2007 Sept
2007 Sept Vol. 27, No. 9
Focus on...Energy Conservation
Conservation Tips
The buzz about green buildings and energy conservation is so loud you just can't shut your ears to it. And why should you? We are being inundated with information on how to make our buildings and our lives greener. Even if your building can't afford an entire 'green' makeover, there are easy, cost-effective strategies that both boards and residents can implement to save money and energy. Read More
Preparing Buildings for Winter
Although it may seem like the dog days of summer were just upon us, it's not too early to start thinking about winter. The cold months are right around the corner, and although last winter might seem like a distant memory, it's time to begin preparing for this winter season. Taking the time to address winterization now will go a long way in making sure your co-op or condo is ready to face the elements. Read More
Breaking Down the Process
The phrase "Reduce, reuse, recycle" has become something of a mantra in our times—though you still occasionally see a glass bottle or plastic container just stuffed in the trash, more and more people from all walks of life are becoming more environmentally-conscientious. For the city's residential co-op and condo communities, recycling has become the rule rather than the exception. Read More
Inspiring Buildings to Save Energy
Ever since An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's eye-opening documentary on global warming opened in 2006, the level of awareness among the general public on environmental issues has skyrocketed. Since then, there have been sobering nationwide conversations about what can we do to lessen the impact we have on our planet and its resources. Read More
Demand Response Energy Systems Pay Off
Apartment owners and homeowners have come to expect our utility bills to increase from year to year, though rarely do we have a chance to significantly reduce those bills. This quandary provides opportunities for savings, though. High utility costs and decreasing energy availability have dictated that building managers and board members pay closer attention to the bottom line when considering their building's utility costs and needs. Necessity, in the form of skyrocketing utility costs and widespread power outages, has fueled the increased use of alternative energy systems and alternative ways to save energy. Read More
Dealing with Disruptive Board Members
Every board is different, with its own individual personalities meshing for one common cause: to run the co-op or condo in their charge efficiently and with integrity. Read More
Alternative Energy Sources
Whether you consider yourself environmentally-minded or not, green is fast becoming the new black. Everywhere you look, from billboard ads to the Academy Awards, the nation is becoming preoccupied with renewable energy and the reduction of greenhouse gases. As gas-guzzling SUVs are eagerly traded in for gas/electric hybrid cars, the move to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil is also heating up the political arena, and when government incentives come to the table, money does all the talking. Read More
Running a Successful Meeting
Ever feel like your board meetings last longer than Wagner's entire operatic Ring Cycle? They may not last nine hours, but even three hours is a long time to sit in a chair—especially when the agenda doesn't include the Flight of the Valkyries and there's no intermission to go get a soda and chips. The sentiment is usually something like, "We're all working, we're all busy, and we're all volunteers—so let's get this show on the road!" Read More
Battery Park City
A walk along the Esplanade is all it takes to absorb the beauty and essence of Battery Park City. Running the entire length of Battery Park City, the 1.2-mile route is a wide walkway that provides breathtaking views of New Jersey's "gold coast" and Jersey City's up-and-coming downtown district. Historic Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty can be seen in the distance, while closer by are hundreds of species of plant and flora. Rollerbladers and bikers roll along the riverside, while others sit on benches or stroll by the view. Read More
The New York City Tree Trust
Whether trees are categorically lovelier than poems, as Joyce Kilmer famously suggested, is a matter of debate. If pressed, I'll take Ode on a Grecian Urn over Charlie Brown's Yuletide entry any day of the week. New Yorkers will agree, however, that there is a certain magic present when, in the asphalt jungle that characterizes the groundscape in Gotham, a tree grows in Brooklyn—or, for that matter, in Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island or the Bronx. Read More
Going Green Can Keep You in the Black
Green is the buzzword of the decade, with everyone from automotive manufacturers to professional sports teams rolling out high-profile environmentally-conscious initiatives. But board members, property managers, shareholders and owners have a duty to look after another kind of green—cash flow. Is it possible to select energy options that positively impact both types of green? Read More
...And What Energy Competition Means to You
Prior to 1999, New Yorkers had to buy their electric and natural gas from the public utility company that serviced their area. Operating as regulated monopolies, the utilities weren't able to offer customers competitive pricing or customized pricing and services options. But all that has changed. Read More
Apartments that Sell
The vast majority of co-ops and condos that are put on the market are not in picture-perfect shape for a rapid and high-priced sale. Prospective buyers, who view those apartments, often cannot see beyond the superficial defects and so fail to appreciate an apartment's potential. It is essential, therefore, that before an apartment is put on the market, it is made to look as attractive as possible. This is called staging, an essential step toward ensuring that an apartment does not stay on the market for an inordinately long period of time and is sold for the highest possible price. There are two categories of staging: primary and secondary, and each contains five subcategories, all of which are prerequisites, if staging is to achieve the desired results. Read More
Solar Powering Your Building
Sobering studies published last month by the International Energy Association and the National Petroleum Center suggest that the supply of traditional energy sources may not meet demand by 2015, strong evidence yet again that electric costs will continue to climb. Read More
Q&A: Going Co-op
I live in a building in New York City that is currently operated as a rental. It’s in terrible shape. Many of my fellow tenants and I have considered the co-op route. How does one go about this? Read More
Q&A: Cooperative Plumbing?
As a board member of an Upper West Side Building, we have grappled with the notion of washing machines in apartments. Those that have them may keep them and update them. Those that do not already have washing machines cannot install them. This decision is based solely on the idea that our pipes cannot handle the waste (soap suds) that these machines create. Can you tell me if washing machines generate as much suds as dishwashers? Is there much of a difference in how either one affects the existing drains of a co-op? Read More
Q&A: Too Many Documents?
I live in a condo with indoor parking facilities. The board recently sent a notice informing residents with current parking that the identity of each vehicle would be kept in order to ensure that owners do now allow unauthorized use of their assigned space. There has been one or two such occurrences in the past 17 years I have lived in the building. Currently, each space is clearly numbered and the management office has the resident’s name, vehicle make and model, license plate number and space number. Evidently, the board determined it necessary to demand that each resident parking in the garage provide a copy of their vehicle registration document as well. Read More
Q&A: Move-in Fees
Our board is thinking of instituting move-in fees. What is a fair move-in fee? How could we implement this policy without a shareholder vote? What could we do with the money we collect? Could it go into the reserve fund or would it have to be returned if they moved out, similar to a deposit? Read More
Q&A: Radiator Leak
I am a shareholder at a co-op. A radiator (which is located in my wall) was leaking water to the apartment below. I was not aware of it. The super came and fixed a valve and replaced the radiator (which had a hole in it) with a new one. The co-op wants me to pay for the new radiator and the repair of the valve. Read More
Q&A: Missing Meetings
What happens if board members consistently miss meetings, or don’t attend, messing up the voting process for a board? What recourse do we have? Read More
Associations Can "Reasonably" Restrict Rights
Are homeowner association's governmental or quasi-governmental entities? Until last year, most attorneys who practice community association law would have said the answer was clearly, and appropriately, no. But a New Jersey appeals court called that long-standing assumption into question when it decided that a community association, in fact, plays the role of a municipal government, and its rules and regulations must, therefore, pass constitutional muster. Read More
