Page 8 - NY Cooperator Expo April 2019

8 THE COOPERATOR —APRIL 2019 COOPERATOR.COM Cooperator.com COOPERATOR.COM How to Upgrade Your Kitchen Without Breaking the Bank Simple Fixes Can Make a Big Difference BY AJ SIDRANSKY W hether you’re just tired of looking at the same old cupboards and countertops, or looking to sell your apartment, a kitchen upgrade doesn’t have to require deplet- ing your bank account or taking a second mortgage. Rather, modest and well- conceived changes and upgrades can give your kitchen a whole new look. It depends mostly on what it is you want to change. Here are some things to consider. Appliances Without question, replacing and upgrading appliances is the costliest change you can make. Depending on the size and quality of your appliances, buying a new refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher can run into the thousands. “At the low end, you can put in a new four-piece kitch- en—30-inch stove, 16-cubic-foot refrigerator, 24-inch dishwasher, and an over-the-range mi- crowave—for about $1,500,” says Margie Collins, a representative of King Range, an appliance store in the Bronx. “For something a little better quality, the price is more like $2,500-$3,000. Top end appliances can run into many thousands of dollars.” N ew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wasn’t heart had prompted concern from his buyers: the only person disappointed about “We put, I think, 15 different apartments into Amazon pulling out of the contro- versial deal to bring its second headquarters Amazon move. All 15 of those buyers called to Long Island City. The online retailing gi- ant’s surprising reversal on February 14 fol- lowing tremendous opposition also elicited zon contingency in my contract?’” an unhappy response from New York’s real estate industry, which had expected the deal - tate Board of New York (REBNY) acknowl- and it’s promise of 25,000 new jobs - to boost edged the potential losses triggered by the home values and sales in the neighborhood. Eric Benaim, CEO of Long Island City unique status as a destination for commerce brokerage Modern Spaces, didn’t mince and technology. “New York’s renaissance over words when he told Bloomberg News in the the past 40 years has been due in part to our aftermath of the decision: “I think those lo- cal politicians, their careers are over. They’re have led to record population and job growth responsible for losing 25,000 jobs.” He also and the emergence of our city as a true global told NBC New York that there had been an capital,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that we have increase in real estate business Long Island lost out on an opportunity to create tens of City last November and December around thousands of jobs for city residents and gener- the time the agreement to bring Amazon ate billions of dollars in tax revenue to fund HQ2 was first announced, with some Ama- zon employees reportedly purchasing homes provements for transportation, schools, and in advance. Broker Ryan Serhant of the Bravo reality still open for business and will retain its status series Million Dollar Listing New York, told CNBC’s Squawkbox that Amazon’s change of contract, purely speculatively, based on the yesterday, freaking out, saying, ‘Should I pull my deposit, can I get it back? Is there an Ama- In a statement, John Banks of the Real Es- canceled deal, but also reaffirmed the city’s ability to work through difficult issues that vital services including infrastructure im- open space. Nevertheless, New York City is Cabinets Perhaps the most visible change you can make is your cabinets. This is a place to make a real impact. In New York City with its notoriously small and often reconfigured kitchen spaces, cabinets and the space they fit into may not be of standard size. And custom cabinets can get very pricey. So one quick fix is to either replace the handles and pulls, or the doors, or both. Ad- ditionally, you can simply paint the cabinets for a whole new look and color scheme. Handle and pull replacements can be found at any home improvement store, such as Lowe’s or The Home Depot. They rarely cost more than $1 per piece, although they can certainly run more if you have expensive tastes. Decorators and kitchen designers suggest you stay with a simple metallic look that goes well with the color of your cabinet such as pewter, brass or stain- less steel. If you’re sprucing up for sale, don’t chose something too dramatic. Handles with but- terflies on them may not be to the liking of prospective buyers, and something as seemingly continued on page 42 From Visit Cooperator.com for related news, articles and videos. Time to Call It Quits? When Management Breaks Up With a Client Community BY MIKE ODENTHAL I n a New York TImes “Ask Real Estate” would sit down with the board and try to letter from last December, a co-op work out any differences, whether between shareholder lamented the sorry state of members, or with us. We would make this her 10-unit building: the board president an agenda item for a board meeting such was abdicating his position with no willing that it could be discussed openly and ac- successor, and the managing agent was opt- ing not to renew their contract, leaving the would ever terminate a relationship with a co-op adrift as far as leadership was con- cerned. The latter development is particu- larly striking, since unlike the board presi- dent —who was most likely volunteering a assess whether working for an association generous amount of time to tend to co-op is profitable enough to warrant any elevat- business—the managing agent was being ed stress,” says Ellen Kornfeld, VP of the paid to keep a firm hand on the tiller. All of this raises some questions. How City. “You’re dealing with individuals with bad can a relationship between a co-op or their own issues and their own egos; some condo community and its management admittedly are not playing with a full deck. get before the manager decides to cut their I had one association with which I’d been losses and bail? What can a manager do to working 10 or 15 years, in all that time hav- right the ship when things are particularly ing never raised the fee. Eventually, I did turbulent? Fixer-Upper More often than not, a manager will fight but they didn’t appreciate the time I’d put tooth and nail to rebuild a wobbly working in or the quality of the work, so I stopped. dynamic with a client community. “We have never given a building back more beneficial to take on a different client. due to board members’ failing to work to- gether,” says Joe Kanner, owner of Quan- tum Property Management in Elmsford, former association just accepted the raise in New York. “When an issue does arise, we tion taken. I honestly see no reason why we client.” Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to have a perfect track record. “You have to Lovett Group of Companies in New York so by $1,500 and they scoffed. The reality was I’d been doing them a service all along, You have to determine whether it would be And if you do that, you’ll probably make the amount of money you’d have made had the continued on page 43 continued on page 42 Exit Amazon Reversal of the Retail Giant’s HQ2 Plan Impacts LIC BY DAVID CHIU