Beat the next NYC blackout! It just got easier with this week's NEW PRODUCT
Opera Lady and Mr. Manager cover all your Board concerns. Comment today on the HABITAT BLOG!
SHOULD BOARD MEMBERS BE PAID? Tell us what you think!
FINALLY ... a co-op wins a battle against a noisy bar. Read our WEB-EXCLUSIVE feature to learn how!
APARTMENT BUYERS: See THE CO-OP/CONDO OWNER'S MANUAL to learn about admissions perils and pitfalls!
Garland GreenShield Modular Green Roof
August 4, 2010 — You know a cutting-edge idea has gone mainstream when someone comes up with a shortcut way to do it. Take green roofs, for instance. Seems like Habitat was just writing this newfangled idea and its myriad benefits like insulation, reducing heating and cooling costs; reduced rainwater runoff, which the soil absorbs; noise reduction to upper-floor apartments; improvement of oxygen levels and air quality; reduction of urban heat-island effect; and protection of your roof's membrane layer. Next thing you know, we start seeing newspaper photos of green-roof gardens in Brooklyn and elsewhere.
And now? Modular green-roof systems for... well, not instant roofs, and it's still not do-it-yourself. But going green up top still probably has never been easier to do. Read More »
Perf Go Green Biodegradable Commercial Trash Bags
August 12, 2010 — When last we checked in with those environmental elves at Perf Go Green, the company was introducing a line of green alkaline batteries and a battery recycling effort. They also make biodegradable trash bags — 13-gallon kitchen bags, 30-gallon lawn-and-leaf bags, kitty-litter liners and the like — and have lately introduced an item suitable for any co-op or condo apartment building : large, 39-gallon, commercial-grade garbage bags. For any co-op / condo board looking at inexpensive ways to go green, well, it's a lot cheaper and easier than installing solar panels. Not that you shouldn't install solar panels. Read More »
New Lender Offers Co-ops / Condos Competitive Mortgages to Go Green
August 16, 2010 — When the co-op board at the 16-unit building at 54 East First Street in Manhattan asked its managing agent to shop for a new mortgage so the co-op could refinance and take advantage of lower interest rates, it fortuitously found one that not only did that, but allowed the co-op to fund necessary upgrades and make the building greener simultaneously. Your cooperative apartment house or condominium can do likewise — even in this tight lending times. Read More »
Green New Products
Check out environmentally friendly lighting, energy-efficient construction materials and many things you wouldn't even have expected could go green! Read More »
Regenerative Elevator Drives May Save Energy — and Dollars
June 21, 2010 —When it comes to going green in your building, most co-op and condo boards and management companies immediately think of energy-guzzlers like lights and boilers. But there's another. unlikely source of untapped energy savings in many condo and co-op buildings: your elevators. New technology called a "regenerative elevator drive" can recapture some of the energy typically wasted in day-to-day operations. Read More »
New Energy Conservation Code: What Will It Cost NYC Co-ops & Condos?
March 19, 2010; UPDATE July 2, 2010 — Following the outcry by New York City co-op boards, condo associations and others in April 2009, when the City Council introduced bills mandating expensive energy-efficiency upgrades to buildings of 50,000 feet or more (click on image at left to enlarge), the legislation that passed in December backed away from that contentious part of the plan.
On July 1, 2010, the revised version that became law went into effect. As the city's Department of Buildings said yesterday in a statement, the New York City Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC) "is more stringent than the state code, requiring thousands of more building projects to meet energy efficiency requirements."
What does this mean for co-op boards and condo associations? Co-op and condo attorneys in March finally had a chance to examine the four new Local Laws, and analyzed the costs and ramifications for co-op shareholders and condo unit-owners. Read More »
Green Supers: A Property Mgr. Takes the Free Union Workshop and Reports
Nov. 2, 2009 — I am a property-management member of the Green Building Initiative Committee of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, which represents building supers and others. The union's Thomas Shortman Fund is sponsoring this environmental-training initiative — called "1 Year: 1,000 Supers" — in an effort to train at least 1,000 supers and handypersons to be greener and thus bring energy and cost savings to your building and reduce your carbon footprint.
My company, Midboro Management, has enrolled 12 of our supers into one of the initiative's first classes, and I'm writing this weekly account to walk board members and others through this smart, practical and free initiative. Read More »
Green Supers Workshop: A Property Manager's Report from Day Two
Nov. 11, 2009 — Michael J. Wolfe of Midboro Management is a property-management member of the Green Building Initiative Committee of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ. Along with 12 supers from buildings he manages, Wolfe is himself taking the free weekly class in environmental training to lower energy use and cost. This is the second of five weekly reports.
Day 2 – Thursday, October 29, 2009. Today was an illuminating day as the morning began with "Lighting, Electricity and Plug Loads." It may not sound exciting, but it was. After all, today marked the 130th anniversary of the light bulb! We discussed lighting sensors, types of lighting and master metering vs. submetering. Read More »
Green Supers Workshop: Day Three
Nov. 18, 2009 — Property manager Michael J. Wolfe (second from right in photo) of Midboro Management is a member of the Green Building Initiative Committee of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ. Along with 12 supers from buildings he manages, Wolfe is himself taking the free weekly class in environmental training to lower energy use and cost. This is the third of five weekly reports.
Day 3 – November 5, 2009: The class was a little tired today as many of the supers stayed up to watch the Yankees win their 27th World Series. I'm happy for New York, though it's a little painful for this Mets fan. That said, today we visited a building to conduct a hands-on seminar. Read More »
10 Practical Ways to Green Your Building: A Print 'Em Out Checklist
Oct. 28, 2009 — "Going green" has become an accepted and even mainstream part of apartment buildings — with co-op / condo boards and savvy managing agents playing major roles in the movement. Boards not only have the ability to make a positive impact in their common areas, but to the Earth itself, and has a responsibility to educate and encourage shareholders and unit-owners to conserve resources.
John R. Math, owner of the 21-year-old real estate and property management firm Associated Property Management in Lake Worth, Fla., is a clear-eyed rationalist who offers experienced, practical tips on how boards can have that sort of impact while, sometimes quickly, sometimes in the long run, saving money. Read More »
We have a leak situation. The individual's apt where the leak is located is a very difficult person. The contractor asked to have access to the apt. to Read More »
With so many buildings in our property management company's portfolio, it's always interesting to me to experience each board and the intricacies that Read More »
Learn all the basics of being a co-op / condo board member, with straight talk from over a dozen heavy hitters in the field of co-op / condo apartments.
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