Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Sharing Economy/Truly Capitalist

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Oct 21, 2015, at 9:55 AM, David Heimann <heimann [at] theworld.com> wrote:
> 
> Can any New Yorkers on this list chime in as to the cooperative situation, 
> and how/why it came to be common there?

I researched this a few years ago. It started when the large mansions in 
Manhattan could no longer be afforded by the descendants. So friends and family 
changed the ownership to cooperatives and began living together. Many of these 
large homes were already laid out with suites and set up for extended families 
and traveling guests to have private quarters. As a cooperative, the homes 
could remain essentially private, and ownership even private.

It continues because cooperatives can accept or reject new residents with no 
reasons given. They can do as they please. However, in at least one instance, a 
community began tracking rejections from one large and very exclusive coop and 
proved that they were discriminating against gays. Proving violation of the 
fair housing requirements is hard to prove since there is no transparency.

Coops often have other restrictive conditions. No mortgages. Only 40% can be 
mortgaged. Behavior expectations. Size of parties.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org