Amen to that! I have completed a complaint form to the NYS attorney general ES. I have been living a nightmare for so long and my dump is for sale. Open house this weekend and next and the one after that! I may drop $5,000 per week until I unload. They pulled a Pullman on me and the MA admitted half the info was untrue. That's what he admits to the facts are it's all BS. Some partial truths but very twisted! So today I receive notice from my sister they sent her a letter claiming I am moving things out and damaging the elevator. My sister who "owns" half lives in another state and is often away on business just forwarded the information to me dated December 10th I believe. Well since I have not yet begun to move this just more harassment from some very creepy individuals. I emailed them and told them any response should be sent email or snail mail NO CALLS. They are horrid people who lie and instigate and because of this I don't want any verbal communication. They are abusive, rude, condescending, and irritating to speak with. I am a straight shooter like it or not and their BS has an effect on my blood pressure. So tonight as I was walking home from the grocery store I ran into these to MAs ( major a......s). The cursory greetings and then I addressed the complaint of my moving and damaging the elevator. They both claimed they had no idea.... but we just communicated via email today, I got a response so how is it possible that they have no idea? It's not they are full of it as usual. Then the owners son one of the MAs said you are harassing us. To this I replied "no you are harassing me and payback is a b...h". The letter which I just received a copy of today is dated December 10th I believe. Definitely December anyhow. They are so creepy! Another shareholder told me you need a lawyer and confided they too were getting the hell out of dodge. My response was " that is no way to live" and he agreed. I don't want am to hire an attorney over a tomato plant (another issue). They want to charge me for damage to their old and decrepit elevator. It is original to the building (1940) tiger oak stained to look like mahogany (gross). It has all the puck marks and scars from the past 80 years and looks really bad. The floor is filthy and there are paint splatteres and spills. It has some nice old brass but it is filthy and disgusting. I cleaned the brass once myself because it is really nice. But I was unable to bring it to the shine it deserves because the filth was just too thick. It looks a little better I have other things to do. I am completely outraged at their ability to pull this crap and get away with it! I will never again put myself in this position! I am disgusted that co-op owners have zero protection from these sorts of monsters. Co-ops came about in NY as affordable housing. But now all you hear is business rule! Screw business rule this is supposed to be a home! It is not a business to me and I don't appreciate the MAs or the creepy super speaking to me like I am one of their subjects. I write to Eric S regarding this and I am not happy with him at all. I supported him in the past but made it very clear he will get nothing from me in the future if he does not address this serious issue. I have suffered so many indignities here that I believe it has taken a toll on my health and shortened my life. I just want to get out of here alive so I can have some peace before I die. Also our former super was a violent felony offender, narcotics distribution and altered weapon. He was horrific, when I complained the board insisted he was the nicest guy and opted to take his word over mine. I was so frightened of him that I had to take in a male roommate (champion wrestler) in order to feel safe. I was afraid to go in the hallway when he was present and he got all his derilict friends side jobs here. This has been a life changing experience that I need to recover from. Yes I have seen the underbelly of the beast. Sickening and disturbing because it is occurring in many co-ops and unless you want to litigate for $50g you are screwed. I pissed and plan on doing something about it. Very relieved to see this notice instead of the same old song and dance routine on this board. Especially after the horrendous encounter I had with the 2
MAs. Thank you I am with you 100% people should not have to live this way. I need a good attorney who has handled these type of monsters. Please feel free to contact me if you can help.

I put "housing co-op owner's handbook" into Google search and the first entry returned was this: https://www.habitatmag.com/Publication-Info/Site-Map/The-Co-op-Condo-Owner-s-Manual

Take a look at it and see if it answer your questions. If not, I'm sure you will find information that can lead to more refined Google searches.

Good Luck!

Business Corporation Law

https://www.weblaws.org/new_york/laws/n.y._business_corporation_law

Business Corporation Law

Business Corporation Law

https://www.weblaws.org/new_york/laws/n.y._business_corporation_law

It doesn't help you unless you are thoroughly abreast of the laws and your coop followed it from the beginning. Shareholders don't know that upon buying it and that is why it should come with a copy. Most boards don't follow them and do their own thing period! How many coops revised their bylaws and amended their prospectus from 1985? Thank you for your input but shareholders unless they are lawyers are hostages to their board and remain silent out of fear of retaliation.

You are absolutely, 100% correct!!
Good Luck

You are 100% on the money! Co-ops are going to get harder and harder to sell. Too many stories of bad boards and yes the fear of retaliation is very real! There is no unity in my building and they are only vocal when directly effected. Even then they often remain silent a stew. Yea who cares about the stupid handbook! Read it so that you can confirm that you have no rights and you are screwed. Like a dog chasing its tale, it will get you absolutely nowhere! Co-ops came about as a housing alternative that made home ownership more affordable. That was the story but now all you hear is you don't own it, you own shares. Well I knew that going in it's not rocket science or a secret of any sort. What I did not know was what a bunch of snakes the board members were, they looked like normal people. Coop "shareholders" have zero protection. I spoke with 2 attorneys today who will help me. One charges $500 per hour and the other charges $650 per hour. So by all means if the situation is that sour that you need an attorney get one. But the board and MA are fully aware that this litigation could easily reach $50 thousand. So if you have that kind of money laying around you may actually have ACCESS to your rights. I am going to be my own attorney. I had a free one and you get what you pay for. I can't say I got nothing because I did get something. An incompetent attorney who gave bad advise, lacked backbone, screwed me up even worse! I fired her today, but I did it nicely I can't afford any more of her total incompetence. I may not be an attorney, but at least I am willing to stand up for myself.
I am planning on paying them back also. I am perfectly capable of writing reviews. I already began exposing the MA in reviews. have not yet targeted the coop but I have plans for them too. They were horrid and I am going to go public with what they did! If they are not happy with resale now they are going to be even more unhappy when exposed for the monsters they are! I am going to fight them until the bitter end. Basic Principle the law does not protect me so it is just going to be an eye for an eye. No one spoke up on my behalf when they knew I was getting screwed (too afraid). I certainly don't care what happens to any of them. I don't respect them and blame them for allowing these self serving creeps to do as they please. Now they are going to be more scared because of what happened to me! What a bunch of..............!
Totally disgusted and fighting mad!

I can totally understand your frustration but clear heads prevail. We need to form a shareholders group so we can stand together. Why do the little people have to suffer when corruption is running rampant? We have to protect ourselves and fight as a whole not individually. Look at the media coverage of incompetentancy in government , housing, education and the lot. Get where I'm going with this?

There is so much money being moved under the table. The current MA has a thing for changing the bricks. Massive portions of brick removed from building exterior and replaced with new.

It's too late for me, I was screwed royaly. Attorneys want 500 to 650 per hour. I will have to settle the score another way. I have already written reviews on the MA. I got a call from someone interested in purchasing a property he manages in great neck. He wanted to know if it was that bad! I told him to do his own research and that he was welcome to stop by and see how they operate first hand. I have recorded conversations and my reviews will contain a link so that people can hear how truly awful they are. It's revenge and I know what many will say, but they have not lived through what I have. It's warranted and the names of the perpetrators will be mentioned. I have a nice recording of a board member cursing me out and banging on the elevator door like a raving lunatic.i plan on giving him the credit he deserves.

MK - If you were quoted $500 to $650 per hour to handle your case, you're talking to some mighty expensive legal representation.

I suggest that you browse this website: https://realestatelawyers.legalmatch.com/NY/Nassau-County/condominiums-cooperatives.html . The website is called "Nassau County Condo and Co-op Lawyers". I'm sure you can find a perfectly competent attorney to represent you, and any other shareholders who are as aggrieved as you are, for a much more reasonable billing rate than what you quoted in you last message.

You might also try contacting the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County here http://nclas.org/ . Your income and other assets may put you beyond their ability to represent you, but I believe they can refer you to a reasonably priced attorney in private practice who can handle your matter.

Good luck.

Monday, How do we form a shareholder group. Would an online petition and a hard copy made available to all co-ops and presented to the AG demanding updates to the by-laws which includes term limits etc.

Queens - I definitely do not want to dampen your enthusiasm, but I don't think you'll be able to get enough shareholders from different buildings to agree on anything.

Take term limits, for example. They may be essential for your co-op so you can displace a dysfunctional board. Other co-ops, however, may love their boards and keep them in office year after year because they do a spectacular job. I doubt these shareholders would support term limits.

Think of each building as a sovereign entity, with their own laws, customs, finances, etc. Most would be unwilling to give up home rule. The closest we have to a "United Nations" of co-ops is the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums. Look them up and see if they can help you with information about replacing a rotten board.

Good luck!

Shareholders need to become knowledgeable about the ombudsman bill sitting in Albany 2017-2018 NYS 5839. As far as getting legal representation individually it is costly and once some lawyers hear your story and the cooperative lawyer involved they advise you to "Get Out!" Tried for many years to to handle problems where I live at in Westchester County to no avail and its hopeless!!!! Shareholders are not concerned about the politics or board running the cooperative as a whole. We are the annex of DC.