2016 November
Focus on... Building Maintenance

Maintenance Funding Your Reserves
2016 November Funding Your Reserves

Hector and Hedy Johnson bought a new condominium in Queens in 1995 and lived there for 19 years. In 2014 they sold the apartment to Leonard and Lena Smith. A year later, the condominium association’s board of directors voted to replace the …

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Maintenance Updating Your Building’s Systems
2016 November Updating Your Building’s Systems

There are a lot of moving parts that contribute toward the functionality of a residential complex, whether said property is a condominium, cooperative, or a homeowner’s association. And these parts vary in complexity, to the extent that no …

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Maintenance Plumbing in Multifamily Buildings
2016 November Plumbing in Multifamily Buildings

Plumbing. It’s one of those things for which we all should be grateful, but about which we rarely ever give a thought – at least not until we see water seeping out from under the bathroom door. Fortunately, if and when things go wrong, ther…

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Maintenance Wood-Destroying Pests
2016 November Wood-Destroying Pests

Whether interior or exterior, well-built, properly-maintained woodwork can last for centuries but if wood-boring pests like beetles, termites, and carpenter ants find their way into the wood, they can wreak all kinds of havoc. Wood-destroyi…

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Real Estate Trends Holiday Tipping  Etiquette
2016 November Holiday Tipping Etiquette

Whether you live in a suburb or in the heart of the city, life is expensive. Sometimes it can feel as though everybody from the barista at your favorite coffee shop to the kid who bags your groceries is trying to nickel-and-dime you half to…

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Management Your Chief Engineer
2016 November Your Chief Engineer

In New York, they are called superintendents. In Florida, they are called maintenance supervisors. Other places call them supers or building engineers. No matter which title they answer to, these are the employees who are responsible for th…

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Board Operations Holiday Decorating
2016 November Holiday Decorating

Since before recorded history, people have celebrated events, often decorating homes and public spaces to mark this or that special day or event. We still love to adorn our doors, windows, and other areas with festive décor at different tim…

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Design Design on a Dime
2016 November Design on a Dime

Alyssa and her fiancé are on the hunt for a condo in Brooklyn. They came into the process with their wish list (in-unit washer and dryer, hardwood floors, lots of light) and their must-have list (two bedrooms, one bath and something more th…

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Maintenance Maintenance of HVAC Cooling Towers
2016 November Maintenance of HVAC Cooling Towers

Approximately one year ago in response to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at five buildings in the Bronx, New York City passed the most comprehensive and toughest law in the country for the monitoring of cooling towers and their mandat…

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Board Operations New York City’s Community Boards
2016 November New York City’s Community Boards

In a metropolis of 8.5 million residents, it’s not surprising that it takes an awful lot of people in a lot of departments and organizations to keep New York City government running smoothly. Some of those people (the mayor, for instance) a…

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Neighborhoods A Look at the  Upper West Side
2016 November A Look at the Upper West Side

With its plethora of major cultural and educational institutions like Lincoln Center, the American Museum of Natural History, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, General Grant National Memorial (a.k.a. Grant’s Tomb), Barnard College, Un…

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Q&A Q&A: Dealing With a Neighbor’s Unwanted Smoking
2016 November Q&A: Dealing With a Neighbor’s Unwanted Smoking

Q. I live on first floor apartment in a co-op building. Next to the building is a bakery and the owner and his employees smoke all the time in front of my windows .The smoke is coming in my house (I have to paint one of the wall got dark …

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Q&A Q&A: Unwanted Scaffolding on Our Terrace
2016 November Q&A: Unwanted Scaffolding on Our Terrace

Q. In the 23 years that I have been a resident shareholder, the building has used my terrace cumulatively for facade work for over five years. In addition to the severe strain on my health, well being and work, these scaffolding installat…

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