Due Diligence/Bed Bugs

Sometimes people try to hide bedbug infestations. But, as part of your due diligence, you should have your lawyer or her paralegal (or you) comb through 10 years of board minutes. Assuming the minutes are frank and transparent, you should be able to find out--and perhaps gather other useful information about your apartment and the building.

You might check the NYC Dept of Buildings "Building Information System" which has information on complaints and building violations (not certain this would cover bedbugs).

The Department of Buildings website shows 11 open building violations. I'm not sure if any relate to bedbugs. It's a little hard to decipher. I'm surprised a building like this would have any open building violations.

Another free source of information, in addition to the Dept of Buildings website, is the online records of court cases. You can just look under the name of the coop corporation and see if it's been sued or sued others.

http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/iscroll/

I mention this because this coop appears to have paid $2.6 million last year in connection with a worker's death.

https://www.habitatmag.com/Publication-Content/Legal-Financial/2017/2017-July/Death-and-Liability

It appears from online court sources that in addition to the case involving the tragic death of a worker at this building, two other workers sued this coop for serious bodily injuries. The most recent case settled in 2018. The other worker's lawsuit settled earlier. It also appears that over time three shareholders sued this coop: a widow, a lawyer, and a former administrator at the New School. This coop was also sued by an insurance company that paid out a substantial sum in connection with water damage to a unit owner's apartment. Whether there were other disputes with workers or shareholders that didn't reach full blown lawsuit status is something you can try to find out.
June 5, 2020.