If you picture a specific American city in your head, what do you see? Its buildings, most likely. Cities come to be known and represented by their iconic buildings, one part often standing in for the whole: think the Empire State or Chrysl…
Like people, buildings come in all shapes and sizes. They can range from single-story garden apartments to multi-story high-rise complexes larger than many small towns. What they have in common is some amount of community space, known as co…
To the untrained eye, renovating a lobby might appear to be a relatively straightforward project. It’s not a huge amount of space, there’s usually no plumbing to contend with, and it serves a fairly narrow purpose: to provide passage from t…
The appeal of multifamily living is not just in the hands-off maintenance and shared general expenses that come with living in a co-op, condo, or HOA. It’s also in the sense of community and the on-site offerings that can be shared among ne…
As more of us become increasingly attuned to and educated about the benefits—indeed, the necessity—of a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, multifamily buildings and residential communities are turning toward new ‘green’ features to up…
City life can be hard—especially on plants. You laugh? Well, think about it. There’s limited room to grow, all kinds of pollution, sun-blocked settings…it’s no wonder plant life has to be extra-hardy to make it in city environments. And tha…
The recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Signature Bank, and First Republic have shaken public faith in the US banking industry, again. While not the disastrous level of bank failures that led to the Great Recession in 2008, recent…
No. 4 heating oil must be phased out of all New York City buildings sooner than expected, and property owners who fail to comply with the new regulations could face hefty fines. A City Council vote last month approved a bill mandating …
Color affects human behavior—for better, or worse. Research indicates that practical and aesthetic applications of color in both public and private spaces can manipulate the mood and perception of the people using those spaces. A board plan…
When it comes to the list of most important systems to maintain—and potentially the most expensive to replace—in a multifamily building, windows are definitely near the top. The useful life of a given window depends on a number of factors, …