Page 1 - CooperatorNews New York Expo May 2022
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May/Expo 2022                                   COOPERATORNEWS.COM  it be regarding COVID regulations, water shutdowns, or notice of an-  nual meetings—we use email notification, BuildingLink where sub-  scribed, and snail mail, as well as lobby distribution of materials and   signage when appropriate. Residents are always invited to communi-  cate with their property management team about issues or questions   of concern. It often happens that these issues are already under discus-  sion by the board, or we will bring new matters to the attention of the   NEW YORK  THE CO-OP & CONDO RESOURCE  COOPERATORNEWS  205 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10016 • CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED  Do you remember when you were a   kid  and the  closest  thing  you had  to  a   cell phone at the time was two cups with   a  string  attached  between  them?  You   pulled the string taut, spoke into one cup,   and hoped your friend holding the other   would hear you. Miraculously, they did!   That long-ago game worked because sound   travels along rigid pathways. If you let the   string between the cups go slack, the sound   doesn’t travel. Turns out, all you really need   to know to understand soundproofing you   probably learned in kindergarten.  The ABCs of Sound & Soundproofing  According to Sarah Marsh, President of   MAAI Marsh Architects in New York City,   “There’s no such thing as soundproofing;   rather the proper term is sound attenu-  ation.”  Sound  attenuation  is  the  effective   reduction of sound—not necessarily its   elimination.   Much of the sound we hear through   walls and ceilings in our apartments   is known as structural sound, explains   Marsh. Structural sound is created inside a   building by someone or something causing   vibrations. “The only way to stop the vibra-  tions is to interrupt them with a sound iso-  lator,” she says. “Examples of sound isola-  tors are a rubber gasket or a huge spring.”   Alan Gaynor, an independent architect   based in New York, adds that noise in mul-  tifamily buildings can be further divided   broadly between two general categories:   airborne noise and structural noise. Air-  borne noise filters in from adjacent units   While some co-op and condo communities have tried social media platforms like Face-  book, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter as ways to build community spirit and facilitate better   communication between neighbors, management, and even the board, most have remained   ‘old-school,’ sticking with newsletters, bulletin boards (both digital and cork) in the lobby or   mail room, and email blasts to residents. With the ubiquity of social media these days, it may   be worthwhile to ask why multifamily communities haven’t really embraced it.   If It’s Not Broken…  “We have a Facebook page that was started by one of my neighbors,” says Dana Greco, a   longtime resident of a large, active co-op community in the Bronx, “but nobody posts any-  thing.” The 17-story high-rise building features a pool and manicured grounds. “We have a   brief newsletter perhaps twice a year,” Greco says.  “There’s just not a lot of newsworthy events.   We also have a bulletin board for those in need of assistance from neighbors, or who want to   sell something. Honestly, most of our news comes from gossiping with the doormen.”  Gayle Goodman, director of communications for Gumley Haft, a prominent co-op and   condo management firm based in Manhattan, says, “With the many channels of communica-  tion management can avail itself of, we disseminate information in multiple methods so resi-  dents are notified of building news in the way they may prefer. When there is news—whether   There’s a riddle in a popular children’s   book that asks, ‘What’s the largest room in   the world?’ After much consideration and   many incorrect guesses, one of the characters   in the book has the answer: “Why, the largest   room in the world is   room for improvement!”  If you’ve lived in a multifamily commu-  nity for any amount of time, it’s hard to argue   with that statement. A residential building or   complex can always stand to be improved,   whether with an aesthetic update, design   overhaul, or an upgrade of its machinery or   systems—but  even the  most discretionary   improvements can open a Pandora’s box of   regulatory requirements. Likewise, upgrades   intended to make a multifamily building or   community code compliant very often force   some design and decor decisions—so mak-  ing a ‘simple’ improvement is often anything   but.   Best Laid Plans  With so many variables in play and po-  tential points at which things can go awry   with a capital design project, the pros say the   best way to ensure that it goes smoothly is to   do as much up-front planning and organiz-  ing as possible. According to Michael Refat,   the Canton, Massachusetts-based Regional   Director for national property management   company FirstService Residential, that starts   with lining up a team of competent profes-  sionals to advise on all aspects of the project   before it gets going, starting with an engineer.   “We always advise the trustees, before   they engage in any kind of renovations, to   get a consulting engineer \[who can\] advise   them if the project will trigger code compli-  ance or not,” says Refat. “Usually \[clients\]   think that redesigning the lobby or the hall-  way is a matter of cosmetics. But when they   start the project, they’re confronted with the   reality that there is a large added expense to   bring the alarm system, the fire suppression   system, the sprinkler system, the panels into   Co-ops, Condos,    & Social Media  To Tweet…or Not to Tweet?   BY A. J. SIDRANSKY  Soundproofing  Stopping Noise    Complaints Before They Start  BY A. J. SIDRANSKY  Capital Design   Projects  There’s Always Room    for Improvement   BY DARCEY GERSTEIN  continued on page 22   continued on page 20   continued on page 24   NEW YORK’S BIGGEST & BEST    CO-OP & CONDO EXPO!  NEW YORK HILTON MIDTOWN — WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 9-4:30  FREE REGISTRATION: COOPEXPO.COM  LIVE AND IN PERSON


































































































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