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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


































































































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