Adam Leitman Bailey and John Desiderio
The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted building owners, managers and boards of New York City rental, condominium, and cooperative-owned buildings with operational challenges that few, if any, buildings have ever experienced since the so-called Spanish Flu pandemic—a hundred years ago. The “social distancing” rules and restrictions imposed by governments at all levels has spawned questions that buildings ask and are asked by their residents regarding the responsibilities and duties of both managers and occupants of the buildings.
New York residential multiple dwellings generally fall into the three categories of rental, condominium, or cooperative apartment buildings. To write this article looking at the short and long-term legal implications and issues affecting residential living during COVID-19 pandemic, we researched and analyzed decisions of courts that have handled similar issues, during epidemics of scarlet Fever, Spanish flu, and small pox, in relation to the application of federal and state case law and legislation, during the last century, and to the requirements mandated by today’s executive orders.
