New York co-op boards have wide latitude in setting and changing rules for who can stay there. That includes denying doctors from staying in apartments that aren't theirs
Park Avenue, home to many co-ops. Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images When Dini von Mueffling, who owns a public relations company, and her husband Ted Sann, former chief creative officer at ad giant BBDO North America, left the city for the country — “We came for the weekend and never went back,” von Mueffling says — she wanted to let her friend, Dr. Gail Roboz, stay in their empty co-op apartment on East 73rd Street.
Before COVID-19, the house rules in von Mueffling’s co-op — an Emery Roth–designed prewar, where she’s lived for 14 years — were that if a guest was going to stay more than eight weeks, “you had to let the board know,” von Mueffling says, but the board had no approval or power over who the guest was, nor their profession.
“Frontline health-care workers know best of anybody how to protect themselves and others,” Roboz says. “The donning and doffing of PPE is a very painstakingly executed process in the hospital.” Nothing comes off the premises. “I am even leaving my work shoes at the hospital and wearing a different pair to go home,” she explains, ticking off the precautions she takes, including no jewelry: “This is the first time in about 30 years I haven’t worn my wedding ring.
When I reached out by email and phone to talk to someone on von Mueffling’s co-op board, Nancy Califano of Halstead Management Company sent me a one-line email reply: “Unfortunately, the Board is very busy and unable to participate.” My second query, to see whether she’d even tried, received no response.
In the course of reporting what happened to Roboz, I learn of another co-op board , who tried to figure out if it has the authority to stop its own residents from “returning from their ‘hideouts’ out of town” to their own apartments.
In New York, actual violence against medical workers seems less likely than lawsuits from apartment dwellers against buildings who house them. But Saft thinks there’s little basis for liability worries. “I can’t imagine somebody bringing a case against the board because they allowed a doctor to move into the building during this pandemic, because the board can’t be shown to have been involved in self-dealing, discrimination, or bad faith.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The impact of COVID-19 on infant and child health care, beyond missed vaccinationsParents of young children might be tempted to skip their children's visits to their doctor during the coronavirus outbreak, but experts say parents should try to keep those appointments, even during lockdown.
Read more »
Adoptions, fosters empty shelter cages during COVID-19 crisis, but there will always be homeless petsAre shelters really empty amid the coronavirus crisis? Often there are remaining animals, especially dogs, who aren't adoptable for medical or behavioral reasons, plus a steady stream of strays coming in.
Read more »
I'm saving money by sheltering in place and investing it in my future - Business Insider'After the coronavirus shook everything up and I found myself sheltering in place, I decided to make big changes to my budget.'
Read more »
'Hero' ER Doctor Who Treated NYC Coronavirus Patients Dies by Suicide at 49, Father Says'She tried to do her job, and it killed her,' Dr. Philip C. Breen said of his daughter, Dr. Lorna M. Breen
Read more »
On Japan's stretched frontline, doctors and nurses DIY a coronavirus responseAt any given time, seven out of eight beds in the intensive care unit of St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo are taken up by critically ill coronavirus patients.
Read more »