
Q: My co-op building has a new doorman who does not perform his duties. He never opens the door. He leaves packages unattended and overnight in the lobby. He’s loud and indiscreet, converses on the phone, is often away from the desk and can be hostile and defiant to shareholders and guests. What recourse do shareholders have? Can we withhold the portion of maintenance that goes toward his salary if his performance does not improve?
A: You cannot withhold maintenance because a building employee is not performing duties to your expectations.
Steven D. Sladkus, a real estate lawyer and founding partner of the Manhattan law firm Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas, of his apartment building. “I don’t do anything because he’s one of the best doormen. He’s getting the job done.”
In your case, it sounds like the job isn’t getting done, or at least not to your standards. To make a change, you’ll need to contact management — either the board or the managing agent, depending on who oversees staffing issues. Before you do that, talk to your neighbors. Find out if others share some of your frustrations, particularly about the behavior that you find defiant and disrespectful. If you can gather other people behind you, your complaint will carry more weight. “If more and more people feel that way, that’s more incentive for the board to do something about that,” Mr. Sladkus said.
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