Highview Condominium II
Board of Directors - Meeting Minutes
July 23, 2013  7:30 p.m.

The second regular meeting of the 2013-2014 Highview Condominium II, Inc. Board of Directors was called to order at approximately 7:30 p.m.  

Board members in attendance: Robert Boynton, Joseph Cann, Marjorie Cannon, Stacey Cohen, Nora Colford, David Cutler, Natalie Hendrix, and Joseph Skonieczny.  Michael D'Angelo was absent.  Maria Arzano attended from Wentworth Property Management.  

1)   Minutes:  Minutes of the February 26, 2013, April 3, 2013, April 25, 2013, May 28, 2013, and June 25, 2013 meetings were approved by email.  Minutes of the meeting were distributed for a later email approval.  

Maintenance update from super:  Chris Brighina reported on building maintenance.  

2)   Building Repair & Maintenance Report:  

a)    Water infiltration:  Interior repairs from prior water damage remain to be completed by Chris Brighina in units 2-A and 4-C.  

b)   Masonry repairs: At 04/03/13 meeting, building super indicated that he would replace the collapsing floor drain covers near both the side door and overhead door immediately.  No update at this meeting.  Liability concerns remain.  

c)    Entrance area repairs:  One bid received.  

d)   Drain pipe repair:  Per Board approval at last meeting, repair of drain pipe near sidewalk was completed.  

e)    Repairs to super's apartment:  Wall opening header installed.  

f)    Installation of backflow restrictor and water filtering:  Work scheduled for next week.  

g)   Laundry room contract:  Discussion continued. Board authorized a final approval by Joe Cann and David Cutler who will be working with Arzano and Brighina.  Board anticipates their contract approval in two weeks.  

h)   Electrical back-up systems:  Arzano shared three bids.  Discussion tabled until an accumulation of major projects justifies a comprehensive assessment to fund work.  

i)    Wallpaper and carpeting replacement:  No update at this meeting.  

3)   Financial Report  

a)    Unit arrears:  Board reviewed unit arrears with managing agent.  

4)   Legal Report:  

a)    Local Law 11 facade inspection (cycle 6) and Local Law 11 facade inspection (cycle 7):  No update.  

b)   Parking garage:  Unit owner requested audience with Board to discuss utilization of parking space # 5 (adjacent to side entrance/stairwell) and the City’s fines.  The unit owner requested that he either be re-assigned a larger parking space or that the adjacent parking space #6 be re-sized (made smaller) in order to enlarge his parking space for a larger car.  Board indicated it would review his proposal, but noted that the individual spaces are deeded and not informally assigned.  The boundaries are permanent and adding to any space would mean subtracting from another unit owner’s space.  

Concerning size and availability of indoor parking spaces:  Noted by the Board that the 17 parking spaces within the garage are deeded to particular units as easements; limited common property for the exclusive use of parking an automobile within the defined space.  The easements were offered for sale separately to the initial purchasers of Highview apartment units by the building’s Sponsor in 1980.  Although there are 67 apartment units in the building, there were only 17 indoor parking spaces available for purchase and prospective buyers had the opportunity to inspect the parking spaces and make their decision to purchase a particular space based on whichever spaces were still unsold and capable of accommodating their needs.  Various obstructions within the garage and the varying sizes of the individual spaces limit the utility of a particular space according to the size of one’s car and/or maneuvering skills.  Although the initial purchasers of spaces in 1980 had choices to make, subsequent purchasers only know that a parking space comes with the apartment they are buying and may not adequately focus on whether their car fits in the space before buying the apartment unit.  The easements are not an absolute right to park a vehicle of any size within the garage, but rather a right to legally park a vehicle within the boundaries of the numbered easement’s defined yellow lines.  Suggested to be issue between unit sellers, unit purchasers, their realtors and attorneys -- all hopefully looking out for the best interests of their clients during a sale.  

As limited common space, the building is responsible for maintenance of the garage and assuring compliance with all relevant NYC building and fire codes as it would for any other common space of the building such as hallways or lobby.  In the case of parking space #5, only a small compact car or motorcycle fits within the space without violating NYC code by blocking the fire door.   

Concerning the New York Building Code violations:  Management reviewed with Board that following written violation warnings from New York City DOB, a letter was sent by management to unit owner  during the fall of 2012 detailing the violation and that a yellow line would be painted on the garage floor to indicate for the benefit of unit owner the 36” wide egress aisle that NY Building Code required to be kept clear.  The unit owner continued to block the fire door’s egress aisle and Highview subsequently received multiple violations from City.  After the multiple warnings and subsequent fines by the City, the court had labeled the situation “chronic” and any future violations would carry larger fines.  Highview’s present fines by the City for the violations are being passed along to the unit owner as they go to court.  June 5^th court date for one of the violations resulted in a reduced $1,200 fine.  Additional violation(s) still awaiting Court date.  On June 10, 2013, unit owner’s car was towed from the space.  

It was discussed that the building had never been previously cited for this type of violation, despite a variety of car sizes over the years some of which had fit better than others.  But once the building was warned in 2012, then cited by City inspectors and the violations affirmed in NYC court, the building has no option but to assure Building Code compliance concerning the fire door and safety of all Highview residents.  The City’s past failure to enforce the law does not present the building with a defense going forward.  

d)   Lease compliance:  No update at this meeting.  

e)    Insurance compliance:  No update at this meeting.  

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Robert Boynton, Secretary.