Given the number of breaths we all take on any given day, it's surprising that more attention isn't given to air quality. The subject usually only comes up when there's a problem - after people start sneezing or feeling ill. As with any po…

One of the most effective means of enhancing the value of an apartment or house is through "cosmetic" renovations. These types of improvements are, ostensibly, surface upgrades that address the appearance of a property, rather than such s…

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone completed renovations on time? Reducing the time the construction process takes in a cooperative or condominium building benefits everyone. The renovators are able to occupy their apartments sooner, whi…

A casual passer-by on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea could easily pass a particular cluster of high-rises on the west side of the street and think they're just a group of typical Manhattan residential buildings. But they're not. Mutual Rede…

In New York City, you can have just about anything delivered to your door at any hour of the day or night. Food, furniture, entertainment; you name it, you pay for it, and you got it. This is a city where convenience and efficiency are val…

Locked out? Need your heat fixed? Perhaps your apartment has a problem with multi-legged creatures. Who are you going to call? Your building superintendent, of course. Your super is there to repair the broken, find the missing, and restore…

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…