The Co-op and Condo Insider
The Co-op & Condo Insider is your trusted source for expert commentary led by advocates within New York City’s co-op and condo world. Each episode offers insights into the challenges, news, and stories that shape a community making up more than 20% of this great city’s residents.
The Co-op and Condo Insider
Co-op Champion: Assembly Member Braunstein fights for New York's co-op and condo rights
Ever wondered what it takes to champion cooperative housing rights in the halls of power? Assemblymember Edward Braunstein pulls back the curtain on his remarkable journey from a 29-year-old political newcomer to becoming Albany's go-to authority on co-op and condo legislation.
Growing up in Bayside, Queens, Braunstein never imagined a career in politics until opportunity knocked. His grassroots campaign strategy – knocking on doors for three hours daily and famously walking the decks of neighborhood pool clubs to meet voters – launched a legislative career now spanning over a decade. What makes Braunstein uniquely qualified? He's among the rare few in the legislature who actually lives in a co-op, bringing firsthand experience to every housing bill that crosses his desk.
The conversation weaves through the intricate dance of Albany politics – from budget negotiations that stretch weeks beyond deadlines to the constant vigilance required to prevent co-ops from being inadvertently caught in rental housing regulations. Braunstein shares his proudest achievements, including restructuring tax abatements to benefit middle-class co-op owners and this year's successful modification of the Corporate Transparency Act to protect co-op boards from burdensome disclosure requirements.
Looking ahead, Braunstein outlines his vision for comprehensive property tax reform to address the current system's inequities, where outer borough residents pay significantly higher effective tax rates than wealthier Manhattan property owners. His insider perspective reveals both the challenges and possibilities of creating meaningful change for New York's cooperative communities.
Whether you're a co-op board member, owner, or simply curious about the intersection of housing policy and politics, this conversation offers rare insights into how effective advocacy works and why having knowledgeable champions matters more than ever. Subscribe now to hear more conversations with the thought leaders shaping the future of cooperative housing in New York.
I always tell the story. When we once met with a different assembly member, the first thing they said is what does Ed Braunstein think I'll do whatever he says? So I said that's a good idea.
Speaker 2:This is the Co-op and Condo Insider, the podcast dedicated to New York's cooperative and condominium communities. This is your trusted source for the latest insights, strategies and stories shaping the world of shared housing. You will hear from the people who are leaders in this community information and insights you will not hear anywhere else. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you're in the right place. The views and opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of the host or any affiliated individuals or organizations.
Speaker 1:Hello and welcome to the Co-op and Condo Insider, where we explore the real-world issues facing the co-op and condominium communities across New York City and New York State With insight, expertise and a healthy dose of straight talk. I'm your host, jeffrey Maisel, co-op and condo attorney and legal advisor to the president's co-op and condo council. I'm thrilled to be joined by my co-host, richard Solomon. A seasoned voice in public radio for over 20 years, richard has taken his listeners around the world to meet experts, newsmakers and the people making a difference in our everyday lives. Richard, it's great to have you on the mic today.
Speaker 3:I love being here and I relish the privilege of being here.
Speaker 1:Oh, thanks. Well, today we have a great featured guest Assemblymember, edward Braunstein. Ed Braunstein, if it's okay if I call you Ed? Yeah, sure, okay. I've known Ed since he was extremely young he's still youthful. We met you were about to announce your candidacy and you met with, of course, you started with the co-op and condo community and we met in a meeting in Bay Terrace and they kept telling me an assembly candidate is going to be joining us. And you were sitting there and I was waiting for your father to come. That's how young you were. And you were sitting there and I was waiting for your father to come. That's how young you were.
Speaker 1:Anyway, ed represents the Assembly District 26 and includes Bayside, douglasson, little Neck, whitestone, glen Oaks, auburndale, among others, and he's the chairperson of the Authorities, corporations and Commissions Committee. I think I got the little background and you're also a member of several key committees, including the Rules, ways and Means Committee. Ed's a seasoned legislator who's been in the Assembly since 2011. And, most importantly, for the Kolp and Kondo community, you have sponsored and been active in numerous key bills involving Kolp and Kondo law, some of which we'll get into, and we truly appreciate your appearance today. Ed, where were you born, where were you raised and what inspired you to get involved in public service?
Speaker 4:So first thank you for having me, jeff, and it's nice to meet you, richard. Congratulations on the new podcast. I'm excited to be here. I was born in North Shore Hospital in Manhasset but my parents were living in Bayside at the time and I was born and raised in Bayside and lived in Bayside my whole life.
Speaker 3:Are you a graduate of Bayside High School?
Speaker 4:No, no, no. I grew up across the street from Bayside High School. I went to Archbishop Malloy High School in Briarwood. Okay, did you play basketball? Yeah, I played basketball, basketball and soccer there yeah, anybody famous on that team? We had some Division I players, but nobody who made it further than that.
Speaker 1:And you're a lawyer by trade. Correct, Correct, correct.
Speaker 4:I passed the bar exam in 2009, and I was elected in 2010. So I'm a lawyer, but I've never practiced. I went to the assembly right away after that.
Speaker 1:So Richard and I will attest. We call lawyers that have never practiced. We call you geniuses, all right. So, as I said, Super geniuses. So, as I said we first met I won't give away ages, but I assume you were in your 20s what prompted you to run for? What prompted you?
Speaker 4:to run for. So when I graduated college I began working in Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's office in Manhattan, downtown Manhattan. I was a low level staffer there and during my time there I went to New York Law School and my plan was to finish law school and start a legal career. You know I had always been interested in politics and I always anticipated I would be involved in the local clubs and volunteer and things. But I didn't consider pursuing a career in politics. But shortly after I finished law school there was a vacancy in the assembly seat for the district that I was. It was. It was a good opportunity at a right time. As you mentioned, jeff, I was. I was younger, I was 29 years old at the time, but I saw it as a good opportunity and I ran for office. Then Was there a primary? Yeah, there was a four-way primary and I I won that. I forget the numbers. I think I got 37%. The next closest person was 28% and then there was a general. So I had to win a primary and a general.
Speaker 3:What was the hardest lesson you learned during that campaign?
Speaker 4:You know I had been involved in political campaigns, volunteering, so a lot of times pushing candidates, being out on the street or knocking doors, and one of the things that worked to my benefit was that I was willing to go out and meet all the constituents or the voters where they were. So in a four-way primary, primaries could be low turnout and I spent from the time we circulated petitions I guess that was in June and this back then we had September primaries I spent probably three hours a day knocking doors seven days a week for probably three months never a day. Yeah, I eventually had the opportunity to meet most of the voters and I think that worked to my benefit. I think in a small primary where you can meet everybody I think the people who do that kind of work it pays off.
Speaker 1:Do you realize the bravery of that young man to go into such a venture at such a young age, with no pedigree, no background, no supporters per se?
Speaker 4:I mean, I will tell you it was a little overwhelming at times. I had a lot to learn, but it was one of those things where I felt like I was the right person to represent the district. I felt that if I had the opportunity to meet people one on one and talk to them, I could win them over. And you know, it was one of those things. Despite being nervous, I felt right about it. So I just kind of threw myself right in and kind of learned as I went. Anybody you particularly looked up to or inspired you. You know I have family members who have worked in politics before. You know I remember I was working in the assembly speaker's office, so you know I could always go back there and ask for advice. So I did. I did have people that I can, I can lean on for advice definitely.
Speaker 1:And what was the place where you'd meet the most voters? Was it the Baytire Shopping Center or Utopia Bagels?
Speaker 4:Believe it or not, it's the pool clubs, right? I mean, in Northeast Queens it's almost I don't know if they do it anymore, but back then it was an expectation because, remember, it was September primaries, right. So you know you'd think people wouldn't want, you know, a candidate walking around the pool deck while people are in their bathing suits shaking hands. But it was kind of it's kind of a tradition around here. So I went and I walked the pool deck and you know people are they're not in a rush so they have time to ask questions and that was definitely an interesting way to meet people was walking around.
Speaker 1:It's happened numerous times where I'll get calls. Can I call the management at La Harbour or another place that has a pool, because the candidate likes to go and, as you said, people they're not going anywhere and it's somebody to talk to and I'm sure to see a 29-year-old candidate. It must have been very exciting for everybody.
Speaker 4:It's something that without the September primaries, I think it doesn't happen as much anymore. Now the primaries are during the June, so you know there's not that much time that people are at the pool. But back then it was almost expected that the candidates would make the rounds at the pools.
Speaker 1:Before we get into the legislative, I want you to talk a little bit about co-op and condos, your experience with them, how you got involved with the president's council and the co-op condo community. Also, just with respect to your colleagues in Albany, you know what your experience was advocating for a bill or explaining a bill, or even just teaching your colleagues about co-ops and condos.
Speaker 4:So you know I first got involved in co-op condo issues. So you know I first got involved in co-op condo issues. I mean, I knew it was a form of housing in the district I represented when I was running for office, but what I was really thrust into it was during I think it was 2011, what they call the co-op tax revolt, jeff. You remember when the Bloomberg administration changed the way they assessed many of the co-ops, especially in eastern Queens, and the proposed changes by the Bloomberg administration significantly increased the assessments on the co-ops in the district I represent.
Speaker 4:And I remember going to town hall meetings. I remember one at Le Havre. I remember one at Le Havre. I remember one at Clearview Gardens where they were at public schools, where the auditorium was just completely packed with angry constituents, and I remember that experience. It really made clear to me that you know, this is something that has a significant financial impact on the constituents I represent and I need to help them with this issue and I need to advocate for them on all the issues. So that was really what got me involved with what the President's Council formed around that correct it catapulted into a relevant entity.
Speaker 1:At that point it had existed sort of as an email thread who's got a good plumber? So if I may disclose, I dare say one of the few members of the New York state legislature that actually lives in a co-op.
Speaker 4:I don't know off the top of my head, but I imagine there's not too many.
Speaker 1:So you're kind of a unicorn with respect to co-ops and condos in the state legislature.
Speaker 4:Well, you got to remember too, outside of Westchester and a few on Long Island, the rest of the state they really don't have co-ops, so a lot of my colleagues don't even know.
Speaker 1:I can tell by some of the stuff that comes out of there. Let's pull back the curtain and talk about how the legislative process works. It's a big mystery to most of us.
Speaker 4:Well, I mean first there's two parts to session. Right, everything up until when the budget passes is dominated by the budget which is supposed to be passed April 1st. You know, typically it's a few weeks late. This year it was five weeks late. So there's some, you know, legislative work that goes on while we're working on the budget, but a bulk of the more, I would say, controversial legislative business happens after the budget is passed. So those are like the two parts of session.
Speaker 1:Can I just ask? The budget includes obviously what we all think of as a budget money. The budget includes obviously what we all think of as a budget money. Why?
Speaker 4:is there all this other stuff in the quote-unquote budget and what is properly in quote-unquote power to include some policy into the budget over the years, how much policy and whether or not it's related to financial issues? It's kind of hazy about how far the governor can go and it hasn't been challenged again. But typically what happens is the governor will put forth an executive budget where it's the dollars and cents that the governor thinks would like to be spent, and then this governor and previous governors add more and more policy initiatives into the budget to be passed altogether. Governors add more and more policy initiatives into the budget to be passed altogether. We in the assembly try to strip out as much policy as possible because we just don't think that's the best way to make policy. But inevitably the governor will hold out for a handful of really important items and eventually that's what's included in the final budget.
Speaker 1:Is there anything in this year's budget you'd like to highlight for the listeners?
Speaker 4:The big issues that held up the budget for a lot this year was something that I supported, that the governor was pushing was making changes to our discovery laws In 2019, we made several criminal justice reforms, and one of them was we changed some.
Speaker 4:We made several criminal justice reforms, and one of them was we changed the amount of evidence that has to be turned over to the defense in a criminal trial, and the district attorneys were arguing that a lot of that. They were being forced to turn over duplicative and meaningless information and if that evidence wasn't getting turned over, judges were dismissing a case right. The governor wanted to change it to make sure it was more relevant to give the district attorneys more time, and there was resistance in some parts of the legislature that one issue might have taken up just three weeks getting the legislature and the governor to come together on a proposed change to the discovery law. So that's one area that really doesn't involve dollars and cents. I thought it was an important change, so I supported the governor on that effort, but it did hold itself.
Speaker 1:One thing I'm always curious about. So when a bill passes both the Assembly and the Senate, obviously it goes to the governor's desk for signature, and it is my understanding that over 500 or 600 bills a year go to her desk for signature. Does that sound correct?
Speaker 4:I think it might be higher. I think more like 800.
Speaker 1:And then it takes her, I guess, from the end of session, which is the middle of June, until like January, to go through everything and either sign it, veto it or let it be vetoed by inaction, essentially.
Speaker 4:So I think, as a courtesy, the legislature waits for the governor to what they call call a bill down. You know, I think when they say down, like the governor's in the capitals, on the second floor, we're on the third floor. So we don't just pass a bill and then put it on the governor's desk right away, we hold it. The governor will call the bills down in batches and then it'll either get vetoed, passed as is, and then a lot of times the governor will agree to pass a bill with what's called a chapter amendment. It's supposed to be technical changes. Sometimes it's a little bit more substantive than that, but if the bill sponsor and the assembly leadership agrees to a chapter amendment for the governor to sign, when we get back there after January we spend the first month passing what they call chapter amendments, which are changes to bills that were on the governor's desk that she signed, with the expectation that we make these changes.
Speaker 1:Just for our listeners. Last year, a major piece of legislation involving a co-op's right to exercise their renewal under a ground lease was sponsored by Ed and the assembly and it passed both houses and it got signed into law in October, which effectively means over 10,000 units of co-op housing are now Fannie Mae compliant and I have been a witness to the numerous mortgages and people able to buy. So, Ed, on behalf of those people and myself, thank you.
Speaker 4:That was a big relief for everybody.
Speaker 1:It was a great win. So let's talk about this year A little bit of a head scratcher just watching from my desk in New York. So the first thing I want to talk about is the Corporate Transparency Act. I believe it was in your committee which basically required corporations and LLCs the beneficial owners, as they call it which would include board of directors to submit personal data to the Department of State. It mirrored the federal bill which was eventually withdrawn by President Trump, considered a big invasion of privacy by a lot of co-op board members. I should say Let me know, I understand. The bill passes LLCs only. Just if you could explain what happened there, that would be of interest to us.
Speaker 4:Sure, so when the bill was moving its way through the committee process, I sat down with the staff.
Speaker 4:I mean, as bills come through the committee, I sit down with the staff. We go through each bill, we discuss it, and the this bill, the way I understood it was, we were there was already federal law and that, like you said, the Trump administration was repealing the federal law. So we were just taking what was in the federal law and, instead of referencing the federal law, spelling it out in state law, so the Corporate Transparency Act would continue at the state level. I did not know that there was this aspect of it where co-op boards which is not the intent of the legislation were forced to make all these disclosures, which is expensive and burdensome. And then you brought that to my attention and at that point, you know, I recognized that there was this unnecessary provision in there and I spoke with the assembly staff and I spoke with the bill sponsor and I explained you know this, this provision was unnecessary and we amended the bill to just include llcs and then we we pushed it on to, uh, to be voted on the full house and it passed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's both houses. Yes, okay, well, on behalf of the co-op owners, board members who don't have to give their driver's license and social security numbers, you know it's not necessary to Jeff.
Speaker 4:I mean, the intent of the bill is that there's concern that some people, whether they're doing money laundering or some kind of illegal business, are shielding their identities through LLCs. That's clearly not the case with volunteer co-op board members. So you know, when I went and approached the bill sponsor and talked about the carve-out, she understood as well and we were able to make that change.
Speaker 3:But let me ask you a question but doesn't New York State already know that information from all the K-1s that are generated by LLCs, I mean, isn't that already in the knowledge base of the government?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I just I don't think. I don't think there's. It's very well, k-1s are tax filing. I think they want it to be. You know, there are a lot of LLCs where the owners are impossible to find and I think this would they wanted to create like a database, which I don't think is, I don't think the law, and I would have to check it again while it's still waiting for me, pending the governor's signature. I think it's held privately by the Department of State and it is subject for people to attend.
Speaker 4:Now the law, richard, just real quick. You know it's just because one government agency has access to someone's personal information doesn't mean they're permitted to share it with other agencies. So we, a lot of times we have to pass bills. Let's say there's a public benefit that we want people to have access to. If those individuals had shared their information with one agency, it's not as though that information can be passed to another agency without some kind of approval from the state.
Speaker 1:Okay, so let's get on to the engineer report filings, which passed the state senate by, I think, 51 to 1 vote. I could be wrong engineer reports of the building accessible to buyers, file it with the city and the penalty for noncompliance and this is not, you can hear me very clearly out there would be give the AG the power to revoke a co-op or condo status as a co-op or condo, yeah a corporate condo status as a corporate condo, yeah, I mean we, we.
Speaker 4:I checked in with the bill sponsor, um, and the bill is like assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal. She's chair of the housing committee. I saw that the bill didn't move out of the housing committee, um, so you know, if the chair of the committee had not moved her own bill, um, you know I was skeptical that it had any life in the assembly, but it wasn't just me. I know a lot of the co-op boards throughout the state had reached out to the assembly and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, to her credit, she went so far as to strike the enacting clause of the legislation, which essentially kills it and lets everybody know that it has no chance of advancing.
Speaker 1:That struck panic in quite a few people. Good to see there are some checks and balances, especially with Ed Braunstein in the Assembly.
Speaker 3:Was there an Eighth Amendment violation in that bill? It's an excessive fine.
Speaker 4:The fine was way over the top. But, like I said, fortunately it didn't even move out of committee in the Assembly. So you know I don't I mean, if it comes back in another form next year, we can, we can discuss it, but I agree with you that that fine was, it was excessive.
Speaker 1:And just the last question on on this legislative session before we get to more fun. You've been working on a permanent co-op. We'll call it a carve out bill from landlord, from traditional landlord tenant legislation. It's been it's been around a couple of years. I don't know what happened to it this year. Clearly it didn't pass. Did it make it out of committee? Does it have legs? Is it going to be reintroduced next year? What's going on with it.
Speaker 4:It did not pass this year. I plan on reintroducing it next year. The genesis behind the bill is, as you know, jeff, we're constantly having to watch every piece of legislation that moves through the state legislature that uses the term tenant and landlord, because we're not sure if courts are going to interpret that to include co-ops and condos, which a lot of times is not the intent of that legislation. It doesn't make sense for co-ops and condos and just this year I had to catch a bill that had made it all the way out to the floor. It had been laid aside and then I went and spoke to the bill sponsor and the staff and I said do you intend this to apply to co-ops and condos? And the sponsor said no and I was able to get them to put language that explicitly carves out co-ops and condos in that bill.
Speaker 4:But rather than constantly have to watch every bill, we want to pass legislation that says any time a new legislation uses the term tenant or landlord, it does not apply to co-ops and condos. Just to make that clear. But because of the late budget and just kind of the scramble at the end of session, I took a push at it, but I didn't take a thorough enough push at it and I think I want to start earlier next year. I want to work on talking to some of my colleagues, getting more co-sponsors and taking another try.
Speaker 1:I mean I will say certainly in the legal community, you know, amongst corporate attorneys and boards. It's gotten a lot of legs and it's a very popular bill that people feel it's time has come, so Rich.
Speaker 3:Now we have the lightning round can I go off script a little bit? Go off script Rich will I be seeing you at the pool club this summer.
Speaker 4:I am a member of my local pool club, so if you're around there you might see me alright, because I belong to the one on 26th Avenue.
Speaker 3:So so which one? The one, the one on the Cross Island Parkway and 26th Avenue, across from the Bay Terrace Shopping Center.
Speaker 4:The one right on the Cross Island there. Yeah, yeah, bay Country, yeah that one. I go to the other one in the shopping center.
Speaker 3:Okay, so when you come over to visit I'll look for you in the other one.
Speaker 4:I got to try to come over there.
Speaker 3:All right.
Speaker 4:Favorite deli sandwich.
Speaker 3:Favorite deli sandwich. See, it's not in the script.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean, I like when you go to a barbecue and they have those footlong Italian sandwich, I like that. Oh, that's cool. And they have those like footlong Italian sandwich, I like that.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's cool Of all your children.
Speaker 4:who is most likely to follow your footsteps into the political theater? You know, I'm not going to push them, I'm going to let them, you know, follow their own path. But you know, if I had to pick one, it would probably be my, my nine year old Charlie. And just because he's really interested in current events and history.
Speaker 3:So I think probably him.
Speaker 4:What is the best thing and the roughest thing about representing Queens County people? I think the best thing is the diversity. Right, I'm, queens is probably the most diverse county in the world and being a representative for a diverse district, you get to meet so many different people with so many different backgrounds. So that's probably the best part about it. The difficult part about it I don't think there's anything that I would say is difficult about representing Queens.
Speaker 3:Well, maybe just in terms of the fact that there's just so many people and it's hard to get everybody's voice heard because you're the only one person in this. I don't know how many millions of us.
Speaker 4:What is it? 2.4 million people in Queens County, there's 18 assembly members. Yeah, you're right, but you know, for me it's like I. You know I represent Queens, but my primary focus is the 130,000 people that I represent.
Speaker 1:Well knowing a lot of people in your district. There's a lot of strong opinions.
Speaker 4:That's for sure. There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 3:What are you most proud of as far as your legislative achievements?
Speaker 4:You know it's funny. You should ask because you know I give this answer when they ask me at like a school and the kids don't appreciate it. But I think, with a co-op and condo focused podcast, it's, it's. I don't know if you remember, jeff, when we in 2013, when we worked with the Bloomberg administration to change the the way they do the co-op condo tax abatement, you know I I had I came up with an idea where I thought we can make changes to the co-op condo tax abatement to increase the abatement for units with lower assessed values, and a version of that idea was embraced by the Bloomberg administration, where we no longer gave the co-op and condo tax abatement to people who owned their unit as an investment property or a second home, and we took that savings and we increased the abatement for co-ops below a certain assessed value, which included a lot of the constituents I represent. So that was something that I pushed for and I was excited to see enacted.
Speaker 1:And a lot of people appreciate that.
Speaker 3:Speaking of exciting what's in the pipeline for next year.
Speaker 4:One thing that I'd love to see pass and it's a real heavy lift is comprehensive property tax reform for the city of New York. Anybody who understands New York City's property tax system knows it's inequitable, right? You know, co-op owners in the outer boroughs, particularly in eastern Queens, pay much higher effective property tax rates than wealthier co-op owners in Manhattan and parts of downtown Brooklyn. Same thing when you look at single family homeowners right, I mean outer borough single family homeowners pay higher effective property tax rates than people who have expensive brownstones in Park Slope, brooklyn. It's unfair and it's skewed to benefit wealthy homeowners. So eventually we're going to have to bite the bullet and change the property tax system. It's just complicated because to do it in a revenue neutral way is going to be some winners and some losers and somebody, particularly at the city level, is going to really have to make that push and eventually we'd have to pass it through Albany.
Speaker 1:Ed, we are coming up on our time here. I just want to thank you very much and just say, having worked with you all these years it's kind of weird to say this to an assembly member, but I've seen you grow in your role from that young kid in the corner of the meeting to a true leader in in the state and probably the foremost leader and advocate in the assembly with respect to call up on condo issues. I always tell the story. When we once met with a different assembly member, the first thing they said is what does Ed Braunstein think? I'll do whatever he says. So I said that's a good idea. So, ed, it's always great working with you and it was great to have you on our show today. I just see a little bit different side of you and hopefully you can talk your son out of politics before it's too late.
Speaker 4:If I don't believe me, my wife will.
Speaker 1:And Richard, great to see you. So everybody, thanks for joining us and you can hear us on all the podcast stores and please subscribe and we'll see you next time.