News
DOB No-Penalty Inspection Program Returns with Expanded Offering
The Legislature’s Continued Assault on the Real Estate Industry
Height and Weight Join the Long List of Protected Classes
Mayor Announces New Rent Guidelines Board Chair
Checklist Bundle Special: Buy Both and Save $100
Bill Introduced to Expand HUD Service Coordinators
Co-Op & Condo Case Watch: Endless Renovations
Alteration Agreement Signed In February 2019, Stefan Brodie and Irina Denisova, unit owners in the Aldyn Condominium at 60 Riverside Drive, signed an alteration agreement and submitted the required $10,000 security deposit to renovate their apartment. The project timeline submitted to the board indicated that renovations would be completed by September 2020, but by spring 2022 the work had not been completed. The alteration agreement provided for the assessment of a $500-per-day charge for each day that the renovation continued beyond a “Required Completion Date.”
Board Steps In Because the duration of the project exceeded the board’s expectation, the board issued a “stop work notice,” issued fines, and seized the security deposit the unit owners had paid.
Co-op& Condo Case Watch: Slow Death of a Sweetheart Lease
67-69 ST. NICHOLAS AVE. HOUS. DEV. FUND CORP. V. GREEN
The board of a South Harlem HDFC co-op at 67 St. Nicholas Ave. engaged in a legal fight over its commercial space. In 2004, when the board president was Siwana Green, the co-op issued a lease for the commercial space to Thomas Green, her husband, and their partnership “A Cup of Harlem.” It was a 99-year sweetheart lease at $700 per month with an option to renew for an additional 10 years at $800 per month. The Greens sublet this space for 10 years (2009 through 2019) at $2,500 per month to Antonio Contreras, who operated a hair salon, renewed the sublease at $2,800 for an additional five years, and netted nearly $350,000 in profit over this period.
Owner to Pay Nearly $2M for Illegally Harassing Tenants
Ink Property Group bought 32 buildings between 2014 and 2019 and forced out at least 80 tenants to offer units at market rate, among many other abuses and predatory practices. To flip the units, Attorney General James said the company worked to strategically force out tenants through buyouts, harassment, and worsening living conditions. An Attorney General's office probe into Ink Property Group began in 2019 following numerous complaints from tenants, according to the settlement.
Judge: NY Landlord’s ‘Reprehensible’ Discrimination Merits Maximum Penalty
Co-op & Condo Case Watch: Who Pays the Piper?
Almost two and a half years ago the board of an eleven-unit condominium in East Harlem discovered that Kwame Leslie Dougan, the owner of a ground-floor apartment, was renting his unit on Airbnb. The board saw his marketing on the Airbnb site, and also found a lockbox containing keys to the building’s front door located on the exterior window outside Dougan’s apartment. The board instructed its attorney to notify Dougan that he was breaching the bylaws, and over the years numerous motions were filed to compel him to stop this behavior.
The board had spent $37,741.85 on attorney fees over this period trying to get Dougan to stop the short-term rentals. He clearly violated the condo’s bylaws, and the court had ordered a cease and desist order to him. This case sought to compel Dougan to reimburse the condominium for the legal fees it had spent.
Don't Use 'To Code' as Sole Work Letter Standard
When negotiating the terms of a work letter with a tenant, don’t just agree to do a particular item of work “to code,” without listing any specifics or limitations. When not properly defined or limited, the phrase “to code” can be the source of confusion, miscommunication, and litigation.
It’s not uncommon for tenants to sign a lease without telling the landlord exactly what it needs from the space and how it should be set up to meet those needs. In some cases, the landlord will have a pretty good sense of and confidence in its ability to deliver what the tenant wants and needs from the space without actually checking to see if any special requirements apply under local zoning, building, fire, or electrical codes.