CooperatorNews New Jersey Expo 2021

NEWJERSEY THE CONDO & HOA RESOURCE COOPERATORNEWS EXPO 2021 NJ.COOPERATORNEWS.COM 205 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10016 • CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED in New Jersey and New York was a stark and deadly reminder of the impact of climate extremes. Heatwaves and wildfi res are scorching Si- beria and the Arctic, and laying waste to swathes of the Western U.S. Perhaps the two most pressing and dramatic ramifi cations of cli- mate change facing our communities today are the rise in sea level, and the increasing intensity and frequency of severe storms. More concern- ingly, these two events overlap, causing even greater peril, which is par- ticularly severe for communities built along our coasts. Climate Change & Residential Communities A New Reality Raises New Challenges BY A. J. SIDRANSKY Managing Board Confl ict Maintaining Harmony, Upholding Civility BY COOPER SMITH A Look at Board Powers What a Board Is … and Isn’t BY A J SIDRANSKY Th e reality of climate change is upon us. Weather patterns have changed, and seasons have been altered. We experience more intense heat, more frequent, destructive storms, wide-rang- ing wildfi res, and more destructive cold. Tornadoes—the spawn of confl icting hot and cold air masses—touch down in places they were once almost unheard of. What was scientifi c prog- nostication only a few years ago has become reality. It’s also a reality that most of the structures that house our homes—particularly high-rise multifamily buildings—were not designed for these types of changing climate events. While that’s a chilling thought, today’s communities have no choice but to deal with that reality, as well as plan for what may be ahead. The New Reality Th e changing climate is already fueling disastrous weather around the world. Glaciers are melting faster, dumping huge amounts of water into the oceans and impacting weather pat- terns. Hurricanes are getting more frequent and ferocious; unprecedented, torrential rains have unleashed fl oods in China and Europe, and this summer’s fl ash fl ooding closer to home In a community association, it falls on the board to put out any fi res that ignite among the property’s residents. But what happens when that blaze springs up be- tween the board members themselves? Th ose who volunteer to serve on their community association or co-op board are likely to bring strong convictions— and personalities—to the table. As in any decision-making body, there is likely to be diff erence of opinion. And if the stakes and tempers rise high enough, it can oc- casionally escalate into a war of words. At worst, it can lead to knock-down, drag- out fi sticuff s. Preventing any and all confl ict is im- possible. But minimizing and mitigat- ing the problem is essential in order for a board to do its job. Board members should actively anticipate arguments among their ranks and have a strategy on hand to ease tensions and reach an ac- ceptable compromise—before things get out of hand. Talk It Out One way to keep things copacetic among board members is to identify which attributes most contribute to a board’s functionality, and reach for those as a baseline when things start to drift apart. “Harmony on a board comes from a When one buys a private single- family home, the homeowner is king or queen of the proverbial castle. When it comes to condominium and cooperative ownership, however, the landscape is more complex. While the shareholder or unit owner rules within the walls of their unit, everything behind the drywall— from the wiring and pipes in the walls to the shared common areas like laun- dry and fitness rooms, to the exterior elements that hold the building together and protect it from the elements—is gov- erned by the community’s board under the aegis of its governing documents, which contain the rules and regulations of the community and give the board authority over different aspects of how it’s run. Governing documents are them- selves regulated by individual state laws and statutes, and at times even local or- dinances. The hybrid nature of ownership pre- sented by condominium and cooperative homes gives many owners and share- holders an incomplete—and often incor- rect—understanding of who is respon- sible for what in their community. This is partly because few purchasers of con- dominium and cooperative units ever really read the governing documents of the community they’re moving into, and partly because many are coming from a rental environment and wrongly see the association or corporation board as their landlord—which, despite certain simi- larities, it most certainly is not. Condos vs. Co-ops: Who’s in Charge Here? To understand the role and powers of the board, it’s important to understand the difference between condo and co-op NEW JERSEY’S BIGGEST & BEST CONDO, HOA & APT EXPO! MEADOWLANDS EXPOSITION CENTER — TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 10-4:00 FREE REGISTRATION: NJ-EXPO.COM LIVE AND IN PERSON continued on page 24 continued on page 25 continued on page 22