peeling paint at coops official entrance, not a good first impression , There are also about 10 more pics of other area with peeling paint ,cracked plaster and areas that are in need of repair.

stairwell water damage and 6th floor water damage - mike pidel - Picasa Web Albums

stairwell water damage and 6th floor water damage - mike pidel - Picasa Web Albums

Photos - Google+

Photos - Google+

Fire Door rusted shut=Piss Poor Maintenance

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

www.ag.ny.gov/bureaus/real_estate_finance/pdfs/Coop. problems.pdf

www.ag.ny.gov/bureaus/real_estate_finance/pdfs/Coop. problems.pdf
HOW TO HANDLE PROBLEMS WITH A CO-OP'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Q. What kind of information is contained in these documents?
A. The by-laws and proprietary lease will set forth the following:
When annual shareholder meetings and elections to the board of directors are held,
and how notice is given.
How many seats the sponsor can have on the board of directors and when the
sponsor must give up control.2
Whether shareholders have the right to call extra or special meetings (a very
valuable right if you wish to ask the board to focus on particular matters.)
The procedure for amending the by-laws.
The quorum for voting and whether cumulative voting is allowed. (Cumulative voting
allows a shareholder to vote all his/her votes for only one director instead of
apportioning the votes among the number of vacancies.)
Sublet provisions.

Sublet provisions.
Q. If something isn't specifically addressed in these documents, can the board
do whatever it wants?
A. No, there are legal restrictions. The Business Corporation Law (BCL) is the main
New York State law which governs how co-op corporations must operate. The
decisions made by courts in cases involving BCL provisions are the case law which
interprets the statute.
Q. Where can I find a copy of the BCL?
A. The BCL is published as volume 6 of McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York
Annotated ("McKinney's") which can be found in law libraries, many lawyers' offices
and in certain public libraries.
Q. What does the BCL provide?
A. Important provisions of the BCL, and the sections in which they are found include
the following:
There must be an annual meeting of shareholders at which an election for directors
is held. (BCL Section 602(b))
Shareholders must be allowed to vote by "proxy" (or substitute) if they do not attend
the shareholders meeting. (BCL Section 609)
Any shareholder may demand that an election inspector be appointed in order to
insure the fairness of the election. Board shall appoint and if they fail to, person at
the meeting may appoint one or more person. (BCL Section 610

Upon request, any shareholder is entitled upon five days written demand to examine
a record of shareholders, and make extracts therefrom. (BCL Section 624(b)3
The corporation must keep minutes of shareholder meetings and correct, complete
records of names and addresses of shareholders which it must make available for
inspection by a shareholder or the shareholder's agent or attorney. (BCL Section
624) There is no requirement, however, that minutes of board meetings be made
available.
Any shareholder may, upon request, receive an annual balance sheet and profit and
loss statement for the past fiscal year. (BCL Section 624(e)) Be aware that these
are frequently not prepared until several months after the end of a fiscal year. Also,
offering plans should contain a commitment by the sponsor to prepare annual
certified financial statements and distribute them to all shareholders as long as the
sponsor is in control of the board. If the sponsor continues to sell, it must include
such statements in amendments to the offering plan.
Any director may be removed for cause (that is, a good reason). If the certificate of
incorporation or by-laws so provide, a director may also be removed without cause.
(BCL Section 706)
If a director has a substantial financial interest in a contract or transaction, this must
be disclosed to the board. Usually that director cannot vote on that contract or
transaction. (BCL Section 713)
Any officer may be removed with or without cause by the Board. (BCL Section 716)
Directors must act in good faith, undivided loyalty and with prudence for the good
of the corporation. They are, however, entitled to rely on information, reports and
financial statements which are prepared by officers, committees, employees or
outside professionals (like accountants or lawyers). (BCL 717)
Shareholders may sue directors and officers for misconduct. (BCL Section 720

New buyers being told building is 90% owner occupied, reality it is around 50 %

I spoke to one of my neighbors and she told me that when she bought she was told the building was 90% owner occupied. I have been here since conversion, this co-op has never been 90% owner occupied. The last five plus years has been around 50%. The managing agent and board president refuses to provide me the list of shareholders as provided by in the proprietary lease. They are also fighting me on my right to look at the financials, as provided by in the proprietary lease.
The board members do not know we paid a $15K prepayment penalty on our old mortgage which had almost 2 years left. Yet our new mortgage is via the bank that the owner of the managing company is a board member and our co-op president is an investor, and he handed all the mortgage paperwork. As an investor he should have been reclused, and the board should have made him recluse himself. The board president and his now deceased vice president/ mother in law were/are self dealing in many aspects of the building. Parking and storage room being the two outstanding ones.
I have given the board president the 3 page NYS law journal article concerning the courts rulings on who has the right to occupy a co-op.
I have frequently quoted and made copies of the proprietary lease where it states shareholder "AND" in paragraph 14 concerning right to occupy.

annual meeting, FDIC limits exceeded for multiple years, self dealing by president # 3

i proved at the 2011 annual meeting that the board president and managing agent both lied last year when i asked the direct question concerning page 9 of the auditors report of the financials. In the report it stated that the deposits of the co-op exceeded the 250,000 FDIC limits from time to time. I asked about this in 2010 and they both said that our deposits did not and never exceeded the FDIC limits. This year (2011) the same boilerplate on exceeding the FDIC limits was again on page 9. The Managing agent refused to discuss it and I called the auditor, the auditor confirmed that the co-op has exceeded the limits with amounts of up to $310,000. I believe that is the number that he stated, it was over 300k, that stuck in my brain. It was fiduciary irresponsible for the board to not correct this at the first instance. which may have been 5 years ago. The managing agent and the whole board would not perform their due diligance and fidicuary responsibilities to the co op by making a phone call to the auditor. The statement has been on page 9 of the auditors report for the last couple years. THe full page is dedicated to the exceeding of FDIC insured funds. The board president and managing agent, even after I questioned them on this, never followed up and made sure their statements they made at the annual meeting were correct. Their answer as in most if not all of my dealings with them have been fraudulent. I use the word fraudulent since they are contrary to the written proprietary lease and by-laws. However in the very volatile economy, with banks closing every week, any money over the limit we lose. This has been stated on page 9 of the auditors report for years, yet the managing company and the board have done nothing to correct it, putting the co-op in jeopardy of losing 10k to 60k dollars at any time. We as shareholders lose the money.
The managing company and board president, refuse to provide me with the list of shareholders and to look at the financials reports as is specified in the proprietary lease and by-laws. They also refuse to provide me with the contact information of the board of directors, some including the president, do not live here and one has never lived here and should never have been sold two apartments. The shareholders do nothing and they wonder why they can't sell. I spoke to one of the recent buyers and she told me that she was told the building was 90% owner occupied, reality is it is about 50% and slipping.
The board president and managing agent fight transparency at every turn, the board of directors do not open their mouths and have never performed due diligence, fiduciary responsibility to the building, nor have attempted to stop multiple self dealings by the board of directors president. One of the new BOD members was under the impression that the BOD indemnity insurance protected them from the above, it does not protect against the self dealing,lack of due diligence , fiduciary irresponsibility against the co-op . i have recently found out that having the building at 50% owner occupied is a fiduciary irresponsible to the shareholders.

armed robberies Friday 945 pm on Warburton near greystone,

http://www.lohud.com/article/20110709/NEWS02/107090363/Pair-armed-robberies-Yonkers-Friday-night?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|s


Written by

Brian J. Howard

Jul 9, 2011|


YONKERS — Police are searching for
suspects in a pair of armed robberies
reported in the city late Friday night.

At 9:50 p.m. an armed robbery was
reported at Warburton Avenue. The
suspect, reported to be carrying a large
caliber handgun, was seen fleeing
northbound toward the aqueduct or the
Greystone Train Station. No description was
available.

The reason these co-op's will not sell is because the share-owners act like renters, they do nothing.

I was hoping by this time , that the share-owners that actually live here, all 50 to 60% of them would have taken some action to correct the problems. Stop acting like renters and act like owners. Mo one wants to buy an apartment where 50 to 60 % of the residents are owner occupied.
80% and above is the number. One of my neighbors told me that she was told it was 90% owner occupied when she bought. She should take legal action against the real estate agent, that is fraud.
The managing company refuses to provide the shareholder list, this is required by law. Hopefully the AG will take care of this. We are paying them and they try and treat the share owners like crap. The president of the co-op self-deals extensively with parking and storage and his fellow board members do nothing to stop it. They all are liable now. They are not indemnified for these actions.
Not one board person has shown due diligence, they take the managing agents and president statements as fact, when i already have disputed their accounts and gave even provided the case law. Due diligence would be to open the proprietary lease and read it.

Act like a owner and you can bring the building back, but that means acting like a owner 24/7 and when something is wrong, document it,via Fax, keep a good paper trail.
At this years annual meeting i proved that the managing agent and board president were both incorrect when they said in 2010 meeting that our monies, are always FDIC insured. We could have lost an easy $50k if the bank went under. They were also incorrect concerning the mortgage from a bank that the president and managing company were both involved in. I checked it out and the question was printed in the cooperator magazine.
I do not keep my money in accounts that are above the FDIC insurance, IMO it is pure Fiduciary irresponsibility for the board to let this happen with the co-ops money. Every board member is responsibly, and there is no board indemnification for this and all the items that i have written and kept a paper trail of from the last two years. Those no merit answers may equal $$$$$ in personal fines.
As long as the few live in share-owners, continue to do nothing, act like rental sheep, you are the reason that your apartments wont sell. Anytime you want me to accompany you to knock on a board members door and voice your concerns, or want to go over to the managing company's office in Bronxville and look at the finances, all with in your share-holder rights, and specified in the proprietary lease. let me know if you want some help , i will go .
If you want to act like a rental sheep when you have shareholder powers. It is all your fault that you are having a hard time selling. I may be in the same position too, since i am not staying here with these people in charge,i would trust bernie madhoff first.
At least i will have my paper trail of the no due diligence, multiple self dealings, and lack of fiduciary duty.

president of Board state that he does not know what self dealing is, BOD remains silent, did not correct him,nor licensed MA

a couple of years ago i wrote a fax that highlighted self dealing,inside dealing by the president and vice president of the board of directors. The case in point was another long time shareholder, one of the few honest pre conversion share holders that fights fir what is right and in the written garage rulkes , whic were being blatemnly viloated my the presidet son and vice presdient drandson. the son had no claim on a indoor parking spot period. His grandmother and father gave ij a upstairs spot, bypqssinf sharehoolders who has been waiting fir 10 yeqs to move upstairs. The really appalling thing was that another long term shareholder who had also been on the board traded her spot with the son, which gave her a better spot. It just goes to show that some people have zero ability to say this is wrong.
myself and my other BOD member that pointed out the self dealing, we paid at least $8000 each out of our pocket, so that we would not be self dealing or inside dealing, in any shape or form.

president of Board state that he does not know what self dealing is, BOD remains silent, did not correct him,nor licensed MA

a couple of years ago i wrote a fax that highlighted self dealing,inside dealing by the president and vice president of the board of directors. The case in point was another long time shareholder, one of the few honest pre conversion share holders that fights fir what is right and in the written garage rulkes , whic were being blatemnly viloated my the presidet son and vice presdient drandson. the son had no claim on a indoor parking spot period. His grandmother and father gave ij a upstairs spot, bypqssinf sharehoolders who has been waiting fir 10 yeqs to move upstairs. The really appalling thing was that another long term shareholder who had also been on the board traded her spot with the son, which gave her a better spot. It just goes to show that some people have zero ability to say this is wrong.
myself and my other BOD member that pointed out the self dealing, we paid at least $8000 each out of our pocket, so that we would not be self dealing or inside dealing, in any shape or form.

$600 raises for the managing company for the last 3 years

i didnt get a chance to go further back than the 3 years m but it looked like the BOD gave the managing company a 60 raise every year for the last three years. this was the time period from the $27,000 zero drop mistake that was never explained to my satisfaction.
IMO the only way that you can drop a zero when the numbers are pretty consistent is to farm the work out.
if you ran 5k's and someone told you their friend was running a 50k this weekend, you knew they really were running a 5k. if you were a deep-wreck diver like i was, and someone said that they were diving a 1000ft wreck, or said in the paper that scuba divers were dong a 1000ft wreck, you knew that whoever edited it wrote the article added a zero and meant 100 ft. once you are in the testing and use of numbers fields you know when there is an added or missing zero.
next i will highlight the pictures of the garbage work that out managing company oerformed or eve when told of a condition , 6 months later the trip and fall hazard was stil there

managing agent constantly gives fraudulent statements to the board and shareholders, why do they keep this managing company? is it some connection that we don't know about?

i remember last year annual meeting when i handed over a copy of the case law concerning occupancy of the apartment.  i stated that out co op  was around 50% owner occupied and that our proprietary lease stated AND. The managing agent said it stated OR, i corrected him and said it stated  AND

i Just found out that he also told the board of directors that it stated OUR and we couldn't get rid of certain people living in the apartment without the shareholder.
The board of directors are not covered by indemnity insurance  it falls under their not doing due diligence, self dealing, not stopping self dealing when it is made aware to them or they know about it,  and Failing in their fiduciary responsibilities.
I have paperwork, my faxes ,  that covers all of the above and also includes the managing company.

14.  The Lessee shall not, without the written      Use of consent of the Lessor on such conditions as Lessor      Premises may prescribe, occupy or use the apartment or
permit the same or any part thereof to be occupied or used for any purpose other than as a private dwelling for the Lessee(s) and members of the Lessee's family, but no unit may be occupied by more than one family at a time without the written consent of Lessor. As used herein, members of the family shall include spouse, parents, children, parents in law, brothers, sisters, grandchildren or no more than three persons unrelated by blood or marriage.  The term "spouse" as used herein shall also include -a member of the same or opposite sex with whom the Lessor actually resides.  In addition to the foregoing, the apartment may be occupied from time to time by guests of the Lessee for a period of time not exceeding one month, unless a longer period is approved in writing by the Lessor, but no guests may occupy the apartment unless one or more of the permitted adult residents are then in occupancy or unless consented to in writing by the Lessor.

prevent-card-skimming-moneywatch: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

prevent-card-skimming-moneywatch: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

prevent-card-skimming-moneywatch: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

prevent-card-skimming-moneywatch: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

proprietary lease concerning unsold shares

38. (a)  The term "Unsold Shares" means and has
exclusive reference to the shares of the Lessor
which have been issued or transferred to the
Sponsor or as provided in the Offering Plan to con­
vert the premises to Cooperative Ownership to acquir
Unsold Shares or to a nominee or design.ee of such
Individual(s); and all shares which are Unsold
Shares retain their character as such (regardless
of transfer) until an individual purchases same for use and occupancy by himself or a member of his family.

When to Refinance an Underlying Mortgage

When to Refinance an Underlying Mortgage

summary of our original bldg co-op mortgage and the last refinance, we refinanced approx 2 years early ,paid a prepayment penalty and got a higher rate

when we went co op in 1983 we had a 10 year mortgage,ending in 1993, our principle  due was $212,000
this recent mortgage we got in 2008  we gto approx 2 years early,  the existing mortgage was due in 2010.  we paid  15k in prepayment penalties, 39k in refinancing cost and  $3200 for the line of credit of 100k plus we have to keep  a 25k balance in The Westchester Bank .This same bank our president of our coop is an investor in and the owner of the management company  is on the board of the bank . The president who set the whole thing up and never kept the other directors informed  let the other board members know on the night he pushed the mortgage through, that he was an investor., and by law he should have recluse  himself, i doubt he did, not that it mattered, since they are all puppets and do what he says.
this new mortgage is for 1,200,00 at 6.25 for  7 years and the line of credit of 100k is at 1% above the banks prime rate for term of the loan.


 the previous mortgage due april 1 2010 was for $737,675 at 5.875%

why am i the only person in this building that thinks this is suspicious,
also in 2004 the managing agent had a $3000 operating  budget, this year he has a 30,000 operating budget.

Is Your Board Carrying Out Its Fiduciary Duty?

Is Your Board Carrying Out Its Fiduciary Duty?

credit card / debit card only machine in new laundry room=high fraud possibility

i see a big security/identity theft, credit card  fraud with this new laundry room that does not take cash in exchange for a laundry card. 
This new machine  at 1 Hawley Terrace only takes credit cards/debit cards. You dip the card into the machine, who knows who and how many people  have access to the numbers and what precautions are taken concerning  access to these numbers.  If you believe their answers  without a credit card fraud experts testimony, you probably believe  the managing agent when they tell you the incinerator chutes"cannot" be enlarged, or that the doors on the stairwells cannot be stopped from slamming shut . That list of credit card numbers, matched with the buildings address could be easily sold. I would never use a non-bank ATM because of fraud problems. Here the whole building is being put in cc fraud jeopardy . I asked Chase Bank on Astor Place about this yesterday, the three people at the desk agreed with me and have never heard of a machine like this. I already changed my credit card number, i dipped it once, and realized afterwards how crazy this is. My credit card issuer also agreed with me.

 This is the work of your  board and managing company.  To think that John Holzinger, the owner of the managing company is on the board of directors of  The Westchester Bank. This is the same man who refused to speak to me about the $27k zero drop budget error and a number of fiduciary and inside dealings that I  documented by a number of the board members and president / vice president of this co-op. 

treasurer responsibiltes

i just came across this section of a Nov 2010 seminar.

over the last couple years, since the $27k mistake in the budget that john holzinger , the owner of the management company and he is  also a board member of the  newly formed bank we got our new building mortgage from,  the same newly formed bank that our coop president is also an investor in. My questions at the annual meeting of what other board members have business dealings with the management company or are investors in this new bank  to this day are unanswered. I still need to follow up.

i remember asking  the person  i believe was treasurer on what was going on with the mortgage and who had check-signing powers , and how many signatures were required. I also asked what limit the managing agent could write without board approval.

He had no idea. That was about 2 years maybe 3 years ago.

recently i asked one of the few board members that actually are following  the proprietary lease concerning occupancy and living in their apartment.  She had no idea on who had check signing powers, why the maint account was moved to a bank in long island, Why there was no name of the bank anywhere, just an account number. Even the canceled checks come back  with nothing but an account number.  she also didn't think her lack of knowing the money flow was any big deal.

The treasurer who knew nothing about the mortgage and check signing powers, i believe he was the treasurer , could have been the  secretary, they do not post the BOD  titles any more in keeping with the  share owner mushroom plan.

He is an upstanding gentleman, but doesn't understand the BOD responsibilities and what he is liable for.  He made the mistake of listening to the president  of the co-op and managing agent , who give out false information.

i explained to him that he should tape record every meeting or when he votes against something that he believes is discriminatory or improper/illegal   he should state that he wants his opposition noted in the minutes and ask for a copy of the minutes  so that he can insure it is in there.

4. THE TREASURER

The treasurer of a cooperative or condominium oversees all financial activities. While the execution can be delegated to management or to investment

advisors, the treasurer can never relinquish responsibility for ensuring that

all is done. Accountants Norman Prisand and Robert Mellina will enumerate

and discuss the treasurer’s responsibilities, suggesting systems of control

and practical, timesaving procedures .Cooperative or condominium oversees all financial activities. While the execution can be delegated to management or to investment

advisors, the treasurer can never relinquish responsibility for ensuring that

all is done. Accountants Norman Prisand and Robert Mellina will enumerate

and discuss the treasurer’s responsibilities, suggesting systems of control

and practical, timesaving procedures.

hampton-0906.gif (200×264)

hampton-0906.gif (200×264)

collection of co op newsletters

collection of co-op newsletters
collection of co-op newsletters

http://cnyc.com/pdf/nhttp://cnyc.com/pdf/newsletter-gallery/hampton-0906.gifewsletter-gallery/hampton-0906.gif

collection of co-op newsletters, we had one before the internet, however the new board stopped any information sharing

http://cnyc.com/pdf/newsletter-gallery/250cabrini_spring08.pdfgreat co-op newsletters

i need to fax over the info on the ceiling and ice buildup at base of Odell stairs

going to get a couple faxes out to the managing agent concerning the ceiling filled with tiles and the ice build up at the bottom of Odell stairs, the spot where there is no handrail.  i fell last week on black ice at this spot.  i was very,very lucky i landed on my finger tips in a yoga like position. incredible luck, i wont say i have the reflexes of el gato, i was damn lucky, my fingertips stung from the impact, but i kissed them and went looking for ice melt in the main garage.  i don't believe in ignoring a hazard for anyone else. the 2 buckets i found were almost empty, maybe a total of 4 oz of rock salt.  i used that and put the two empty  buckets on the location, so at least people will get a warning that  something is going on there. I am going to fax over to the managing agent and specify it gets distributed to every BOD member  that day.  There should be containers of sand or ice melt to throw in front of you along the path and at the stairs. 

This way the liability is on the board members, the insurance company for the building will not exempt the board members if members  have been prior notified and they did nothing, same with the managing company. At least that is what i have read on the co-op lists. These holes could have been patched  in less than 30  minutes. Portland cement is the generic name.  We used a type of this stuff to build dams and V around manholes we were working in.

it is easy and cheap, just add water. The holes in the garage were not fixed for over a year. I have the pictures posted with the dates. This same crap work is why we were accessed the roof  fees, it is simple and cheap to cover temporarily.  That is what a home owner would do, especially on a roof  that is flat, easily accessible , with a full size door. However it is more money for  some people , such as the the big water proofing company and maybe??  This roof was  ignored for over 25 years with  probably 7 or more different managing agents.

That IMO was the proof that our managing company screwed the share owners big time and has not done the job we have paid them to do. 

 i worked in this field with telco cables, so i know this game.

Best website for learning internet security

steve gibson also has a weekly podcast/webcast on the TWIT.TV network. Steve also has a hard drive recovery tool that is backed by a money back guarantee, i am gong to order one today to check my hard drives. Its purpose is to recover your hard drive if you have a spinning type hard drive failure (not SSD) All the programs on the twit.tv network are great pod/webcasts. i listen them rather then the radio , since i learn ,while doing other chores. Net at night is great to keep up on new , mostly free, Web 2.0 sites hat can make your daily life easier.

GRC | Gibson Research Corporation Home Page

prior contractors dump their construction debris in the walls and in the ceiling, they are paid to carry it out.

i had a leak aboe my bathroom ceiling lastweak. it was nighttime when u returned home and notived water coming out from cracks in thr vertivle wall.

manny came out and busted the ceiling ipen, we were greeted by a load of tiles , unbriken 4x4  and a load of construction debris. none of this stuff should have been in my ceiling. the plasterers worked for a full day in the bathroom, tey said thyhad to plaster above thethey tub, eventhough the leak was abive the sink, seems all the construction debris thatwas dumped there by orior contractors, added to the wet conditiond from the leak , caused the eiling tio bevery weak and needed a ful plasterjob..
in out contracts with the trdesmen, they are supposed to remove from the building all materials.  we pay for this. They are not suppose  to dumpo it in between the walls and floors, to make their life easierand get paqid for work they  didn'tperform. There is also a hazard that they cause, if tise tiles landed on my head, that is not a normal part of a leak, that will be pursedin the courts, so i hope the BOD id checking the insurance certificates very closely of the workers. There are plenty of scams with thesecopys of insurance papers.  The co-operator has a whole section on them.
So wehave contractors that are stealing from us by not removing their debris, plus caisng a haxard that the building/co-op will be liable for.
next we end up paying the plastersa lot more money, since the contractures before made their job muc harder and more time consuming.
The contracors that dumped all theirr garbage in the walls , may have not been thre plumbers that came to fix the leak this time.
which ever contracter that did the inter wall dumping/inter floor dumping, should never be allowed to worrk here again.
 i wonder if it was the bunch that left my door, and no one in the apartement , wide open 3 times in one day.i will come back laterandfix the spelling and gramtcs, just wanted to get this posted