New York City is a beautiful place, but let’s face facts—it gets pretty dirty. All the fumes from countless trucks and cars letting off exhaust leave a layer of grim on buildings so thick that in many cases, it’s impossible to know jus…
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…
Marble columns, iron grillwork, decorative cornices, brass details on doors; these are extra touches that make a building unique. When marble is polished and clean, ironwork and cornices free of rust, and brass buffed to an impeccable s…
No two ways about it–appearance counts, and chances are when you decided to buy into your building, part of your decision was based on whether the building appealed to your eye. Now you and your fellow board members find that the passage of…
A sweep knows 'e's welcome Wherever 'e goes" --Chim Chim Cheree (from Mary Poppins) Ah, to be a chimney sweep: face covered in soot, bristles in hand, dancing across the rooftops of London with Julie Andrews waiting below… …
In 1999, after her four-year-old son began coughing up blood and her husband started suffering respiratory complaints and memory loss, Melinda Ballard and her husband Ron Allison were told by their family physician to evacuate their Austin…
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…
Rodents, insects, and pests in general are not a pleasant topic of conversation - but whether you live in a brand-new high rise or a prewar walk-up, whether you're a fastidious home-keeper or a little more lax in the cleaning department, cr…
In a posting on legal pros website Lexology , New York law firm Cozen O’Connor advises co-ops and condos to keep their gyms and pools closed for the time being, both to prevent the spread of coronavirus and to avoid liability and violati…
One of the facts of life that apartment dwellers live with -- particularly those in older buildings -- is the window-unit air conditioner. Certainly the upside of having one is that it gets you through the airless, sweaty nights during the …
On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order requiring that employers receive revised guidance for workplace safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this order, the Occupational Safety and Health Administratio…
The Cooperator Events presents a virtual town hall sponsored by FirstService Residential Wednesday May 6 at 2:00 PM. The Fight Against COVID-19: Keeping Your Community Clean & Your Staff Safe Residential boards and managers are facing a …
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many condos, co-ops and rental buildings in NYC restricted the entry of nannies, dog walkers, housekeepers, outside contractors, etc. to their properties, limiting access to residents and essential building sta…
Co-op and condo boards must remain vigilant against all kinds of potential hazards in their buildings; everything from Legionnaires' disease in rooftop cooling tanks to deteriorating pointing on brick facades, to unsecured window-unit air c…
Wherever large groups of humans live in close proximity to each other and share common spaces, there will inevitably be messes; tracked-in dirt and grime, spills, stains, smudges and bits of random debris. All of this is usually pretty rout…
As Budgeting Season approaches for co-op and condo communities, it’s time for the boards of associations and corporations to consider how they will cover expenses and fund projects in the coming year and beyond. While recurring operating ex…
With an eye toward reopening the New York economy safely, the Building Trades Employers’ Association (BTEA), along with the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and the Building and Construction Trades Council (BCTC), released mandatory …
“You only get one chance to make a great first impression,” goes the old adage. That’s the essence of curb appeal. When someone arrives at your property, they can be pleasantly surprised, or disappointed. Much of that reaction will depend …
As New York City continues to reopen, the Department of Buildings (DOB) has issued guidance and mandated protocols to promote safety and health on all job sites. After launching a citywide inspection sweep of every permitted site to verif…
Everyone’s always trying to build a better mouse trap, to find a better way of disposing of pests without poisoning non-pest critters (or people) or adding unnecessary chemicals to the environment. For example, New York City has been using …