Election season has come and gone at buildings across the City, and most everyone has accepted the results even if they don’t like them, resigned to waiting till next time to unseat those in power. It’s expensive and time consuming to mount a legal challenge, which is why most challengers lick lick their wounds and move on. Not three defeated insurgents at West Village Houses, who recently fired the first legal salvo, seeking to overturn the results of the election just past on the grounds that the process was tainted in multiple ways. Read more »

People in my building always ask: when are they having elections for president. They don’t get it, after all this time. They think it’s like the real world where the voice of the populace is what counts – sorry, I almost forgot about that electoral college. In most buildings it doesn’t work that way. Owners get to vote for directors, and then the directors pick the officers in secret. But just because someone's been designated president doesn't mean he really is. Read more »

It’s the morning after. What have I gotten myself into, you’re asking. No, you weren’t out on an all night binge. You got elected to your building’s board, the whole episode but a dim recollection. Now you’re having second thoughts – third, and more -- about the wisdom of what you did. Before you throw in the towel, consider these ten ways to make it work – for you and the building. Read more »

I need to have my head examined. Seriously. I was off my building’s board, and just got back on. My friends all tell me I’m out of my mind. They’re right. I need to go to a shrink to kick the addiction – not something I’ve ever done even though I lived most of my life in Manhattan. Some people are prone to alcohol or drugs, with me it’s righting perceived wrongs. HELP! Read more »

With Annual Meeting season winding down, shareholders all across the City have their fingers crossed that the good guys got in. The truth is whether good or bad, here in New York politicians want to stay beyond their time. There’s our Mayor who’s in his third term, and now there’s even talk of a fourth. But even though he flouted the will of the voters, twice expressed, he got the City Council to bless the extension with an amendment to the Charter. What can board members do to extend their shelf llife? Read more »