BOARD LEADERSHIP PORTRAITS, PART 2, P.2

MARSHA HUNTER: The Commander-in-Chief
Board President/Managing Agent
123 West 74th Street, Manhattan
Co-op — 40 units

The building's superintendent — the captain of the ship, on whom we depend to keep operations running smoothly — was devastated by a stroke. It was a crisis that would test any leader.

The issue was not just one of replacing the super, but also about dealing with the personal and professional issues that went with the job. Replacement, says the board's attorney, Arthur I. Weinstein, a founder and the vice president of the Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums, "would be easier to deal with than the ethical, moral and political issues that the board would be facing."

Indeed, as Weinstein notes: "The board predictably began wrestling with the hard questions [of how] to balance the needs of the co-op with their concerns for the well-being of the super and his family, people who had become part of the co-op's family. Questions were debated: How long could the building safely function with a part-time super working very limited hours? How long would it take to determine whether or not the super would recover sufficiently to be able to do his job? Are the contract's termination-pay provisions fair and reflective of the years of service by the super? How long could the contract's grievance procedures delay the ability of the co-op to hire a new full-time resident super?"

Hunter, who has been board president since 1978 and its managing agent since 1988, did what she always does: take charge. "We are not running a tenant advocacy group here," she days. "We are running an investment of the shareholders…."

With the blessing of the building service-workers union, SEIU 32BJ, Hunter assured the super's family that the full annual vacation time and sick time, whether or not it had then been earned, would be made available. She then called a meeting of the shareholders to inform them about the crisis and the steps that were being taken to deal with it, and diplomatically dealt with groups of vocal owners who provided more heat than illumination. Weinstein says that because Hunter was "devoted" to the building and cared tremendously about it, she had the strength to deal with the disgruntled alliance. "Anytime there has been a president of a board for a long time, there are always those who resent them and look for something to complain about. This was it."

She dealt with their complaints — and the more legitimate worries of other shareholders — by promising to have frequent board meetings to keep on top of the facts and to offer frequent reports to the shareholders. A part-time employee was secured to handle emergencies while Hunter and the board worked with the building's attorney and the union to hire a new super while giving the disabled super and his family a generous severance package to secure new housing for them.

"It was a very complicated and difficult procedure," says Hunter. "Within the board there were those swayed by the human part, but it didn't deter them. The board knew we needed a full-time super."

Keeping on top of the situation is nothing new for Hunter, who pays close attention to detail, stays abreast of any issues on a day-to-day basis, and admits she keeps massive documentation on "everything that ever happened in this building." As to what she believes are her leadership assets, she says: "I don't falter on my instincts about what is right. That might appear to be hard-nosed, but I believe in maintaining the investment of the shareholders and not becoming involved with emotional or social policy conflicts."

She is not above stage-managing the make-up of the board. In order to do the best possible job for her fellow shareholders, she looks for the most qualified candidates to fill that seven-member body. "I seek out the best in the building — those who are willing to give the time, who have a financial, legal or business background and are comfortable making decisions on a corporate level," says Hunter, who adds: "I am very proud of this building and what we have done to bring a 1924 structure back to restoration."

She enjoys steering difficult projects and laughs when she admits that just getting through all the city inspections each year is am accomplishment in itself. "I like to see a job well done."

Read Part 1

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