Category: Maintenance

As we hopefully move into warmer weather, lucky New Yorkers living in condos or co-ops with pools can spend all day tanning and swimming in the indoor or rooftop pools housed in their buildings. A swimming pool is a rare and valuable…

James Gulliver Hancock, an Australian illustrator who now lives in Brooklyn, is attempting to draw all the buildings in New York—all of them. From brownstones on Bank Street to the palatial condo buildings of Park Avenue, from the Flatiron…

The old expression says, ‘put your best face forward,’ and the same goes for co-op and condo buildings. But a building façade is more than just the face it shows to the street—it’s a protective barrier against the elements and an integral …

In New York City, where space is at a premium, balconies and terraces offer co-op and condo owners a way to maximize their living space while also providing unparalleled views of the city they love. They are the small oases to which we esc…

While they may seem like archaic pieces of urban art—if they’re noticed at all—rooftop water tanks serve a vital function to countless high-rise buildings in New York City. Whether made of wood or steel, the care and maintenance of these a…

Walk down any street in the city and you’re likely to go under or around one of the ubiquitous steel-and-plywood structures that shade Gotham's sidewalks, more often than not festooned with wheat-pasted posters for everything from the hott…

It’s not hard to imagine the dire danger posed to life and limb, should debris or material of any kind fall from the facade of any of New York City’s thousands of buildings. Indeed, pedestrians have been injured and killed by bricks, stone…

Living in New York City can be something of a dirty job. Thanks to the hustle and bustle of big city living, the task of cleaning off months (or years) of accumulated grime and dirt from the exterior of a residential building takes much mo…

The worst of the recession is over, and many observers believe the recovery is well under way. With the exception of some coastal areas, the city has climbed out of the worst of the effects of Superstorm Sandy. What’s next? Will the …

Few things are worse than stepping out into the January cold and immediately slipping on icy concrete. It’s a tough decision to leave the warm environs of your co-op or condo apartment to go out into the frigid cold. Learning proper deicin…