2015 September
Focus on... Energy & The Environment

Energy Conservation The Green Movement
2015 September The Green Movement

Americans today are moving toward a more well-developed awareness of their environment, and what it takes to protect and preserve earth’s natural resources. City dwellers and suburbanites alike typically recycle paper, plastic, and glass st…

Read More
Energy Conservation Don’t Trash This
2015 September Don’t Trash This

In the past, talking about garbage in New York City was left to disgruntled residents or comedians who were looking for something funny about the Big Apple to joke about.  In days gone by, when you opened something up, you simply threw awa…

Read More
Energy Conservation Power-Up with Co-Generation
2015 September Power-Up with Co-Generation

The process of producing energy for metropolitan area co-ops and condos has dramatically evolved in recent years, advancing to the point in which Lewis Kwit, the president of Energy Investment Systems, based in Manhattan, makes a relatively…

Read More
Energy Conservation A Green New World
2015 September A Green New World

These days, as the summers get hotter, the storms get bigger and climate change is finding its way into more headlines than ever before, more attention is being paid to the environment and how the average citizen can do his or her part to s…

Read More
Law & Legislation Shut Up, New York!
2015 September Shut Up, New York!

During a recent news conference about noise pollution, Michael Horodniceanu—the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s president of capital construction—had to shout in order to be heard while speaking at a Second Avenue construction proje…

Read More
Management Creating Community
2015 September Creating Community

While high-rise residential buildings put many people and families in very close proximity to one another, living side-by-side doesn’t automatically turn a group of people into a community—sometimes it even has the opposite effect.  Lives …

Read More
Board Operations Bankrolling the Board
2015 September Bankrolling the Board

Co-op and condo board members are charged with the all-important responsibility to make critical policy decisions that ensure the building, the property, and their neighbors' interests are cared for and protected. It's a job that requires l…

Read More
Board Operations Preventing and Eliminating Pests
2015 September Preventing and Eliminating Pests

It’s a common scene on a New York street. A woman dressed in head-to-toe black is walking down the street, chatting on her phone. A rat the size of a small cat appears from behind a garbage can and wanders right across the woman's path; her…

Read More
Board Operations Energy Saving Incentives
2015 September Energy Saving Incentives

Are you a building manager who wants to retrofit your building with energy-efficient lighting? Or maybe you're a board trying to re-do your central air conditioning system, but you don’t know if you have it in your budget? Thankfully, there…

Read More
Board Operations Getting Your Foot in the Door
2015 September Getting Your Foot in the Door

Buying an apartment in New York can be a real odyssey—finding a place that fits your budget and other requirements, securing a mortgage, gathering reams of paperwork for the closing...all very stressful and tedious. But for those buying int…

Read More
Neighborhoods Roosevelt Island
2015 September Roosevelt Island

Named after the 32nd president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Roosevelt Island is a narrow island sitting in the middle of New York City's East River. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west and the borough of Queens on Long Island to the …

Read More
Q&A Q&A: Are roommates in rentals illegal?
2015 September Q&A: Are roommates in rentals illegal?

Q  I received a letter, dated May 4, 2015, stating that I have an illegal tenant occupying my unit.  It stated that all unit owners must inform management about any tenants and provide proper paperwork, including names, phone numbers, and …

Read More