The worst of the recession is over, and many observers believe the recovery is well under way. With the exception of some coastal areas, the city has climbed out of the worst of the effects of Superstorm Sandy. What’s next? Will the …
Living in New York City can be something of a dirty job. Thanks to the hustle and bustle of big city living, the task of cleaning off months (or years) of accumulated grime and dirt from the exterior of a residential building takes much mo…
It’s not hard to imagine the dire danger posed to life and limb, should debris or material of any kind fall from the facade of any of New York City’s thousands of buildings. Indeed, pedestrians have been injured and killed by bricks, stone…
Walk down any street in the city and you’re likely to go under or around one of the ubiquitous steel-and-plywood structures that shade Gotham's sidewalks, more often than not festooned with wheat-pasted posters for everything from the hott…
While they may seem like archaic pieces of urban art—if they’re noticed at all—rooftop water tanks serve a vital function to countless high-rise buildings in New York City. Whether made of wood or steel, the care and maintenance of these a…
Whenever a new residential building is proposed in any New York City neighborhood, people inevitably object to the project. Their reasons are as varied as their neighborhoods, and range from concerns about gentrification and retaining the …
An old time-worn saying ‘that you’re only as good as your first impression’ is paramount in how your co-op or condo building is perceived at street level. The curb appeal factor cannot be discounted when people pass by your building and se…
While the era of massive, NASA-sized satellite dishes is long past (unless you’re in a very old building, or have held on to an antique dish out of nostalgia), the advent of smaller apparatus—as well as rooftop cell phone towers—has brough…
In New York City, where space is at a premium, balconies and terraces offer co-op and condo owners a way to maximize their living space while also providing unparalleled views of the city they love. They are the small oases to which we esc…
The old expression says, ‘put your best face forward,’ and the same goes for co-op and condo buildings. But a building façade is more than just the face it shows to the street—it’s a protective barrier against the elements and an integral …
In a vertical city like New York, the roof deck can signify quite literally the pinnacle of fine living. In the summer, there is nothing else quite like a nighttime gathering at the top of a building with the stars above, the bright lights…
There’s no such thing as a small job. Whether a minor lobby repair or a major capital improvement, whenever a contractor is hired to work in a co-op or condominium, if the contractor or one of their employees gets injured, the corporation …
James Gulliver Hancock, an Australian illustrator who now lives in Brooklyn, is attempting to draw all the buildings in New York—all of them. From brownstones on Bank Street to the palatial condo buildings of Park Avenue, from the Flatiron…
There’s a reason that film directors, when making movies, first call for LIGHTS before CAMERA and ACTION. Lighting sets the tone for the entire picture. Soft lighting makes a pretty face even prettier (or a not-so pretty one, not half-bad)…
Private homeowners can do pretty much whatever they want in their own homes, as long as it’s not illegal and doesn’t put other people or private property at risk. These same rights are not always afforded to co-op owners, however, and in s…
For more than a quarter-century, The Cooperator’s Co-op & Condo Expo has been a must-attend event for the tri-state area’s property managers, board members, real estate professionals, shareholders and unit owners. Coming from all corners o…
According to the old admonishment, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and that’s sage advice in just about any situation; but when it comes to how your building and its on-site staff present themselves to residents, visitors, and pros…
While it's true that having apathetic leadership is an all-too-common problem in a lot of co-op and condo buildings, having a board that oversteps the boundaries of its power or invades the privacy of residents can be just as bad. Ignoranc…
One of the most beloved New York characters in sitcom TV, Carroll O’Connor, the actor that played the cantankerous Archie Bunker, grew up in this section of Queens that came to signify a quintessential middle income, working class neighbor…
Increasingly, those who manage residential rental, cooperative, or condominium apartment dwellings in New York are learning they must walk a fine line in setting house rules that govern the ownership and acceptance of animals in their buil…