Does Your Front Door Belong to Everyone in the Co-op?
In July, a Clinton Hill co-op board decided to enforce a house rule: no decorations on any doors, without getting board approval first. That meant that Vincent Romano had to remove the magnetic American flag he’d placed there to commemorate a relative killed in the 9/11 attacks, reports Habitat magazine. Despite the bad press that…
In July, a Clinton Hill co-op board decided to enforce a house rule: no decorations on any doors, without getting board approval first. That meant that Vincent Romano had to remove the magnetic American flag he’d placed there to commemorate a relative killed in the 9/11 attacks, reports Habitat magazine. Despite the bad press that Willoughby Walk Co-ops endured after word got out, the board persisted, not realizing that the “Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005” protects one’s right to display the American flag on one’s own property. Except it turns out the door to your unit belongs to the co-op as a whole. “In a co-op you don’t own; you have possessory-use right for inside the apartment,” says an attorney. Which means co-ops are immune from the federal law, and maybe you should ask your co-op board next time you want to alter your door, no matter how patriotic the change.
Authoritarian Boards, Public Rancor, Wise Compromise [Habitat]
Photo by PropertyShark.
Nokilissa, we forgive you because we love you. Did you see any of the Katie Couric interview. OH MY WORD! It is truly scary. I would laugh at it if it wasn’t so terrifying. She’s making Bush look like a Rhodes Scholar. Here is just a sample of the ridiculousness…
“Couric: And when it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?
Palin: I’ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.
Couric: What, specifically?
Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.
Couric: Can you name a few?
Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn’t a foreign country, where it’s kind of suggested, “Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?” Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/30/eveningnews/main4490618.shtml?source=mostpop_story
Holy shit! How did I just say Jessica Palin? More importantly, WHY did I just write Jessica Palin? Is Sarah reminding me of a Jessica?
Head in hands, shaking sadly, shame suffusing self…
I’m going to assume GHB is being ironic… either that or has just sneaked out from under the largest rock in the City to peruse Brownstoner.
You are kidding.
AREN’T YOU?
i think she is sarah’s smarter, uglier sister.
“and “Jessica Palin rocks!”
WTF is Jessica Palin?
I suppose this one, on its skin, seems silly and overly controlling…
…until one begins to imagine the cooperative version of trailer park garden gnomes, pink flamingos, confederate flags, strung-up twinkly Christmas lights, country wreaths with plaid “welcome!” letters, and “Jessica Palin rocks!” bumper stickers.
Isn’t it ever so much easier, more tasteful, and ultimately pleasing to the most people to simply say: Nope, nothing on the front. Have at the inside, but give your neighbors, their visitors, and potential buyer’s eyes a rest. Please.
A board can’t easily make itself the arbiter of good taste.
Rules, the backbone of society ! Lack of common sense, the death of civilation.
the policy isn’t just about avoiding offense — as the co-op’s lawyer said, it’s about keeping the hallways from looking like a college dorm room. it’s reasonable for a co-op to decide that its atmosphere and property values are enhanced by limiting residents’ discretion to decorate the hallways.
the problem here is more about selective and arbitrary enforcement of the rule. they allow christmas wreaths, for example — so why not flags? they need a better explanation of where the line is being drawn and why the flag falls on the off-limits side of the line. it wouldn’t be hard to craft such a policy.
This board needs to take a major chill pill.