One Board President's On-the-Job Training

John F. Kennedy said, famously, that there’s no school for presidents. The only way to learn the job is by doing it. The same goes for presidents of co-op and condo boards. Just ask Darren Arithoppah.

Like many of the residents at the 157-unit condominium at 140 East 56th Street in New York City’s upscale Sutton Place neighborhood, Arithoppah is a young working professional. His top reasons for joining the condo board were to bring in a new cable carrier and build a gym. Instead, he wound up bringing democracy to a building that had been run like an autocracy.

In his job at a financial services firm, Arithoppah, 37, had become accustomed to a collaborative environment, but when he joined his condo board, he found that it had a somewhat different style. While the board had done a great job putting the building’s finances in order, the responsibilities were largely handled by one person – the president. “He pretty much did everything himself,” Arithoppah says of his encounter with a common figure: the board president who runs the whole show. “Being group-oriented, I felt a little disoriented, and I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to move forward.”

So when Arithoppah became president in 2015, the most pressing task on his agenda was redistributing power, literally across the board. He quickly began delegating responsibilities to the other officers and filled assistant roles that had been vacant for years. He also formed committees to oversee building operations and pressing capital projects, including modernizing the elevators and renovating the hallways in the 17-story property, which was built in 1956.

Establishing clear lines of communication – and bringing the condo into the 21st century – was also a must. Under Arithoppah’s leadership, board members began corresponding via email and updating residents with regular newsletters. But he’s also gone to great lengths to make it a two-way street.

“Darren has made himself available to everyone to get their input and opinions, which wasn’t the case before,” says Joan Konow, a principal at Key Real Estate, the property’s managing agent. “He’s brought back democracy and transparency, which has inspired everyone to get more involved.”

By his own admission, Arithoppah’s term as president has not been free of missteps. “At first, I paid too much attention to unit-owners who had complaints and wanted to bend my ear,” he says. “I’d spend hours talking to them before realizing they didn’t have a clear idea about exactly what they wanted the board to do, which was very frustrating. I had to learn that it’s not my job to solve one person’s problem, but to focus on building-wide projects and come up with policies that are in everyone’s best interests. That includes leaning on our staff, super, and managing agent as much as possible, and letting them do their jobs.”

Arithoppah has come a long way, but his to-do list – color-coded to help him prioritize – just keeps growing. “I still want to reach out to other boards in our community, get a better handle on pricing from contractors, and see what can be done to make our building more energy-efficient,” he says. “There’s a lot of work, but I’m not flying solo. I’m definitely liking the new democracy here. I’m not going to be president forever, we have a great team, and I’m confident any other board member can seamlessly step in and do the job.”