Legislation has been introduced in the City Council which threatens the long established right of housing cooperatives to use discretion in approving prospective shareholders as members of their community. Intro 119 would require cooperative boards to provide detailed written reasons when rejecting an applicant – a requirement that is not imposed on the sellers of any other form of real property. Failure or delay in providing these reasons would subject cooperatives and individual board members to stiff fines and to litigation, including possible suits by brokers seeking lost commissions.

Intro 119 gives no consideration to the special nature of cooperatives – where ownership and governance are shared by all and where it is imperative that every shareholder understands and accepts this concept of community. Passage of Intro 119 will discourage service on the board; it will bring greater rigidity to the admissions process and it will invite lawsuits and ill will.

Intro 119 is deceptively called a Human Rights Law. But substantial protections already exist in Federal, State and City laws forbidding discrimination against 14 protected categories. These laws are vigorously enforced and there is no evidence that they are failing to achieve their purpose. Intro 119 adds nothing of substance to those laws. The text of Intro 119 can be found on the City Council website at www.nyccouncil.info.

The Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums and the Real Estate Board of New York have prepared a set of Admissions Guidelines which list the 14 ‘classes’ protected by existing Human Rights Laws. The Guidelines also outline recommended admissions procedures to ensure the protections in these laws are upheld. They can be found as a pdf file at www.CNYC.coop. We have also prepared a Statement of Purchasers’ Rights which is part of REBNY’s Standard Admissions Package.

Your help is needed to ensure the defeat of Intro 119.

Please contact your City Council representative today to ask that they oppose Intro 119. Write as individuals and as a Board to your Council member and to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn at City Hall, NYC 10007. To find your council member and contact information visit the website www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/index.cfm.

If your representative is currently listed as a sponsor of this legislation, ask that they remove their name and their support. Ask to meet with them to explain how cooperatives function and how this legislation would adversely affect your cooperative. Point out that you volunteer your time as a Board member, that you work together with fellow board members to ensure that your cooperative will be safe, well run and affordable; that you seek to understand issues and to make sound decisions for the good of the cooperative and your fellow shareholders. Mention your concerns about frivolous and costly lawsuits and personal liability if Intro 119 were to become law.