Being a board member, manager, or maintenance staff member for a building or HOA obviously comes with numerous responsibilities. Chief among those is being ready and able to deal with risks, issues, and hazards that pose potential threats t…
Take an architectural tour of just about any major U.S. city, and you’ll get a sense of how trends and tastes in building materials have changed over time. Limestone, brownstone, brick, and terracotta were the earthy materials of choice du…
Can you imagine living in a co-op or condo that doesn’t have a laundry room? These days, having on-site laundry facilities for residents isn’t an amenity – it’s a necessity, and keeping yours functional and well-maintained is just as import…
Everyone loves the turning of the seasons, what with leaves changing, snow falling, pools opening, and the like. But Mother Nature has little concern for the comfort of humans, so fluctuating temperatures bring the need for residential heat…
Whether because of convenience, the desire for autonomy, or a tight budget, some condo and HOA communities opt not to retain an outside management company or an agent to handle their respective day-to-day administrative and maintenance need…
Under the Façade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP), formerly referred to as Local Law 11, all New York City buildings six stories or higher must have their exterior façades (including balcony enclosures) inspected every five years. A rep…
Co-op and condo boards must remain vigilant against all kinds of potential hazards in their buildings; everything from Legionnaires' disease in rooftop cooling tanks to deteriorating pointing on brick facades, to unsecured window-unit air c…
One of the facts of life that apartment dwellers live with -- particularly those in older buildings -- is the window-unit air conditioner. Certainly the upside of having one is that it gets you through the airless, sweaty nights during the …
Many apartment dwellers live under the misconception that their choice of dwelling--whether it’s a multi-family building or in a community--relieves them of many of the mundane responsibilities of home ownership, like no lawn to mow and no …
Like people, buildings age. Even under the best of atmospheric conditions, dust, dirt and grime accumulate, changing a building’s appearance over time. Often it’s not until a building’s façade is cleaned that one notices how it was dirty to…