2007 Sept
Focus on... Energy Conservation

Ever since An Inconvenient Truth , Al Gore's eye-opening documentary on global warming opened in 2006, the level of awareness among the general public on environmental issues has skyrocketed. Since then, there have been sobering natio…

Apartment owners and homeowners have come to expect our utility bills to increase from year to year, though rarely do we have a chance to significantly reduce those bills. This quandary provides opportunities for savings, though. High ut…

The buzz about green buildings and energy conservation is so loud you just can't shut your ears to it. And why should you? We are being inundated with information on how to make our buildings and our lives greener. Even if your building …

The phrase "Reduce, reuse, recycle" has become something of a mantra in our times - though you still occasionally see a glass bottle or plastic container just stuffed in the trash, more and more people from all walks of life are becoming…

Although it may seem like the dog days of summer were just upon us, it's not too early to start thinking about winter. The cold months are right around the corner, and although last winter might seem like a distant memory, it's time to b…

Every board is different, with its own individual personalities meshing for one common cause: to run the co-op or condo in their charge efficiently and with integrity. Some board members come to their positions with years of experience…

Whether you consider yourself environmentally-minded or not, green is fast becoming the new black. Everywhere you look, from billboard ads to the Academy Awards, the nation is becoming preoccupied with renewable energy and the reduction of …

Ever feel like your board meetings last longer than Wagner's entire operatic Ring Cycle? They may not last nine hours, but even three hours is a long time to sit in a chair—especially when the agenda doesn't include the Flight of the Valkyr…

A walk along the Esplanade is all it takes to absorb the beauty and essence of Battery Park City. Running the entire length of Battery Park City, the 1.2-mile route is a wide walkway that provides breathtaking views of New Jersey's "gold…

Whether trees are categorically lovelier than poems, as Joyce Kilmer famously suggested, is a matter of debate. If pressed, I'll take Ode on a Grecian Urn over Charlie Brown's Yuletide entry any day of the week. New Yorkers will agree, h…

Green is the buzzword of the decade, with everyone from automotive manufacturers to professional sports teams rolling out high-profile environmentally-conscious initiatives. But board members, property managers, shareholders and owners h…

Prior to 1999, New Yorkers had to buy their electric and natural gas from the public utility company that serviced their area. Operating as regulated monopolies, the utilities weren't able to offer customers competitive pricing or custom…

The vast majority of co-ops and condos that are put on the market are not in picture-perfect shape for a rapid and high-priced sale. Prospective buyers, who view those apartments, often cannot see beyond the superficial defects and so fa…

Sobering studies published last month by the International Energy Association and the National Petroleum Center suggest that the supply of traditional energy sources may not meet demand by 2015, strong evidence yet again that electric co…

Are homeowner association's governmental or quasi-governmental entities? Until last year, most attorneys who practice community association law would have said the answer was clearly, and appropriately, no. But a New Jersey appeals court…

  Q What happens if board members consistently miss meetings, or don’t attend, messing up the voting process for a board? What recourse do we have?        —Attentive Board Member A “Removal of a member of the board of…

Q I am a shareholder at a co-op. A radiator (which is located in my wall) was leaking water to the apartment below. I was not aware of it. The super came and fixed a valve and replaced the radiator (which had a hole in it) with a new o…

Q Our board is thinking of instituting move-in fees. What is a fair move-in fee? How could we implement this policy without a shareholder vote? What could we do with the money we collect? Could it go into the reserve fund or would it ha…

Q I live in a condo with indoor parking facilities. The board recently sent a notice informing residents with current parking that the identity of each vehicle would be kept in order to ensure that owners do now allow unauthorized u…

Q As a board member of an Upper West Side Building, we have grappled with the notion of washing machines in apartments. Those that have them may keep them and update them. Those that do not already have washing machines cannot install …