Category: Building Operations

There have long been organizations that strive to strengthen and clarify the roles of owners, residents, and managers within the cooperative housing environment. But one essential player in the game—the superintendent—was the last to fi…

Last summer’s heat wave is just a fading memory, and it's that time again: time to get your building’s boiler operating and ready for the colder months. Before the first snow falls however, some maintenance and housekeeping to your buil…

 You may have a roof over your head—but if that roof isn’t doing its job, you may as well be living on the cold, wet streets of New York  City.    Roofs serve as the first line of defense against whatever the skies throw at  your bu…

 “...We gather here today at the human resources department of Acme Property  Management Company to bring together John Smith, property manager, with the  building and board located at 123 Anywhere Street. If nobody objects to this  arrang…

Eventually, most co-op owners will get bored with their surroundings and want to spruce up their apartment. Sometimes this will involve a full remodeling or redesign of the unit, while other times it simply means adding a new coat of p…

As residential buildings and the business of managing them have become more sophisticated, the term “super”—as in superintendent—has come to mean “super-qualified.” The days of the building handyman armed with little other than a ring of…

It’s hard—if not impossible—to plan a budget for your building and stick to it if maintenance problems and structural crises are constantly taking you by surprise and depleting your community’s bank account. Capital budgets are the long…

Not for nothing is New York City often called “the concrete jungle.” Thousands of square miles of pavement of all descriptions cover the city, from newly-poured (and quickly graffiti'ed) cement sidewalks to cobblestones left over from t…

Edgar Dworsky is the treasurer of a small condo complex in Somerville, Massachusetts that was built back in 1987. He loves where he lives except for one rather large problem. Water leaks have plagued the complex since it was built. Dur…

Even cavemen knew that fire was dangerous—and they lived in flame-proof caves. But here in the 21st century, people blithely build roaring fires right in the middle of their furnished, wood-filled, carpeted, upholstered and bookcase-jam…