As every co-op owner knows, in order to undertake a renovation, you need to sign an alteration agreement with your co-op board.  Basically, the alteration agreement is a contract between you as the shareholder and the co-op which ensures that your renovation will not damage either your building or your neighbor’s apartments  and which spells out the rules and regulations. While some of this is negotiable–and you will definitely need a sharp attorney for this stage–much of it is not.   Another reason you will require a good attorney before you sign the agreement, is to check for hidden problems.  Since you will need an Amended Certificate of Occupancy from the Building Department for instance, a good attorney will check to ascertain whether your building has any open issues with the Building Department which might considerably slow down your ability to get it.

Alterations can affect the building’s heating and plumbing systems, damage property in other units (which you will be responsible to repair and/or replace) and your co-op will want to protect themselves against this.  Your co-op board will review your architect’s drawings and once the board approves your plan, your renovation plan will be “fixed” with no other alterations allowed.  If you get tempted to make some last minute changes down the road, remember that the co-op board will be sending in an inspector once you’re done to ensure that the plan they originally approved has not been exceeded in any way.  City buildings, and those engaged in renovations, also must comply with Local Law 58, which mandates that no renovation within an elevator building or above the first floor in a walk-up can interfere with access for the disabled. And Murphy’s Law being what it is, you know there are always going to be those moments when one of your contractors yells, “Uh oh!” having just discovered an unanticipated problem which will necessitate further negotiations with the co-op board before anything can go forward.  If you reside in a pre-war or other older building, that could mean that you’re soon engaged in an unending game of “Forward, Halt, Forward, Halt.”

Sure, you have plenty of family and friends who have renovated their places, so you’re pretty sure you know the drill, but what’s a little plaster dust, if it gets you the home of your dreams, right? Well, maybe.

To make the right decision, now’s the time when you need to start to qualify that maybe. Are you basically looking for a 50K kitchen remodel? A new bath with a Jacuzzi? Or will rearranging the space you have give you what you want and need? These are all very different questions with very different lived realities during the renovation itself. Can the work be done while you’re away? Or are you looking at months when you’ll need to make a mad dash up the street to Bareburger when you need to use a bathroom?

If you’re focused on the building you’re in, the next question to ask is whether even the most costly renovation will give you your wish list? Or, would a renovation only be an interim compromise that will leave you apartment hunting a couple of years up the road? Finally, figure out what the smartest move would be for you on a strictly financial basis. If you’re flush with cash and have good credit, this may be a great time to move, but then again, even if you’re under water and have to write a check to the bank to move, interest rates are only going one way right now and that’s up, so you may want to consider whether taking the hit now, but finding an apartment better suited to your needs while rates are low isn’t the wisest move. Then too, with wildly attractive mortgage options out there and the approximately 20% market correction, this may be your last chance to score an apartment you normally wouldn’t be able to touch.

You’re sitting around relaxing after dinner and suddenly you realize you’re at the point of no return in the renovate or relocate conversation and it’s time to make a decision…You know you want more space, or a brand new kitchen…possibly another bath and you think if you just reworked the space you have a renovation of your apartment might well give you what you want. But then again, there are certainly other apartments out there that might give you your wish list without all the hassles of reconstruction. Sure, you can survive plaster dust seeping into the wood grain of your furniture, but do you want to? So, how do you get off the see-saw of the renovate or relocate discussion and begin to move forward? It may help to consider some of the following issues.
Location
The first question to ask yourself in the famous renovate or relocate debate is whether location is the most important issue for you? Are you, in fact, wedded to your building for life? Or could you see yourself giving up that chic residence near the U.N. for a Sutton Place bargain? Every neighborhood and every building in it have their respective issues, so ask yourself honestly whether you absolutely have to stay where you are or whether it isn’t time to start doing some apartment hunting.

June is JAZZY

 

Join Jazz lovers for the annual Blue Note Jazz Festival. Enjoy concerts in the cozy Blue Note Jazz Club at 131 E. 3rd St in the Village or in larger venues across the city.

See the entire line up of artists and get tickets at http://www.bluenotejazzfestival.com
Summer Flicks

The Annual HBO Bryant Park Film Series kicks off on Monday June 16th and runs through August. The success of these free outdoor films has spawned a lengthy list of similar programs throughout the city. From piers to parks, rooftops to the Intrepid–click here to see the different film lineups throughout the summer in every borough for every taste.

 

Great Performances

Summer is never boring in the city that never sleeps. In fact, it could be these live performances that gave birth to that description of New York!

Shakespeare in the Park
Begins June 3rd and runs through July 6th with “Much Ado About Nothing” at Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Free. Wait in line or join the online ticket lottery here.

SummerStage
Enjoy music, comedy, theater, dance, lectures, and movies during the City Parks Department’s annual programming. Free concerts are popular, so arrive early. The entire lineup of acts is here.

Celebrate Brooklyn!
Join in the fun at the Prospect Park Bandshell for free music, theatre, dance and film performances from June to August. See the complete line up for the summer by clicking here.

River to River Festival
Free events that take place in public plazas, parks and some unusual sites as well. It includes series such as the Hudson River Festival, which features free musical performances in and around the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden, and the Evening Stars Music and Dance Festival, which features free outdoor performances by leading dance companies and music ensembles. For more information click here.

Pride Week
Events start June 24th and run through the end of the month with the annual Pride March at noon going down Fifth Avenue. Following the parade there will be the PrideFest street fair, and the celebration ends with the Dance on the Pier. Get more information here.

American Crafts Festival
380 juried artists, entertainment, and craft demonstrations in tents outside Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on June 14th and 15th. Get more information here.
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Did You Know…

James Joyce Day is on
June 16th

Bloomsday commemorates and celebrates the life of Irish writer James Joyce during which the events of his novel Ulysses (which is set on June 16th 1904) are relived. Joyce chose the date as it was the date of his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle (incidentally, they walked to the Dublin suburb of Ringsend). The name is derived from the protagonist in Ulysses, Leopold Bloom.

Symphony Space’s 33rd annual ode to the language, life, and love in James Joyce’s work centers on his short story collection, Dubliners, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

The event will feature readings by Cynthia Nixon, Malachy McCourt, Marin Ireland, National Book Award-winning author Colum McCann, and others of several of the book’s stellar stories, including the beloved final story “The Dead.” Between readings, songs from the stories will be performed by soprano Lisa Flanagan with introductions by Irish writer Belinda McKeon.

 

Summer Eating

 

Sample 150 US craft beers and taste food from local restaurants at the NYC Craft Beer Festival June 20th-21st. Get tickets here.

The NY Botanical Gardens is hosting The Big Backyard BBQ and Music Festival takes place on Daffodil Hill at the NYBG June 14th-15th, get tickets here.