Category: Maintenance

Water leaks are the bane of many an apartment owner—and many a building superintendent. The innocent drip-drip-drip sound can augur waterfall-like hardship if not properly addressed. Leaks can cause major structural damage, ruin property…

Time was, if the tiles in your building’s front foyer got grimy, your super would pour some ammonia or bleach in a bucket, grab the nearest mop, and get down to business. If a drain was slow, out came the heavy-duty industrial solvents, …

Residential buildings are complicated entities—their various operating systems require maintenance and occasional repairs to remain in good working order. Sometimes maintenance can be carried out by the super or handyperson—sometimes it …

For many co-op and condo owners, watching the work crews arrive and the scaffolding ascend into the sky is akin to seeing the storm clouds gather on the horizon. They can be a harbinger of dark days to come, filled with noise, dust and i…

Today, almost all residents of co-op and condo buildings are computer-knowledgeable. They can tell you how many ports your PC has, how many gigabytes are in the hard drive, how to set up a printer, and more. When it comes to elect…

Many boards and managers make extravagant efforts to spruce-up the frontages of their buildings with costly landscaping, graffiti removal, and entrance renovations — but it’s an uphill battle. As many a harried manager or put-out share…

The inspections and repairs required by the city’s Local Law 11 are often viewed by buildings as a costly hassle, but they can also been seen as an opportunity to make necessary improvements to your building’s façade, and to keep the a…

The city can be a tough place to navigate even for the most able-bodied New Yorkers. For the elderly, those with disabilities, or anyone whose mobility has been compromised by illness or injury—even temporarily—getting into their own b…

New York City is a beautiful place, but let’s face facts—it gets pretty dirty. All the fumes from countless trucks and cars letting off exhaust leave a layer of grim on buildings so thick that in many cases, it’s impossible to know jus…

In a city that is made for walking, few stop to pause and look beneath their feet at the sidewalks that lead them uptown, downtown and crosstown. But these sidewalks—all 12,000 miles of them—form the arteries at the heart of New York. …