Cooperatives & Condominiums

Overview

Our full-service team, led by the former chief of the Real Estate Finance Bureau of the New York Attorney General’s office, has significant transactional, litigation, dispute resolution, and policy experience. Leveraging this background, we navigate complex real estate landscapes on your behalf in New York City and beyond.

On the transactional side, we guide clients through every stage of developing and selling cooperatives, condominiums, and other common-interest communities. On the litigation and dispute resolution side, we zealously represent our clients in court, in settlements, and before city and state regulators such as the New York Attorney General’s office. On the policy side, we appear before various government agencies on an array of real estate matters, and lobby before lawmakers on regulatory and legislative initiatives.

Representative Experience

Examples of Cooperative and Condominium Developer Services

• Offering Plan Process for New Construction Condominium Conversion: Represent sponsor in all stages of condominium conversion of luxury Upper West Side condominium, including offering plan, amendments, contracts, closings, and advice on litigation strategy and public relations
• Offering Plan Process for Rental to Condominium Conversion: Represent sponsor in all stages of rental to condominium conversion of luxury Upper West Side condominium, including offering plan, amendments, contracts, closings, and guidance on matters involving rent stabilization, 421-a, and government relations
• Homeowners Association Representation: Represent upstate New York Developer in all stages of forming 5-phase homeowners association in Rome, New York
• Offering Plan Process for Residential Cooperatives: Represent sponsor of new construction cooperatives developed under HPD’s Open Door Program in Brooklyn during all stages of conversion, including financing, acquisition, offering plan, amendments, contracts, and closings
• Offering Plan Process for Commercial to Residential Condominium Conversion: Represent condominium sponsor in all stages of condominium conversion of former historic church to luxury Upper West Side condominium, including offering plan, amendments, contracts, closings, and guidance on matters related to church unit
• Peer Services for Equity Investor: Represent national life insurance company as peer review counsel during the conversion of a leasehold property in Battery Park City to cooperative ownership, including review of ground lease, offering plan, and other salient documents
• Special Developer Representation: Represent developer as special counsel on compliance with the Martin Act and Rent Stabilization laws during the buy-out of all shareholders in Park Avenue cooperative
• Bulk Sale Representation: Represent successor sponsor in bulk condominium purchase during due diligence and all stages of submission of restated offering plan, contracts, closings, and guidance on various board matters
• Private Placement Representation: Represent sponsor in drafting a private placement memorandum for $1.5 billion securities offering involving New York City real estate holdings

Examples of New York Attorney General Investigations and Government Investigations

• NYAG Government Investigation:Represent Manhattan condominium sponsor during multi-million-dollar unit owner construction defect dispute in all stages of negotiation of confidential settlement, including closure of investigation before the New York Attorney General’s Real Estate Finance Bureau
• NYAG Government Investigation: Represent New York real estate brokerage during confidential investigation before the New York Attorney General’s Real Estate Finance Bureau
• NYAG Government Investigation: Represent real estate professional during parallel civil and criminal investigation before the New York Attorney General’s Real Estate Finance Bureau and Real Estate Enforcement Unit involving alleged violations of the Rent Stabilization laws
• NYAG Government Investigation and Dispute Resolution: Represent Brooklyn condominium sponsor during unit owner construction defect dispute in all stages of negotiation of confidential settlement, including closure of investigation before the New York Attorney General’s Real Estate Finance Bureau
• Housing Protection Unit Investigation: Represent New York City property management company during confidential investigation before the New York Attorney General’s Housing Protection Unit involving alleged violations of various tenant protection laws
• Housing Protection Unit Investigation: Represent equity investor during ownership takeover of rent-regulated properties in ongoing investigation before the New York Attorney General’s Housing Protection Unit involving alleged violations of the Rent Stabilization laws
• Department of State Investigation: Represent upstate property management company during confidential investigation before the New York State Department of State, Division of Licensing, involving real property law violations

Examples of Litigations and Dispute Resolutions

• Co-Sponsor Dispute:Represent sponsor in dispute with co-sponsor in business dissolution and updating of filings with the New York Attorney General’s Real Estate Finance Bureau
• Sponsor and Unit Owner Dispute: Represent sponsor in brokering full settlement of disputes among all unit owners in 300-unit building involving construction defects
• Condominium Board Representation: Represent condominium board in dispute with professional services provider involving façade renovations
• Ground Lessor and Majority Shareholder Representation: Represent ground lessor and majority shareholder in concluding litigation related to tender offer to reorganize cooperative housing corporation
• Cooperative Board Dispute with Commercial Lessee: Represent Cooperative Board in commercial lease dispute relating to non-payment and commercial lease tenant holdover
• Cooperative Board Dispute with Shareholder: Represent Cooperative Board in litigation relating to mold and other alleged hazards and repairs in apartment
• Cooperative Board Representation: Represent Cooperative Board in dispute with shareholders relating to Board election
• Sponsor and Board Dispute: Represent Sponsor in dispute with Board relating to Resident Manager’s unit and payment obligations
• Sponsor and Board Dispute: Represent Sponsor in dispute with Condominium Unit Owner group and Board relating to alleged construction defects in 200+ unit building
• Sponsor and Board Dispute: Represent Sponsor in dispute with Board relating to alleged construction defects in 10-unit building
• Condominium Board Dispute with Shareholder: Represent not-for-profit unit owner in dispute over alleged nuisance conduct

Examples of New York City and State Government Relations

• Ground Lessor Representation: Represent landlord in various negotiations before the Battery Park City Authority on ground rent issues
• Policy Representation: Represent national not-for-profit organization before the New York Attorney General’s Office on policy matters involving syndications and co-housing
• Lobbying: Represent Mitchell-Lama cooperative before various state lawmakers on opposition to pending legislation, resulting in chapter amendment
• Lobbying: Represent prominent property owner in seeking amendments to the law to permit mixed-income condominium conversions in New York City

Examples of Cooperative and Condominium Board Representation

• Dissolution and Reconstitution Representation:Represent West Village Houses in all stages of its conversion from an HDFC cooperative to market-rate status
• Corporate Reorganization Representation: Represent 420-unit Brooklyn Mitchell-Lama cooperative in all stages of conversion under the Article II to Article XI Program
• Bulk Sale Representation: Represent Upper East Side cooperative in bulk sale of shares to investor
• Tenant-Sponsored Coop Conversion Representation: Represent tenant-owned and controlled Mitchell-Lama rental in all stages of conversion to HDFC cooperative
• Board Representation: Represent HDFC cooperative in amending its corporate documents to adopt new resale policy to ensure compliance with applicable laws in the absence of a regulatory agreement

Examples of Leasehold Condominiums

• Represent developer in structuring leasehold condominium and negotiate long-term lease in order for prominent not-for-profit hospital system to qualify for a real estate tax exemption under New York Real Property Tax Law 420-a.
• Represent charter school in negotiation of long-term lease to qualify for a real estate tax exemption under New York Real Property Tax Law 420-a
• Represent developer in preparing a lease and structuring a “condo-in-a-condo” to allow not-for-profit museum to qualify for a real estate tax exemption under New York Real Property Tax Law 420-a

Examples of No-Action Condominiums

• Represent developer in structuring a new construction mixed-use affordable housing condominium in order to facilitate eligibility for low-income housing tax credits and a real estate tax exemption under New York Real Property Tax Law 420-c
• Represent major affordable housing developer with multiple condominium formations to facilitate tax exempt-bond financing, tax credit equity investment, low-income housing tax credit eligibility and various government subsidies
• Represent purchaser of an existing mixed use property in a master-lease-to-condominium conversion in order to accommodate a real estate tax exemption under Article XI of the New York Private Housing Finance Law for the residential portion of the property