CooperatorNews New Jersey Expo 2021
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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


































































































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