Oct. 28, 2011 — Usually, when there's a problem with one of the co-op's rent-regulated apartments, the board of 61 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn leans on the landlord — the building's conversion sponsor — to take responsibility. But sometimes the situation has a way of forcing the board to get involved. Read More »

May 15, 2012 — Despite rising interest in green technology and the savings it can provide, lenders will probably be reluctant to make loans when the money to repay the loan is expected to come from energy cost savings. Why? Lack of reliable data about actual savings, unreliability of audit predictions and the need for unconventional underwriting requirements. But that doesn't mean you won't be able to finance insulation for the new roof or lighting improvements, or a high-efficiency boiler. Read More »

Jan. 26, 2012 — With its 1960s HVAC system failing, an Eastchester co-op was running on borrowed time. The solution: a newer model that lowered its bills by saving energy. Read More »

April 24, 2012 — A reader asks: I live in a small co-op in Brooklyn, and I am president of the co-op board. Our building is self-managed. I recently spoke to a friend who is on his board and he mentioned the New York City benchmarking submission requirement. Our building never made a benchmarking submission and was wondering, are all co-ops required to submit a report? What are the consequences if we submit late? Read More »

Sept. 22, 2011 —  Richard Cherry is president of the Community Environmental Center, and Richard Klein is founder and CEO of Quixotic Systems Inc.

Suddenly, solar thermal is hot. A cutting-edge approach to heating water for showers, dishwashers, laundry machines and more, it's at the forefront of renewable energy and can also reduce a building's fuel costs. One co-op in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood has installed a version of solar thermal, and serves as a case study of what it is, how it works and whether it's right for your co-op or condo building. Read More »

May 10, 2012 — At the mixed condominium-and-rental William Beaver House in New York City's Financial District, John Sarich represents the cutting edge of what all building superintendents will become in the coming years. Without a single major capital improvement in his building, through just the green operations and maintenance of his existing systems, he saves his property $32,000 a year — and through only a one-time, $17,000 outlay of time and materials. Read More »

Aug. 16, 2011 — Co-op boards and condo associations, when they're seeking to hire contractors or engineers, traditionally send out a form called "Request for Proposal and Statement of Qualifications for Property Management Services," or RFP. Now, some co-op and condominium boards have begun using simple RFPs — usually a couple of pages — when seeking a new management company. Is it worth the trouble for board members? And is it too much to ask a potential property manager to fill them out — especially when, as one Brooklyn co-op has it, it's 11 pages?

RFPs for property managers is a good idea. But it's easy to do it wrong. Read More »

Aug. 18, 2011 — When we purchased our small co-op apartment in Chelsea more than 20 years ago, the biggest appeal to us was the deck and garden area that came with it. Hidden behind the main 10-unit building, the dominant feature of the small courtyard was a large, old ailanthus tree. It attracted rare and unusual birds, resting on their migratory paths. It gave us shade in the summer and leaves to sweep in the fall. Its only downside, we thought, was that we had to scoot around its massive, elephantine trunk when bringing food from the building to our outside dining table.

For 20 years, we enjoyed our tree. Then, one day last winter, we noticed something peculiar: The tree's roots were breaking through the ground, coming up and pulling our wooden deck up with them. Read More »

Oct. 18, 2011 — As any parent who tries to get her kids to turn off the lights when leaving their rooms knows, changing energy habits is not easy. One way to do it is to make people pay for the energy they use. Once they learn how much it costs to leave lights on, or run air conditioners when they are not home, they tend to be more careful with the "on" switch.

That's what submetering is all about. But not every resident "gets" it. And that's getting to be a problem. Read More »

Aug. 4, 2011 — These days, Alex Kuffel treats the warning he first heard as a child very seriously: "We used to say, ‘Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.' Bed bugs are a critical problem."

We've all heard that before. We've also heard that co-op boards, condo associations and co-op / condominium property managers must be proactive and wage an ongoing education campaign to be certain the residents know about bed bugs and how to cope with them. But Kuffel is trying something that he thinks is fairly unusual: a move-in / move-out policy that meets the bed bug issue head on. Read More »