I Hereby Banish Thee From My Co-op:

Here is an article that illustrates the seemingly private tyranny of co-ops. (Hat tip.) My own thoughts are that co-ops have every right to be jerks and I wouldn't want to live with the likes of Mr. Winthrop anyway.

The "jerk" in the article is named John Winthrop -- co-op board chair in Boston -- who puts the kibosh on a prospective sale of a unit. He is actually related to the original John Winthrop of Puritan Massachusetts infamy. Given his roots, he must have inherited a "jerk gene."

They've got every right to exist, but I'd never want to deal with one. So I won't. In places like New York, even multimillionaire celebrities have been turned down. From the article:

Co-ops are much more common in New York than Boston, and prospective owners are frequently rejected without knowing why. Singer Barbra Streisand, clothing designer Calvin Klein, and casino entrepreneur Steve Wynn are among those rejected by co-ops .