If it weren't for the man-made boundaries, Bayside, situated on the northeastern edge of Queens, could be considered a Long Island town. Its manicured lawns; sometimes tasteful, sometimes gaudy home design; and the profusion of white k…
The concept of 'greening' has become so firmly entrenched in our national discourse over the last few years, it's hard to imagine a time when recycling, clean energy, and reducing our carbon footprint were novel ideas with just a few v…
Most cooperatives and condominiums in New York City traditionally own both the building and the land around it. There is, however, a real estate scenario where the cooperative (and in rare instances, the condominium) owns the building,…
Not so long ago, the idea of a 'retirement community' conjured images of elderly folks in cardigans playing shuffleboard, or perhaps enjoying a placid round of bingo in the dining hall. As the country's population ages however, ideas ab…
In March 1947, a group of nearly 600 onlookers gathered on the sidewalk in front of the home of bachelor brothers Homer and Langley Collyer on Fifth Avenue and 128th Street in Manhattan. Residents of the neighborhood had speculated and …
Living in a condominium community means working together. Cooperation and a spirit of volunteerism are visible every day in community gatherings, board meetings, even in the scheduling of time on the tennis courts. The men and women wh…
In an era of tight budgets and growing green consciousness, more co-op and condo communities than ever before are moving toward energy conservation and sustainable resources. For those residential buildings lucky enough to stand tall i…
The sun is hot and people are thinking about beaches and cooling off in pools and air conditioners, and surely the last thing anyone wants to think about is that brutal winter of snow and ice we just had. But this is precisely…
Some multifamily buildings have direct metering—the utility owns each apartment’s meter, and each resident pays directly to the utility based on an individual utility rate. Others don’t have electric metering of individual units—the enti…
The cost of producing energy is on the rise, a seemingly never ending ascent that places big heating and cooling bills in the hands of building owners. These costs are then passed down to residents. As a result, many boards are searchi…