CO-OP/CONDO BUYERS

Illegal hoteling is any building's bête noire. But, reports Ronda Kaysen in her her New York Times "Ask Real Estate" column, one Williamsburg, Brooklyn, condo board is doing what other beleaguered boards should and just slapping a fine on miscreant — who, if they want to play the "it's not an illegal rental, it's my friend / cousin" game can then damn well try to pull that crap with a judge in court. Perjury, anyone? Just make sure your bylaws allow you to levy that fine. And besides, when an apartment-owner rents to a short-term tenant in violation of New York State laws and most co-op / condo bylaws, that tenant can be hard for the owner to evict. The same column answers a Carroll Gardens condo-board question about short-term rentals. Who knew Brooklyn was such an epicenter of this?

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The fallout continues from the September 2012 rape at The Alfred Condominium, where a 16-year-old pizza deliverer spent 22 minutes wandering hallways and attacking Kia Graves before leaving the building unimpeded.

An attorney for Graves — who is suing the condominium as well as Halstead Management, doorman Luis Rodriguez, rapist Cesar Lucas, who was convicted last month, and his employer, New York Sal’s Pizza — told the New York Daily News that Rodriguez heated and ate dinner and was busy reading at the front desk without noticing, apparently, how long it was taking the pizza boy to return. The attorney added that Graves and her mother called the doorman after the assault, but that Rodriguez let Lucas go after speaking with him briefly — and then went back to his food. Rodriguez's attorney countered that his client's description helped police nab Lucas quickly, and is representing the doorman in an age-discrimination claim related to his firing.

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Following corruption charges last week by nearly 900 residents of the Brooklyn Mitchell-Lama co-op Lindsay Park Housing, the local Community Board chair and two New York City Council members, the co-op board issued a statement denying those claims. Critics allege the board exploits "general proxies," which don't name a candidate, rather directed proxies, which name a specific candidate, in order to keep board members in power.

According to DNAInfo.com, the board says its election practices are fair and monitored by an independent third party approved by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and that the dissident Shareholders for the Betterment of Lindsay Park is "a group of relatively uninformed and disappointed tenant-shareholders, who have not been able to have members of their group elected to the Lindsay Park Board and who oppose needed maintenance increases at Lindsay Park." The board said directed proxies are "restrictive" to the democratic process and that there was "no basis" to "unsubstantiated charges of 'corruption.'"

DNAInfo said the board is is verifying signatures on the group's petition to change the method of proxy voting, and will hire an election company to monitor the special meeting that per the co-op's bylaws must be held within 10 to 40 days of the petition's submission.

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With their local Community Board chairperson in agreement and on their side, nearly 900 residents of Brooklyn's Mitchell-Lama Lindsay Park Housing Cooperative (click image to enlarge) are petitioning to change a board election process they say leads to an entrenched board that is secretive, non-responsive and, as 64-year-old Elizabeth Blizinska told DNAInfo.com, "a dictatorship."

The co-op board of the seven-building Williamsburg complex gathers "general proxies" that don't name a candidate, rather than "directed proxies" that do — which the bylaws allow. The corruption comes in, petitioners say, when the longtime board president uses the proxies to re-elect herself and her allies, sometimes after having misled or intimidated immigrant and elderly residents into signing away a vote. CB1 chair Dealice Fuller agrees with the dissidents. Board president Cora Austin has denied knowledge of any petition, said DNAInfo, but the website cited memos Austin sent to residents earlier this month warning them not to sign it.

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Where should a New York City co-op or condo buyer set one's sights — or set one's "sites," hah! — before the neighborhood gets too pricey? NY.Curbed.com distills some data from Crain's New York Business to determine the five hottest up-and-coming areas, price-wise. Two are in Manhattan, three are in Brooklyn. The nabe that saw the biggest rise in sales prices? Bushwick, baby! Bet you thought we were gonna say Gowanus. Because, really, who doesn't like to say "Gowanus"?

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Gather 'round, boys and girls ... we're going to tell you a scaaaaary story. One day, a young couple searching for a co-op found an apartment. They settled on a price, were assured of obtaining a mortgage and turned in sound financials to the co-op board. But then they rounded and corner and found themselves ... having to come up with reference letters!!! (Lighting flashes, thunder booms) Whoa, whoa, settle down. It's only a story. In real life, a young couple could just turn to "14 Successful Real-Life Reference Letters," courtesy of BrickUnderground.com. Everyone good? Fine. Let's have another story. This time it's ... The Newly Built Condo with Shabby Construction! Bwaa-ha-ha-haaa!!

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So let's check in and see what co-ops and condos the one percent are buying and selling. According to 6sqft.com, the New York Knicks' new president, Phil Jackson, just spent $4.85 million to buy a posh place at the Osborne Apartments at 205 West 57th Street, where the likes of Leonard Bernstein, Lynn Redgrave, Bobby Short and many other notables have lived. In fact, Jackson's got 3B, directly under the apartment where Bernstein, Short and actor Larry Storch had lived at various times. The 1883 landmarked building went co-op in 1961. At the equally storied 15 Central Park West, Sara Blakely, founder of the Spanx undergarment empire, and her husband just sold their condo apartment for $30 million, after having bought it for $12.11 million in 2008, says the New York Daily News. So you gotta wonder: Where do you go when 15 Central Park isn't good enough?

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Whether you're an ordinary apartment-buyer or a mogul looking to invest in a $50 million co-op or condo, New York City real estate is unlike real estate anywhere else in the world. And given the nature of New York — where a bike messenger and a millionaire can be standing in the same line for coffee — it's not surprising that the same rules for buying real-estate apply to both kinds. BusinessInsider.com recently listed five pretty good rules for apartment-hunters in this rare city with more co-ops than condominiums. As it notes under #3 ("Research the Building and Developer"), "Knowing whether the co-op rules might change to no longer allow pets or if there are plans to completely redo the lobby (requiring you to pay a large monthly assessment) could sway your desire to live in the building." Yeah, but not about living in the City. (Illustration by Jane Sanders)

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At last year's annual meeting, the newly elected board was faced with a group of dissatisfied shareholders. They expressed complaints concerning the board's lack of communication about the slow turnover in apartment sales. The board members then undertook several initiatives to address shareholders' needs.

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At last year's annual meeting, the newly elected board was faced with a group of dissatisfied shareholders. They expressed complaints concerning the board's lack of communication about the slow turnover in apartment sales. The board members then undertook several initiatives to address shareholders' needs.

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