Q Last year, I bought a brand new condo from a builder in Brooklyn. The disaster started from the first day I moved in. After I remodeled and thought that I could enjoy it, I found that there isn’t any insulation between the walls, f…

Q I own a co-op unit in Jackson Heights, and recently I asked to get a copy of my building’s insurance policy. The board’s management told me that they only give this information out when an owner is buying, selling or refinancing—no…

Q Our co-op has a question about our various insurance policies. Our insurance agent has recommended to the board that we keep our D&O coverage separate from our general liability coverage. I understand that some commercial general l…

Q I am three months behind in my homeowner’s association payments. Can the condominium foreclose on my unit? My mortgage payments are up to date, and I called my lender who said, ‘no, they cannot foreclose.’ What do you say? I wrote a…

 According to some sources, the word “tips” is actually an acronym—it’s short for “To Insure Prompt Service,” and the list of people who are commonly tipped—at least in the United States—includes everyone from hair and nail salon workers t…

 In the late 1980s, seeking high-growth, low-risk investment opportunities, and  with an affinity for brick and mortar, European pension funds began to invest  heavily in the American real estate market. So much money poured into the Unite…

 No doubt about it, the Big Apple is a pedestrian town: according to the New York  City Department of Transportation (DOT), over eight million people tread the  city’s approximately 12,750 square miles of sidewalks each day.    New …

 Even before the landmark “Pullman” case in 2003 in which a co-op board and shareholders voted unanimously to evict an especially  troublesome and disruptive shareholder from their building—New York co-op residents have grumbled about “obj…

 "Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” An immortal line from a beloved movie, and perhaps a reflection of how many  Western urbanites over the years have viewed the large pockets of Asian  immigrants that have settled in their cities. Chinato…

Ever since the first hydraulic passenger elevator was installed in New York City in 1870, the city has relied upon elevators to support its upward growth. Given that few would care to contemplate living or working in a 20-story walk-up,…