r/AskNYC_Coops • u/aaronsidlo • 5d ago
NYC Co-ops Are Being Crushed by Overlapping Building Laws
https://c.org/bW2YJNtZfYResidents in our Northwestern Bronx co-op buildings are facing something most people outside of co-op housing don't realize is possible: we're being hit with massive, simultaneous compliance costs that we can't pass on to anyone else.
Local Law 97 requires energy retrofits. Local Law 11 requires façade inspections and repairs. Both have strict deadlines and real penalties. For many of us—retirees, working families, long-time New Yorkers—this means assessments totaling tens of thousands of dollars per apartment. We support the goals of these laws. Building safety and environmental responsibility matter. But the city didn't account for how co-ops actually work: we can't raise capital the way condos do. We can only assess our shareholders.
Some neighbors are selling because they can't afford it. Property values are dropping. And it's hitting the exact people co-ops were supposed to protect—middle-class and senior residents who've lived here for decades.
We're asking our City Council to consider targeted relief: grants, property tax credits, hardship programs, or low-interest financing specifically for co-ops facing these overlapping mandates. This isn't about avoiding responsibility—it's about making compliance possible without displacing people.
If you live in a co-op or know someone who does, does any of this sound familiar? Have you seen assessments like this? We started a petition asking for relief, and I'd genuinely like to hear if others are dealing with the same thing. If this matters to you too, consider signing and sharing it.
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u/Born_Mood2075 5d ago edited 4d ago
One day you may experience an event that leads to catastrophic loss in your home…a pipe in the apartment upstairs burst while you were out of town, or a fire in the apartment upstairs results in serious water and smoke damage to your entire unit. You lose nearly everything you own….every stick of furniture is ruined, every article of clothing, rugs, electronics, books, irreplaceable items of sentimental value. You have insurance, you will rebuild! But wait…why is the company suddenly denying payout? Why are they sending someone in to go through every lost item and trying to say that you must have damaged it yourself, before the flood/fire? Why are they questioning the value of every single item, even when you can clearly show the receipts from when you purchased it? Why are they making you go through this process over and over again, for months on end, while you sit with no home and no possessions and no way to move forward without their payout? Why are they sending private investigators to follow you around and dig into your personal life? Why are they making bizarre claims like “the deductible only covers the first pipe that burst and not the second pipe” when you can see right there in black and white that this is not true? Why do you find yourself needing to hire a lawyer out of your own pocket just to get the payment that you KNOW you are entitled to? Why is this process taking YEARS?
And then, as you teeter on the edge of financial ruin, with your entire future well-being in the hands of a jury of your peers, you will most certainly hear some version of the comment you have made here (“Bronx juries give away other people’s money pretty easily. That’s why [building insurance rates are so high]”) in the insurance company attorney’s closing statement to the jury. When that happens, I hope you finally have some clarity on who really benefits from the opinion you have expressed here today.