Category: Building Operations

In a typical co-op, condo, or homeowners association, residents have a lot to say about how their building or community is or should be functioning … but few actually step up to run for and serve on the board that does the actual governing.…

With cannabis use becoming increasingly normalized (as of this year, 38 states permit medical marijuana use and 23 permit both medical and recreational consumption), co-op and condo administrators are faced with yet another quality-of-life …

The elevator is one of those inventions—along with running hot and cold water and indoor plumbing—that have been around for so long we take it for granted. But elevators obviously weren’t always a part of the architectural landscape. Withou…

Yet another new law has recently passed that affects co-op, condo, and HOA boards, as well as residents who lease their units.  Almost as if by coincidence, given the historic rains and flooding New Yorkers have endured this season, two la…

Glass façades are for many the epitome of contemporary urban architecture and design. Sleek, clean, and modern, they give the impression of an Emerald City of the future, rising above the bricks and mortar of yesterday’s Gotham. Yet with th…

Congratulations! You’ve just been elected to the board of directors, and given your first monthly financial packet. Like many new board members, your first thought is, “This is so confusing. Glad I’m not the treasurer - I don’t have to unde…

Whether you’re a manager or a board member, running a co-op, condo, or HOA has never been an easy job. There’s always a capital project to fund, a contractor to hire, a dispute to resolve, a leak to repair...the list can feel endless.    …

The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has enacted a new rule relating to façade maintenance and safety - this one directed at parapet walls. The parapet is a low protective wall along the edge of a roof, bridge, or balcony. The ne…

It takes a small army of professionals—everyone from on-site handymen to licensed professional tradespeople and engineers—to maintain multifamily buildings, both large and small. The question is, who does what, and when? Everyone likes to s…

Nobel Prize–eschewing poet and folk-rock music legend Bob Dylan might have been the first person to be known as “going electric” (at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965), but as with much of his oeuvre, the world is now following in his foots…