Habitat Magazine

HABITAT is a distinctive publication that reflects the spirit of New York. Our goal is to provide valuable information and compelling human-interest stories to enhance awareness, education, and empowerment for board directors. As a one-of-a-kind blend of a consumer-focused and business-to-business trade publication, HABITAT combines engaging storytelling with practical articles. We address topics related to co-op and condo living, along with management issues, through the viewpoints of board directors and property managers.

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NYC water rate hike likely to impact co-ops and condos

2 days ago | habitatmag.com | Emily Myers

Another water rate hike is likely just around the corner. A series of public hearings are scheduled between May 27 and June 3 in each borough to consider a proposed 3.7% increase in water rates. The relatively good news is that the proposed increase, which would go into effect July 1, is in fact the lowest in four years. In the past decade, the largest increase of 8.5% was last year (however, rate increases were frozen in 2017, 2018 and 2021).
Co-op surcharge on subletting: Is it legal and reasonable?

1 week ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

Q: After buying into a Queens co-op about 35 years ago, a shareholder began subletting the apartment. About 15 years ago, the co-op board imposed a 10% surcharge on the monthly maintenance fees for apartments that are rented out. That increased to 20% about five years ago. Should the apartment have been grandfathered in, exempting it from the surcharge? Does a co-op board even have the right to impose this extra fee?
Co-op on Lower East Side secures funding for staircase repair

1 week ago | habitatmag.com | Emily Myers

What began 15 years ago as a hallway renovation at a co-op on the Lower East Side has morphed into a major project to realign the building’s sloping staircase. “It’s been a frustrating journey,” says board president Tania Levey. However, the first step has finally been achieved — securing a $300,000 loan to repair broken hallway tiles and crooked stairs.
Compass's secret listings: A strategy to bypass MLS

1 week ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

They're called whisper listings — co-ops and condos and other homes available for sale only to those in the know, before they're added to a public multiple listing service, known as an MLS. One brokerage, Compass, has taken the concept to a new level, Crain's reports. The brokerage has rolled out a curated, Compass-brokers-only website that potentially allows the brokerage to keep the buyer- and seller-side brokers’ fees in-house.
Co-op board updates lease for apartment insurance, sublease, and fines

1 week ago | habitatmag.com | Frank Lovece

Most co-op proprietary leases are boilerplate documents cobbled together during the conversion wave of the 1980s. But times have changed, and some co-op boards want their leases to reflect those changes. Easier said than done. The board at the 65-unit co-op at 6300 Riverdale Ave.
New York's renewable energy challenges and looming electricity hikes

2 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

Even as the cost of producing electricity comes down, the cost of delivering it goes up, resulting in higher bills for New Yorkers — with double-digit increases looming. And even though renewable energy is on the upswing, the state faces major headwinds in its drive to power its electric grid with renewable energy instead of fossil fuels.
NYC Fair Chance Act: A new law for co-op admissions

2 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Carol Ott |Amy Clark

Co-op admissions have never been simple, but a new law has changed what used to be a fairly straightforward, one-step process into more complex two-step dance. The law, which went into effect in January, is the New York City Fair Chance for Housing Act (Local Law 24), which is designed to protect potential co-op buyers from discrimination based on their criminal history.
Baby boomers regain home buying lead over millennials

2 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

Home buyers are getting grayer — and richer. Millennials — people aged 27 to 45 — have been the generational group making up the largest percentage of homebuyers for most of the past decade. Not anymore. Their parents — cash-flush baby boomers aged 61 to 79 — stormed back to retake the lead last year, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report.
Report seeks reform for New York City's property tax system

3 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

A new voice has joined the growing chorus calling for reform of New York City's inequitable and unloved system of levying property taxes. This new voice claims that the owners of high-end co-ops and condos are benefitting unfairly at the expense of less well-off New Yorkers.
Landmark co-op in NYC opts for fiberglass in cornice repair

3 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Emily Myers

When the decorative terra cotta cornice at 310 West End Avenue — a landmarked Upper West Side co-op — started to deteriorate, the temporary solution was to enclose it in mesh. “It was a stop-gap measure,” says board president Dan Ripp. The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) typically requires an historic clay or stone cornice to be replaced with a near identical material. What followed was a bold suggestion from a board member who was also an architect.