2005 Apr
2005 Apr Vol. 25, No. 4
Focus on...Exteriors
Spring Clean-Up
After a long winter, gardeners everywhere have much work to do to clean up and prepare for the spring season. Removing winter-kill and old annuals and pruning dead branches promotes clean growing conditions and reduces the opportunity for fungus and disease to become established. Read More
Reasonable Accommodations
New York City can be tough enough to navigate as a young, able-bodied person; it's even more difficult for the elderly or physically challenged to get around and go about their day. Imagine living with a physical disability in an apartment building without ramps or wheelchair access. Imagine living with a serious illness and wanting a pet to ease your suffering—in a building whose bylaws do not allow animals. Read More
Act Like You Know
Major exterior repairs and construction projects are serious business, otherwise they wouldn't be called "major." Too often, though, people tend to hire experienced architects and professional contractors only when they absolutely need to, and then often ask only one question: What's this going to cost? Read More
Before the Hammer Falls
Though necessary, major capital improvement projects—like facade restoration, elevator refurbishment, or window replacement—can often mean big hassles for building residents, particularly if they haven't been properly prepped for the changes and kept in the information loop. Read More
Set in Stone
New York City is home to some of the world's best architectureboth ultra-modern and historical. And while newer buildings show off sleek glass-and-steel facades, the hallmark of many of the city's historic buildings is their stonework. Take a gander around the city and you will marvel at just how prominent stone is in so many buildings decked out with gargoyles, cornices, ornately carved facades, and other spectacular stonework ornaments. Read More
Utilitarian Structures
New York City's skyline wouldn't be the same without its rooftop water tanks. The strange-looking structures have graced the cityscape for more than a century, and today, surrounded as many of them are by towering glass skyscrapers, they seem anachronistic. They may hearken back to an older time, but the city's water tanks aren't just for decoration; they're still very much in use. Read More
Facades 101
When someone describes a beautiful building in the city, in all likelihood, they are describing the building's façade—that thin, skin-like layer of brick, mortar and/or decorative stone such as limestone that covers and dresses up the raw, inner walls of the building. Although one of the purposes of a building's façade is decorative, façades serve a much more vital role than just window dressing for a building's exterior. Read More
SoHo Style
Like most of Manhattan's neighborhoods, SoHo has gone through multiple incarnations to become the part of town we know today. Long, long before Prada and Bloomingdale's staked their claim along Broadway and exclusive hotels sprang up on the neighborhood's side streets, the area known as SoHo (so named to refer to the area "SOuth of HOuston" Street and above Canal Street, between Lafayette Street and the Hudson River) was a marshy meadow, and the future of New York City was only a far-off dream. Read More
