2013 December
Focus on... Safety & Security

Security Hidden Dangers
2013 December Hidden Dangers

In New York, buying a co-op or a condo goes something like this: Your realtor takes you to see your dream home. You put in an offer—along with a bunch of other people. After a ferocious bidding war, your offer is finally accepted. You subm…

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Security Safer Behind Bars
2013 December Safer Behind Bars

Cristina Torre kept her eyes on the kid, as he dropped right into the old mitts. On June 19, 2013, the daughter of Yankees legend Joe Torre caught a 1-year-old baby boy when he fell from the awning of a Brooklyn storefront. Dillin Miller h…

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Security State of Surveillance
2013 December State of Surveillance

The drop in crime in New York in the last 40 years has been nothing short of miraculous. In the 1970s, the city’s obvious danger was notorious. Muggings were commonplace. Subway cars rolled along the tracks tagged in graffiti and ugly fluo…

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Board Operations Multifamily Storage Options
2013 December Multifamily Storage Options

The perks of living in New York are obvious to anyone reading these pages, and won’t be listed here. But there is one glaring drawback to city life: lack of space. We all have winter coats we don’t need in August, air conditioners we don’t…

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Management Who Goes There?
2013 December Who Goes There?

While crime rates are steadily decreasing nationwide—even in the Big Apple—multiunit dwellings are often more difficult to 'police' due to the number of residents, visitors, delivery personnel and third party workers such as contractors. A…

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Real Estate Trends Superstorm Sandy
2013 December Superstorm Sandy

At the tail end of October 2012, the nation and the world watched as the innocuously-named Superstorm Sandy made landfall across New York City. Lashing rain, hurricane-force winds, massive flooding, fire and power outages wreaked havoc on …

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Maintenance Snow Control
2013 December Snow Control

A snowy winter is a child's dream. What's more fun than the chance to build snowmen, dominate in snowball fights and of course, relish in the pure joy that is a snow day? Oh, to be young, blissful—and mostly ignorant of the havoc wreaked b…

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Q&A Q&A: Who's got the Power
2013 December Q&A: Who's got the Power

Q If the majority of board members pass a motion, and the president or other members of the board decide to ignore the majority's vote and proceed in opposition to their directive, what recourse do the board members have? Is there anythin…

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Q&A Q&A: How Hot is It?
2013 December Q&A: How Hot is It?

The New York City rules for heating are confusing. For example, from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., if the outdoor temperature is below 40 degrees, the indoor temperature must be at least 55 degrees. Taken literally, this means that if the outdoo…

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