i might be grossly wrong, but canadian/british-derived legal system perspective: these properties probably pre-date modern legal systems for what we know as a strata-title property in british columbia, queensland or new south wales?
to the best of my knowledge the NYC cooperatives are corporations where the individual residents own shares, so it's functionally equivalent to a strata title condominium. the main difference being that people cannot just buy a unit in the coop, they need to be approved by a board vote. apparently even celebrities and senior business figures occasionally get turned down for coop memberships in nyc because other members of the board consider them undesirable for some reason. whereas in a fee-simple strata title system any person or corporation with sufficient money can buy a condominium (unless it's an age 55+ building).
to the best of my knowledge the NYC cooperatives are corporations where the individual residents own shares, so it's functionally equivalent to a strata title condominium. the main difference being that people cannot just buy a unit in the coop, they need to be approved by a board vote. apparently even celebrities and senior business figures occasionally get turned down for coop memberships in nyc because other members of the board consider them undesirable for some reason. whereas in a fee-simple strata title system any person or corporation with sufficient money can buy a condominium (unless it's an age 55+ building).