Page 3 - New Jersey Cooperator February 2019

NJCOOPERATOR.COM THE NEW JERSEY COOPERATOR — FEBRUARY 2019 3 IN THIS ISSUE OF THE NEW JERSEY COOPERATOR Publisher Yale Robbins yale@cooperator.com Executive Vice President Henry Robbins henry@cooperator.com Associate Publisher Joanna DiPaola joanna@cooperator.com Senior Editor Hannah Fons hannah@cooperator.com Associate Editors David Chiu david@cooperator.com Pat Gale patgale@cooperator.com Staff Writers Michael Odenthal michael@cooperator.com Alan J. Sidransky alan@cooperator.com Art Director Shirly Korchak shirly@cooperator.com Production Manager Aetna Dowst aetna@cooperator.com Traffi c Coordinator Victor Marcos victor@cooperator.com Vice President of Advertising Tom Christmann tom@cooperator.com Advertising Directors Fred Marks fred@cooperator.com Rick Levin rick@cooperator.com Peter Chase peter@cooperator.com The New Jersey Cooperator is published monthly by Yale Robbins Publications, LLC, 205 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10016, (212) 683-5700. President: Yale Robbins, Executive Vice President: Henry Robbins. Subscriptions are available free by request to co-op and condo board members and homeowner associations. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The New Jersey Cooperator, 205 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10016. ©Yale Robbins Publications, LLC 2019. All rights reserved. Application to mail Periodicals postage rates is pending at New York NY. FREE Subscriptions for Board Members, Property Managers and Real Estate Decision Makers. To Subscribe, please visit us at: njcooperator.com/subscribe ` For a community association to survive and thrive, it needs to have a strong board capable of making tough decisions and ensuring that things run smoothly on behalf of the resi- dents. In this new issue, we look at how the work of a board should be conveyed and com- municated that includes being open and transparent to the community. And with so much at stake, there is going to be friction between board members at times, which is why our story on board con ict is a must read. You’ll nd these and other important stories in this latest edition of e New Jersey Cooperator. And please save the date: e Cooperator Expo New Jersey is coming to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus on Wednesday May 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. At the show, you can learn about the latest services from over 300 exhibitors. To register, visit www.nj-expo.com. You don’t want to miss it! DEPARTMENTS: 4 PULSE/CALENDAR 4 LEGAL Q&A 23 MARKETPLACE TABLE OF CONTENTS THIS MONTH’S FOCUS: BOARD RELATIONSHIPS 18 CITY VERSUS SUBURBS By Mike Odenthal e ‘big city’ is known for its breakneck pace, as life whirls around the unprepared out- of-towner in an overwhelm- ing swirl. Suburbia, on the other hand, is supposed to be a respite from that intense metropolitan grind – a place to patiently teach the kids how to play tee-ball out in the yard until it’s time for dinner. BOARD OPTICS By Mike Odenthal Community association and co-op boards typically consist of elected volunteers whose job is to serve the best interests of the community in day-to-day decisions both big and small. In an ideal world, every board would live and die by its duciary duty, making well-informed choices that not only keep its community or building solvent, but also maintain a pleasant environment in which to live. 8 6 BOARD DEMOGRAPHICS By A J Sidransky Volunteerism is arguably the bedrock of co-op and condominium communities. One buys into one or the other with the expectation of participating in the governance and operation of the property. Volunteering for board or committee service, though, is o en a matter of time – something many of us don’t have much of these days, especially the ‘extra’ kind. SELF-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES By A J Sidransky One of the most important factors in the decision to purchase a con- dominium or co-op is lifestyle. Many who live in residential com- munities, particularly those in single-family HOAs, choose commu- nity living over a single-family home for the convenience of what they don’t have to do: no snow shoveling, no grass mowing, and no cleaning the gutters or falling o the ladder while doing it. 10 MANAGING BOARD CONFLICT By Mike Odenthal In a community association, it falls on the board to put out any res that ignite among the property’s residents. But what happens when that blaze springs up between the board members themselves? ose who volunteer to serve on their community association or co-op board are likely to bring strong convictions – and personali- ties – to the table. As in any decision-making body, there is likely to be di erence of opinion. 14 TRENDS: 16 KEYS, KEY FOBS, AND DOOR CODES By A J Sidransky It’s been a long time since most people have felt comfortable just leaving their front doors unlocked. For better or worse, security has become the order of the day – and technology follows security needs. Today, that path leads to electronic access. MANAGEMENT: