Category: Building Operations

‘Home sweet home’ can become un-sweet very quickly indeed when the physical environment you’ve worked hard to create becomes a source of environmental toxicity. Chemicals, smoke, pet dander, and mold, along with other allergens and irritant…

Plumbing is a minor miracle: clean water, on demand, and at the temperature one chooses in his or her apartment. What would have been the height of luxury just a couple of generations ago is now considered a bare necessity. Miraculous as it…

When it comes to how co-op and condo communities navigate the race to address climate change, a goal like switching to 100 percent renewable energy may seem too tall an order. On the other hand, simply recycling household glass, paper, and …

Most of us rarely think twice before tossing a banana peel into the garbage can. Which is fine! Anything from a deflated bike to an old boot can usually be thrown in the trash without a second thought. But there are some items that must be …

Co-ops and condos routinely undertake major capital projects to improve and update their physical plant with the hopes of both increasing value and cutting expenses. But how about more modest programs to save money in areas that are often o…

Keeping plants alive and thriving is a challenge for most of us -- add in the environmental stressors and space constraints of a dense urban area like New York City, and maintaining planters, tree pits, and other greenery around your buildi…

Nobody likes to deal with pests - bugs and vermin are unsanitary, can cause or aggravate health issues, and are just plain gross. In this short video, pest control pros discuss the biggest pest-control issues facing multifamily communities,…

For as long as there have been houses, there have been houseplants. Now landscape architects and technology have joined forces to offer the ultimate in indoor botany: the living wall.   Known alternately as a green wall, or even living art…

The board of a condominium, cooperative, or homeowners’ association literally exists to serve, and to represent residents’ best interests in the day-to-day business of the association. The relationship between the owner/shareholder and the …

One of the unique things that sets co-op, condo and HOA living apart from living in a single-family home, or even a rental, is the buyer’s choice to live in a community-within-a-community. By purchasing a unit in a particular building or de…