You only have one chance to make a first impression, and when it comes to co-op and condo buildings, your lobby is that first chance. The way a lobby is designed expresses what kind of building residents and visitors are walking into, both…
"I was living on 93rd and 3rd in a railroad apartment, and I described it to my father as 'straight through with a bathtub in the kitchen,' and he thought I was joking. He said, 'Where's the toilet?' And I said, 'Out in the hall. I can take…
Everybody knows at least one person who can't seem to bear parting with anything, be it movie ticket stubs from 1978, scratched-up Tupperware, or their grandpa's back-issues of National Geographic. The tendency to hang onto every random …
We've all done it: walking along a quiet street in the evening, our eyes are drawn to the lit windows overlooking the sidewalk-we crane our necks to catch a quick glimpse of the sumptuously-decorated apartment behind the curtains, and immed…
Unwanted sound is the bane of many a New York co-op or condo dweller's existence. Few things are as annoying as being awakened in the middle of the night by a car alarm, being forced to listen to a neighbor's stereo against your will, or…
In a recent New York magazine article on sound and noise levels, an acoustics expert measured various sound levels throughout the city. Normal conversation is measured to be approximately 65 decibels. The National Institute o…
Patricia is a 65 year-old woman who is in good physical and mental shape. She exercises daily, sees her physician regularly and is active in the community. She lives alone in an apartment and doesn't even want to consider moving to an as…
There are five main rules that must always be considered when designing apartment building lobbies. Each project has its own set of circumstances and goals. And these goals must also coincide with the aesthetics, the inherent building style…
While not a common practice, boards of directors of New York cooperatives have, at times, reached the decision to evict a shareholder based on objectionable conduct. Nearly every cooperative corporation's proprietary lease contains a sectio…
For the past couple of decades, interest in the environment and "greening" of residential buildings has been creeping into our daily lexicon; nowadays, the theories have become practice, and renewable or "green" power is now more accessibl…
Using the services of a trained professional and making sure you have the input of your constituents - in this case the residents of your co-op or condo building - are two elements of a project that are sometimes hard to reconcile, particul…