SFL Cooperator Fall 2019
P. 1

Fall 2019  
SOFLCOOPERATOR.COM 
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 fiduciary duty, mak- 
ing well-informed choices that not only keep  
its community or building solvent, but also  
maintain a pleasant environment in which  
to live. But would even that ideal scenario  
be enough? If a board is doing all the right  
things  but fails to communicate the hows  
and whys of its decisions to its constituents,  
will those decisions be received approvingly?  
Truth is, in addition to making good  
decisions, it also falls to the board to com- 
municate those decisions – as well as how  
they were reached - to its community in a  
clear and digestible way. The reasoning for  
this goes beyond just getting reelected; to a  
diligent and capable board, optics may seem  
performative –  but they’re actually a crucial  
part of being open and transparent with the  
residents  that  board  represents.  A  certain  
amount of marketing and salesmanship is of- 
ten needed to get buy-in from the folks most  
directly impacted by a given board decision.  
A board that does the right thing without  
showing its work can still face backlash from  
residents who interpret the board’s discre- 
tion as secrecy, or who don’t see immediate  
positive results from the board’s endeavor. 
The Messaging Matters 
“Optics are extremely important,” says  
Thomas O. Moriarty, a principal at the law  
firm of Moriarty Troyer & Malloy, which has  
continued on page 9  
In a community association, it falls to the board to put out any fires that ignite among  
the property’s residents. But what happens when the blaze springs up between the board  
members themselves?  
Those 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 a difference of opinion, which, if the stakes and tem- 
pers rise high enough, can occasionally escalate into a war of words – or even knock- 
down, drag-out fisticuffs. Preventing any and all conflict is impossible, but minimizing  
and mitigating it 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 acceptable compromise before things get out of hand. 
Talk It Out 
One way to keep things copacetic among board members is to identify which attri- 
butes most contribute to a board’s functionality, and reach for those as a base-line when  
things start to drift off-track. 
Volunteerism is arguably the bedrock of  
co-op and condominium communities. One  
buys into one or the other with the expecta- 
tion of participating in the governance and  
operation of the property. Volunteering for  
board or committee service, though, is of- 
ten a matter of time – something many of us  
don’t have much of these days, especially the  
‘extra’ kind. As a result in many communi- 
ties, it’s the older and often retired residents  
who have the hours to offer for board and  
committee service. The result is that often  
boards are dominated by older, longer-term  
residents, which in itself isn’t necessarily a  
bad thing – it’s just a fact. 
It should also be noted that the compo- 
sition of a board is usually representative of  
the residents of the building or association,  
and different types of communities tend to  
draw different demographics. So in a small- 
er community, perhaps a 10-unit co-op in  
a walk-up building with only studio apart- 
ments in a newly-fashionable neighbor- 
hood, everyone living there may be under  
40 – thus, that board will likely be composed  
of younger people. Conversely, in an over-55  
community, the board will mostly be com- 
posed of older people. But these specific  
situations may not be typical of most com- 
munities. 
Legislative Fix? 
Can a co-op corporation or condomini- 
um association do something specific with  
its bylaws or rules to require that board seats  
be distributed between various age groups?  
“Absolutely not,” says Mark Hakim, a co-op  
and condo attorney with Schwartz Sladkus  
Reich Greenberg Atlas in New York City.  
“You  cannot  create  age limitations  of  any  
kind relative to the board. It’s illegal. And  
that’s under both federal and state laws and  
statutes.” 
Frank A. Lombardi, a principal at Good- 
“I think that the key to harmony on a board is that its mem- 
bers have the ability to agree to disagree,” says Tina Straits, Vice  
President and General Manager of Baum Property Management  
in Aurora, Illinois. “Any one group of people is not going to reach  
a consensus on every issue. Where there is disagreement, it is  
vitally important that board members listen respectfully to each  
other and understand that having a difference of opinion is noth- 
Managing Board  
Conflict 
How to Maintain Harmony  
BY MIKE ODENTHAL 
Board Optics 
The Perception of Performance  
BY MIKE ODENTHAL 
Board  
Demographics  
Old Guard Versus   
New Blood  
BY A J SIDRANSKY 
205 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10016 • CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED 
continued on page 8  
continued on page 10  
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