News

YOUR HELP URGENTLY NEEDED: ASK YOUR ASSEMBLY MEMBER TO SUPPORT REVERSE MORTGAGES IN CO-OPS

Legislation that would allow Reverse Mortgages for seniors 70 and over who make their homes in cooperatives has passed the New York State Senate and has been introduced in the Assembly. If passed this would open the door for lenders not interested in FHA to begin to make reverse mortgage loans in NY State (despite 16 years of efforts by CNYC and the National Association of Housing Cooperatives, HUD has no intention of making reverse mortgage loans to cooperatives nor to write guidelines for reverse mortgage loans).

The Albany legislative session ends on June 17th, so we ask your support to help ensure that the Assembly bill is passed before then.  It is bill # A.10246 sponsored by Jeff Dinowitz from Riverdale.

Please write to ask your own Assembly member to support it and write also to Keith Wright, chairman of the Housing Committee, which now has the bill.  Assembly member Wright can be reached at wrightk@assembly.state.ny.us and you can find your own representative at nyassembly.gov/mem.

Ask that they see to it that A.10246 passes this session. Briefly tell them what it will mean to you (and to the seniors in your building) as constituents.

Please copy CNYC on your correspondence. (Rothman@CNYC.coop)

Reverse mortgages enable senior to live on in the homes and the neighborhoods that have been theirs for many years. Owners of private homes and condominiums can already access reverse mortgages. We seek to make these loans available to seniors in cooperatives where the additional scrutiny of any loan by the board would help ensure that the loans are reasonable and affordable.

Many thanks,
Mary Ann Rothman
CNYC Executive Director

P.S. If Jeff Klein is your State Senator, please also write to thank him for having passes S. 7844

REGISTER AND INSPECT COOLING TOWERS

The NYC Department of Buildings has asked CNYC to make its members aware that building owners and operators now have the opportunity to voluntarily register their cooling towers and evaporative condensers with the Department of Buildings.  Online access to the registration form and additional information can be found at www.nyc.gov/buildings.

This voluntary registration is in anticipation of legislation that with the City Council’s support, will establish regulations to be administered by the Department of Buildings and the Department of Mental Health & Hygiene for the regulation of cooling towers and evaporative condensers.

DOH Order on Bronx Legionnaire’s Disease Outbreak

On August 6, 2015 the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health issued an Order with respect to the outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease in the Bronx. The Order will be mailed to each property that the City of New York has identified as having a cooling tower.

The Order requires that all persons who own, manage or otherwise control buildings with water-recirculating cooling towers within the City of New York must:

• Obtain the services of an environmental consultant with demonstrated experience performing disinfection in accordance with current standard industry protocols;
• Under supervision of the environmental consultant, evaluate the cooling tower and associated equipment for the presence of organic material, biofilm, algae and other visible contaminants;
• Regardless of the outcome of the evaluation, disinfect/treat the cooling tower and associated equipment in a manner sufficient to control for the presence of Legionella organisms within 14 days of receipt of the letter unless an identical assessment and disinfection procedure has been conducted within the past 30 days; and
• Maintain records and make available to the city upon request

More information can be found on the City’s Department of Health website.

ABATEMENT EXTENDED FOR FOUR YEARS

On Thursday, June 25, 2015, the State Senate and Assembly and Governor Cuomo came to agreements on rent regulation and the 421a incentive program for developers. With these issues finally settled, a four year extension of the property tax abatement program for home owners in New York City cooperatives and condominiums was included in the legislation passed by both houses that evening.

Thanks to the Department of Finance, this extender is seamless, because it was included on our property tax bills for the new fiscal year which begins on July 1st , saving condominium unit owners and cooperative corporations from confusion and cash flow problems.

On Friday morning, June 26, 2015 Governor Cuomo signed this legislation into law, continuing the abatement program in its present form through June 30, 2019.

ALL NYC BUILDINGS MUST FILE ANNUAL PROPERTY REGISTRATION WITH HPD

Every NYC Building must file an online  Property Registration form with HPD as required by the NYC Housing Maintenance Code by August 31, 2015.  Management firms typically  do this  filing for their client buildings, but self-managed buildings will want to be sure not to miss the deadline.  Here are the instructions :

Access the form through HPD’s Property Registration Online System (PROS). You will need to create an account and a profile in order to access the forms. Creating a profile in PROS will allow you to additionally

• Update and print one or multiple Property Registration forms at once.
• Check on the status of your registration and registration history at any time.

Even if there is NO UPDATE to the information please submit the form electronically so that we know not to send you a form through the mail.IMPORTANT NOTE: The forms should be printed on LEGAL SIZE paper. If you do not have legal size paper, you must modify your printer settings to ensure that the form will fit on 8 ½ X 11 paper. Be sure that all fields – including Section 10 – and barcodes are visible on the printed forms!

After you print the form, BOTH the OWNER and the MANAGING AGENT MUST SIGN AND DATE THE FORM. Photocopied signatures are not valid. Please mail the completed form to The Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Church Street Station, P O Box 3888, New York, NY 10038-3888.

You must also submit payment for property registration. DO NOT SEND A CHECK TO HPD. The registration fee has been billed by the Department of Finance (DOF) with the July Statement of Account of Property Taxes. You can pay the fee Online or by following the instructions on the Statement of Account for mailing in a payment or by visiting a DOF Business Center in person. (For more information on payment options or DOF locations, see the Department of Finance Website.)

Once your registration becomes valid you will receive a receipt of valid registration by mail and an e-mail from HPD (if you provide an e-mail address on your registration) advising that your receipt is available throughPROS.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING CONSEQUENCES FOR FAILING TO REGISTER AS REQUIRED:

• A VIOLATION MAY BE ISSUED TO YOUR PROPERTY. HPD MAY CHOOSE TO SEEK CIVIL PENALTIES IN HOUSING COURT BASED ON THIS VIOLATION.
• IF THE PROPERTY HAS 3 OR MORE UNITS, YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO BRING AN ACTION FOR NONPAYMENT IN HOUSING COURT AGAINST A TENANT OF THIS PROPERTY UNTIL YOU ARE VALIDLY REGISTERD.
• YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CERTIFY THE CORRECTION OF VIOLATIONS OR REQUEST A DISMISSAL REQUEST INSPECTION FOR PENDING VIOLATIONS.

If you believe that your property is not required to be registered or if you no longer own the property and do not wish to be contacted about this property in the future, please review the Property Registration Page on our website for the appropriate next steps.

If you need help completing the form or are experiencing any issues with PROS, you can e-mail HPD at register@hpd.nyc.gov or call HPD’s Registration Assistance Unit at (212) 863-7000, Monday through Friday between 9 AM and 4:30 PM.

Emergency Preparedness Recommendations for Residential Buildings

In recent years, the New York City area has been increasingly affected by severe storms. The multi-day loss of power and extreme flooding from Superstorm Sandy exceeded most emergency scenarios and as a result, few buildings or residents had plans for managing the emergency conditions before, during or after the storm. Many buildings suffered damage that could have been prevented, or from which they could have recovered more quickly, with the benefit of advance planning. In response, amendments to the Administrative Code of the City of New York were enacted to help the City better prepare for future storms. This memorandum highlights the important aspects of the new laws and suggests ways your building can prepare for upcoming storms.

The new laws became effective on May 18, 2014. They amend the Administrative Code of the City of New York to add Sections §30-113 and §27 -2051.1 creating a two-pronged approach to emergency planning by requiring: (1) the creation of emergency preparedness recommendations for residential and commercial building owners, and (2) the posting of emergency information in ceratin residential buildings.

Click to download the complete Emergency Preparedness Recommendations for Residential Buildings Memorandum, prepared and provided by Schechter & Brucker, P.C.

ARTICLE 316: INSULATION OF CONCEALED PIPES EXPOSED DURING ALTERATION OR REPAIR

§ 28-316.1 Required insulation of certain concealed piping exposed during alteration or repair. Where concealed existing piping is exposed in the course of the alteration or repair of a building, the owner of the building shall provide for the insulation of the exposed piping. The exposed piping shall be insulated to the extent required by the New York city energy conservation code for newly installed pipe of the same specifications and serving the same function as the exposed pipe. The entire exposed length of the piping shall be insulated as well as any further length of concealed pipe that can be directly accessed through openings made in the course of such alteration or repair.

Exceptions:

1. Exposed pipe with one-inch (25-mm) thick continuous coverage of existing insulation in good condition.

2. Where the length of concealed pipe which may be directly accessed through openings made in the course of such alteration or repair is less than three feet (914 mm).

3. Where there is not sufficient space to insulate pipes to the extent required by the New York city energy conservation code due to conflicts with existing construction, pipes shall be insulated to the extent that space allows.

§2. This local law shall take effect October 1, 2014, except that this local law shall not apply to construction work related to applications for construction document approval filed prior to such effective date, and except that the commissioner of buildings may take such measures as are necessary for its implementation, including the promulgation of rules, prior to such effective date.

Tentative Labor Agreement Averts Strike

The Realty Advisory Board has tentatively reached an agreement with SEIU Local 32BJ for a renewal of the residential building workers contract that is set to expire on April 20, 2014. The deal covers more than 30,000 residential building service employees, including doormen, porters, handymen and building superintendents, who work in more than 3,000 residential rentals, co-ops and condos. The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the Board of Directors of the Realty Advisory Board and the membership of the Union, processes that will occur over the next few weeks.

The tentative agreement was reached an unprecedented nine days before it was set to expire on April 20. That is great news for owners and managers, not to mention all the New Yorkers who reside in our buildings.

Today’s announcement is the result of months of planning and several weeks of meetings between RAB and the Union. Our negotiating committee spent long hours working through extremely difficult issues. Though we have a very positive working relationship with the Union, we didn’t start on the same page. We believe the final result, after much back and forth, is a fair and equitable contract that reflects today’s economic realities while protecting the long-term health of our industry.

While the complete details of the agreement will be announced after ratification, the broad financial parameters of the tentative deal are:

• An average wage increase of 2.71% each year over the four year contract, or approximately 11.3% total—bringing wages for a typical doormen or porter from $44,389 to $49,402 in 2018.
• There is a 3.4% total average annual increase for wages plus benefits.

To help offset these costs, our negotiating committee was able to deliver a modified start rate for new employees and several other key measures to enhance employer flexibility.

CNYC Executive Director Mary Ann Rothman and FNYHC Executive Director Greg Carlson serve on the negotiating committee. We will provide any updates as they are announced.

In the Event of a Service Employees Strike

The contract between owners and operators of residential apartment buildings in New York City and Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union will expire on April 20, 2014. With the potential for a strike of Local 32BJ after that day (if a new contract is not renegotiated), Boards need to take action now to ensure that they are prepared to meet the challenges that a work stoppage will bring. In this memorandum, we discuss specific suggestions that will help your building meet the needs of its residents in the event of a strike.

Click to Download the Memorandum (PDF)

CORRECTING MISINFORMATION WE SENT YOU ABOUT ABATEMENT FORMS

Contrary to the memo we sent on Tuesday, the NYC Department of Finance is NOT requiring every co-op or condo renew their benefits.

ONLY CERTAIN CONDO BOARDS MUST FILE BY FEBRUARY 18TH
The Department of Finance conducted a small audit of less than 1% of the co-op/condo units and asked those unit owners to renew their benefits if the unit is their primary residence. This required a new form, which is the Condo Renewal Form. ONLY those condo units that received the audit letter AND are eligible for the benefit must file.

In addition, condo boards can use this form to report changes in eligibility, such as a commercial unit like a doctor’s office that is converted to a residential unit which the owner use as their primary residence or a condo owner purchasing a four unit in the development, making all four units ineligible.

The Condo reporting form has been revised so that there are only two section, A and B. Section A should be completed by the condo owner and Section B by the managing agent/board.

COOPERATIVES FILE AS IN THE PAST
As in years past, DoF is simply asking co-ops to correct any discrepancies in the data in its Co-op Tax Benefit Letter, sent in December to the contact entity for all participating cooperatives (usually the managing agent). NOTE THAT co-op shareholders who recently received letters from DoF and whose cooperatives are their primary residence must make sure that management knows this and includes this information on the Correction form. The Co-op Tax Benefit Change Form is due February 18, 2014 and it CAN be signed by management.

Please accept our deepest apologies for our prior errors.

Forms and guidance can be found at:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/forms_reports/property_forms_condo_coop.shtml