On Jan. 31, Mayor Bloomberg and the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations announced a new public-private initiative to help expand mold treatment assistance in Hurricane Sandy-affected neighborhoods. Using private money raised to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy, the Mayor’s...
The energy used in America’s buildings is responsible for almost 8 percent of global carbon emissions and costs Americans more than $500 billion every year. Despite this enormous impact and expense, much about this energy use remains mysterious. Unlike our general awareness of the mileage-...
Your building employees are in a perfect position to keep you up-to-date on what’s going on in your building. And the information they give you about tenants can be critical in helping you run your building. They can alert you to lease violations and unauthorized tenants, and they can help...
If your building’s boiler breaks down this winter, you should be ready with a game plan to avoid fines, city-imposed repair charges, or rent cuts. You should be prepared to respond quickly and have your boiler repair company’s contact information handy.
An owner may want to move into a rent-stabilized apartment in a building he owns for many reasons. He may desire a place to live in New York City; he may seek an apartment for a family member; he may want to expand the size of an apartment he already occupies in the building.
On Nov. 12, Mayor Bloomberg signed an emergency order to waive all Department of Buildings (DOB) application and permit fees for repair work to buildings damaged by Hurricane Sandy. To help New Yorkers affected by the storm, buildings with significant structural damage in need of demolition,...
The Department of Buildings (DOB) recently announced that the inspection and report deadlines for low- and high-pressure boilers have been extended to Dec. 31. In addition, reports for these inspections are now due no later than Feb. 15, 2013.
Household hazardous waste (HHW) generated as a result of damage from Hurricane Sandy includes such things as contaminated petroleum products, paint, and pesticides. HHW should be disposed of properly to protect people’s health and the environment. The New York State Department of...
Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, as well as the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane in history, surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. According to recent accounts, victims of Hurricane Sandy have been streaming into temporary emergency rooms and relief centers...
New York City’s water purity is protected by many layers of laws and regulations. Protecting the water supply is important because clean water is essential for good health and contaminated water can spread diseases and death over large populations. In the past few years, we’ve seen a...
The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has just announced a cut in this year's air-conditioner rent surcharge for owners who pay for electricity. It set the monthly surcharge at $22.66, down from $29.13last year. This year's decrease reflects a 22.2 percent decrease in the...
According to the sanitation rules and regulations of New York City, owners are responsible for the cleanliness of the sidewalk in front of and adjacent to their property. The sidewalks (including areas like tree pits, grass strips, etc.) and gutter areas (18 inches from the curb into the street...
