Most borrowers opt for fixed rate loans in today's low-interest market, but for those willing to embrace change and play the field a bit, still-cheaper rates are available. There are state-sponsored loans for making your building more e…

To Federation of New York Housing Cooperatives and Condominiums (FNYHC) executive director Gregory Carlson, there's a big difference between a co-op or condominium board and an informed co-op or condominium board. Carlson's unwritten job…

On May 8, 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a comprehensive plan to ensure that apartments surrounding Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan are properly cleaned. The plan - which calls for government funded cleaning and…

On Manhattan's Upper East Side, embracing world-class museums, exclusive private schools foreign embassies and just steps from Central Park, lies one of New York City's premier "status" neighborhoods. Commercial truck clamor is rarely …

Asian-inspired design elements have been quietly infiltrating some of the swankiest New York dwellings - and with good reason. Actually two good reasons: form and function. The draw of the popular Asian aesthetic is that it cherishes bo…

The downtown Manhattan real estate market has gone though a series of ups and downs in past years, but clearly, nothing in recent memory has affected it as drastically as the September 11 terrorist attacks. The aftereffects of the attac…

In a widely publicized 2000 case, the New York Supreme Court (First Department) issued a judgment annulling New York City's then-newly enacted lead-based paint law, commonly referred to as Local Law 38. The case was immediately appealed,…

Although most political watchdogs and legal experts cite the city and state budget woes as a reason for the slow legislative year, a number of important initiatives of interest to co-ops and condos are currently under review. New Yo…

Since the attacks and subsequent collapse of the World Trade Centers in Lower Manhattan last fall, area residents, business owners, real estate professionals, developers, and concerned citizens' groups have been doing their best to navig…

To paraphrase Neil Armstrong; one four-letter, top-level domain for the Internet, and one giant leap for cooperative organizations was inaugurated January 30, 2002, when co-op leaders from around the world gathered in Lower Manhattan to …