Anonymous

I wasn’t really nervous about my recent board interview. Coming from a small, self-managed co-op in Manhattan, I felt coolly confident applying to a similar one in Brooklyn. After all, I not only had experience being in the hot seat, I’d also been part of the judging panel multiple times before and had a pretty good idea for what they were looking for: A quiet, respectful, and (no pun intended) low-maintenance person who'd pull their weight when it came to coop responsibilities.

I bought my current apartment, a co-op studio just off the 8th Street N/R station, three years ago after renting on 14th Street and 2nd Avenue. Being closer to NYU was part of the plan. The apartment is small, but its proximity to NYU made it a good investment. If I ever wanted to leave the apartment, I could easily find someone to rent it.

In many ways, the location’s great. I’m four blocks from Union Square and smack in the middle of the East and West Village. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Except for the NYU kids.

(Editor's note: This is the first of a series of first-person glimpses into life in a NYC co-op or condo building. Names and identifying details have been changed. If you have a story to share, drop us a line.)

A few years ago, my wife and I bought a 700-square-foot duplex in a 150-unit condo building on the Upper East Side.  We found out pretty quickly that the super, Alek, was running the building like a Mafia don with the help of the board president.