From left: Steven Spinola and Alphonse Fletcher
From the April issue: The Real Estate Board of New York has thrown its weight — at least some of its weight — behind a controversial City Council bill that would require co-op boards to approve or reject new buyers within 45 days. REBNY recently sent out an e-mail urging members to support the bill, sponsored by City Council Member Lewis Fidler, a Brooklyn Democrat, amid rising concerns that buyers are beginning to sour on co-op deals because of the lack of transparency and long wait times for board approval. (Under current law, co-op boards are not required to notify a potential buyer about the status of their application, even if a decision is never made.) The move by REBNY to support the bill marks an unusual step for the trade group, which has historically opposed restrictions on co-op boards’ decision-making power. [more]
