Cooperative and Condominium Archives

Aug 9, 2005

Condominium Boards’ Right to Restrict Sales

A recent court decision has generated a considerable amount of confusion among some condominium boards and condominium unit owners regarding the power of condominiums to regulate the sale of units in a manner similar to cooperatives. We hope that this memorandum will help to clarify matters. The decision, Demchick v. 90 East End Avenue Condominium, 18 A.D.3d 383, 796 N.Y.S.2d 62 (1st Dep’t 2005), was issued on May 31, 2005 by the Appellate Division for the First Department (which covers Manhattan and the Bronx). The condominium at issue sought, through the amendment of its by-laws, to limit the sale of… Read more

Nov 1, 2004

Revisions to NYS Tax Law on Gain Realized Upon Sale of Co-ops by Nonresidents

New York State has made recent changes to personal income taxation of transfers of cooperative apartments of which you should be aware. The legislature amended the state tax law (§§ 631, 633) to include as taxable income the gain realized from the transfer of co-op apartment shares by an individual, trust, or estate that is not a resident of New York State. Such gain will also be treated as taxable income of the nonresident if the shares are held in a partnership. These changes are retroactive to January 1, 2004. In addition, to assist in the collection of tax on… Read more

Jul 14, 2003

Liability for Sidewalk Injuries

This memorandum was initially issued by the cooperative/condominium practice group of Balber Pickard Maldonado & Van Der Tuin, PC which joined Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP on February 1, 2017 and now practices as part of SGR’s cooperative/condominium practice group. The City of New York recently amended its Administrative Code to shift liability for injuries caused by unsafe sidewalks to the owner of the property adjoining the sidewalk. This will have liability implications for your cooperative or condominium. Prior to the amendment, the owner of the property adjoining the sidewalk was not liable for injuries caused by defects or disrepair… Read more

May 21, 2003

“Objectionable” Shareholders

This memorandum was initially issued by the cooperative/condominium practice group of Balber Pickard Maldonado & Van Der Tuin, PC which joined Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP on February 1, 2017 and now practices as part of SGR’s cooperative/condominium practice group. We are pleased to report that the New York Court of Appeals in 40 West 67th Street Corp. v. Pullman unanimously affirmed the decision our firm obtained last May from an intermediate appellate court. As you may recall, in that decision, a divided court upheld a cooperative’s right to terminate a shareholder’s proprietary lease on account of “objectionable” conduct. This… Read more

Jul 16, 2002

Sponsor Obligation to Sell Unsold Shares

This memorandum was initially issued by the cooperative/condominium practice group of Balber Pickard Maldonado & Van Der Tuin, PC which joined Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP on February 1, 2017 and now practices as part of SGR’s cooperative/condominium practice group. You may have seen articles in the press about a recent court decision concerning a cooperative sponsor’s obligation to sell unsold shares. We thought an explanation of the decision might be of use to you. The decision was issued by New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, in a case named 511 West 232nd Owners Corp. v. Jennifer… Read more