Category: Building Operations

Windows can dramatically change any space, from transforming a tiny kitchen into a front row seat to a glorious skyline to morphing a standard upstairs bedroom into a perfect perch for an ocean view. Windows bring vast life and light to an…

Most board members and managers in New York City’s co-op and condo buildings know the drill when it comes to Local Law 11 inspections, meaning inspections of the exterior walls of buildings in the city that are more than six stories. The l…

Brick, stone, steel and glass…the exteriors of New York’s co-op and condo buildings are as recognizable as the skylines they form. Keeping them current and shapely is the responsibility of the boards and managers who oversee each residenti…

Whether they consider themselves dog people, cat people or exotic bird people, many New York City residents own companion animals. New Yorkers may love their furry or fine-feathered friends but not all association boards and managers are q…

A new year begins…and with it more activity in the New York City real estate market. Many are asking about progress in the market, especially with co-ops and condos, and the prognosis for 2015. What new projects are under way? What are buy…

As the co-op/condo market continues to heal after the setback it experienced during the most recent financial crisis of the mid-aughts, many management firms and independent property managers are looking for ways to distinguish themselves …

The most successful property managers seem to have one thing in common: a sense they are working in a constantly changing industry. With building technology, administration, and communication methods constantly evolving, a savvy manager wi…

Individual commitment to a group effort; that's what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work. Legendary Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi left cooperative and condo boards and managers off…

There is an old adage that claims, "The more things change, the more they stay the same," and that is not a happy thought for a board of directors or an association looking to change property management firms. The turmoil of replacing a ma…

Whether you live in a Midtown high-rise or in a more spread-out outer-borough HOA, security—for both property and physical safety—is an important issue in any condo community. Who can come in, at what times, how long they can stay, and how…