2009 Nov
Focus on... Building Maintenance

Interior Prioritizing Projects to Avoid Trouble Later
2009 Nov Prioritizing Projects to Avoid Trouble Later

With the economy still in the weeds and building administrators looking for creative ways to save money and build up their bottom line, it’s no surprise to hear that co-ops and condos are taking a hard look at their maintenance and buil…

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Interior Life Spans of Building Systems
2009 Nov Life Spans of Building Systems

Even when living in a multi-family building, individual residents must handle some of the same responsibilities as those of a single-family homeowner. While board members will be more involved than other residents in helping to ensure …

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Interior Working with the New Building Codes
2009 Nov Working with the New Building Codes

If you’re part of a co-op and condo community, you’ve definitely had to deal with the New York City’s Building Codes. They’re a complex set of regulations, documents, amendments, local laws and more, regulating all sorts of things, from …

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Interior Installing & Maintaining Laundry Facilities
2009 Nov Installing & Maintaining Laundry Facilities

Clean laundry. It’s one of those basic things without which we would go mad but which we rarely stop to consider. Within New York’s co-op and condo complexes, laundry room facilities are an integral part of a happy, functioning environm…

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Interior Elevator Safety & Inspections
2009 Nov Elevator Safety & Inspections

Ever since the first hydraulic passenger elevator was installed in New York City in 1870, the city has relied upon elevators to support its upward growth. Given that few would care to contemplate living or working in a 20-story walk-up,…

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Interior The Many Faces of Chinatown
2009 Nov The Many Faces of Chinatown

 "Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” An immortal line from a beloved movie, and perhaps a reflection of how many  Western urbanites over the years have viewed the large pockets of Asian  immigrants that have settled in their cities. Chinato…

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Interior Dealing with Objectionable Behavior
2009 Nov Dealing with Objectionable Behavior

 Even before the landmark “Pullman” case in 2003 in which a co-op board and shareholders voted unanimously to evict an especially  troublesome and disruptive shareholder from their building—New York co-op residents have grumbled about “obj…

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Interior Sidewalk Care and Liability
2009 Nov Sidewalk Care and Liability

 No doubt about it, the Big Apple is a pedestrian town: according to the New York  City Department of Transportation (DOT), over eight million people tread the  city’s approximately 12,750 square miles of sidewalks each day.    New …

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Interior From Dutch Traders to Wall Street Traders
2009 Nov From Dutch Traders to Wall Street Traders

 In the late 1980s, seeking high-growth, low-risk investment opportunities, and  with an affinity for brick and mortar, European pension funds began to invest  heavily in the American real estate market. So much money poured into the Unite…

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Interior A Word on Holiday Tipping Etiquette
2009 Nov A Word on Holiday Tipping Etiquette

 According to some sources, the word “tips” is actually an acronym—it’s short for “To Insure Prompt Service,” and the list of people who are commonly tipped—at least in the United States—includes everyone from hair and nail salon workers t…

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Q&A Q&A: Condo Foreclosure
2009 Nov Q&A: Condo Foreclosure

Q I am three months behind in my homeowner’s association payments. Can the condominium foreclose on my unit? My mortgage payments are up to date, and I called my lender who said, ‘no, they cannot foreclose.’ What do you say? I wrote a…

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Q&A Q&A: D&O vs. General Liability
2009 Nov Q&A: D&O vs. General Liability

Q Our co-op has a question about our various insurance policies. Our insurance agent has recommended to the board that we keep our D&O coverage separate from our general liability coverage. I understand that some commercial general l…

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Q&A Q&A: Rights to Building Insurance Certificates
2009 Nov Q&A: Rights to Building Insurance Certificates

Q I own a co-op unit in Jackson Heights, and recently I asked to get a copy of my building’s insurance policy. The board’s management told me that they only give this information out when an owner is buying, selling or refinancing—no…

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Q&A Q&A: New Construction Woes
2009 Nov Q&A: New Construction Woes

Q Last year, I bought a brand new condo from a builder in Brooklyn. The disaster started from the first day I moved in. After I remodeled and thought that I could enjoy it, I found that there isn’t any insulation between the walls, f…

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Q&A Q&A: Noise in a New Construction
2009 Nov Q&A: Noise in a New Construction

Q “When I purchased my apartment in Brooklyn, noise was a concern of mine. I was told by the sales team and the builders that noise was not a problem. But now with people moving in, I hear closet and kitchen doors closing, people wal…

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