Effective August 2, 2004, a new lead-based paint regulation will force New York City property owners to change the way they deal with lead based paint in their properties. "Local Law 1 of 2004," overseen by the Department of Housing Prese…
While it may be a cliché, it's entirely true that few things are more important than keeping a solid roof over your head. And like any other aspect of a building's structural composition, your roof has a life span that is dictated by time…
Whether it's cash in hand or borrowed dollars, your properties are constantly faced with competing demands on scarce resources. These financial pressures can keep you from replacing an old, unreliable, repair-intensive, under-performing ch…
Like many questions, the answer is "it depends." Many people think about a 20- or 30-year-old boiler the same way they think about a 10- or 15-year-old car: "It might need to be replaced soon, so I won't spend much money on it. I'll just …
In the legendary musical Anything Goes , the character Reno wants to be taken back to Manhattan or as she calls it "my dear old dirty town." In the last decade, New York has cleaned up its act, but Reno had it right - it's still a d…
From the venerable Dakota on the Upper West Side to the small-but-fashionable antique brownstones in the Village, to the formidable New York Public Library, hundreds of buildings in Manhattan and the outer boroughs have been designated his…
Everyone knows the air in New York isn't the best stuff in the world to breathe. But what most people don't know is that the indoor environment is often more polluted and toxic than the world outdoors. In fact, a recent EPA study found tha…
While environmental laws have improved air quality, grit, grime and grunge continue to mask the windows of most New Yorkers. This aesthetic blur can change a tenant's disposition as well as alter how a building is perceived by a passerby's…
A variety of HVAC technologies can be found in New York City's residential housing stock. Here's a look at some of the more common elements. Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner (PTAC) PTAC is the acronym for packaged terminal air conditio…
Efficiently heating and cooling residential buildings in New York City is a challenge. Decades ago, energy conservation and comfort simply were not the issues that they are today. What may be seen as a hardship today, (i.e., lack of air co…