Wayne Bellet, of Manhattan-based exterior maintenance firm Bellet Construction,  is getting a dose of his own medicine. At the time of this interview, it’s his own office that’s under construction, he explains over the racket of dueling h…

 Local Law 11 inspection is a requirement of the New York City Department of  Buildings that every owner of a building higher than six stories must retain an  architect or engineer to inspect their façades. Based on this inspection, a repo…

 In November of 2008, New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated seven new properties with  landmark status—New York University’s University Village, the Guardian Life Insurance Co. annex, the Morris B.  Sanders Hou…

 Years ago, when I babysat for a young boy, I watched him create a multi-story  building out of empty cardboard boxes. The lad then ran around his proud  creation, flexing his muscles and crowing, “My house is indy-structible!” (He then pr…

 It sounds like an urban legend—something that supposedly happened to your cousin’s friend’s cousin. A little girl was at a barbecue party at a friend’s house, frolicking in the pool with friends. She swam to the drain at the  bottom of th…

New York City’s co-ops and condos might vary in their architectural styles, but over time every exterior—from the ornate historic landmark to modern glass-and-steel fishbowl—experiences exterior wear due to the elements and the simple pa…

Residential buildings are constantly under attack—not by barbarians or marauding bandits, but by a force far more subtle and insidious. The most tenacious enemy of a residential building is not fire or structural collapse—though a build…

There’s more than enough to worry about living in a major American city without having to worry about being conked on the head by falling debris. That’s the kind of urban hazard Local Law 11 was created to address, requiring all buildin…

Q I am newly elected to the board of a small (32-unit), self-managed condominium, where traditionally there has been little transparency between the board of trustees and the unit owners. The board has been stingy with information and …

Q I reside in a co-op apartment in the Bronx. For one year I incurred damages to my bathroom and kitchen ceilings from a washing machine above. The damage allegedly came from a negligent tenant of the shareholder. Each time the leak oc…