Sustainability is the watchword these days. All over the country, businesses and residences are being encouraged to go green, and condominiums, cooperatives and homeowners’ associations are no exception. But not all condos/co-ops/HOAs are…
In 2016, seven years into the greening of New York City we can happily report that compliance with Local Laws 84 & 87 which provide for the monitoring and upgrading of energy sourcing and usage stands at 100 percent, according to the de Bla…
Few things in life are as precious yet underappreciated as clean air. We take it for granted. Breathe in, breathe out—we rarely even notice the action. Ensuring that the air we breathe is clean, fresh and safe is one of the myriad respons…
While Flint, Michigan may have been the highest profile case of water being contaminated with lead in recent years, lead is an issue that water systems across the country have to navigate and monitor closely. Earlier in the year, there wer…
When the Bloomberg mayoral administration launched PlaNYC in 2007, New York City took notice. The program focused on the environment, and included everything from planting street trees to reducing carbon emissions, upgrading building codes …
Unless you happen to make your home in the Sunbelt, winter is tough, period. The sun goes down at 4 p.m., sidewalk salt ruins your boots, and we all tend to stay home and eat too many carbs. And while we’re all struggling on the street, h…
It’s a refrain you’ll commonly hear from retirees who are weary of suffering through cold northern winters or hot southern summers: “When I retire, I’m going to live in New York for half the year and in Florida for the other half!” These …
When it comes to multi-family communities with shared accommodations, failing to plan for a rainy day could mean that when the rains do eventually come—and they will—bailing out will be much harder, and more costly, than it might have been …
As Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., once said, taxes are the price we pay for civilization. While that may be true, its truth doesn't make a hefty tax bill any easier to swallow, especially when it comes to city and state property taxes. There…
With rising awareness among everyday people about climate change, global warming, and the ever-more-pressing need to be smarter and more conservation-minded when it comes to energy and the environment has come some exciting innovations in l…
Few people in the New York City area—be they renters, buyers, or even just commuters—have managed to navigate the daily grind without coming eye-to-eye or face-to-face with pests such as ants, bees, mice, rats or roaches. Stumbling upon the…
Q. I am a unit owner in a condominium association containing 189 units. We manage ourselves and wouldn’t ever want to have a management company manage our property. However, the question has often been asked as to what happens when a mana…
Turning off lights and adjusting thermostats are just the beginning - your building can do even more to save on energy and utility costs.