HOA President chews manager's head off over A/C heating fiasco — until he pulled up her own email in front of residents
Her own email became the reason of her downfall.
A property manager in New York City shared how an HOA president’s attempt to deflect blame during a residents’ meeting completely backfired, thanks to an email she wrote the previous year. The post, written by u/Bright_Media1429, describes how following her exact instructions led to her being exposed in front of the entire condo board. "I manage a NYC condo with central A/C that, once switched to winter mode, can’t go back to cooling until spring," the manager wrote in the October 19 post, which gained 6.8k upvotes.
They added, "NYC law requires heat starting October 1, but October swings from chilly to unseasonably warm, so we usually wait for a real cold stretch before turning it on. Tenants were fine with this for years — one chilly day was better than being unbearably hot for ten." That changed last year when the board president demanded that the heating system be turned on exactly on October 1, regardless of outside temperatures. "She didn’t care if other units would be uncomfortably warm and said that as the board president, she should be comfortable in her unit," the post continued.
The situation highlights a real issue in community governance. A study by Anthony M. Bennett for the Community Associations Institute Foundation found that many HOA boards operate with limited accountability and little formal training, noting that volunteer leaders often make decisions "with minimal oversight or understanding of governance standards." The study described HOAs as "private governments," where unchecked authority can easily lead to conflicts like this one.
This year, the manager followed her orders precisely. The system switched to heat on October 1, and within days, residents were complaining about high indoor temperatures. At the annual meeting, the president accused the manager of mishandling the system. "Not wanting to deal with her nonsense, I got the green light from my boss to pull up her own email on the projector," the manager wrote, "Her exact words, her exact demands. She went pale and, for the first time ever, had nothing to say." The incident ended her tenure on the board; she lost her position in the next election. "Her replacement was very happy we called her out, and we renewed our contract for five more years," the manager wrote.
The story drew a wave of support from readers who had gone through similar situations. u/Boo-Boo97 wrote, "Ugh, I live in an old high-rise with a boiler/chiller system and spring and fall suuuuuccccckkkkkk for this very reason. Those on upper floors are roasting if the temps are over 70, but everyone downstairs bitches and moans that it’s too cold to have the air on. Put a freaking sweatshirt on, Karen."
u/Peacemkr45 commented, "Most HOA presidents are wannabe tyrants and will take that role to impose their viewpoints on everyone." u/grandinosour added, "It would require a massive expense to modify a system that is currently working as it should." u/sunny-days-bs229 wrote, "This is why you save ALL business emails. Even your sent items. I think my nickname with IT was ‘more Storage’ as I was always requesting it." u/VirtualMatter2 quipped, "I would hate living there. Every person should be able to choose their own temperature. Heating or cooling."
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