New York Amends Its Mitchell-Lama Law

The Governor of New York has recently signed into law changes to the Private Housing Finance Law that will affect the governance of Mitchell-Lama cooperatives significantly. The following (which affect Mitchell-Lama cooperatives only) is a summary of those changes:

1. All voting will now be conducted using secret ballots, which must be cast in person or by an absentee ballot (see below).
2. An absentee ballot may be requested by a shareholder. The absentee ballot must be hand delivered or mailed only to the primary residence of the shareholder.
3. The absentee ballot shall be sealed within two envelopes, which must contain the signature of the shareholder and mailed to a neutral third party.