HG - If you want to amend your by-laws to say that board candidates can't be in legal disputes with the coop and a BM must resign if he is in such a dispute, talk to your coop attorney. You have to notify all SHs of the exact wording of the amendment before it is voted on, get the required SH vote, etc.

You said you had a BM in a legal dispute with the coop who benefited from talking to mgmt and other BMs about it. Mgmt and other BMs should stay out of discussions like that, and a BM shouldn't "discuss" his legal dispute with the coop attorney. His attorney can, but the coop attorney represents the coop as a whole. He shouldn't "discuss" or give advice to any individual SHs who are in a legal dispute/lawsuit with the coop. It's not appropriate, and it's not in the best interests of the coop as a whole.

As for qualifications of BMs, I know bldgs who amended their by-laws to state that a person must be a SH for 1 year (one bldg requires 2 years) before he can run for the board. Not a bad idea. It gives people who never lived in a coop time to familiarize themselves with the coop "concept" and get to know their bldg a bit before they attempt to be one of the people who govern it.

Leave this alone...Why are you going there?

I know i know. but am going there for good reason. corrupt super. sleeping board. inequal repairs and favors for residents depending on $. need to balance it out.

During my 30 years of coop management I NEVER had a client report cash tips. If the building really wants to pi-- off the staff this is the best way to do it. Tips is what motivates them as much as their salary, if not more.

People like you make it hard to keep good employees in any building.

sal - this was your 12/5 posting:
"I know i know. but am going there for good reason. corrupt super. sleeping board. inequal repairs and favors for residents depending on $. need to balance it out."

I wouldn't worry about reporting cash tips. If I were you, I'd focus on finding a new super, waking up your board (or getting other people elected to it), and having your property mgr handle and schedule repairs for residents on a fair, equal basis. And that's the best "tip" I can give you. ;-)

they are not good employees. this is the problem. pleaseunderstand.

I'm a resident manager, if the employees are not any good or dont follow company procedure then you need to make a change. This will give your building a bad reputation were no credible worker will want to work for your building.

Run for office and find out before it is too late.

I always found Sonnenschein, Sherman, and Deutch, 888 Seventh Ave, to be very competent.

We just announced a 12% increase, so consider yourself lucky.

fuel is the same, labor did not go up. having raised ours considerably in the last few years, there is no reason to raise your mntnce if you are taking PRO_ACTIVE cost-cutting measures - supplies, insurance, energy costs, etc.

Newbie - We are raising our maintenance 5% in 2009 too. NYC real estate taxes are going up (7%, I believe), and who knows what will happen in 2009 in this economy. IMO, unless your co-op is very well fixed financially, a maintenance increase is a good move.

Yea! You are lucky we have 10% !!

you need a very good Tax Certiorari ASAP/. get a new one if your regular one is not doing as well as he could be.

9% to cover property taxes.

Green@metrogroupny.com

. I was board treasurer threatened by resident, As always, it's a bit more complicated . Feel free to contact me if interested.

Regards,Elise

Are you Elise Brodsky from NYC?

I'm interested in the table lamp that doubles as a security camera, which was in the New Products section maybe a month ago. (It's here: http://www.habitatmag.com/publication_content/previous_new_products/brickhouse_nightvision_dvr_spy_lamp)

Does anyone out there have experience with surreptitous security recording? I see security cameras hanging from buildings on the street all the time, without a sign saying "you are being videotaped." Do we need to put a sign in our lobby if we've got a security camera? Is the law different for an obvious security camera, no matter how small, or a hidden camera? A lot of elevators have essentially hidden cameras, with no "you are being videotaped" signs.

Before I go to the rest of my board, I want to have good information, and wanted to check with fellow board members before going to the board attorney and racking up fees.

First step: Put everything in writing to the board and send it certified. Be brief and precise. Tell them they are violating the warrent of habitability by not completing the project.

You said you had mold around your A/C. Is the A/C yours according to the PL or the co-op?

Obviously,the managing agent and/or the board should have provided you with the intended scope of their work.

To inspect the sleeve, the A/C had to be removed from the sleeve. If the A/C was yours, you should have removed it to facilitate the inspection of the sleeve. This is very similar to changing windows in a co-op. Residents are requested to remove drapes, furniture and other furnishings since this is personal property.

Obviously, the co-op assumed the removal of the A/C so that the inspection and removal of the sleeve could be done. In such a case, the co-op should have placed your A/C back and avoided further complaint. If the co-op did not do it, it should have informed you that putting the A/C back was your responsibility.

Finally, if the sleeve was rotted, but the condensate water was damaging the front wall around your unit, it was probably due to an incorrect pitch of the A/C when it was installed. An A/C should be pitched a tat higher up front so that condensates evacuate through the back of the sleeve and out the building not through the front and into the internal wall of the apartment.

So, make sure your A/C is installed correctly by lifting the front a bit. This will avoid water and mold growing on the internal wall. In fact, if the A/C was incorrectly pitch and this was the cause of the mold, it stands to reason that YOU own the mold remediation as may be caused by your own equipment.


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