Category: Building Operations

Every day in New York City interior renovation work is taking place that is illegal to a greater or lesser degree. Just because the work looks good, does not mean that it meets Building Code requirements or that it's what the board of di…

If two people have a hard time agreeing on what movie to see, it would seem impossible that the residents of even the smallest co-op or condo building would be able to agree on a color scheme for the new lobby. But that's no excuse for…

How do you take a small kitchen, make it three times as large and make sure that it fits in with the rest of the apartment? Interior designer Gail Green would say very carefully. And that is exactly what she did for one family's kitche…

The co-op and condo universe can be divided into two types of properties: The vast majority that engage a professional management firm and those that choose to go it alone. All properties need the services that good full-service managemen…

What can a board do if its building is faced with extensive capital work while recovering from the real estate slump of the early 1990s? Assessments are unpopular and reserves are low. There's a desire to have construction operations com…

In Spring, 1996 New York State made it legal for small-volume users in the metropolitan area to purchase natural gas from sources other than the major utility companies such as Consolidated Edison (Con Ed) and Brooklyn Union Gas (BUG). Ho…

In 1988 Mayor Ed Koch announced a new program that would give homeowners and multiple-dwelling buildings ten years to switch over to water meters, a program that is scheduled for completion by December 31, 1998. With this change, all New …

What do you know about lead-based paint? Perhaps you know that it's a toxin that's espe- cially dangerous to children under the age of six, and that even fetuses can be affected since they can be exposed to lead through their mother's blo…

Even at the most stately Park Avenue address, relocation is a frequent activity as apartments are bought and sold and sublet tenants or roommates move in and out. More than 100,000 people hire movers every year in New York City. But while…

You are walking along the sidewalk and, as happens so frequently in New York, you approach a portion that is covered by a sidewalk construction shed. Thinking nothing of it, you stay on that side of the street and continue walking under i…