You would have to examine your condominium’s declaration, by-laws and rules and regulations to see if there is a clause specific to large events being held in units. If nothing is stipulated, I think a board would be overstepping their boundaries by requiring board approval. However, the board pursuant to its general authority to manage the condominium and its common areas, may want to acknowledge, via letter, that they are aware of such a gathering being planned and remind the owner of their responsibility for their guests (e.g. noise by-laws, building damage, garbage removal, elevator use etc.).

The prevailing factor with respect to the amount of guests permitted would be the C of O (Certificate of Occupany) for the unit, the elevator and the common party room, if your building has one. The C of O would stipulate the maximum amount of people allowed in any of the areas. While Ned's advisement to review your By-laws and House Rules is correct, a review of the C of O is necessary to ensure safety and Fire Department requirements are being complied with, and if the board determines such was not the case, and the number of guests exceeded the maximum allowable occupancy, the board must then notify the unit owner of the violation and be clear the condition cannot be repeated during their next event.

Whether your condo put it up or the City did at your request is irrelevant; if it's on City property, it belongs to them. Your management company is correct as there is nothing they can do - it's a City bike rack, anyone can use it. I suggest that you contact the City (cityrack@dot.nyc.gov) with your problem and see if they have a solution for bikes that are left on the rack for long periods of time and suggestions for delivery people/visitors to park their bikes. You can also confirm with them fine information (if you take action and remove a bike). You can also report derelict bikes to the City and request removal however the bike must meet certain conditions. http://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/service/1191/bicycle-chained-to-public-property

As a sidebar, why can't delivery people use the metal fence? You could always post a sign on the fence saying "Delivery Bikes Only Allowed. All Others Will be Removed". As for guest bikes, what do other buildings do that do not have a bike rack in front of their building?

I suspect that the objection to delivery people chaining a bike to the building fence is that the chain will chip the paint on the fence (usually iron) and will need to be touched up regularly to prevent rust.

May I ask a couple of questions? Is this a lien on your building for outstanding (water service) amounts that is being sold? or is this a utility lien that your building owns (as an investment)?

You should have received an explanation, an apology and a commitment that it would not happen again. Clearly they have no knowledge of privacy rights; something that you would hope a board would have some degree of knowledge about since they are dealing with shareholder personal information.

If, because of prior indiscretions and this incident combined you are concerned that this could happen again, you can file a formal complaint with the Office of the Attorney General (http://www.ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/pdfs/complaints/piu001_complaint_form.pdf). I would call them first to see if this is the right avenue to do this. (General Helpline: 1-800-771-7755 for calls made within New York State). Perhaps they need an "official" reminder of the law (and their duty to privacy) versus it coming from a shareholder.

As far as the board remaining, it is unfortunate that like minded shareholders cannot get together and develop a plan ( i.e. replace the board) and support for that to happen. It takes a lot of work, time, coordination and commitment from shareholders - and someone to lead the charge. Otherwise, it appears that you are stuck with them unless it is specified in your rules & regulations (or bylaws) that they have a specific term.

Thank you, I have seen new buyers packages left right by door mat on board members apts to review with there apt# on package. Security breach, because your entire life is in those papers. Very careless. I hoping all board members would shredded documents that would be security and safty reasons apart from laws! Good luck Ned!

Section 399-dd of New York’s General Business Law requires corporations and associations, among others, to protect the confidentiality of a person’s social security number. General Business Law section 399-h requires that certain measures, including deleting personal information or shredding documents that contain such information, must be taken by corporations or associations when disposing of personal information. These sections apply to cooperatives because they are corporations and also apply to condominiums because they are associations of unit owners. Therefore, boards must take “reasonable measures” to protect residents’ social security numbers, and properly destroy or dispose of residents’ personal information. Otherwise, the board may be subject to statutory liability.

In New York: You need to look up your by-law and see what the rules are to vote all those frauds out. In some coop they require about 75% or 2/3 of shareholders' signatures to kick the loggers off the board; then get control of the board by putting in GOOD people who really care about the coop--this is very hard to do--selflessness is rare--then amend the by-laws with strict language and get shareholders' votes to enact the new provisions so the next bag of loggers won't be able to change by-laws when they want for their own benefit. Generally speaking, the BCL (New York) laws are the wrong type of provisions for coops; we really are not profit generating businesses or a regular corporation by any means--coops should have their own devoted sections of laws. We need to petition this with legislators. Bottom line you have to read every page of you by-laws and BCL sections 600s to 700s; it seems you have not read your by-laws. And you have to sue them for breach of their fiduciary--your members been there so long they probably got every corner locked in working for them. If your shareholders are not frustrated or angry enough to act--I advise you to move and never buy a coop again. We have the same problem in our coop, and the sleeper shareholders are half to blame. I'm on the board fighting the loggers crooks, getting smack down by the self-dealing majority, doing my darn honest best for the coop and it's bone breaking hard to get voters to sign my proxy. They make it like they are doing me a big favor when it's the other way around! I don't have a life; my spare time is spent looking over the cheaters, fighting with the cheaters, defending myself against the cheaters, trying to out strategize the cheaters, trying to catch the cheaters in action, watching my back against cheater supporters who are getting their little piece of the pie while everything is falling apart. I have to stop writing now otherwise I won't be able to post this message due to profanity--!

In my building, a notice of the annual meeting is sent out within 30 days of the meeting, along with a proxy form where the recipient can name anyone to serve as his proxy and vote his shares. At the meeting, the managing agent runs the election, announcing the positions that are open, and that (generally) the existing board is running for reelection. At that time, the floor is opened to nominate other candidates, one other person must second a nomination, and the person is then added to the ballot as a write-in. A majority of the shares must be voted either in person or by proxy (sometimes more than 51%, depending on bylaws). Management then tally's up the votes and announces the new board.
Board minutes are supposed to be prepared after each meeting, and you should be able to review them at the management company offices if you request to do so. You should also receive annual audited financial statements for the coop corporation. If you can't get access to the minutes and don't receive financial statements, I guess you can make complaints to the Department of State or the attorney general.
I don't know if the board or management is required to provide a list of owners or not, how big is the building? Painstaking, but you can review the property records online (at least in NYC) and see who the owners are based on ownership records. Mortgages and other documents get recorded on sale. Or you can do phone number checks on the address (which may include renters or sublets too).
May be harder to deal with fraud, depends on what it is and if there is evidence that can be taken to some authority (district attorney, attorney general, etc.).

If your payment is due on the 15th rather than the 1st of the month then yes, you would instruct your financial institution that the automatic epayments are to be made on the 15th of every month. It's up to the financial institution as to the time of day that the funds are removed from your account on that day (versus "end of business day"). If your payment is to be made on the 1st of the month, then you would instruct them to make payment on the 1st of every month.

Is the 15 days a grace period? Some condo's (graciously) allow grace periods for individuals that may have difficulty making payment on the 1st or are absent. If you are in those circumstances, I am certain that you would be allowed to make the epayment on the 15th rather than the 1st of the month. If not, then you should be making payment when it is due rather than trying to take advantage of the grace period.

The grace period is until - and including - the 15th. The due date is the 1st.
The billing person at eh mng agent office says it is OK to have personal checks "in hand" on the 15th and not get a late fee.
Usually we pay earlier but sometimes this happens.
The problem is the Board/mng agent is not counting an echeck as if it is a paper check. (at least, for one resident...)

You mean they processing it on the due date of the 1st?

My management co. lets you choose the date that they will debit your account. If that date falls on a holiday, they will debit your account a business day earlier.

No - It is not on autpay but we can pay via a registered electronic system. Is this clear to you?

Actually it's not clear to me; I am familiar with EPS in retail.
In my own environment I signed a (purchasers) agreement that stipulates that my fees are due on the 1st of the month. We have a 5 day grace period - not a 1/2 month. 80% of our owners provide post-dated cheques - dated for the 1st, not the 5th. When we migrate to paperless (auto withdraw from banking account), it will still be due on the 1st of the month.

I think your condo is very gracious to allow a 15 day grace period (which is excessive) however it sounds to me that folks are working it to their advantage and instead of paying on the due date of the 1st, they want to pay, whether by hand delivered cheque or EPS on the 15th, the last possible day before interest is charged. Here's the thing: if all residents had the same mentality, waiting until the 15th, then why have a due date of the 1st (not to mention the impact it could have on available operating funds).

It sounds to me that you want to take advantage of the grace period whether you are paying by cheque or EPS. If your friend is so concerned with their echeque payment coming out on the actual day it's due, the 1st, tell them to revert to cheques like yourself and date them the 15th. Otherwise, the management company has every right to process the echeque when the amount is actually due - on the 1st of the month.

Sorry Ned but to accuse everyone of taking advantage is off-point Different residents pay at different times for varying reasons They may forget, they may be traveling, they may have money coming in after the 1st. We have several board members who regularly pay after the first.
Thus, the standard grace period offered by most coops.
It is not unusually generous. It is standard to have a grace period.
My question had to do with - is there a difference btw personal checks and e-checks ? They seem to essentially one and the sale for payment purposes. on the rare occasion you give a paper check in-hand on a certain date and it is considered within the permissible grace period then why not a paper check?

I did not mean to insinuate that everyone was taking advantage of the 15 day grave period and apologize if it sounded that way.

Technically, the payment is due on the 1st of the month not the 15th and if they have a cheque in hand it will be deposited on that due date unless otherwise specified.

Depends on what you are calling an e-check. If you initiate the transfer from your bank, you're 'pushing' out the payment. Be a little careful with that, not every payment will go out as an electronic transfer. My dentist, for example, gets a paper check mailed to him, which obviously adds a day or two. However, if your coop is 'pulling' the funds from your account, then they are responsible for generating the transaction on a timely basis to insure that the funds are in their account on the designated day. Generally, if the designated day is a holiday, the transaction will occur on the prior business day.

There are regulations under the USFA and other governing agencies which must be adhered to and may include the requirement for at minimum an annual inspection of all building fire related equipment (alarms, hoses, emergency lighting etc.) including an annual inspection of unit smoke and/or CO devices to ensure that they are in working order. Your managing agent should know the regulations. And yes, there should be a house rule specific to the responsibility of the owner for smoke and/or CO devices installation and maintenance requirements, i.e. replacing faulty or non-working devices.

Kiddie sells a combo alarm with a 10 year battery that sells for about 50 dollars. No need to use a/c but if your a/c power isn't working to your current alarm you may have a more series problem that is hidden behind the walls/ceiling with your wiring that needs to be resolved.

Thanks for your comment, Ned. I would also appreciate hearing from NYC-based condos regarding whether and how your buildings actually oversee individual units' smoke alarms. Do you have explicit house rules about smoke alarms? Do individual owners have to pay to upgrade/repair their alarms, or is this a service provided by the building super?

NYC requires smoke and CO detectors in all apartments. Here are the regs:
http://www1.nyc.gov/site/hpd/owners/Smoke-carbon-monoxide-detectors.page
Buildings are required to track installation dates and replacements, but it's usually up to the unit occupant to maintain it. At the end of life of a detector in NYC, the building is responsible for replacing the units with a new one with a 10 year Battery life. http://rules.cityofnewyork.us/content/rules-requiring-installation-smoke-alarms They can also charge up to $50 back to the occupant.
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You say that your unit says it is AC powered with battery backup. Have you changed the battery? That kicks in if there is no AC power. Do you know if it is/was connected to the AC power, or if the person that installed it simply relied on the battery backup to power it? Having a house rule is nice, but you need someone to enforce it, by knocking on doors and testing each detector periodically.
I would replace the detector ASAP if replacing the battery doesn't fix it, for my own personal safety, and not haggle over having a rule or waiting for the board or management to do something. Keep the receipt so you can show when it was purchased. If you don't have the ability to remove the old one (assuming it is connected to AC power), simply screw the new one to the ceiling near the old one.

I would initially contact the Board President and cc: other board members to confirm that the President did in fact recommended the lower unit to the scout versus the upper unit and if true, the rationale for doing so. If true, I would ask for the "tradition" of allowing shareholder to offer their unit for filming to be cast to a vote by all shareholders. If the board refuses to take to vote, then get the required number of shareholders to sign a petition requesting equitable treatment.

The interest rate varies from state to state. Refer to this chart (cut and paste into browser) http://statelaws.findlaw.com/consumer-laws/interest-rates.html
In New York it is 16% and yes, it is based on the number of days owing. Here is simple calculator using an example of $1,500 owing at 16% for 5 days overdue. Interest amount = $3.20 for those 5 days http://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/financial/simple-interest-calculator.php

Our coop has a 15 day grace period. Therefore, if you pay on the 16th (due to a holiday weekend), are you one day late or 16 days late? In such a case should they charge you the late fee for one day?

If you have a 15 day grace period, then no interest is paid if the payment is made WITHIN the 15 days. If they did not pay until day 16, then they owe the interest from day 1 so they owe 16 days of interest, not 1, regardless of it being a holiday weekend.