By Adam Leitman Bailey, Leonard Ritz and Dov Treiman Jan. 15, 2013 — In the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, many condo and co-op board members have been facing unprecedented challenges, with little experience to guide them. In the first of two installments today, three leading attorneys answer eight questions at the top of every affected board Full Article…
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. Protects Mortgage Security for JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. successfully protected JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.’s (“Chase”) security interest in a condominium unit on Lorimer Street in Brooklyn by tracking down the seemingly lost original mortgage, along with the original underlying deed and transfer documents, and successfully ensuring the expedited recordation of all. On December 21, 2011, the original documents were Full Article…
A Burning Issue: Smoking Bans in Private Apartments?
By Hillary Pember The late 1990s saw a surge of nationwide smoking restrictions put into effect. State by state, legislation banning smoking in various settings was proposed and passed into law. With varying amounts of resistance and controversy, workplaces, shops, theaters, restaurants and bars in a growing number of cities—including New York City—all went smoke-free. More Full Article…
Q & A: Rent-Controlled Tenant in a Condo Conversion The New York Times
By JAY ROMANO Published: September 14, 2012 Q. What are the rights of a rent-controlled tenant who will not be buying in a building being converted to condominium ownership? Will owning a weekend home have an impact? A. Leonard H. Ritz, a Manhattan co-op and condominium lawyer, said that if this is a noneviction condominium conversion (as Full Article…
Q&A No Pets, No Parties–No Smoking?
Barbara Langdon and her boyfriend saw a loft for sale on West 15th Street right before Christmas and knew they’d found a winner. It was in great shape and sprawled over 2,300 square feet, just what they wanted, so they made an offer for $1.75 million that was quickly accepted. “We were excited because we’d only been looking three weeks,” Langdon remembers. Soon after, though, their broker called to convey a fussy bit of news: The coop was entirely nonsmoking, not just in common areas but also in the apartments. “That was the dealbreaker,” says Langdon—never mind that she doesn’t smoke. “How dare they tell me what to do in my own apartment.” Apparently, they Full Article…
Money (That’s What I Want),Habitat
The 16-unit East Village co-op has come a long way. Many shareholders have been there from its days as a down-and-out rental building, through its conversion to a Housing Development Fund Corporation property to the present. Now, as a strong, self-managed co-op in a hot neighborhood, the prices of apartments have skyrocketed. The shareholders are Full Article…
What a Revolting Development
By S. Jhoanna Robledo Published In 2004, Meggan Berley and her husband, empty-nesters in Dobbs Ferry, ditched their longtime rental and bought a new condominium on Spencer Street in Brooklyn. Then the headaches began. On movein day, the floors weren’t finished and the kitchen cabinets had no doors. The Berleys lived amid construction for weeks. Then Full Article…
Tenants Sue Landlord in Attempt To Force Repairs
By Candace Taylor Tenants in a Pinnacle Group building on Riverside Drive and 144th Street are suing their landlord, claiming that the six-story rental building is in need of extensive repairs. The building, at 668 Riverside Dr., is set to undergo a conversion into condominiums, but the tenants are claiming that “mold, constantly leaking pipes, rotting wood, fallen Full Article…