Who owns the shaft way space between buildings?

Hopefully you'll get some good counsel here. It seems like your neighbor, MR COOP PRESIDENT, is throwing his weight around. If you think you're unhappy now, wait till they fire up that barbecue grill outside your window! Good luck & let us know what happens.

Wow, this is almost funny, but probably not to you. It is not even clear whether this shaftway belongs to your apartment building, much less to your neighbor's apartment. But it is extraordinarily doubtful that it belongs to your neighbor. Do you have a copy of the coop offering plan? It will spell out what rights were transferred with any unit, which undoubtedly will not convey any unit rights to the shaftway (the bbq also is clearly illegal unless this is a very big shaftway (but I always hate people getting all excited about the use of bbqs), and cutting a hole in the building without a permit was obviously illegal). If you do not have the offering plan, ask your managing agent, a neighbor or check offeringplanet.com

The first thing you should do is figure out who owns the space. Then you can weigh your options. I assume this is a small building? Who else is on the board? Everyone is probably going to tell you to call 311 about the illegal construction, but be careful about that knee-jerk approach as the fines likely will be levied on the coop, and then you are going to have to recoup them from the offending neighbor. But don't let this drop -- you have no idea what damage may have been done by a painter cutting through (a presumably masonary, 100 year-old) wall.

That's true nyc_sport.
To figure out who owns the space won't be easy without reporting to 311. She may be able to call the DOB and get an official answer, without reporting a violation.
But it's still a violation.
The DOB will fine the owner (the Corp.) but that will happen anyway when the board president is forced to remove his set-up. It's plain to see who it belongs to and who will be held responsible by accessevid and her fellow shareholders.

"it" being the bbq/deck set-up.

How about a restaurant/cafe creating outdoor patio in residential courtyard?

Something has to be done about this pronto and OP will probably have to go through the 311 system eventually. If there are fines, the money will be repaid to the coop by Mr. Coop President. Usually, though, DOB doesn't fine people unless they ignore the Notice of Violation a few times. The expense of putting everything back the way it was would rightfully be borne by the offending shareholder and the Board would have the right to demand that the work be done by a licensed contractor. OP can talk to a RE attorney first to get an idea of how to proceed. You never know -- maybe everyone in the building is sick of this guy and this might be the match that lights the flame.

bob: The restaurant has to deal with the landlord. What kind of food will you be serving?

generalo: The DOB will issue monetary penalties for violations. If the co-op managing agent does not pay the fine, the DOB issues another fine (400-$800) if that additional fine isn't paid a $5,000 civil penalty is fined to the offender.
They will add the total amount to the co-op property tax bill if unpaid by that time.

It isn't my restaurant. They are renovating the bottom floor of small building into a restaurant/cafe. The owners of the building are doing it. But they are putting an outdoor seating area in the back. All the surrounding buildings are residential and it is pretty quiet back there. Aren't there rules as to where you can have outdoor seating for a restaurant?

There definitely are rules. Was in a restaurant in the Theater district that had paved/planted/decorated the outdoor space next to the restaurant, without checking the rules. Now it just sits there - pretty to look at from INSIDE the restaurant.

yes there are rules. The owner of the building is also the owner of the restaurant.
If they are not actually cooking back there they still must meet seating max requirements.
Health dept. regs if they are storing/displaying on a buffet, any kind of food.

Take a walk and read the permit. It's posted somewhere in the front of the restaurant.

If it gets noisy call 311.
Many restaurants downtown/Village have backyard seating.
If it's a quiet backyard dining area with no music it may be nice.

If the owners put a sidewalk seating area in front of the building the DOB sends the weights and measures inspectors.

This is troubling. As others have said, the board president's modifications to the building and use of the outdoor space are almost certainly wrong on several levels:
- Clear violations of NYC law & regulation relating to the improper modification of the building (no plans/permits, unlicensed contractor).
- Possible violation of NYC law/regulation on bbq usage/location, or similar use/occupancy issues that are likely not permitted in such air-shaft space.
- Likely infringement on the adjacent building's property (a good chunk of the clear area is almost certainly on their property).
- Likely improper modification and appropriation of your co-op corporation's property. Unless the board approved the changes and complied with all governing documents/laws while doing so (doubtful), the modification of the exterior walls and the single-tenant use of the outdoor space are offenses against the corporation too.

Now, the harder question is how to approach the process of setting this right -- which I agree must happen.

If you can talk to board members, including the president, try to phrase things in terms of concern for proper administration of the building, rather than a sense of feeling personally aggrieved because this usage borders your apartment. (BTW - the ratio of wall length you mention, though somewhat reasonable-sounding, has nothing to do with anything). These modifications, though they might sound innocuous or nice to some, are a multi-aspect liability whose costs will fall on the co-op corporation.

As an analogy, you'd expect all the shareholders to be nervous if someone on the top floor had their handyman cut through the roof, installed a hatch and ladder, and stuck some furniture up there to make themselves a private roof deck. You'd worry about leaks, the structure, and the modification/takeover of corporation assets for their own use; the co-op board would properly insist on pre-approval of the work, proper permits, compensation to the co-op, issuance of additional shares for the newly-private roof space (with corresponding maintenance charges), etc. This is no different.

Calling 311 to get the DoB involved may be necessary -- a city-issued violation should trigger a similar re-examination of the co-op's internal governance if you can't set that in motion internally. You might also ask your neighbors across the shaftway, in the other building, to call. Do so promptly.

Regardless, don't let it slide -- this is serious on several levels. You may need an attorney, at least for brief discussion/consultation (if not letter-writing or something more serious). Start by calling whoever represented you during your recent purchase transaction.

I think your first step should be to find out who the land actually belongs to. Ask your attorney the best way to do this, it is public information so it shouldn't be too hard to find. You can do this behind the scenes without calling 311 or alerting your board.

You may find out that his unit actually has rights to the shaftway. But if he doesn't, or if it's shared, then you should definitely speak up to your board. Figure out first what you want to happen as a result. For example, if no one has rights to it, do you want him to board up his door so that you aren't disturbed in your own apartment by any noise he might make out there? Or if the rights are shared do you want to be able to claim part of it yourself? Or is it more of a financial concern for the co op in case you are fined?

Find out who it belongs to and if your coop does indeed own it, the coop should be compensated as in a sale and subsequent maintenance increase.

The co-op board president built it and considers it part of his apt.
If he wanted to share it he would have asked the other shareholders to pay for it.
So you will probably be wasting time trying to reason with him.

i would expect in this situation that there is an easement on both properties for the shaft. if that is the case, he cannot have exclusive rights even if he did do everything legally through DOB and coop.

ab: He can not have exclusive rights, period.

get the property deeds for both bldgs and look at the property lines. "X" amount of feet/inches of that area belongs to one bldg & "X" amount of feet/inches of that area belongs to the other blgd. You can get the deeds by contacting a title company (pay for this) or going to the county clerk's office (free, but time consuming). Or, call your lawyer & let him/her do it.

When you have the deeds, walk the property & see if they are beyond their property line. Also, they should have filed with the Dept of bldgs for permission to insert the door. If this person didn't file with DOB, then it's illegal. If illegal file, a complain with DOB and/or sue the neighbor.

correct: in addition to the deed, get the survey for both bldgs.

Hey dwell: Where ya been? We have several discussions that need advice from your wheelhouse.

All roads lead to the DOB with this problem.

DOB inspectors are serious dudes. The inspector who was sent to my building was fit as a fiddle and he looked like a Marine Corps drill sargent.
The super was hiding from him. The doorman told the inspector that the super was out. The inspector said "I will wait." He went down to the basement and checked the super's office. He found him in the boiler room.
Hiding.

I agree with NYCModern. Begin with your desired outcome in mind. Do you...
(a) want this deck to go away,
(b) want the owner to compensate the building and pay additional maintenance,
(c) want to create your own deck, or
(d) some combination of the above

I'd start by talking to your neighbors to get their feelings about what's going on. You probably aren't the only person who has noticed this construction. Before you take action, I think you need to understand the building dynamics. Does no one care? Is there a corrupt board in place? How did this happen?

If you call the DOB and there is a corrupt board in place, I'm afraid you could be taking the whole co-op down along with the president since the fines will at least initially be levied against the corporation. I would recommend (quickly) building consensus among your neighbors and preferably a majority of the existing board before you take action. Otherwise, your life could become a living hell.

At the same time, you should look at the offering plan, any available minutes, and the co-op's compilation report to understand if this unit either has always had rights to this space or purchased them. If the unit purchased them after the fact, the compilation report should include a footnote stating that X number of shares were issued on a certain date pertaining to the sale of a certain space. You can also compare the current shares outstanding to the number of shares listed in the offering plan.

I've heard of stuff like this happening 20-25 years ago (and it actually happened in my building - there's a 25-year feud over "stolen" roof rights that wreaked havoc for me in trying to legally purchase the remaining roof rights), but I'm shocked that something like this could happen in 2012.

Also, I hate to ask, but is the President an attorney? Or, god forbid, the co-op's attorney? If so, it will complicate things a lot. This was the situation in my building, and in the end, the building caved because it did not have the money or resources to fight.

Most deeds are on ACRIS. Start there.

you said shaft

right on!

Hi Truth!

Sorry, I misread the op. I thought the seemingly bad actor was in the bld across the air shaft, but, seems the bad guy is OP's next door neighbor in the same bld, who is also the Bd Prez. Correct?

Agree with reading the offering plan to see if that shaft area is part of the Prez's apt. But, I doubt that. This bld sounds like an Old Law Tenement and I'm guessing that the air shaft space is a common area.

However, whether it's part of Prez's apt or common area, a DOB permit to install a door is required and that's ez to ascertain. Go to the DOB web site & see if there's a permit: http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/bispi00.jsp#application
If it's illegal, then DOB would issue violations against the bld.

Here's a potential problem for all shareholders: next time someone wants to sell/refinance & a bank/buyer requires a survey, they might see the door & then realize there's no permit. So, Prez's indiscretion could become a problem for all shareholders.

I agree with lad: if the shaft area is a 'common area' belonging to the Co-op as a whole, then sounds like the Prez is stealing space from the Co-op.

As far as co-op politics, if the Prez is a bad actor, then s/he should not be the Prez, right? Who knows what other BS s/he might be doing. Also, if this is true, s/he is really stupid for doing this.

If the Prez is a bad actor, did this w/o a permit & w/o a co-op bd vote, then I'd consult an attorney to advise you how to proceed. But, don't let it go. First it's Poland, then Europe, then da world!

"Also, I hate to ask, but is the President an attorney? Or, god forbid, the co-op's attorney? If so, it will complicate things a lot. This was the situation in my building, and in the end, the building caved because it did not have the money or resources to fight. "

lad,
was this a small co-op?

dwell: that deck is probably also intruding on the shaft-area of the building across the air shaft.

were tenants allowed access to this area before...through the basement door? Does the building next door have access?

They never could have cut a hole in the building for the door w/o board approval...president or not. The minutes of the board are available to you to inspect....so inspect. Second, why not just ask? Letter to the board seeking the utmost carification of the situation. Should make for an interesting reply. Keep in mind, not everyone follows the rules. Some just wing it and hope for the best. If the share distribution does not directly give control over the space then the president will have to get approval from the board and purchase the space.

Why worry about it? If you report it and you want to sell before the neighbor who did this who serves on the co-op board, you are going to have trouble selling. If that neighbor tries to sell first, that's your time to act. If there's no one selling for a while, what's the big deal? If the DOB finds out (how will they find out?) and fine the building, that'll impact the neighbor.

Thank you all so much for your helpful input!!!! It is a small building (10 units) and there are only two other people on the board beside the coop president who blew through the wall. The board meets once a year and as far as I know there was never any approval to give the coop president this shaft way space - assuming the coop even owns it.

The coop president has been the president for more than a decade. He has named himself as the building super and he calls his wife the "building manager." She sends out emails with rules about the building, and makes unilateral decisions for the building like what improvements are to be made, whether or not people can temporarily park bikes in the hallway when they run upstairs for a minute (she says NO!), how to decorate the lobby, etc. etc. even though there is no record in any board minutes that she was ever elected to the position of building manager.

The coop president and his wife seem to take huge advantage of the building. He and his wife have taken over 3/4 of the basement for their personal space. I was assuming this space was supposed to be used for his activities as "super" but they have a full sized refrigerator (plugged into the building's electricity) and a full pantry down there. It's nuts. Like Dwell said above, "First it's Poland, then Europe, then da world!" The basement was Poland and now the shaft way is Europe!

I think we're going to start by going to see the attorney who represented us in the sale and try to figure out who owns the space and the legality of the coop president blowing a hole in the wall and taking it over without any board approval or building permit. We don't personally want to use the space but we'd like the building to get some kind of compensation if they are going to now claim this space as their own. We also don't want to stand by as these guys screw over the building for their personal gain.

Thanks again!!!! I'll keep you posted.

How did this get resolved? My neighbor just did the same thing.