Schedule vote for December 18.

The new vote for board members is scheduled for December 18th. I will not attend . I can see where this is headed and expect nothing different .The letter placed in the mailboxes says nothing about DIFFERENT members only if anyone wants to join the board. 

There was still nothing setup with email or anything else for the owners to communicate with each about the situation here as promised.  Which is not surprising , the last thing they want is the owners talking to each other . 

They placed a notice in everyone's mailbox on September 7th 2024 that the columns would be repaired by the the end of September or October . Columns that should of been repaired over 10 years ago. That job was never done.  

It amazes me that when ever you question anything they do or don't do they say , " Read your bylaws" , bylaws they never follow or enforce themselves. 

Things have gotten so bad that more than half the owners in my building are openly fed up with them. It won't be long before they have a revolt on their hands. After 14 years people have had enough of their lazy , incompetent , lying and hypocritical behavior of their obligations and responsibilities. Why they refuse to let other people take on the board positions is anyone's guess . But everyone has their own beliefs for it. 

What we need is new and younger people with the vision , dedication and a desirer to turn this place around . Something we are never going to receive with the present board members. 

Highland Condos vote did not go well.

 

There was supposed to be a vote for board membership but it didn't happen. I got so pissed off with their stupid bullshit , I walked out realizing that it was a waste of my time. 

First I mentioned that the e-mail address for the condo board should be available for all the owners so everyone knows what each other feels about the horrible job they are doing. My education is Electronic engineering. I retired as a Electronic specialist working on mainframes and network systems. and I can't believe the bull shit they were trying to tell me. An agreement was set up to have something for everyone. Lets see if that ever actually happens.

Next they agreed with me that the place has become a dump but blame everyone else for the problems. They spent almost 28,000 for lawn care the last two years. When I told them they could of  brought a shed and all the equipment needed for half the price. that we can do the work ourselves , getting rid of the expense forever , I was told that people were too lazy to do that. Well maybe they are too lazy , but along with with another neighbor and condo owner we did it for 8 years for the last 6 condos. We both spent our time and money without asking for even a nickel. Nor did we ever get so much as a , " Thank You " for our efforts. 

The last straw for me was one of the board members said if I don't like the ways things are done run for the board. Considering that last year was the first time in 13 years they even had an election how would one get on the board? For 14 years they have been on the board and refuse to get off. They act as if it is a birth right. 

With all their talk they can't seem to gasp the fact that they are the board and it is their responsibility to fix the problems. Problems they created in the first place. but the game is blame blame blame everyone else. It's like listening to CNN . 

I do apologize to the people that ask me to represent them and vote for them but I couldn't listen to their bullshit any longer.  

Highland Upcoming Vote

Wednesday , the highland Condo with have a vote for board members. Below I added a link from the New York Attorney Generals office on the,  "The Condominium Act " which is the New York State law that governs the establishment of condominiums. The decisions made by courts in cases involving the Condominium Act are the case law which interprets the statute.

 https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2022-08/how_to_handle_problems_with_a_condo_board.pdf

Any condo board that haven't updated their by-laws accordingly are in violation of New York State law.  

One law states; 

Contents of the by-laws (Section 339-v): ( election of managers and terms (with at least one-third ending annually). 

No where does it say that the positions held by people that end can rerun for the same position !It states END PERIOD. 

I have talked to other condo people that have served on the condo board at Brunswick Meadows on Grange road , also assigned Rte. 142. They told me they follow the law to the letter . They have elections every year and at least 1/3 of board members are removed. 

There is a condo at Brunswick Meadows for sale right now and the asking price is 339,000 dollars. their condo fees are 220 dollars a month. The property is at least 20 times the size of ours and the grounds are beautiful .Take a ride up to see for yourself .  

The present board here has turned this place into a dump while holding the positions for approximately 14 years, does anyone really believe that giving them more money and keeping them on the board will change anything? Of course not !!! 

See everyone Wednesday. 

Explanation of Notice for Highland Condo owners.

 On November 13th there will be a condo owners meeting with elections for new members. For at least the last 14 years Rhona and Carl have controlled the board. It's long pass time to move on from the incompetence that the condos have suffered under their leadership. And now they plan on raising the fees 50 dollars a month. They have done almost nothing with the money they do take in.

The owners have spent a lot of money buying these homes and a lot of money each month for the maintenance. Maintenance we are not getting. This is more than just your home , it is an investment for the future . Ask yourself , do you really want to trust your investment for another year with the present board members?

We don't need new fees we need new board members . 

On the first page is the letter I wrote and sent to the New York State Attorney's office in February 2018.They replied twice , the first time to state they will be looking into it. The second time they wrote that I should consult with a lawyer and sent a link for Lawyers in the State . Since last year I have wrote the Rensselaer District Attorney's office twice asking them to look into the problems here. I never heard back from them.   

The second page is the resignation letter TJ Kennedy sent out . The first thing that came to mind was where is the almost 60,000 dollars he stated that was collected in back dues? When I asked Carl about this he said they didn't collect any money and that was all I have ever heard about it. 

In the third letter are a few of the many e-mails shared between the board and myself about the mess they have created by not doing their job. In protest I informed them that I would stop paying condo fees. There is also the ridiculous replacement of mailboxes that I never asked for or was asked if I wanted one. Nor do I know of anyone that asked for a new one.  

In October of 2017 there was a condo meeting where I told Carl and Rhona about a dangerous situation with a tree in the back of unit 36-38 . Carl was told multiple times about the situation since. At the end of March or early April we had an ice storm . The lower branch of the tree was approximately 10 feet from my back window and the upper branch sitting on the roof from all the weight of the ice. I told Carl I was going to call the insurance company and notify them of the situation if it wasn't removed. A couple of weeks later it was . But what really amazed me was that Carl e-mailed me asking what tree it was. 7 YEARS !!!  And he didn't even know what tree it was. 

So I ask you all again , is this the people that you want taking care of your investment? It's long pass time for change and you can all make it happen November 13th . 

The notices that I placed in most mailboxes were also sent on to our local news agencies , bloggers and political mouth pieces . There is now lots of people watching what happens here at the condos.

Lazy and incompetent

 Last year was the first year the Highland Condominium had an election for the board over the 13 years the present members have held the positions. That was only because I complained to the board that they have been breaking state laws for years. I have no idea what they are doing with all the money they take in but it has nothing to do with the maintenance or upkeep of the property. 

Below is a copy of the letter I sent the board on August 27 of this year.

 

                                                                      August 27, 2024   

 

       People have been calling and emailing me about my last blog post, it has been overwhelming. Asking me of the who, what, when, where and why the place has become the shithole that it is today. A few people have come to see for themselves the deteriorating conditions we have here.

 

      The most asked question is, “What are they hiding “? I tell them there are unit owners that have been asking the same questions for years. One board member recently told me, “I remain on the board because no one else has any interest in doing it. “That was a total lie, there were people that were interested last year and nominated for her position when they finally had their first election in 13 years. But she is still on the board and refuses to yield her position to anyone that actually wants it.

       One of the many reasons they continue to get away with this is because the turnover of ownership is so fast. People don’t realize what this place was like and what it has become today.   They just see it for what it is.

 

       The easy solution to that problem is to make the “Highland Condo “email address available to all the unit owners to read for themselves what everyone thinks. But that will never happen as long as the present board members continue to run things.

 

        Carol Weaver (works at Rensselaer County Legislature – Democratic Minority) informed me the board is responsible for the repairs to the sidewalk and we would face lawsuits should anyone get hurt. But hey, just another day at the Highland Condos.

        I can’t help but wonder how many City Council Meetings has any member of the board went to over the last 14 years to ask for help? Or actually walk around the back of the condo to inspect the terrible job the people they hire do? In a few more years the weeds will be up to everyone’s back door. Incompetent people hiring incompetent people.

                                                                                                       2017

Today

I wish I had photos of what this place looked like when I moved in 2003.

Highland Condo's Troy NY

I brought a condo at the Highland Condos in December 2003. It was a beautiful place where the board members took the maintenance and upkeep of the property seriously  . They also enforced all the rules to keep people inline. They cared , which made this a nice place to live.

Today , not so much . Only one family from when I moved in are still here . The rest have moved on or passed away. We have had the same board members now for the last 14 years that refuse to yield their positions and the place has suffered dearly for it. 

When I talk to visitors and people that walk up and down the block they tell me they always though this place was run by the Troy Housing Authority .Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the people that do run this place.  And as you can see it's not just the people that live here that have noticed how bad this place has become. 

Let me take you for a quick tour to show everyone just some of the problems we now face .

Each building has 5 columns in front . The little girl next door liked to play out front so I used a rubber mallet to hammer in the siding so she wouldn't get hurt. Ask yourself , how many years does it take for the wooden frame and nails to rot out , disappear and the siding damaged like this? The little girl and her family moved away 3 years ago but the columns are still a mess.

                                                                                                                                                                       

Last year they coated the west parking lot but left this without repairs .                                                   

These trees are over the west parking lot with the weeds and grass growing on , in and past them. Nine years ago it was so bad that the branches and leaves were sitting on top of the cars. I spent a week cutting down all the branches and removed 4 trees. 2 years ago I had made arrangement for a person to take them all down until a member of the board pissed him off . 

When i moved in in 2003 there were 20 to 30 feet of beautiful lawn from the end of the wall to the trees. The children that lived here and their local friends use to play in this area to get from building to building. This is what it looks like today. from the bottom and top of the wall. 

What condo board would allow anyone to put satellite disc on the roof?  

This road is private property for the owners of the condo units . I don't know what arrangements were made for this house on Hudson street allowing them to tear down their fence and use our private road . Or what the board are doing to stop this practice if they didn't give permission to use the road.

I have no idea why after 14 years these people would want to be on the board . What ever reason it is , it has nothing to do with the betterment of the condo. And I'm to old to continue wasting my time and money cleaning up their mess. The place has gone to shit. 

Oak Bluffs , MV

 

06152024

 

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04172024