In many ways, a building is like the human body: If you want it to function properly over the long haul, you have to take care of it with clean fuel, regular maintenance, and the occasional visit to a specialist. And like a body's vital or…

We all know it's a good idea to keep tabs on the everyday supplies needed to keep our household clean and running smoothly: simple things like light bulbs, cleaning products, and perhaps, the odd spare roll of duct tape. The same is true f…

Among the thousands of multifamily buildings in the metro New York area, it is a consistent lack of intelligent maintenance practices that prevent buildings from attaining high performance and energy efficiency. While expensive inves…

Since my column in June of this year, there have been some significant cooperative and condominium cases that have been given little publicity. The most interesting case, may be the West Gate House case which brings the infamous Jennifer R…

When describing Gramercy Park to someone who's never been there, certain words immediately spring to mind. Historic, posh, and elegant would be good words to start with. "Star-studded" and "exclusive" might be useful, too. For the …

The environmental benefits of "green" buildings have never been questioned. The reduced intake of resources and the reduced output of waste accomplished through environmentally sensitive building reduce the negative environment impact of …

Every five years, the boards of co-ops and condominiums are forced by law to consider how to execute repairs to their exterior facades. Unless there is a known dangerous condition, not too many buildings consider the issue well in advance …

Most of the time, "communication" and "openness" are watchwords for boards and management. Clear, transparent communication between boards, managing agents, and shareholder/owners should be right up there with "location, location, location"…

Of all the members of a co-op building's board, the treasurer is in a unique position to uphold the fiduciary responsibility of the corporation, similar to that of a chief financial officer in the corporate world. Basically, "the tre…

Serving on a co-op board or condo association certainly has its advantages. Not only does the position give shareholders a chance to have more say in how their community is run, it helps add to their knowledge and understanding of what goe…