When the clock strikes 12 on January 1 of next year, what will happen? Many warn of impending chaos as microchips failing to recognize the date bring us back to the beginning of the century. If you're overwhelmed by Y2K gloom and doom, it m…
Imagine this. Your contractor has finally completed the renovations to your bathroom - taking three months rather than the three weeks he promised. The wallpaper, special order wall and flooring tile match perfectly, and although you excee…
They say that April showers bring May flowers. For the New York area's aging brick buildings, spring sprinkles and summer storms can bring much worse. From interior leaks to the liability nightmare of a crumbling and falling facade, the eff…
There was a time not long ago when New Yorkers could throw just about anything away and not give it a second thought. But in the late 1980s, the federal government enacted strong environmental legislation, including the closure of many land…
If you had to name the single most valuable individual to your co-op or condo, who would it be? Certainly, your board president, managing agent, corporate counsel and accountant are key players. But boards and residents should never underes…
Cost of living increases can be felt everywhere, from the theatre to the supermarket to the gas station. So it may come as a surprise to many co-op and condo residents that one place you don't have to expect an increase is in your monthly m…
Management experts and others in the real estate industry are always cautioning their co-op and condo clients to keep an eye on the water consumption in their buildings. The water and sewage bill received quarterly from the New York City …
For most visitors to New York City, it is a mystery as to why garbage disposers (the popular term disposal derives from the GE brand name Disposall) have not been allowed in most neighborhoods. Despite the fact that these hardy kitchen ap…
For many New Yorkers one of the high points of city living is the urban vista they enjoy from their building's communal rooftop deck. Even when the view's not the greatest, just being able to enjoy the outdoors in a relatively private s…
New Yorkers love to brag about having the best-tasting drinking water in the country, although residents of high-rise buildings may not realize that their water makes an extra stop on its way from the reservoir. When high-rise residents t…