Page 1 - New England Condominium August 2021

August 2021 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM 205 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10016 • CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED THE CONDO, HOA & CO-OP RESOURCE CONDOMINIUM NEW ENGLAND Across the country, one of the biggest challenges to governing condominiums, homeowners associations, and co-ops is finding new members who are willing to volunteer their time and en- ergy to serve on their community’s board of directors or trustees. In addition to a time commit- ment that can seem onerous to those whose lives are already packed with work, families, hobbies, households, and more, board service comes with myriad tasks, responsibilities, and politicking. After all, who would want to take an unpaid gig that potentially makes you the recipient of all your neighbors’ grievances? Oh, right— did. Seven years ago, in an effort to help a small cohort of relatively new share- I holders redirect a long pattern of what we saw as dysfunctionality, financial mismanagement, and abdication of fiduciary duty among previous boards, I ran for a seat on the board of the co-op where I live in Lower Manhattan. In a 1,700-unit community where around half of the shareholders acquired their units during the decades when the corporation operated under Title I of the Federal Housing Act of 1949 (inelegantly titled “Slum Clearance and Community De- velopment and Redevelopment”), getting new members elected was not an easy feat. It entailed weeks of campaigning, printing and distributing fliers about my qualification and intentions, and even positioning myself in the lobbies with my two toddlers and free lemonade. This is my story about becoming a New Kid on the Board, and I hope it will offer some use- ful advice and resources to others who are new to their own condo, HOA, or co-op board; those who are considering board service; or existing board members and their support professionals looking to help educate newer members (or themselves). Step By Step Once our co-op’s board election was certified, one of the veteran board members called to in- NEW ENGLAND’S BIGGEST & BEST CONDO, HOA & APT EXPO! THE NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM EXPO 2021 WHERE BUILDINGS MEET SERVICES BOSTON CONVENTION CENTER — TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 10-3:30 FREE REGISTRATION: NE-EXPO.COM LIVE AND IN PERSON Improving Board Involvement Combating Apathy Among Residents BY A. J. SIDRANSKY Digital Documents Balancing Safe Storage with Accessibility BY A. J. SIDRANSKY Even among otherwise conscientious, community-minded condo, HOA, and co-op residents, the idea of running for and serv- ing on their board often ranks somewhere between taxes and dental work. It conjures thoughts of endless meetings...arguing about the minutiae of vendor bids...confrontations with neighbors unhappy with board deci- sions...gossipy remarks in the elevator...the list goes on. More often, however, the issue is simply apathy. Many if not most condo, HOA, and co-op owners just don’t care enough to take on the responsibility and challenges of board service—they’d rather their neighbor do it. Consequently, those who are willing to serve often hold the same position for years— sometimes for decades—and that can bring its own set of problems. The Roots of Apathy Aside from the thanklessness (both real and perceived) of serving on the board, there are other reasons owners and shareholders shy away from participation. They range from lack of knowledge and experience to what’s sometimes referred to as a ‘renter men- tality.’ ‘Renter mentality’ is a common phenom- enon in condominium and co-op commu- nities. Owners of condominium and co-op apartments are typically entering the owner- ship market from the rental market, and are often surprised by how different life is when Paper, or electronic? It’s now a choice for everything, from the books we read for plea- sure to the books we keep on our associations and corporations. Even restaurant menus are digital today in the wake of the need for ‘touch-free’ environments amid the COV- ID-19 pandemic. With that said, co-op and condo communities generate volumes of in- formation and data every year, from minutes of meetings to receipts for expenses and pay- ments to financial information on unit and share buyers. But how much of all that really needs to be kept, and for how long? And is there anything that should be kept specifi- cally in paper form, as well as digitized? What Does the Law Say? Mark Hakim, an attorney with the firm Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas, is of counsel to numerous co-op and condo buildings in the greater New York area. Ac- cording to him, “Under Section 624(a) of the Business Corporation Law of the State of New York (BCL), corporations are required to maintain ‘correct and complete books and records of account and shall keep min- utes of the proceedings of its shareholders, board, and executive committee, if any, and shall keep at the office of the corporation in this state or at the office of its transfer agent or registrar in this state, a record containing the names and addresses of all shareholders, the number and class of shares held by each, and the dates when they respectively became the owners of record thereof. Any of the fore- going books, minutes, or records may be in written form or in any other form capable of being converted into written form within a reasonable time.’ “In essence,” Hakim continues, “there is nothing in the BCL that mandates a paper format. We often counsel our clients asking each to apply common sense while keeping in mind what may be necessary with respect to tax records (and audits) and in the unfor- New Kids on the Board First-Person Advice for Newly Elected Directors BY DARCEY GERSTEIN continued on page 8 continued on page 6 form me of my ‘win.’ A retired educator with a fondness for conspiracy theories and a helping of good ol’ mid-century chauvinism, he told me, “I have one piece of advice for you: Stay quiet and let the others talk.” He said that in my first year, I was there to learn. (Our board members serve three-year terms.) There was a lot of complicated stuff going on, he warned, and it would be best if I would just listen. My “board orientation,” such as it was, consisted of a four-inch binder from our management containing previous years’ meeting min- continued on page 6