Despite the heavy rains, which kicked off this summer season, the thoughts of beaches, vacations, barbecues, family picnics and ball games still permeate the air. The last thing on most people’s minds is the icy chill of winter. However…
When you rank the key players who keep your building functioning from day to day, the superintendent should probably be placed close to the top of the list. A building’s super has a tremendous amount of responsibility, including looking…
The co-op we owned in Astoria was a huge brick prewar building. Three of its sides were either attached to other buildings or else sealed off by high barbed-wire fencing. The only way into the building was the front door, and that meant …
We are all taught to “Look at the Big Picture.” That was a common phrase back in the 1980s when managers focused on how their actions resonated with the mission statement and goals of the corporation; whether that corporation was IBM, th…
The phrase “jack of all trades” could have been coined simply to describe the profession of residential property manager. To succeed in this fast-paced business, a property manager has to master a wealth of information and skills. More i…
Inside most multi-unit residential buildings, there are many areas that should be strictly off-limits to everyone but trained building staff—and we’re not just talking about the manager’s inbox. Machine rooms, elevator shafts, compactor …
As one year ends and a new one begins, talk turns to New Years' resolutions—everybody has a wish or a plan for how they'd most like 2008 to unfold. For some, a happy New Year includes the fortitude to stick to a sensible diet (finally!).…
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. High-r…
Rodney Dangerfield made a career out of getting no respect, but in the world of condominiums and co-ops, building superintendents may be able to empathize with the comedian. While managing agents and board members seem to get all the accola…
Superintendents are a lot more than just handymen—an important point learned at a roundtable discussion hosted by The Cooperator last month. Six representatives from three of New York City's seven superintendent organizations gathered for a…