What Lies Ahead: Building Services

Abilene Inc.

T.J. Quatroni, President

76 Years In Business

With today’s focus on carbon emissions, co-op and condo boards need to rely on contractors that can guide them through all the municipal and regulatory requirements and advise them on energy-efficient equipment and energy-conservation technology. These requirements are not going away. In fact, the groundwork has been laid for more stringent regulations, which without proper guidance may be difficult to navigate and potentially expose boards to additional liabilities.

Champion Elevator

Donald Gelestino, President and CEO

6 Years In Business

The Department of Buildings (DOB) changes and updates codes and also mandates new policies and procedures all the time. Property managers need to know when these changes take effect so they can be a step ahead of the situation and take a proactive approach. This year the DOB implemented a new periodic elevator inspection that requires building owners to hire and pay for one additional test each year. By 2025 all elevators with single plunger brakes are required to be upgraded to dual plunger and install rope grippers, and in some cases, like drum-machine elevators, fully replace the entire system.

Alert Labs

Bob Wasserman, CEO

7 Years In Business

Bills currently pending in the state Legislature will require condos and co-ops to install water leak detection systems to protect buildings from water damage. Water damage claims are very expensive for insurance companies, and many offer discounts for technologies that can help minimize damage through early detection. Condo and co-op boards that are implementing these solutions now are well positioned for what’s ahead.

Giant Industrial Installations/ Wirecrafters

Jamie Barnard, President

29/55 Years In Business

Steel has seen particularly dramatic price increases over the past year, and as is now the case with many materials, supply is also strained. Co-op and condo boards planning to install storage lockers, bicycle racks and security partitions should give themselves a slightly longer timeline and perhaps install in smaller phases.

Jonathan Baron Interiors

Jonathan Baron, President and CEO

25 Years In Business

Interior design and project management services for apartment building public spaces have been impacted by a new Fire Code requiring specific signs on fire stair doors and on each apartment door frame. Another new code requires you to replace old mailboxes with ones that are larger, wider and deeper, which will involve greater expenses and possibly impact lobby redesigns to accommodate them.

Indow

Kristina Damschen Spina, Vice President of Product Marketing

10 Years In Business

We have seen a large demand for window inserts that will soundproof space as well as cut down air infiltration. Local Law 97 has also set the city on a course to a greener community, which means a serious focus on building envelope upgrades and a switch to electrification. Co-op and condo boards must navigate the rules and consider what is cost-effective while folding sustainability into their mission and vision.

Sparksuper.com Inc.

James Park, Managing Director

10 Years In Business

One issue that we are encountering more frequently as a building super and maintenance staffing company is the prevailing wage required by the state. Now that an affidavit is required when filing for the tax abatement this year, there’s been an uptick in the efforts by co-ops and condos to determine whether the property tax abatements are worth the increase in wages for their super, porter and other building staff. We are called in to offer an alternative to employing staff in-house and find ourselves advising boards on how they can keep the best of both worlds by outsourcing these functions. This is a pressure that is certain to grow and affect budgets across the city’s residential real estate industry. And it will likely impact the sales and rentals markets.