A good insurance broker will work with your cooperative or condominium
to ensure adequate coverage, although this is certain to be a difficult
task this year.
At CNYCs 22nd annual Housing Conference on Sunday, November 17th
at Hunter College, a sequence of seminars explored insurance issues
throughout the day. In the morning Barbara Strauss provided an overview
of a buildings insurance needs. At midday, David Berkey moderated
a session on Directors & Officers Liability Insurance, and in the
afternoon Robert Mackoul discussed Homeowners Insurance.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF 2001
OPERATING COSTS
The Comparative Study of 2001 Operating Costs will be published shortly
and a copy will then be sent to every CNYC member cooperative and condominium
and to all professional subscribers.
This annual analysis provides a framework to help you determine if
your own building is operating economically and efficiently, by studying
the various costs of operating a building. Code numbers are used to
identify the participants, while preserving their anonymity. When the
Study is sent to members whose financial data is included, they are
advised of their code numbers so that they can easily locate their own
statistic.
The Comparative Study analyzes all data on a per-room basis, beginning
with the current assessment and mortgage figures for participating buildings
as well as what they collect from shareholders or unit owners as carrying
charges (maintenance). The Study goes on to list amounts
spent per room on wages, fuel, utilities, repairs and maintenance, insurance,
management, administrative costs, water & sewer fees, property tax,
and debt service. When possible, elevator maintenance and legal and
accounting costs are broken out and listed separately. The Study also
presents summary statistics, calculating the averages and medians for
each item, and the average portion of total operating budget devoted
to each. This summary recaps the last ten years to help identify trends.
The Comparative Study of 2001 Operating Costs can be purchased from
CNYC for $5. Send your check to:
CNYC
250 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019-2142.
Make sure to specify the address to which to send the Comparative Study.
SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY
Particularly in an economic downturn, the boards of cooperatives and
condominiums should not forget, as they plan their budgets, that their
buildings do not exist in a vacuum. This is an important time to support
the organizations that enhance the community. Parks, museums, Little
League, scouting, after school programs, homeless shelters and block
associations are important to our city. Now more than ever, they need
support.
Your cooperative or condominium can make its own contributions to worthy
organizations and can suggest to residents that they, too, may wish
to support local institutions and help ensure their continuing viability.
At CNYCs 22nd annual Conference on November 17th at Hunter College,
attorney Mitchell Dix and community leader Carson Philips led an afternoon
workshop exploring diverse ways in which cooperatives and condominiums
can become involved in the communities beyond their own buildings. This
interactive workshop invited participants to share their concerns and
questions.