Building amenities such as elevator systems are sometimes taken for granted. What goes up, after all, must come down, and vice versa, right? But elevators are not just for convenience and awkward silent moments, they also accommodate reside…
If you think about it, a multifamily building isn’t that much different than the human body. Both house important complex operating systems and organ-like pieces of vital equipment, both take in fuel and produce waste, and both require regu…
Every year, like clockwork, Wayne Bellet, owner of Bellet Construction in Manhattan, says that he gets multiple requests for his company to scrape, prime and paint metal fire escapes. “It’s silly, because it’s so easy to do, and building m…
Most of us wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if we didn't have a smartphone or tablet to help us communicate, navigate, and otherwise organize our lives. Property managers throughout the country, whether they handle urban high-rises,…
While nowhere near as prevalent as it was in the 1980s (when it seemed as if one couldn’t find a clean wall in the city), graffiti has never completely disappeared from New York...or any metro area, for that matter. It seems to have become…
There are a few classic story lines of Sesame Street that you never forget: Cookie Monster can’t control his appetite, Oscar the Grouch doesn’t like to socialize, and Bert loves two things: oatmeal and pigeons. Bert loved the bird so…
People aren’t the only life on your association's property; there are plants, trees, and other living landscaping elements, as well. More than just decoration, these features provide the community a vitality and serene pleasure only nature…
During the winter season, life isn’t exactly a walk in the park for your typical New York City building. Freezing rain and wind beat at the façade relentlessly; snow accumulates on the roof and turns to ice, then thaws and seeps into co-op…
The Dakota co-op building is one of the most iconic New York City apartment buildings, home to many cultural luminaries, including the late, legendary singer-songwriter John Lennon. But what makes the Dakota—along with many other historic …
How solid is the ground on which you walk and drive upon in your community? The answer might surprise you, as could the amount of money that might be seeping from your community’s reserve fund from unnecessary repairs to driveways, parking…