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…

Q I live in a 15-unit co-op in Queens. A single tenant owner lives in one of the apartments. She has requested, while still living here, to remove her name from the stock certificate, and replace it with her daughter’s name. Is this le…

Most people assume that the board of directors runs the building. Actually the responsibilities for maintaining the building are usually divided between the board of directors and the managing agent. Both parties perform their functions…

Bugs, rodents, and other pests are always a potential problem in a city or densely populated suburban area—and even upscale, well-maintained buildings are not impervious to the occasional unwelcome interloper. Cockroaches invade kitchen…

A two-mile long sliver of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens, Roosevelt Island sits a mere 700 feet from Manhattan’s East Side. Still, many New Yorkers know nothing about Roosevelt Island’s expansive green spaces and unr…