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Security
Staying Safe
For most people, nothing is more important than knowing that they and their
families are safe and secure in the place they call home. Boards, management
and security firms all must work together seamlessly and cohesively to create
that safe environment without making a building or community feel like a
citadel. It can be a delicate balancing act, but with the right approach, it
can be done. Read More
Staying Secure
Recent nationwide crime statistics show that New York City and its outlying
suburbs has become one of the safest cities of its size in the past 15 years.
Nevertheless, in a sprawling metropolitan area encompassing New York and New
Jersey, security is always a concern.
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Keep Criminals Out and Budget Dollars In
In terms of building security, boards today are in a tricky position. They are
obliged to protect the residents, their property and offer the same quality of
life just as they did prior to the great economic belly flop of the 21st
Century. The problem is, however, they have less cash to do so.
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Educating Residents to Save Lives and Property
Whether it affects a small portion of one unit or the entire association, a fire
is easily one of the most devastating and destructive events that can happen in
any multifamily building. New technology and current regulations have made
fires easier to prevent, control and extinguish, but residents and building
staff still must be educated about what to do in an emergency situation, as
well as how to prevent a fire from occurring in the first place. Read More
What You Need to Know
It's a nightmare scenario. From the 1970s-era disaster movie The Towering Infernoto the very real nightmare of 9/11, the idea of being trapped by a raging fire hundreds of feet in the air is nothing anybody wants to contemplate. Read More
A Private Matter
The issue of intellectual property and an individual’s right to privacy has become a greater concern since more and more people
conduct their lives online—whether for banking, social media or dating. While the aforementioned generally
have security features encrypted in programming platforms, there remain
justifiable concerns as to what is actually protected. This heightened sense of
scrutiny results in ancillary privacy concerns, especially for those living in
community associations.
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Information is Everything
Your co-op or condo unit houses more than your material possessions. The
management office also typically contains detailed information about you—including your social security number, credit card number, emergency
information, phone number and many other important documents relevant to your
security.
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Data Security
If they have a mind to, an unscrupulous person in possession of someone's
personal information can cause a lot of damage. Their mischief can range from
opening charge cards and other lines of credit, running up huge charges in the
victim's name that go unpaid and wreak havoc on his or her credit rating, to
emptying bank accounts. All a criminal needs is an individual’s name, address, social security number and bank account numbers.
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Watching Out for One Another
For New York residents, every neighborhood and every borough and every county
could well be another state entirely. Whether it’s a few blocks or a few miles, every area has its own personality, its own perks
and its own downside. When it comes to question of security, it’s no different. The Manhattanite living in the 20-story co-op complex is going
to have a different set of needs than someone living in a detached townhouse on
Staten Island or a gated community in Queens. For managing agents as well as
residents, these differences all come into play when trying to determine the
best, most effective way to keep house and home safe and sound.
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Avoiding Toxins in Your Building
Some building hazards—things like cracked sidewalks, broken windows or crumbling masonry—are obvious to even an untrained eye, making it easy to conduct repairs and
prevent further deterioration and potential injury.
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Dealing with the Unforeseeable
In 2004, a NewsChannel 4 helicopter corkscrewed and slammed onto the roof of a Brooklyn apartment building, shattering into pieces. In July 2006, Dr. Nicholas Bartha blew up his Upper East Side townhouse that he was about to lose in a divorce settlement. That explosion leveled the four-story building. In October 2006, New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor were flying a small plane that crashed into The Belaire, a 40-story apartment building with 183 apartments. Read More
Your Security Web
The days when an apartment building's 'security system' consisted of a tricky
front door lock and the landlord's ill-tempered dog are long past. Today,
security measures range from old-style deadbolts to high-tech biometric
screening equipment, with a lot of technology in between that includes both
electronic and human components. For association board members and others
living in co-op or condo buildings, understanding the functions and necessities
of these security components is essential to having a safe community. Any
resident should know how these various measures interlock to form a web of
protection for them and their property.
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A Word to the Wise
There are some eight million people living in the five boroughs of New York. A
sample size that big is bound to yield some bad apples. Most every New Yorker
knows how to avoid the garden-variety, shady-looking miscreant on the street—the trick is to keep them out of your building. How to achieve this? Here are what the experts have to say.
Read More
Budgets, Buildings & Biometrics
Not so long ago, if you wanted to know who was on your stoop, you stuck your
head out the window and asked who was there. But these days, the demand for
greater security and the evolution of technology has led to the availability of
systems that not too many years ago were purely in the realm of science
fiction. Things like biometric scanners and time-sensitive key cards are in use
every day in residential buildings around New York City and are becoming more
widespread.
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Look Out Below...and Above
Falling bricks. Rickety scaffolding. An errant nail and an unsuspecting foot.
Things can go wrong during renovation and restoration projects no matter what
the size and scale of the work at hand. Whether the job is tackling a new façade on a high-rise or putting new shingles on a townhome, anything can happen.
That’s why state and local governments put so much effort and energy into ensuring
the safety of passers-by and why co-op and condo managers turn eagle-eyed and
protective of their residents when large projects loom.
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Walking the Line Between Safety and Privacy
When it comes to the things that people value most, personal safety and security rank right at the top of the list. That's especially true in a day and age filled with ongoing anxiety over everything from identity theft to car jackings to terrorist attacks. All that most people want is to feel safe and secure, especially in their own homes. Read More
Conducting Employee Background Checks
Typically the sources of terror in horror movies come from ghouls and zombies.
Victims in these films find themselves trapped in an abandoned warehouse or
haunted mansion with no chance of escape or survival. These films leave the
audience feeling appropriately freaked out as they leave the theater and head
back to the safety and security of their co-op or condo apartment.
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Get Out and Be Safe
Just this past September, a tornado hit Park Slope, Central Brooklyn and parts
of Queens, doing substantial damage in a few short minutes. It left people in
other parts of the city wondering, “Could it happen here?” But the tornado—and one like it in Bay Ridge back in 2007—are just the most recent examples of why board members, managers and unit owners
have to think seriously about emergency planning.
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A Look at Low-Tech Security
Microchip technology and innovations like biometrics and voice recognition
devices have revolutionized the residential security industry. Once purely in
the realm of science fiction, computers can now perform retinal scans and hand
print analysis to verify individuals' identities and grant entry into
residential buildings. The future of security technology is definitely now.
Read More
New Equipment for a Safer Community
Over the past two decades, New York City has become a safer place than it once
was. But events in recent years, both at home and abroad, have made Americans
more aware of security—how much they have, how much they’d like, and how much security they really need in order to feel truly safe in
their homes. The answer to those questions involves assessing and adding up the
costs and benefits of a security program, and tailoring that program to one’s particular building, community or home.
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Brighter Days Ahead in 2012?
While the economy sputters along and unemployment rates remain steady at more
than nine percent, there doesn't seem to be much call for celebration—but all is not gloom and doom. The real estate market has been one of the most
notable casualties of the recession but in certain regions sales of homes and
condominiums are showing positive signs, giving hope to an industry that has
been treading water for over three years.
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Be Prepared
Security is a big issue no matter where you live, but in a sprawling urban
environment like New York City, it's toward the top of residents' list of
concerns. For co-ops and condos, addressing this means not only providing
residents a safe and secure place to live, but staffing it with workers who
know what to do in the case of an emergency.
Read More
Handling Issues of Environmental Safety
Our homes are our sanctuaries—the places we go to feel safe. Sometimes, though, problems arise that can
threaten that sense of security. We worry about fire, or intruders or other
common fears, but rarely do we consider environmental contaminants, the things
that may be in our walls or basements or even the air. Thankfully though, there
are ways to deal with those issues and restore that sense of security to the
places we call home. Of all the semi-invisible problems that can plague a multi-family residential
building, the three most common are lead paint, asbestos and mold. Whether
those problems may be present within a building depends on the building itself,
however.
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Making it Safe, Secure, and User-Friendly
Of all the responsibilities that come with being a manager of a residential
building, few are as important as ensuring the safety of your residents. Read More
Technology Greeting You at Your Door
When it comes to living in New York City, having a doorman in your condo or co-op is a luxury that almost everyone wishes they could have. A doorman has many functions, among them providing a sense of security and collecting packages for residents when they aren't home. Read More
Wiring Your Co-op or Condo
It’s been a long time since cable modems were the gold standard in Internet
connectivity—or at least it seems like it’s been a long time. Telecommunications as a field has been developing at a
dizzying pace, and multifamily buildings—both new developments and existing properties—face the challenge of providing residents with fast, reliable, Wi-Fi and other
telecom-related services.
Read More
Keeping it All Inside
New legislation and a push by the city fathers to make New York City buildings
more energy-efficient has thrown the gauntlet down for New Yorkers to also
become more energy-conscious. Wouldn’t it be great if residents decided to take the lead and make energy-saving
changes in their apartments as well? Of course it would.
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Bed Bugs, Lead Paint and Graffiti
The Federation of New York Housing Cooperatives & Condominiums recently held a roundtable seminar for board presidents and board
members at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. The October 24th event
attracted around 50 people and panelists discussed a number of timely issues,
including pest control, new rules for lead paint, graffiti, laundry and storage
systems, chemical water treatment options, and mandated energy audits.
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FCC-Mandated Analog-to-Digital TV Changes Comng Soon
On September 7, 1927, 19-year-old Philo T. Farnsworth created the first
television system that could not only display, but transmit signals between
separate rooms. Now more than 80 years later, another historic date in
broadcast transmissions is upon us. On February 17, 2009, all full-power
broadcast television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting on
analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital.
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Where There's Smoke
These days SoHo is populated by fancy eateries, high-end boutiques, the Apple
store, and of course, the art galleries. On the weekends, the streets are
packed with shoppers and tourists. This neighborhood is characteristic of
several aspects of today’s New York: stylish, modern, hipster, wealthy, trendy.
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Thoughts & Predicitions from Industry Pros
For pretty much every business sector you can think of, 2009 was a roller
coaster of a year—and real estate was particularly hard-hit. Some industry professionals have
weathered the storm, while others have packed up and moved on from the
uncertainty of this tumultuous industry to seek better fortunes elsewhere. Now,
as the year draws to a welcome close, it may be a good time for not just
evaluating 2009, but postulating what 2010 might have in store. So we asked a
handful of New York real estate professionals to reflect back on this past year
and see if they can look into their crystal ball to forecast next year’s trends and challenges.
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A Room with a (Rotating) View
Buckminster Fuller, a thinker, inventor, artist, mathematician, (the list goes
on,) once said, “People should think things out fresh and not just accept conventional terms and
the conventional way of doing things.” Fuller, most famous for his invention of the geodesic dome, sought to solve the problems
facing mankind before they were insurmountable, thinking so far ‘outside the box,’ that he based most of his designs on the tetrahedron. Thinking so far into the
future that, decades ago, he was trying to solve the problems we face today.
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How to Care for at Risk Residents
New York City is famous (perhaps infamous) for its residents' philosophy of minding their own business—dress as a giant chicken, sport a revolutionary haircut…nobody minds. This attitude is great if you're a young person expressing your inner bohemian—but somewhat less great if you're an elderly person or someone with a mental or physical handicap, or a kid with working parents taking care of younger siblings. Who looks out for these folks when there is a fire, power outage or other emergency? Read More
Keeping Up with Today's Strict Safety Measures
Everyone likes to think that they are safe all the time, but often people take for granted that everything in their condo or co-op is up to snuff and they forget about simple things like changing batteries in smoke detectors or securing window guards. One look through the morning papers and you will read about someone who neglected to take a proper safety measure in their home. Read More
Fees Under Fire
A proposal to ban federal lenders from purchasing loans in co-ops that use flip
tax fees or condos with deed-based transfer fees has housing community leaders
worried the ruling would lead to diminished operating budgets and severely
disrupt the cooperative and condominium market.
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