NEW YORK CITY

What to do when an insurance claim doesn't meet expectations? A solution is easier — and less stressful — than you may think. Say hello to the public adjuster, an independent evaluator who will investigate your insurance claim and advocate for an improved settlement with an insurance company. Ed Mackoul, president of insurance brokerage Mackoul & Associates, explains that estimates from insurance companies "are not always accurate and the insured is not always happy with the result that they get. The insured can hire public adjusters to represent their interests."

It can be a board's worst nightmare: lost documents, misrouted tax bills, misfiled mortgage statements. If your board has faced these types of scenarios, it may be time to make a change. But is it easy to switch management companies? Well, for starters, boards need to research various companies so they can find one that's the right fit. Then the hard part begins: the transition. Sometimes transitions don't go very smoothly at all, so here we will take a look at how to make the changeover go as painless as possible.

Is your building conserving water? Saving money in doing so? The answer in condos and co-ops tends to be a resounding no. The average apartment in New York City uses 52,000 gallons of water per year, or 142 gallons per day. But times have changed, and saving water is not only smart but also cheap, cost effective, and barely noticeable. We've looked at how new toilets and showerheads can help boards translate water savings into dollar savings. But did you know that leaks typically make up 10 to 25 percent of water use in the average residential and multifamily building?

A READER ASKS: I serve on the board of a midsize co-op in Westchester and two of my fellow board members are lawyers. We are trying to draft a proxy form, and there is disagreement about the wording. I realize that we need to make sure all our i's are dotted and t's are crossed, and I am not trying to question my fellow board member's legal expertise. But I think it's a mistake to make the form so cumbersome to get through or even understand. I think there's a way to still protect the building and make sure everything is legally sound in simple layman's terms. Am I being difficult? Should I just step back and let the two lawyers handle it? 

With all the new construction happening in New York City, including towering luxury condos made of glass and steel, it's easy for the more nostalgic among us to mourn how much and how fast the city is changing. Yes, all those shiny buildings may symbolize modernity, but it's transforming a city that was once so appealing, so unique — because of its beautiful, ornate architecture — into one that, at the end of the day, is just like any other big city. The Singer Building is long gone. The Drake Hotel is no more. We still have the Woolworth, thank goodness. It's not too homogenous yet: you can still walk around and see beautiful brickwork. And not all of the new buildings that are rising all over the city are all glass and steel, even if they are still very tall. The Sutton — a 30-story condominium rising at 959 First Avenue — may be too tall for some people's taste, but it is trying to fit in with nearby traditional walk-ups and the overall historic flavor of the neighborhood with its design. Or is it? The New York Times reports that the "building will be clad mostly in brick rather than in glass and steel, 'to be reflective of a lot of the buildings that were erected a century ago,' [according to] David Von Spreckelsen, the president of the New York City division of Toll Brothers City Living, the owner of the Sutton, which recently started selling its 113 apartments." Mostly clad in brick… but there's still a lot of glass; the rendering looks rather boxy and doesn't really evoke that gorgeous, old New York. 

Rendering of the Sutton from Toll Brothers City Living. 

New York City's Façade Inspection Safety Program (FISP), also called Local Law 11, requires that owners of buildings with more than six stories undergo an exterior inspection every five years.

The law's seventh cycle ended February 20, 2015, but there's good news for building owners who didn't file a FISP report by that date. 

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, it is the tale of one city, and the tale of the two socioeconomic classes that inhabit it. The 1 percent has arrived in Manhattan. The luxury condo is rising up everywhere you turn. The chasm between rich and poor, the haves and have-nots, is growing. How much? Brickunderground reports that at "a recent Symposium on Inequality at New York Law School, sociologist Andrew Beveridge, who's the co-founder of data site Social Explorer, revealed that [Manhattan] now holds the distinction of being the 'most unequal county' (of counties with more than 100,000 residents) in the country." CityLab crunched the numbers and if we examine Beveridge's findings, we'll find that the top 20 percent of earners make — sit down — 43 times what the bottom 20 percent makes. And that bottom 20 percent is vying for spots in buildings with so-called poor doors. It's like a postmodern Dickensian story.

To mark the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, CityRealty decided to take a closer look at Manhattan's eco-friendly neighborhoods and residences. For a few years, the Financial District has been working hard to shed its isolated and desolated image — come 5 or 6 P.M. it would turn into a ghost town. As part of its transformation into a more residential area, it has embraced the green agenda. In fact, the downtown area looks to be the greenest in New York City. How green are we talking? 

West 57th Street, or Billionaire's Row as it is commonly called, may impress many, including the one percent, with all its high-rise glory, but not everyone is a fan. DNAinfo reports that Community Board 5's Sunshine Taskforce has spent a year studying the effects of these buildings can have on Central Park and those who paid top dollar for nice views of it. The taskforce plans to hold public meeting next week at the New York Public Library's main branch on Fifth Avenue, and they encourage local residents "to air grievances about the development of super-tall condo buildings on the stretch." According to the article, the taskforce isn't only "concerned about shadows cast on Central Park by the supertowers." It also has objections about air quality, protection of historic buildings, and construction issues, such as plexiglass and cranes falling. The public meeting will be held Tuesday, April 28, from 6-8 P.M. at the South Court Auditorium at the New York Public Library.

A READER ASKS: I am on the board of co-op in Queens. A few years ago, we had a problem with arrears, but we've been working really hard toward resolving it. We were told that no more than 15 percent of the units should be more than 30 days in arrears for maintenance or common charges. As of last year, we are well under that percentage, but it seems like potential buyers are still having trouble borrowing money to purchase apartments. We are concerned that with sales still suffering, the building's value will plummet. What can we do to get the building back in tiptop financial shape?