Page 15 - NY Cooperator October 2020

COOPERATOR.COM THE COOPERATOR — OCTOBER 2020 15 REBECCA SCANDALIATO Mackoul Risk Solutions provides training for the employees and board members who have direct interaction with those employees. For more information and to avoid costly fines for non-compliance contact Mackoul Risk Solutions today. OVERVIEW OF THE LAW New York State has enacted several significant measures regarding harassment in the workplace. All New York State employers are required to adopt written workplace harassment prevention policies and institute annual anti-harassment training for all employees. NEW YORK STATE MANDATED WORKPLACE HARASSMENT PREVENTION TRAINING MACKOUL RISK SOLUTIONS OUR LOW COST SOLUTION GET IN TOUCH DID YOU KNOW... That any employee hired must be trained on the workplace harassment prevention policy within 30 days of employment? Mandated training provided for Property Management Firms as well. rscandaliato@mackoul.com 516-279-1215 | www.mackoul.com Providing a Full Range of Architectural & Engineering Services In-house professional expertise in: Exterior Restoration & Historic Preservation Construction Inspection Alteration Review Architectural Design Engineering: n Mechanica l n Electrical n Plumbing n Structural Energy Audits Forensic Investigation Façade Safety Inspection Program Reporting Green Design – LEED Professionals Client satisfaction assured by the active daily involvement of the firm’s principals www.lawlessmangione.com info@lawlessmangione.com 914.423.8844 fl exible staffi ng in order to employ workers KW, while others—like valet and cleaning laid off from buildings in the commercial staff —are subcontracted from outside ven- or offi ce sector, or to fi ll shortages where dors, it was important to line up protocols staff needed to quarantine aft er exposure to and procedures to “make sure that every- or contraction of the virus, or if they had one is on the same page.” underlying health concerns and were there- fore staying home or isolated. According to González, while most 32BJ ing building service workers as ‘essential’ members working in residential properties employees who could continue to go to were happy to be employed at a time when work in the event of shutdowns or curfews, millions of other Americans were losing they were able to come up with unifi ed reg- their jobs, they still had to contend with the ulations and guidelines to share among the risks of contracting and spreading the vi- rus on their commute to and from work— which by and large involved either public populations, and facilities, approaching the transportation or carpooling, at a time ever-changing landscape of the crisis coop- when mask wearing and social distancing eratively proved eff ective in encouraging had not become municipally mandated. compliance and fostering a sense of assur- And their risks didn’t end when they got ance—from both residents and staff of the to work: as states and municipalities locked buildings. down in the spring, PPE was in woefully short supply, residents who were normally was especially important given the dearth at work or school were now confi ned to the of initial guidance from the government. buildings, and offi cial guidance was sparse Even when local protocols did start to trick- and inconsistent, to say the least. Although there was “a lot of mental and diff er from Miami’s, which in turn might emotional strain \\\[on\\\] the guys” at the time, diff er from Miami-Dade county’s. With an González expressed that the closeness of already uncertain and tumultuous envi- residential building employees’ relation- ships with those who live in and operate extremely high—unifying the boards’ posi- their workplaces gave many workers the tion on particular decisions allowed both motivation to maintain the “continuity of staff and residents to align expectations and service” that their jobs require. And across mitigate some of the second-guessing and the nation, many boards, residents, and confusion surrounding the state’s coronavi- managers off ered accommodation and ap- preciation to their property service work- ers with free parking (made available when many owners with cars fl ed urban apart- ments for more spacious and isolated living situations), hot meals, evening applause, and PPE donations. At Th e Residences at Pier 4 in Boston, for example, general manager Jeremy DiFlami- nies with FirstService Residential enlisted his wife to sew upwards of 60 masks for building staff . Residents of Seward Park Cooperative in lower Manhattan organized a fund to provide meals to staff under a partnership with the co-op’s commercial tenant restaurants—thereby supporting lo- cal businesses, keeping their own commer- cial tenants afl oat, and off ering appreciation to their hard-working building employees in one fell swoop. And in Miami, a group of condo boards called the Brickell Alliance organized two fi rst-responders appreciation events with banners and a parade of cars honking for the police, fi refi ghters, EMTs, and their own building service workers on the front lines of the pandemic. A Unifi ed Approach According to Brickell Alliance president Marta Arnold, who serves on the board of Th e Palace condo building, her board worked with their management company, KW Property Management & Consulting, to make proactive decisions at the onset of the coronavirus crisis. She says that since certain workers at the condo’s three tow- ers—including front desk, security rov- ers, and gate personnel—are employees of Aft er the Alliance impressed upon the city of Miami the importance of designat- condos. Even though the 20 or so buildings in the Alliance have diff erent structures, Arnold says that the Alliance’s function le in, Florida’s statewide mandates might ronment to deal with—and with the stakes rus response. Enhanced Protocols, New Responsibilities One issue common among multifam- ily buildings and communities is what’s become known as the ‘package problem.’ Already a growing concern pre-COVID, dealing with the onslaught of home de- liveries from Amazon, UPS, FedEx, Fresh Direct, and innumerable meal delivery and meal-prep services during lockdown, while considering the potential for contagion and complying with diff ering building proto- cols, has made the package problem the universal bane of building service workers. Some buildings have developed complex systems for receiving and decontaminat- ing packages; others have put restrictions on types and methods of deliveries; still others have made physical alterations to their common spaces to accommodate the package pile-up. But regardless of how each building is handling the issue, it’s usually the building workers who are left holding the bag … or more accurately, the box. Both González and Arnold indicate that dealing with deliveries has been an added stress for staff . For some, it’s yet another task in their already long list of responsi- bilities. For others, it’s outside of their job description, requiring them to learn a new set of protocols. But in the pandemic era, SUPPORTING... continued from page 1 continued on page 16