A fact that is often overlooked is that the corporate operations of most co-ops are governed by the Business Corporation Law (BCL). The Business Corporation Law is the main New York State law which governs how co-op corporatio…
Steam heating using both single- and two-pipe steam radiators will continue to dominate the heating of a majority of buildings in New York City well into the present century. But how do we determine if an apartment building is energy e…
Building owners spend billions of dollars a year to construct and refurbish their properties, yet many are unaware of the hidden costs some contractors charge improperly. Building owners are often vulnerable to this kind of corruption …
On December 8, 2009, the City Council passed Local Law 84 as part of New York City’s Greener, Greater Buildings initiative. Article 309 of this law requires all residential and commercial buildings over 50,000 square feet and city build…
If you are contemplating selling your home, you probably know that the residential real estate market in New York City has rebounded dramatically since last year. However, to ensure the most successful sale in any market, it’s important…
For years, Chelsea was a highly industrial fringe neighborhood, a commercial center on the west side of Manhattan filled with stables, railyards and rowhouses, but today it’s a popular place for restaurants, nightclubs, retail shopping …
Bedbugs are a fact of urban life, and a growing problem for residents in communal environments. As the bedbug epidemic mushrooms—1 in 15 New Yorkers had bedbugs in the last year, according to the New York City Department of Health—the l…
Was your building constructed after March 31, 1991? If the building you own has more than four units and was built after 1991, the property should have been constructed according to the accessibility guidelines of the Fair Housing Act …
When applying for co-op financing, our buyers and clients may be approved for a mortgage―but the co-op that they are buying into may not be. Since most lenders sell their notes to the Federal National Mortgage Association (F…
From attorneys to contractors, every building has a list of various professionals to work with to keep things running smoothly. One of the most important of these professionals is the building’s accountant. One wrong calculation or miss…