to restoring the co-op's stability, Meyer adds.

"You may be the leader, but you have to have an open mind and listen to everyone's opinions, good and bad," he observes, adding that his board "may have heated discussions but we come up with answers." The board members physically meet once a month but communicate daily via advantage e-mail and telephone. "This way nothing gets held back and delayed," Mayer says. "Everything is constantly moving." And as he points out, "Without team effort, you have nothing."

"Harry Mayer helped fight our insurance company to pay the $2.3 million-dollar loss we sustained," Zsebedics recalls. "It took a year-and-a-half to rebuild the garage roof and another six months to put back the rotunda into operating condition. Harry Mayer was instrumental in keeping the cooperative running despite the hundreds of roadblocks these projects presented."

ROSEANNE KING-LIND: The Hard Driver
Board President, Ryerson Towers, Brooklyn
Mitchell-Lama Co-op — 326 units

Roseanne King-Lind's Brooklyn building had serious work that needed to be handled pronto. In 2005, with her co-op sinking deeply into debt, King-Lind got elected to the board — and after receiving her first financial statement was appalled. "The co-op was in debt over $500,000 that year with no capital expenditures. Where did the money go?"

The take-charge King-Lind wasn't about to roll over. Determined to stem the tide of financial neglect, she encouraged several shareholders, including an accountant, to run for the nine-member board. With a majority of new members in place, she was tapped as president in 2006. The accountant promptly became the new treasurer, and they immediately went to work cleaning house. "We reduced the co-op insurance by 12 to 15 percent, hired a new attorney, decreased the staff overtime in the building, researched new contractors, and lowered all expenses."

Steve Wagner, a partner at Wagner Davis and the co-op's new attorney, points out King-Lind's greatest strengths: "She stays focused on the goals of the co-op and makes the best decisions she can after thoroughly educating herself. She appreciates people and knows how to treat them, friend or foe."

When we put ourselves second

and think of the shareholders first,

everything falls into place."

Her background certainly helps: as a sales representative with a million-dollar clientele for Valentino at Saks Fifth Avenue and a former property manager for AKAM Associates, she is knowledgeable about real estate and "very pro-active and business-oriented," she notes, adding: "Whatever is in the best interest of the shareholders, that will be our decision. When we put ourselves second and think of the shareholders first, everything falls into place."

After two years, the Ryerson Towers finances are "almost in the black," she reports. The co-op has received a $3.5 million loan from the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development to help fund a current $3.6 million improvement project that includes new windows, roof repair, a new boiler and balcony restoration. She was also successful in receiving a grant for $500,000 from a local councilwoman towards the project. Meanwhile, Keyspan is providing a $50,000 incentive for installing a new dual gas/oil boiler in the building.

Of the nine board members, five tend to vote in her favor, but it doesn't always go her way. "You have to be open-minded and give everyone the chance to express their views. You may not enjoy it, but that is all part of leadership." According to Wagner, she has a gift for putting together coalitions against strong opposition, which, the lawyer says, has allowed her to "implement capital projects and do it cost-effectively and eliminate the murky financial dealings that came before her."

The board now communicates with shareholders on a regular basis by distributing the meeting minutes, something unheard of before her tenure. However, she has learned that trying to please everybody is impossible. She believes that if you please yourself and the majority, "you will succeed."

As to her management style, she says: "I don't micromanage. I let everyone do their job. You have to trust who you are working with." She adds: "I love challenges, life is too boring without them."

Read Part 2

Adapted from Habitat October 2008. For the complete article and more, join our Archive >>