Hi, Cynosure--

Not sure what you mean by "for sample use only for viewing." Please feel free to contact me at flovece@habitatmag.com, and I'll try to help.

Our Co Op is in the process of building our own web site purely for the function of Newsletters; information of upcoming or ongoing projects in the building;community blog, etc.. Not needing to be elaborate Thank you for your response, it is appreciated.

You can use wordpress (http://www.wordpress.org), which is a free and open source software to building community based websites. i have used this to develop http://www.burnsstreet.com as an example.

Custom themes for wordpress that are relatively cheap and easy to modify can be found at http://www.themeforest.net/category/wordpress

Shout out to our intrepid Mr. Manager blogger, Mark Levine!

You might also want to see our free online article "Getting a Co-op Exclusive Web-Site Name: How to Fly the 'Coop'" at
http://habitatmag.com/publication_content/2009_june/web_exclusives/getting_a_co_op_exclusive_web_site_name_how_to_fly_the_coop

It includes links to our Building Web-Aps article, and additionally lists two print-magazine articles on the subject, available in the Habitat Archive.

Try ours:
http://www.thepinehurst.org

Send an e-mail from the site if you have questions! (Or post them here.)

www.naborsapts.org

We're a small coop (under 50 units) and I set a website up for us using Google Web and Google Groups. The main site has the building documents, policies, contact information and can't be changed by users. There's a linked site that is for discussions about building topics: want more storage cages, something to sell, how to recycle...etc. Only took about half a day to get the basic sites, both of them, set up. The Google platform is very intuitive. It's also easy to maintain and you can upload documents and photos. For a small building, I'd recommend it.

I think what you will find is that contractors are generally more available for these projects and will likely be somewhat more flexible in their pricing. Like all of us, they have obligations that they must meet regardless of the economy, so while you may get a modest discount that you would not have received a year ago, you may find that it is not providing the "great prices" that your board is hoping for. On the other hand, you will likely get a faster start time, fewer delays during the project, and improved service afterward.

Most of their costs are in materials and labor which to a great extent are out of their control. Labor costs may not rising as quickly these days but they are not going down, particularly if you are engaging in union work.

Like you said yourself, costs go up in time regardless, so waiting for two or three years will only result in a more expensive project. We are in the middle of a major elevator modernization project. Times are tight and the work could have waited for two or three years, but we knew the work had to be done and we also knew that it was not going to get cheaper later. Bottom line, if you have the funds available and the project is essential, now is the time.

If you have a roof replacement project upcomin please look at our website/references you will see we are more than qualified and are competative, however we do not skimp on quality and yes we do have certain obligations that we have to meet and certain standrads that we consistantly maintain. Good luck

www.aparestoration.com

We just recently rid ourselves of the union, co-op in Queens.

Our lawyer knew the process and did a great job.

We used services of
Matthew Persanis
670 White Plains Rd. Suite 321
Scarsale, NY 10583
mp@elefantepersanis.com

Unions have been about the only way working people have been able to make anything other than a subsistence wage in this country.

And in the only Westernized nation without national health care, the social contract is that private enterprise would fill that role, in exchange for not being taxed at European levels. Yet private enterprise largely has not kept its end of the bargain, except when unions have negotiated for that.

Co-ops spend money on new lobbies, expensive, union-busting lawyers, and other suh things, and yet won't pay workers a living wage and offer proper benefits. Shame on you. Unless your co-op is on the verge of bankruptcy - in which case the union can negotiate with givebacks, and countless unions, such as in the airline industry have done - then you are morally bankrupt.

And I especially like how you capitalize "THE UNION" as if it were some horrible monster. That betrays your anti-worker, right-wing stance like nothing else.

You know, management bands together in solidarity, and shares the cost and burden of hiring attorneys, etc. Why shouldn't workers have the same right or organize? You are sickening.

Thank you Anonymous_is it possible that you give me some idea of the approx monetary cost_without disclosing who you are or your whereabouts other than Queens.

As you may note it took 2 weeks for a response, which I am sure it is a difficult subject to pose.

Did the process take long and what were the major impeding obstacles or objects that caused any hinderance if any?.

Again, I thank for sharing your experience.

I would like to know how the staff reacted to this move? How is their pension and health benefits going to get paid. What happens to the staff member who now has to freeze his union book, since he is working in a non-union building!!!

Thanks for the information. We will contact them, and see if they can assist us with ridding 32bj

I do not see anything incorrect about getting out of the union - In our coop we have a Super who does nothing and is costing us a massive amount of money - not only does he do nothng but he is calling outside vendors to do simple repairs like fixing leaking faucets and toilets and putting in light bulbs all part of his duties - Yet to get rid of him he wants us to buy him out - He is also not physically able to do these things so if you can get out of the union I say do it - I also understand that the union is trying to back charge buildings for benefits, etc for persons employed who were part time and did nothing and these charges are massive - so exactly what is the benefit of having a union - and then also there would be no strikes

Your knee-jerk anti-union reactionism is appalling. You know very well there are arbitration proceedings available, and supers have been known to have been fired after such proceedings.

What's the catch? You have to prove your allegations. If the allegations are true, that shouldn't be a problem. If your super is acting in violation of the union contract, then contact the RAB, which is the management signatory of the 32 B/J contract. You're deliberately not exploring the available options, out of anti-union prejudice.

Go read some history -- see what it was like for workers before unions. Learn about "company stores" and sweatshops and all the ordinary men and women killed -- actually, literally killed by police and company mercenaries -- for wanting decent working conditions

I am quite aware of union history - however what they did in the beginning changed quite a long time ago, and definitely not for the better - what about our auto industry, newspapers, steel industry etc -
If we have the options for the RAB that is well and good but apparently most our board is not availing themselves of that choice - which leaves the coop in a very difficult position

Blaming the unions for the historical changes to our auto industry (the Japanese are unionized and the auto industry there flourishes), the newspaper industry (crumbling due to free content on the Internet and not unions) and the steel industry (too many changes in manufacturing and materials-use to mention) is a straw dog.

Why not look to the financial industry, where mismanagement and the taking of millions and millions of dollars in bonuses for producing nothing, and where there ARE no unions, has created a domino effect on everyone.

Do you really think unionized police officers, teachers, etc., are living like lawyers and CEOs? The vast majority make an adequate living, but certainly aren't living high on the hog.

I'm sorry, but the idea of organizing for collective bargaining -- as opposed to a each single worker trying to "negotiate" against an entire company with all its resources -- in order to have a middle-class existence, health care and a couple of weeks vacation a year -- as opposed to slaving away 60-80 hours a week, having HMO "coverage" that fights you for every prescription, and being fired for any reason or no reason, probably like many white-collar workers you know -- is only fair and just.

That the rest of your board refuses to go into arbitration, almost certainly violating the union contract, is unconscionable. If you can get a lawyer to twist the law and find some loophole, well, good for you. You're only making things harder on the rest of the world.

By the way, I found this article in Habitat about union and management working together in a particularly challenging situation. Why not read it and get more facts before going down this road?

Union No More
July / August 2006 Hotline
http://www.habitatmag.com/archive/add_to_cart.php?article_id=3457

An unusual win-win-win scenario among workers, the union, and a co-op that
decided to reduce its number of union maintenance staff.

If your Resident Manager is "Doing Nothing" you don't get rid of the union! You get on Managements back to draw the line with the staff. If they don't get it straighten out then you get another management company!

Resident Manager in NYC

Once in a great while when I think it might be a good idea to look back into the residential side of this business I first stop by Habitat. Thanks for posting this, it made me happy to be on the commercial side of the business. How easy it is to forget the yahoos that wake up with great ideas like ridding the union and self management. I would ask the poster how he would enjoy having a volunteer come into his office and slashing his health, retirement, and medical benefits.

If your building has union staff they have a contract, breaking this contract, harassing workers, and acting out of ignorance will only serve to realize additional expense to neighbors.

If your building is so cash strapped that they can not keep union staff it is either time to move or consider an increase in your monthly maintenance.

i know our managing agent did this in our building a few years ago. You can contact Harry at 212-582-9080. I don't know if he does this for anyone or for only the buildings they manage.

I work with a large pension plan (over $3 billion in assets). Our Co-op has four reserve funds (or self escrows) totaling $800k separating the funds by purpose: capital, mortgage reserve, annual insurance reserve and annual water/sewer reserve. We earned 80k in investment income last year on a base of $600k or so. We hope to add $900k into the reserve fund this year due to the sale of treasury stock. I don't like a static investment policy as the market is not static.

Right now we are invested in FDIC insured CD's which are timed to release funds on occasion or when the need for the reserve/self escrow fund occurs. For example, we ladder our mortgage reserve fund to have a quarter of the reserve reset annually (become liquid) once a quarter just in case we ever have to use it. We also have the annual water/sewer reserve mature in June each year. We also have a line of credit to tap just in case – not used in three years.

Last year, we put everything in a Vanguard Long Term US Treasury Bond fund and watched with joy when the FED lowered interest rates. Then we moved everything into CD's to maintain principal in anticipation of the FED raising rates in the future. My point is that investments do great if dynamically managed in this way - you just have to have someone watch them for you.

Others may have different ideas too.

First of all, I hope you have the proper insurance coverage in place and that the insurance company is aware of the litigation. Whatever the dispute, as long as the board is acting in good faith and within Business Law the insurance should protect the corporation and the directors against large assessments. If you do not have adequate coverage, get it.

That being said, there should be no legal reason to prevent anyone from selling during the litigation; however if this has been going on for some time, your legal fees would show up in the financial statements which a prospective purchaser would review prior to contract. Even if there is no legal obligation to reveal, in my opinion there is an ethical obligation.

In my experience it may not be worth the rent. I've been in 2 buildings with cell tower experience, in the first there was so much rancor that for the first time there were enough people to hold a special election and almost unseated the board when they had towers installed and the residents, especially on the top floors where not told or asked. In the second case the issue was just dropped for fears of the same happening. So before moving on this you should get buy in from at least the people on the top floor

That said there are cell tower brokers that know who is buying nad how to market you and get you the best price, and as I recall it wasn't that great

Try searching the archives here for cell tower

We have a large roof space with excellent exposure; however last year we rejected offers from one of the major mobile providers. Even after refusing the first offer and having them redesign the unsightly antennae that they originally proposed, their subsequent offer was nowhere near enough to warrant the potential political rancor that Jack in Brooklyn also described.

There is a lot of misinformation out there about the effects of RF and having an engineering background, I am not particularly concerned. However, no matter what evidence you may present to the contrary, you are unlikely to convince those living on the top floor that they should not be concerned. I agree with Jack - it's not worth it.

You haven't posted in a long while. Please don't say you've given up your blog. We need differetn voices!

Sorry for being MIA for the past several weeks; however I have been devoting myself to some business interests. Good news is that I will be back on the blog in the next few days - thanks for asking!!