Learning about Co-Op Apartments in NYC could be a helpful pursuit for more people since there are benefits and options not found in other types of apartment complex buildings. I am a newbie learning about such things, a country mouse in the city and interested in how people manage to live by the hundreds, thousands and yes in the city in the millions.Which policies and voluntary actions could help more groups of people?
The numbers are astounding but important to appreciate. These are real people having to find a safe place to park themselves and their belongings in a place to live, to call home and to navigate the real world ideally from an effective community base.
More topics about cooperative apartments are covered in the post The Hills and Thrills of Apartment Living (google that to find or skim through the previous pages from the last after this one…)
Okay so while most apartments in a thousand unit complex are owned by shareholders, people who are buying or who own their apartment, others are rented. Some of those are held by sponsors who rent to people and others are rented out by individuals directly. Those buying their apartments are called shareholders.
They have a board of directors who in turn chooses a management company to run the coop for maintenance and security, sometimes repairs and always for trash removal as far as I know. Sometimes the recycling programs are inconsistent from one building to the next. It can take years to identify key issues from making sure tenants are current with rents or mortgages to getting improved elevators, heating systems or windows or even landscaping (and underground repairs of pipes or sidewalks, etc.)
The Board of Directors carries a great deal of weight and can take years for people to understand what they are doing, how they could be held accountable and to get more capable people involved.That is the case with many agencies across our society. The more involved shareholders and tenants are in understanding the organization and ways to vote when it counts and weigh in with surveys and meetings the better.
Capital improvements generally can be paid for primarily by using funds received from the past and current sales of apartments when the co-op gets a percentage of the sales. For these window replacements for instance, they will be covered by those funds and no assessment per apartment would be made. The research for ideal competitive products and pricing took a few years. The final price range which was above 6 million came down to under 4 Million Dollars I believe. While not everyone is in agreement with the Board being able to make decisions on such a large expenditure (some thought state guidelines for Co-ops mandated input and/or a vote from residents to make such a decision), the information shared at a meeting was that no such by-law stated such parameters.
There are guidelines for Co-Ops in NY State (and it’d be helpful for more people to understand the various forms of housing options across states in the USA for instance, and even compare with other countries to find more solutions and create the legislation which may be needed.
In NY State for instance, there is a unique Article 17 mandating the State of New York work to provide basic avenues for the citizens of NY to live in the state. Sometimes Federal Programs such as HUD for Housing provides money but not the statute that the states must actually have enough available units in their state.
I heard of some people moving as far away as Lousiana (maybe they had other connections, but they were from a state that did not have enough units. That is becoming a more pressing issue as the cost of living goes up, up, up in many new upscale neighborhoods…including Clinton Hill.
Some have urged residents and others in the Brooklyn area to have more public forums and discussions on gentrification and ways to address the changing face of NYC overall. A group called Indivisible Nation BK (INBK) and #GetOrganizedBK seeks to protect democracy and the rights of people and communities in Brooklyn ‘against the extremism, corruption and authoritarianism of the Trump Administration.”
An article in the New Yorker I saw recently on Twitter was about corruption in Nevada and other places putting elders with guardians and making them wards of the state without a hearing or contacting family. That happened to hundreds of people and over a million people are deemed wards of the state with little oversight as to the process leading to that outcome.
The article mentioned how rampant child abuse is as well and hearing about how some agencies collude to ‘keep up their numbers’ and allow for children (especially infants and those under 5 but really any age child) to be taken from their families for an array of reasons has yet to make headlines more regularly. So the idea of figuring out how to keep up with extensive maintenance and costly upgrades while challenging it comprehensible and overall a positive step some are fortunate to be able to take.
Lining up help for any who need it (even with making phone calls on someone’s behalf and doing the initial outreach) is another level of care or support that Someone should tend to, in keeping with all of the regulations for communicating (asking and tallying concerns whether that will be via an official Maintenance Request so it can be tracked) or a more personal networking to help people have windows clear for the replacement which should run about 2 hours per apartment and will be done ‘from the top floor down’ in each building according to a schedule given in advance.
The idea to have a team captain for each building and then another set for each floor (ideally a man and woman to facilitate comfort of any tenant requesting one or the other to consult with ideally via phone, then email if possible or in the local court yard or lobby before using guidelines to decide about what kind of in-home assessment of needs and who could do the work safely and with supervision as would be appropriate…is all up for Discussion, with no guarantee any volunteers or others would be in place in a timely fashion.
That is the area that could us more fine-tuning. There is a community room which may be able to be used but again nothing has been clarified along those lines. Maybe neighbors can be encouraged to work together with others on their floor or the one below since the work will proceed from the top down, but all of that takes planning and communicating (and there is at least a group willing to help spread the word and ask for volunteers once guidelines are set.) Everyone likely has to assume ‘some give and take’ with who volunteers and for how long it may take to get help.
Perhaps carts and doing things in a rather routine fashion (clearing a room from the top down, and left to right for instance) to access the windows would make sense. Having two people in a tenant’s apartment would provide help and accountability as well as social comfort likely, and again help people not do more than is reasonable. A list of housekeepers and handy helpers would be conducive to the process so maybe checking task rabbit or posting a general set of needs and time frame to see who may be available for reasonable fees would be practical.
Asking friends from other networks from one’s faith group or social circles, friends and other neighbors may result in help as well. Putting small items in boxes or bags with a label would make sense. There may be a number to call if someone is giving away good even new furnishings they decide they do not want. One can check with the management office.
Special notice should be provided by management or someone else in the know if bedbugs or other concerns would preclude someone from going into an apartment. Likely most people have a clear idea about that, but sometimes it can take a while to assess if there May be an issue or if a case is really resolved. So Please err on the side of not having others into one’s home if there is a concern. A little note to remind oneself may be helpful near one’s door, for instance. That’s a year-round reality reminder for all of NYC and many other places (even where people visit for instance.)
For living in a co-op like the Clinton Hill accommodations there is a monthly maintenance fee of a thousand or so that increases a bit each year to keep up with inflation. The improvements to the building are decided on by a Board that works with the management company to implement actions and policies.
For a few years the main concerns have been improving the heating and replacing the windows. Work done to boiler systems to help regulate the heat flow, to decrease some apartments from being too hot and far fewer from being too cold, have been effective and helping even things out. Further work may be needed on that.
Windows were determined to need replacing in all of the buidlings in the complex as well as any which had patio doors. After a few years of consideration, the latest board accepted a bid that was not the lowest but seemed the best fit with Kelly Windows. This company will manufacture and install the windows from the top down with a schedule shared with the tenants.The windows will open more easily, be able to be cleaned inside and the two-panel ones inside and out (by letting the window panel come into the home), and will help with lighting, heat and sound and even dust (less of the latter two.)
One person felt such a costly expenditure, a few million, needed to go to a vote before the shareholders (and possibly the tenants) due to the legal regulations of how coops were run. At a board meeting, this point was answered by a board member as not necessary and as not something the board would do or should have done. Another member felt it would have been important to inform people that this was the case before and during the process, but at least the issue came to everyone’s attention as to what the concern was and the ‘difference of opinion, DOO’, not that the contender imagined people would try to vote it down.
Overall, increases in fees (sometimes an assessment that could be paid in installments or an increase in maintenance fees) have been a concern for people on fixed incomes. More of that in the other post. There is a separate resident council which may meet more often, choose a name and proceed to improve communication with the governing board.
In terms of the practical points about the window installation, the main task for residents is to have their apartment ready for a removal of the existing windows by clearing furnishings a few feet or more from the window. All the work will be done from the inside unless there are special reasons to do it from the outside (such as one person having a ground floor apartment but safety bars on the inside of her windows.)
Licensed, insured people will be noted for people to call for help with removing blinds or doing any work on the apartment windows etc to prepare for the window replacements. Some said they had concerns of dust and mess. The Kelly Company representatives who held an open meeting said there would not be any masonry dust or much mess at all. Residents who had been there for the last window installation said it was not a good experience and did make a mess.
They had demonstration windows for people to see or try, opening easily for cleaning and some which were two panels that went up and down readily. There is an option to have the lower panel made from solid metal which would then be cut to specs. That would need to be paid for separately by the resident at $185 for any size. They would also need to buy any new air conditioning unit Any A/C unit in advance.
Ideally taken out of the box and prepped with brackets and so forth so it could be readily put in place and secured by the company workers at the time of their 1-2 hour visit. Each job would be completed in one visit and in a timely fashion. Someone said Fredericks makes a quality A/C unit and has some that are very quiet.
In order to prepare better, the idea was given at a board meeting for there to be building captains who could in turn set up a group of floor leaders to check on how people were progressing and if anyone had special needs. Neighborly assistance could be offered but basic guidelines for safety, moving and reaching likely need to be reviewed. That idea is still being considered but nothing formal has been posted or shared.
The overall idea to have people consult in the community outdoor courtyard and to have a pair of people assist one other in a timely simple manner was also shared witih management who may or may not take the lead in setting up a network.
The owner, tenant or a designated person will be needed in the apartment when the work is being done. It can be helpful if a maintenance person and some volunteers to be checking in with the company workers were on hand, one window worker mentioned from previous experiences.
It is not clear if the board or management is aware of that or planning for that, but hopefully that could be the case. Time and networking could prove very valuable and there are ways to get people notices or start a FB page etc which this is hopefully helping do in some small way.
Whenever work is being done on one’s home, it can be helpful to have the support of another competent adult on board. Finding an alternative place to care for children or elderly would be reasonable and again worth creating simple networks to accommodate. Then there is the idea of having a housekeeper or someone willing to help move smaller furniture and having a plan, perhaps a cart to move things temporarily and then put back in place.
Anything heavy could possibly by put on a platform dolly again to allow for easy rolling (a heavy shelf securely strapped on or put on a tarp if needing to be slid across a wooden floor etc.) Every room would need to be accessible so again, having a game plan to do as much moving of larger furniture a few days in advance would be helpful, and then getting help to put it back to avoid injury.
Budgeting for any help would be reasonable if the help is needed and not found through neighbors and other volunteers. Other ideas are welcome in the comments below. Planning to have some sandwiches or other simple meals handy so one would not need to use one’s kitchen etc would also make sense.
If people have elders or infants and children who will need to be in another location during the window replacement two hour window, perhaps others in the building could be ready to host them with one adult caregiver watching over them, or possibly letting the parent watch their child or elder and the neighbor go into the apartment when the work is being done. That would take some planning, trust and so on, but again, that’s how neighbor helping neighbor could work.
Perhaps going to the library or having a community room open would also facilitate the basic care needs for some tenants. A church or other local agency could perhaps be asked to help host people for a lunch time and other hours from 9am to 5 pm when the work is primarily going to be done, again in about 2 hour intervals per apartment.
The time to plan who can help move furniture, tidy or prepare the windows (removing shades and drapes etc, getting the A/C ordered, opened and set up to be put in place) and other details of being prepared could take a couple of hours for a few weeks and the closer to the day of the actual installation of the new windows. Thinking of this large scale project (1200 units over the coruse of a few months) can be dubbed New Windows of Opportunity to Build Community (NWOBC, NYC-BK-CH-Co-ops) Tee shirts and business advertising could raise some funds to help people offset costs for paid helpers if it is clear they are on a fixed budget. That would be a dream piece of the pie, but such is what keeps the wheels turning for some.
Maybe even a loan would work so they could reinstate the funds as they are able (or borrow from family and to repay in a lump sum within 3 months to keep a small help fund going. One woman in the area has created such a funding stream for many years by encouraging a tag sale and getting fees from vendors. Hats off to all who work toward such noble ends. The tough reality is that ‘at the end of the day’ living in most places means Someone has to pay some basic fees and often there are extra costs. Having a budget or a housemate become a necessity for many.
Again the new normal may be a challenge on various fronts but maintaining one’s independence may likely be a practice of keeping respectful boundaries, following rules and guidelines, asking and receiving help in a timely manner and considering one’s options as life unfolds so one is not trapped into thinking ‘there’s only one way to live that will be suitable for oneself and family.’ Transitions can be challenging but for now hopefully we can find ways to support one another and keep most people in the loop, especially when the short-term task is one that can improve the quality of one’s living area. Likely the new windows will handle the light and noise better, and even prevent more dust. They come with screens and are easy to care for. So let the NWOBC be a plus for more people and a way to meet their neighbors (as is workable) and lend a hand while still on land.