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December 2020                                   COOPERATOR.COM  continued on page 11   and communities in New York and New Jersey for nearly 40 years. He   says that the year’s upheavals and crime statistics have not appreciably   changed his business, or his clients’ requests. If anything, he says, “a lot   of the clients have pushed up their projects, to upgrade technology that   they were already going to do anyway.” Many projects that were on the   back burner prior to the pandemic—or that were stalled at its onset—  were accelerated once lockdowns eased and associations had a chance to   continued on page 10   It’s become axiomatic that over time,   technology gets smaller, more  efficient,   and more capable of multiple increasingly   sophisticated and specialized tasks. Think   about your mobile phone. There was a time   in the not-so-distant past that its predeces-  sor, the car phone, was tethered to the in-  side of your vehicle, and its sole task was to   make voice telephone calls. Now consider   your current smartphone.  It’s everything   from a multi-option means of communica-  tion to a pocket-size encyclopedia, placing   pretty much the whole of accumulated hu-  man knowledge in the palm of your hand.    Technologies developed for use in the   real estate industry have gotten smaller,   more efficient, and more multifaceted with   each successive generation, too. And now   with the coronavirus being a looming pres-  ence over nearly every aspect of multifamily   life, developing technology may also offer   tremendous unexpected benefits to miti-  gate COVID’s unexpected consequences.  The Intersection of COVID & Tech  When developers—both real estate and   software—initially devised technologies as   refinements  for residential buildings  and   their occupants, chances are they weren’t   anticipating that those innovations would   one day be used to combat and control a   public health crisis like COVID; emergen-  cies like fires and power interruptions, sure.   Keeping  residents  and  their  property  safe   from intruders and other threats, certainly.   But a highly infectious, potentially deadly   microbe sweeping the globe and bringing   the business of everyday life to a crawl, or   even a grinding halt? Not so much.    Zachary Kestenbaum  is  the CEO of   BuildingLink, a national provider of mul-  tifamily building technology located in   New York. “We know that in property   A lot can be said about 2020, but this was certainly a year that forced people around the world   to reexamine our processes and protocols around health, safety, and security—not just person-  ally, but collectively, especially in our homes and communities as we face a series of threats novel   to this generation. Not only is there a potentially deadly virus rampaging around the globe, but   there is also uneasiness in many American communities as a result of spikes in crime, social   unrest, economic uncertainty, political upheaval, and an ever-growing sense of COVID fatigue.   Multifamily buildings and associations like condos, co-ops, and HOAs must factor in mul-  tiple layers of protection and communication as they face these challenges, taking into consid-  eration their particular size, structure, and systems; their budgets and financial constraints; their   population and demographics; and their existing policies. Rather than become overwhelmed by   all the variables, savvy boards and managers are taking a good look at the measures they have   in place to help protect their residents and their properties, and are coming up with a combina-  tion of cutting-edge technology, increased manpower, innovative training, and a dose of opti-  mism—an essential element to overcoming most any challenge, be it virtual or viral, human or   environmental.   Accelerating Existing Plans  Much of the analysis of residential communities’ response to the coronavirus pandemic has   pointed less to a 180-degree spin and more of a redirection that was already underway for many.   Households moving away from dense urban areas, for example, was already a trend prior to   the arrival of COVID-19; the pandemic has certainly accelerated the shift, but it wasn’t the root   cause of it. Similarly, buildings and communities that were already contemplating security up-  grades or new implementations may have been prompted to fast-track those projects in light of   the pandemic.   Joseph Ferdinando is the founder of Building Security Services & Systems, (www.build-  ingsecurity.com) which has supplied security systems, technology, and personnel to buildings   When a crisis hits a multifamily com-  munity—or any other organization—the   difference  between  a good outcome  and a   disastrous  one  is  often  a  matter  of  simple   preparedness. Residential communities in   particular need to have a plan in case of an   emergency, whether that emergency takes   the form of COVID or hurricane, earth-  quake, or fire. Some states and municipali-  ties  require  multifamily  buildings  and  de-  velopments to draft emergency contingency   plans as a matter of law, and some don’t—but   in any event, they are always a must-have for   the safety of your community.  What Is a Fire Safety Plan?  Public service announcements have been   ubiquitous for years about the need for every-  one to know what to do in a fire emergency,   but in order to know that, you need to have   a pre-prepared plan. The proper name for an   official fire safety plan is a Fire Emergency   Preparedness Guide (FEPG). It gives you in-  formation about what is physically installed   in your building—fire protection systems,   exits, stairs—and describes both fire and   non-fire emergencies. FEPG requirements   for buildings can originate with the state or   local government (or neither—in which case   it’s incumbent on boards and managers to   make  sure  their  communities  draft,  main-  tain, and update as needed their own FEPG).   The form of ownership, whether it be co-op,   condo, or rental, is irrelevant; indeed, FEGPs   aren’t just for residential buildings—com-  mercial and industrial buildings should have   them as well. Safety is a matter of precaution   and common sense, even to the level of the   individual family.   More on FEPGs  James Bullock is a former firefighter and   the president of New York Fire Safety, a con-  sulting firm that provides FEPGs to co-ops   and condominiums, as well as other types   of properties. “These plans contain perhaps   three pages on fires themselves,” he says.   “The other 30 pages or so deal with informa-  tion on fire safety. There are other informa-  tional sections that deal with your building   systems, exit, stairs, etc. and how and what to   do in the event of a fire emergency. These re-  ports have sections about both fire and non-  Examining Safety in    Multifamily Properties  How Communities Respond to Today’s Threats  BY DARCEY GERSTEIN  Fire Safety Plans  Have a Strategy Before   You Need It  BY A. J. SIDRANSKY  Technology vs.   COVID-19  Co-ops & Condos Use Tech   Tools to Beat the Virus  BY A.J. SIDRANSKY  205 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10016 • CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED  continued on page 13 


































































































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