For many New Yorkers who want to buy homes, co-op boards are anxiety-inducing — with the endeavor of going before one the culmination of a lengthy and pricey process. Potential buyers face infamously invasive questioning and financial reviews reminiscent of tax audits.
But if they’re turned down, they’ll probably never know exactly why.
A bill before the City Council would change that by requiring boards in buildings with at least 10 units to explain the reasons they reject prospective purchasers, and impose fines up to $25,000 for failing to comply. The legislation has gained 29 Council sponsors since Public Advocate Jumaane Williams introduced it in February of last year.
But it’s just the latest in a decades-long series of similar, though unsuccessful measures that have faced fierce opposition from co-op boards. The current version remains stuck in the legislative mud, without so much as a hearing 10 months after it was introduced. And councilmembers with the most co-ops in their districts — a swath of territory largely concentrated in Manhattan — have not signed on as sponsors and refused to answer questions from Gothamist about whether they would support the legislation.
Rendy Desamours, a spokesperson for Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who approves what bills get public hearings — a key step before an actual vote — said only that the measure “is going through the legislative process.” Desamours would not say if or when councilmembers and everyday New Yorkers would get to weigh in on the legislation.
A spokesperson for Council Housing Chair Pierina Sanchez said the councilmember is on parental leave and could not comment.
We would have to be 100% consistent in the way we treated every applicant.
New York City recorded 12,706 co-op sales in 2023, accounting for roughly a third of all homes sales in the five boroughs, according to a review of city property data by the listings site StreetEasy. The city is home to more than 450,000 apartments in co-op buildings collectively owned by residents who share expenses and elect board members to steer decisions about what to spend money on and who can live there.
Fair housing groups say requiring boards to disclose their reasons for rejecting applicants would help prevent discrimination based on race, sexual orientation and other characteristics in those transactions, while providing baseline transparency for people trying to buy or sell a home.
“For too long, a complicated, nebulous and opaque co-op process has left open the possibility for discrimination and denial of housing to qualified applicants,” Williams, the public advocate, said in a written statement. “It's clear that co-op reform is vital to help New Yorkers find and stay in stable homes.”
Opponents of the legislation counter that it would eliminate board members’ discretion to choose their new neighbors, including people who might not meet strict financial criteria but who might otherwise be approved.
"We would no longer be able to have that flexibility because in order to avoid claims of discrimination we would have to be 100% consistent in the way we treated every applicant," said Warren Schreiber, the president of a 200-unit co-op building in Bay Terrace, Queens and co-president of the Presidents Co-op & Condo Council.
Gothamist used publicly available city tax lot data to identify the number of co-op units in each of the city’s 51 Council districts and reached out to five members who represent the most co-op owners.
None are sponsoring the bill. And they didn’t want to talk with Gothamist about their reasoning.
Councilmember Keith Powers, who represents residents of more than 37,000 co-op units in Midtown and the east side of Manhattan, declined to comment. Powers, who is now running for Manhattan Borough President, previously sponsored legislation to prohibit discrimination against people with criminal histories early in the apartment application process.
Councilmember Julie Menin, whose Upper East Side district also includes over 37,000 co-op units, did not respond to multiple calls to her cell phone or emails and texts to her office.
Councilmember Gale Brewer of Manhattan.
Councilmember Gale Brewer, who represents nearly 28,000 co-op units on the Upper West Side, would not take a position on the bill but said she worries the risk of financial penalties would discourage qualified people from serving on the boards.
Councilmember Carlina Rivera, whose Lower Manhattan district includes more than 24,000 co-op units, declined to comment through a spokesperson.
And Lynn Schulman, whose Queens district includes more than 20,000 co-op units, did not respond to multiple calls and texts.
Attorney Craig Gurian, who serves as a spokesperson for a coalition of groups backing the disclosure legislation, accused elected officials who refuse to sponsor the bill, or even discuss it on the record, of pandering to influential co-op boards while touting their progressive views on other housing issues. He said councilmembers face a simple question.
“Are you on the side of civil rights enforcement?” Gurian asked. “Or are you just standing for secrecy and for co-op board members?”
He noted that neighboring Suffolk County already requires co-op boards to inform applicants why they were rejected. Westchester County co-op boards must notify the applicant and the local Human Rights Commission of the reason they deny an applicant.
“Secrecy is bad governance, and it's the environment in which those who would discriminate feel emboldened,” Gurian said. “It means that people who've been turned down have no way to assess, or get a lawyer to assess, whether discrimination has been at play.”
Councilmember Julie Menin and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Menin's Manhattan district is home to over 37,000 co-op units.
Co-ops are unique housing arrangements where individual residents purchase “shares” for the “proprietary leases” — or exclusive rights — to their units. The owners are known as “shareholders” and select boards of their neighbors who vet prospective buyers and sign off on sales. Sellers and agents work with potential buyers and enter into agreements before buyers then submit extensive financial documents to the boards and sit for interviews.
Gurian said boards’ decisions are often capricious. Beyond discrimination, industry experts say, board members can reject buyers for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to pay.
Real estate agent William Krooss-Tadas from the company Keller Williams estimated that he has represented buyers and sellers on roughly 150 co-op purchases over the past 12 years. He said he has seen boards vote to block purchases because they believe the owners are selling for too little, and worry the sales will threaten their own homes' values.
“There are boards that block several of the transactions every year that ready, willing and able buyers would have purchased from the ready, willing and able seller,” Krooss-Tadas said. “It’s a huge financial blow for buyers and sellers.”
Other times, he suspected the board had a grudge against the seller, or that they thought the buyer planned to do noisy renovations or live in the unit only part time. Krooss-Tadas said in his experience, one of every 15 applicants were rejected by a board. Buyers who are rejected lose out on legal and application fees as well as favorable interest rates.
“It’s one of the only areas in New York City that lacks transparency and accountability when it comes to fair housing and discrimination law,” said Sandy Edry, who oversees Krooss-Tadas and a team of real estate agents at Keller Williams.
Councilmember Lynn Schulman's Queens district includes more than 20,000 co-op apartments.
Opponents of the bill include co-op board presidents and trade groups representing hundreds of thousands of co-op residents. They counter that fair housing laws already apply to co-ops, and that buyers who believe they’re facing discrimination can file complaints with the city’s Commission on Human Rights.
They say new disclosure rules would only limit their discretion to approve applicants who may not meet certain financial thresholds, or reject would-be buyers who have the money, but who they think may be bad neighbors for a variety of reasons.
Schreiber, the co-president of the Presidents Co-op & Condo Council, said his board rarely rejects a purchaser, but it never puts the reason in writing. He said the disclosure law would force the board to outline specific financial thresholds for applicants, and then turn down someone who didn’t quite meet the threshold but who members believed would otherwise be a good neighbor.
He said there is “no evidence of systemic discrimination in cooperative housing.” But supporters of the disclosure legislation point out the complicated board process prevents fair housing groups from sending undercover “testers” to assess bias the way they can with apartment rentals or more straightforward home sales.
Folks ought to know why they are getting rejected.
Opponents also say the measure would expose co-ops to costly penalties at the same time as their expenses rise and owners spend more money to comply with climate regulations.
Like Councilmember Brewer, Rebecca Poole, the director of membership at the Manhattan-based Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums, said the legislation would have a “chilling effect on shareholders to serve on co-op boards” because they fear being sued.
Co-op boards and their supporters have fended off similar rules for decades, including a measure introduced in 2004. A 2010 bill would have required boards to sign statements saying they didn’t discriminate. The bill sat for three years before finally getting a hearing. Councilmembers never voted on it.
Some lawmakers now say they want a hearing on the current legislation.
Councilmember Shaun Abreu represents a Northern Manhattan district with about 15,500 co-op units and is sponsoring the bill. He rents an apartment in a co-op building and said people should know why they are denied.
“Transparency for homeownership is very, very important,” Abreu said. “We know a lot of people get rejected for reasons unknown and I think folks ought to know why they are getting rejected from access to homeownership.”
