FNYHC
Federation of New York Housing
Cooperatives & Condominiums
Federation News
Legal Corner
Events
Members
Legislative
Q & A
Federation News
Press Releases
Membership Application
Links
Home
 
Winter 1999
EVA RAPPAPORT HONORED

The Federations dedicated Executive Director, Eva Rappaport, was invited to a WhiteHouse Reception in celebration of Cooperative Month (October). She was one of six housing cooperative representatives in the country invited. Eva's invitation is an extraordinary honor and well deserved.

FEDERATION STARTS THE MILLENNIUM WITH ITS 43RD ANNUAL TRADE SHOW AND SEMINARS

Mark your calendar now! Sunday, February 6th, 2000, the Federation will celebrate the new millennium with the longest running trade show and seminars in the real estate industry. If your Cooperative or condominium pays for three or more directors to attend the Trade Show and Seminar,Your Board President comes free of charge. Here is an opportunity to see several vendors all in one location. You canprequalify them to see if that vendor is right for your building. . Best yet - Lunch will be provided

This program proves to be the most exciting one yet! Here is what we have for our members and guests:

Our popular Attorneys Round Table -Update your knowledge on the latest law casesaffecting cooperatives and condominiums. Federation Executive Vice President Al Pennisi will lead a panel of attorneys to answer your questions. Had a legal question but were afraid to pay? Come to our exciting attorneys round table discussion.

NEW --Professional Round Table- ask your questions. Our panel of experts, consisting of attorneys, managing agents, accountants,refinancing experts and engineers will answer your questions on issues you want to know about, not the usual seminar topics focused on, which they want you to hear.

NEW -- Your Corporate Documents , Federation Executive Vice President Al Pennisi, will discuss with you, updating your building's Occupancy Agreement, Bylaws, Proprietary Lease, etc.

Energy Conservation------ The Federation has joined engineer Herbert Hirschfeld, P.E. in obtaining a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), under its New York Smart Energy Program. This grant will pay for your building's feasibility study and more. Come to this seminar to find out why submetering of electric is for you.

NEW ----Management Representatives from the Association of co-op and Condo Managers (ACCM) will have an open exchange with our members about various management issues and the ethics of the ACCM association.

BOARD RESPONSIBILITIES --Attorney Stan Dreyer will deliver his popular seminar on the Board and how it works. Questions like, what make's a good Corporate Secretary? How much power does a Board President have, will be answered.

NEW --"DISCRIMINATION" WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT -Attorney Howard Schechter will explain a) reasonable accommodations to the disabled person and b) sexual harassment. He will explain how to protect yourself and what the many open items are.

NEW -- SAFEGUARDING YOUR ASSETS --Accountant Rick Montanye will discuss ways your building can ensure itself to minimize any fraud in dealing with your professionals. In light of the recent indictments, this seminar is a must for everyone.

FEDERAL LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS - Direct from Washington, the National Association of Housing Cooperatives Judy Sullivan, and Director of Government Relations will update us. She will also stress the need for National membership.

Director of the year nomination entry form is enclosed for your building's Director who went over and above the call of duty. The prestigious „Charles Rappaport Director of the Year will be chosen after judging and confirming the entries. Good Luck to All.

Reserved your space now!

LEAD BASE PAINT UPDATE See past newsletters--SEPTEMBER 1999 and before

HUD Mortgage Insured properties new guidelines will have to be followed by September 15th, 2000. This includes:

  • PRE -1960 built properties
  • Distribution of lead based paint pamphlet
  • Risk Assessment
  • Interim Controls
  • Notice to Occupants
  • Ongoing Lead Based Paint maintenance
  • 1960-1977 built properties
  • Distribution of lead based paint pamphlet
  • Ongoing Lead Based Paint maintenance

If your building receives more HUD assistance than mortgage insurance, you have more stringent requirements to fore fill. If this is your case, please contact your local HUD office for the correct information.

FEDERAL --As written previously in the Federation's newsletters, we informed you that as of June 1, 1999, if your building was built before 1978, you fall under the Federal Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Renovation Disclosure Compliance. As of June 1, 1999 any renovation (or any persons performing renovations for compensation) must give the affected unit(s) a lead hazard information pamphlet and obtain a signed acknowledgment from each recipient. This new regulation will place another layer of paperwork on the building. Although it is the contractor who must provide the information, the contractor's extra costs will be passed to the building. EPA in Part II of Interpretive Guidance has issued further clarification. Some highlights are:

  • More than one contractor on a renovation? The general contractor is basically responsible. If there is no general contractor but many contractors? If proof can be given that a prior contractor has given out the notice and pamphlet, there is no need to duplicate the effort.
  • Delivery to a Managing Agent is deeming as giving notice to the owner.
  • A renovation performed by the owner or staff does fall under these regulations.
  • Exterior work is deemed as a common area. Therefore these disclosure
    rules apply. It holds true for terraces (balconies) that are not enclosed.
  • You can seal off an area. The work area is said to be temporarily excluded from the common area of the building because it is not accessible to residents. To qualify, the work area must be an area, which is enclosed by a wall, fence or other permanent or temporary barrier, which prevents access by residents. (E.g. laundry rooms) Rope, tapelines, pylons, etc, are not acceptable.
  • An emergency repair is just the repair itself that addresses safety or public health hazards or threats of significant damage to equipment and/or property. For example, you have a pipe burst. The emergency repair would be the opening of the wall or ceiling, fixing of the pipe (the further opening of the wall or ceiling if the portion was ready to come down or harm in any way) period. The fixing and painting of the wall or ceiling would fall under these regulations.

For the complete EPA Interpretive guidance, see our web site FNYHC.ORG under Legislation

    New York City Local Law 38, which was outlined in the September Newsletter, goes into effect November 12,1999. Remember only pre-1960 built buildings are effected. Three new additions to what was in the September Newsletter.

    1. Annual notices must be on a separate form from the window guard notices, but can be delivered at the same time.
    2. When the Department of Health issues their pamphlet, it will be different from the Federal pamphlet. You may end up issuing two different pamphlets to the same unit. EPA and the Health Department are working on a joint pamphlet but it will not be ready before January 2000.
    3. If an inspection is required, most management companies will hire
    outside inspectors and pass the cost onto the building.

SHORT NOTES:

IMPORTANT NOTICE THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE ENHANCED STAR PROGRAM- The Department of Finance has recently sent out recertifications to the recipients of the Enhanced STAR Exemption. This two-sided one page recertification will be done annually. Failure to return the completed form will result in the loss of your Enhanced STAR exemption benefits. I urge you not to throw this letter away. Deadline to return the completed form is January 5, 2000.

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL (DEP) --WATER DEPARTMENT- Some of our members have called the Federation concerning the billing practices of garden apartments frontage charges. It seems that they take the frontage information and apply the same information to each registered building in the complex. The Federation is arranging for the staff of DEP to be at a booth at our Annual trade show and seminars. If your building is having trouble, please bring the appropriate information with you, so you can solve the problem with DEP.

HUD MANAGEMENT NOTIFICATION -- Although not required in the HUD Manual, the New York office is requiring Section 213s to fill out and sign HUD Form 9839-B.

DHCR OCCUPANCY STANDARDS --The Division is contemplating new occupancy standards for those buildings under their direct jurisdiction, including cooperatives. DHCR's memo states „The proposed occupancy standards address the privacy needs of households headed by single persons and joint leaseholds of the same sex, while continuing to acknowledge the need of larger families, for the limited stock of three and four bedroom apartments.The federation will keep you updated on this topic.

DEC BOILER REGISTRATION -- If you're building has a burner that burns oil, you must register the boiler with New York State Department of Environmental Control (DEC). Notices have been sent out to buildings and agents but DEC's mailing list is antiquated, you may not have received it. There are three levels of registration depending on the fuel consumption in you complex. Note --- DEC has been issuing noncompliance violation to buildings that did not register and fining those properties tens of thousands of dollars.

NEW MEMBERSHIP SERVICES

A BULK OF THE FEDERATION'S TIME HAS BEEN DEDICATED TO OFFERING OUR MEMBERSHIP SERVICES THAT MAY HELP TO SAVE YOU MONEY OR HELP YOUR BUILDING. THESE SERVICES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

The Federation's web site is now online in its' infancy stage. We will be mailing to all our members, an opportunity to list their building's information at our web site. Right now, the site provides a legal corner, event list with links to other cooperative sites, legislative
issues, a question and answer page where you can ask your questions directly to the Federation and the Federation Newsletter. Please visit our site at "FNYHC.ORG", let us know what you think and don't hesitate to ask us questions.

The Federation has signed on to the Durnan Group Managers Workers Compensation Safety Group. One of the line items' on all of our member buildings with staffs is workers compensation insurance. The Federation has been studying different workers compensation insurance providers and has concluded that the Durnan Group best fits the needs of our membership. With discounted premiums up-front and a substantial dividend at the end of the year, this makes the safety group the best deal around. Each claim is investigated thoroughly, which is why this group can offer the best workers compensation package in the state. To find out more information or to sign up, please call the Durnan Group Managers at 1-212-768-9191 and make sure to tell them you are a Federation member.

ELECTRIC DEREGULATION With all the confusion concerning electric deregulation, a new Energy Service Company (ESCO) is consumer oriented. 1st Rochdale Cooperative is an energy company that is owned by buildings who belong to 1st Rochdale. They are not just an energy provider, as the other ESCO's. Similar to what happens when you belong to a cooperative, there are no investors, so the consumers are the owners. In addition, they will do energy audits on your building to see what can be done to diminish or reduce your demand side electric bill, which will save you kilowatts and money. Now is the time to think about the next phase in the deregulation process, which starts in January 2000. Start now in preparing your building, talk to all the "ESCO's" and talk to 1st Rochdale, you will be surprised in what you hear. For further information, please call 1st Rochdale at 1-212-673-3900

top

 
Past Issues
Spring 2005
Summer 2004
Winter 2003
Summer 2003
Fall 2002
Spring 2002
January 2002
December 2001
September 2001
July 2001
April 2001
February 2001
Late Autumn 2000
Autumn 2000
Spring 2000
Winter 2000
Winter 1999

Autumn 1999
Winter 1998

FNYHC EMAIL LIST

Sign up for the FNYHC Email List and receive information about upcoming events and seminars, and updates on issues affecting New York cooperatives and condominiums. Click below to sign up today!

SIGN UP

Until further notice please note the changes in both the Federation fax number and the mailing address:
Federation of New York Housing Cooperatives & Condominiums, 61-20 Grand Central Parkway, Suite C1100, Forest Hills, NY 11375, info@fnyhc.co-op, (718) 760-7540 Fax (718) 699-5618