Page 11 - NY Cooperator October Expo 2019

COOPERATOR.COM THE COOPERATOR — OCTOBER 2019 11 building issues. Good ol’ fashioned email has been the main means of com- munications for many years, as Halper points out. In addition to regular email, there are web-based applications, such as BuildingLink, which provide an ‘intranet’ of sorts for a building or association that enables everyone to communicate with each other in a completely private, secure forum. Meryl Sacks, president of Sacks Real Estate Management, a co-op and con- dominium management firm based in Manhattan, describes BuildingLink as “an information and communication software system. The most heavily used aspect is communication between build- ing residents and management through email, especially emergency notifications through broadcasts, which can be done through email or cell phone.” The key to success for any building when using this technology, Sacks explains, is to have all current contact information for each resident in each apartment. Schlossberg also uses BuildingLink. She says the four most useful modules in the application for her buildings are e-Blast, which sends out mass messages with the click of a button; the package delivery module, which notifies a resi- dent when a package has arrived and is being held for them; the security module, which adds an additional layer of securi- ty through a function called KeyLink that guards spare keys left with the building super; and work orders, which can track not only work being done in the build- ing and in individual apartments, but also potential developing problems like drain clogs appearing in a particular line of apartments that could indicate a larger plumbing issue. One real life example of how multi- functional management software has im- proved the operation of a building comes from Ann D., the president of a 56-unit co-op in Upper Manhattan. When she began serving on the board around seven years ago, “We were still carrying around piles of paper and folders to meetings. We were looking for ways to communi- cate better, and to access documents. For a while we were using Google Drive, and that worked well, but with BuildingLink we have better access, and shareholders can also access documents themselves. If someone needs an alteration agreement, they can access it.” But, she stresses, many still call the managing agent and ask for items they could find themselves online. Ann also mentions that the board members still communicate pretty much through direct email and text. Of course, for any management soft- ware to be successful, residents have to be willing to use it; shiny new technology requires technologically willing partici- pants. They must also be diligent about buildings, too) relate more to phone- checking their email, as so many of the based applications for things like answer- notices and communications on that sys- tem are sent electronically. If you don’t temperatures, and package delivery in home from work, they’re tired. They may check, you don’t get the notice. All of buildings without door staff. While these want to check their own social media ac- our experts indicate that they still send applications are popular, they definitely counts, but I doubt they want to join a out paper notifications under apartment don’t qualify as social media. doors as a backup, although with Build- ingLink one can select out those residents that haven’t received their notification via and condo buildings is a question mark. the service and deliver paper notifications As Ann, the president of the Upper Man- to those units only. Other technologies used by residents Schlossberg doubts that it’s likely to be- in both co-ops and condos (and rental come embedded in community lifestyles. ing the intercom, setting heat and A/C and axes to grind? “When people come A Future for Multifamily Social Media? The future of social media in co-op there,” she says. hattan co-op asks, “Who’s following it?” moment doesn’t mean that it won’t gain What information would be shared there – aside from the aforementioned gripes discussion online about the new scratch on the wood in the elevator and how it got On the other hand, just because some- thing isn’t ‘A Thing’ at the current cultural Offer your residents an exceptional onsite storage amenity! We will turn your unused building space into a secure, state-of-the-art storage facility FOR FREE . We will handle everything from start to finish, and we’ll PAY YOU monthly. We do all the work. You get all the credit. Our Investment. Your return. WWW.BARGOLD.COM Storage4U@bargold.com (718) 247-7000 continued on page 12 See us at Booth 406