co-op board considering roof deck

[rsennett]

What is the name of your state?I am a member of the board of directors in a New York City co-op.

We've been considering adding a roof deck to our 36 unit building in Greenwich Village for a few years now. In fact, when major repairs were done to the roof about five years ago, we had a railing installed around the portion of the deck that might be appropriate in the proper size. (abiding by the regulations about prercentage of usable space.)

We've done the research and pricing and are taking bids.

The question is:

Do we need to put this to the shareholders for a yea or nay vote or is this considered a capital improvement whereby a vote of the board would be sufficient? There is nothing in the by-laws or proprietary lease that can guide us. Unfortunately, our attorney has been flip flopping on the answer so I'm looking for a second opinion.

Without a clear answer, we've considered notifying the shareholders, doing a presentation at the annual meeting (which is unfortunately, usually poorly attended) and letting the chips fall where they may. Someone complains, we put it to the shareholders, no complaints, we go ahead with the deck.

Is there anything specific that would direct us to go either way?

Thanks,

Rose Sennett

 

[You Are Guilty]

Not having read your Proprietary Lease, it's impossible to say what would be required as far as a shareholder vote. However, how were you planning on financing the work?

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state?I am a member of the board of directors in a New York City co-op.

We've been considering adding a roof deck to our 36 unit building in Greenwich Village for a few years now. In fact, when major repairs were done to the roof about five years ago, we had a railing installed around the portion of the deck that might be appropriate in the proper size. (abiding by the regulations about prercentage of usable space.)

We've done the research and pricing and are taking bids.

The question is:

Do we need to put this to the shareholders for a yea or nay vote or is this considered a capital improvement whereby a vote of the board would be sufficient? There is nothing in the by-laws or proprietary lease that can guide us. Unfortunately, our attorney has been flip flopping on the answer so I'm looking for a second opinion.

Without a clear answer, we've considered notifying the shareholders, doing a presentation at the annual meeting (which is unfortunately, usually poorly attended) and letting the chips fall where they may. Someone complains, we put it to the shareholders, no complaints, we go ahead with the deck.

Is there anything specific that would direct us to go either way?

Thanks,

Rose Sennett

**A: you need to get a yes vote from the majority of owners and the % of majority as defined should be noted in the CC&R's.

 

[rsennett]

Thanks for the prompt reply.

Can you give me some kind of reason this is so? Since there is no specific mention of any kind of quality of life or recreational improvement, in any of the co-op papers... there are many ways to argue the point. I'd like to better understand where your answer is coming from.

We had a similar dilema regarding some small backyard space. We were considering making it more habitable. However, a board member who lives facing the back space on the 1st floor, fought heavily to quash the idea. It wasn't that important or valuable so we did. But that too, was a question of ... can we just fix this up, as if we were painting the hallways and changeing the carpet and the fixtures (which we've done on our own) or is this something more?

The difference between the two is that there is currently no prohibition against hanging out in back now, but the roof is off limits.

rose