Falling bricks. Rickety scaffolding. An errant nail and an unsuspecting foot. Things can go wrong during renovation and restoration projects no matter what the size and scale of the work at hand. Whether the job is tackling a new façade…
Some building hazards—things like cracked sidewalks, broken windows or crumbling masonry—are obvious to even an untrained eye, making it easy to conduct repairs and prevent further deterioration and potential injury. Other buil…
Whether it affects a small portion of one unit or the entire association, a fire is easily one of the most devastating and destructive events that can happen in any multifamily building. New technology and current regulations have made …
Jane Jacobs, the late, legendary urban planner whose grassroots activism prevented Robert Moses from turning Battery Park into a series of bridges, highways, and on-ramps, wrote at great length of the importance of well-used sidewalks …
Inside most multi-unit residential buildings, there are many areas that should be strictly off-limits to everyone but trained building staff—and we’re not just talking about the manager’s inbox. Machine rooms, elevator shafts, compactor …
The deep freeze of winter will fall on New York from January through March, and though the city hasn't had the most severe winters in recent years, weather has a way of tricking us into complacency and hitting hard when we let our guards…
New York City is famous (perhaps infamous) for its residents' philosophy of minding their own business—dress as a giant chicken, sport a revolutionary haircut…nobody minds. This attitude is great if you're a young person expressing your …
When it comes to living in New York City, having a doorman in your condo or co-op is a luxury that almost everyone wishes they could have. A doorman has many functions, among them providing a sense of security and collecting packages for…
When it comes to the things that people value most, personal safety and security rank right at the top of the list. That's especially true in a day and age filled with ongoing anxiety over everything from identity theft to car jackings t…
In 2004, a NewsChannel 4 helicopter corkscrewed and slammed onto the roof of a Brooklyn apartment building, shattering into pieces. In July 2006, Dr. Nicholas Bartha blew up his Upper East Side townhouse that he was about to lose in a divor…