Fire codes to corruption: Cooperator's Co-op & Condo Expo presents new seminars for sophisticated apartment owners.

After nearly a decade and a half of successful trade shows for co-op and condo board members and apartment owners, The Cooperator is introducing something new at its 14th Annual Co-op & Condo Expo being held at the New York Hilton on Thursday, February 8, by radically changing the seminar format to reflect current issues and hot topics in residential real estate, announces Henry Robbins, executive vice president of Yale Robbins, Inc., the sponsor of the show and publisher of popular monthly publication, The Cooperator.

"We are appealing to a crowd of shareholders and unit owners who have become increasingly savvy over the years," says Mr. Robbins. "They already know how to apply for a mortgage or expedite a closing. This is an audience that is knowledgeable about home owning and equity. They are committed to such issues as protecting and appreciating the value of their homes. And we are responding by providing subject matter that is relevant to their needs."

The four new seminar topics are: A Comprehensive Look at the New Fire Code Regulations; Buying a Co-op or Condo Online: The Role of the Internet in Real Estate; Preventing Fraud & Kickbacks: Keeping Your Board and Professionals Honest; and Get Wired: How to Hi-Tech Your Building."

Moreover, each panel includes at least one prominent or recognizable member of the real estate community. The first seminar of the day begins at 9:30 a.m. with a look at the new and complex fire regulations. Robert Grant, the frequently quoted director of

Manhattan-based Midboro Management, will be moderating a group that includes the New York Fire Department's Chief Legal Counsel Julian Bazel, as well as Robert Makoul, president of Mackoul & Associates, a Long-Island based insurance company, Neil Walash of Code Compliance of NYC, Inc. and John Santana of Grinnell Fire Protection.

The next seminar, starting at 11:30 a.m., will offer tips on buying apartments online and features a panel of some of New York's best known brokers, two of whom were notably on opposite sides of the highly-publicized Multiple Listings Service (MLS) debates several months ago, i.e., Douglas Elliman's Managing Director Alan Rogers and Barbara Fox, president of the Fox Residential Group. Joining them are Anita Perone, considered one of the top marketing minds behind The Corcoran Group, and Sotheby's downtown brokerage manager, attorney Diane Levine. In addition, leading the panel is Debra Beck, executive vice president of the influential Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

One of the more controversial seminars being presented deals with the prevention of fraud and kickbacks in coops and condos. It is being moderated by the president of the New York Association of Realty Managers (NYARM) P. Leonard Jones, who will be joined by attorney Steven Wagner, senior partner, Wagner, Davis & Gold, accountant Marc Taub of Ellenbogen, Rubenstein & Eisdorfer, and Bob Viteretti, managing director of Kroll & Associates, an investigative firm. In addition to addressing corruption, the group will review current legislation for the mandatory licensing of property managers.

The final seminar of the day at 3:30 p.m. is geared towards de-mystifying such high-tech topics as DSL versus ISDN, choosing a cable provider, wire bundling and more. It will be lead by techno-wiz an d Midboro Management president Michael J. Wolfe, who will moderate a panel made up of telecommunications attorney Owen Kurtin of Salans Hertfeld Heilbronn Christy & Viener, Herb Hauser, president of technical design solutions firm Branes Wentworth, Victor Cruz of Time Warner, Mark C. Fuller of Verizon and Bill Mullady of RCN.

With nearly 200 booths, the Exhibition Hall hours are being extended from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. In addition, the popular Free Advice Booths featuring property managers, attorneys, brokers, and accountants are being brought back this year, along with one that is dedicated to telecommunications issues. Door prizes and complimentary copies of The Cooperator's 2001 edition of The Official Directory of Co-op & Condo Services will again be distributed throughout the day.

The day's events conclude with an industry cocktail party from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Tickets for this event are $15 and may be ordered at 212-683-5700, extension 316. As always, registration to the Expo itself is complimentary, but pre-registration is a requisite. To register for Co-op & Condo Expo 2001 at the New York Hilton, 1335 Avenue of the Americas (54th Street), call 888-249-0367, or register online at www.coopexpo.com.

The Expo is sponsored by The Cooperator, a Yale Robbins, Inc. publication. Other Yale Robbins publications include Office Buildings Magazines, The Condo Sales Report and Residential Construction: A Market Survey. In addition to publishing, Yale Robbins, Inc. hosts two well-regarded websites: mrofficespace.com and cooperator.com.