In: residential
Did you know that if you reside in a building in New York City that is between 5 and 75 residential units and a customer to either ConEd gas or electric service, you are qualified to obtain a FREE ConEd Green Team Survey by a Green Team energy professional? As part of a program to incentivize buildings, and residential occupants, to save energy by using more energy efficient products, the Green Team professionals will evaluate all of your lighting and heating equipment and will offer energy-saving recommendations throughout your property.
The survey will arrive to the building owner or manager and will provide all of the information that you need in order to make a decision, based on their recommendations. There is no requirement to abide by their recommendations at any time.
In addition to the free survey report and recommendations, a Green Team professional will also install free CFL’s, water saving devices and smart strips in residential units. There is also the possibility of building owners receiving rebates for eligible upgrades to common area equipment, including lighting fixtures, LED exit signs, HVAC and building management systems.
To sign up for the survey or to obtain information on the process, you can call ConEd directly at 877-634-9443
New York City has some very specific snow removal rules for buildings within its boroughs. We’re concerned about snow removal from a few different standpoints; we want to sure ensure the safety of the residents, employees and passerby’s and we also want to limit the liability and potential exposure to lawsuit of our client buildings.
New York City’s Department of Sanitation requires that snow be removed no later than four (4) hours after the end of the snow fall or not later than 11:00AM, if the snow ended after 9:00PM the night before.
In addition, if the snow can’t be removed due to packed ice or other conditions, the building is allowed to place down cat litter, snow melt or a similar product for traction. Once the snow has melted or is readily able to be removed, we recommend that it is done so right away.
Snow is not permitted to be shoveled into the streets at any time. That practice is illegal. In addition, do not place snow on top of a fire hydrant. Those hydrants do need to be kept clear at all times.
Failure to abide by the rules can subject the building to a fine in the amount of $100 – $350 per infraction.
Keeping the sidewalks clear of snow and ice during and after a snowstorm will be of great benefit to the employees, residents and the general public.
Related Post: What are the Winter Heating Requirements?
Update for 2017: Click Here For NEW Regulations
In New York City, the winter heating season is from October 1st – May 31st of any given winter. The heating requirements are going to be significantly different from the other times of the year and we’re going to break it down for you so that you can easily understand the requirements.
Each day is split into two different times; there are the Daytime requirements, which last from 6AM – 10PM and there are the Nighttime requirements, lasting from 10PM – 6AM.
The following heat settings are in place during these two times:
Daytime (6AM – 10PM): When the temperature dips below 55 degrees outside, the internal temperature of any given apartment must be kept at or above 68 degrees.
Night (10pm – 6AM): When the temperature falls below 40 degrees outside, it is mandated that the interior temperature of an apartment must be kept at or above 55 degrees.
55 Degrees of an interior temperature sure does sound chilly, so most coop and condo buildings in NYC will keep their indoor temperature settings a little higher. This could be by altering the cycle of heat that the boiler is moving through, or it could be adjusting their complete system if that boiler works off of sensors within the apartment, as was discussed in the building.
If you feel as though you are not being provided with adequate heat (if this is a routine occurrence, and not a result of emergency boiler work or for major work such as a complete boiler replacement), it would behoove the tenants to call Management, and if they do not respond, to alert 311 so that they can step in on what may be a systematic issue.
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Excel Bradshaw is pleased to announce that it will assume the management of 205 E. 10th St. Owners, Inc., a 30 unit Cooperative located in New York City. Effective October 1, 2014, this new addition will add to a growing portfolio in Manhattan. 205 E. 10th St. Owners, Inc. will be directly managed by Mark Levine, Vice President of Excel Bradshaw.
A simple task that is now available to update online at http://www.nyc.gov/hpd, this yearly property registration is required from residential buildings that are greater than three units or 1-2 unit residences where the owner does not reside on premises. The forms tell the City of New York who the owner, agent and responsible parties are for all residential buildings in the case of an emergency (or a violation). Registrations are required to be renewed by September 1st of each year, so if your building is outdated, now is the time to update it before it becomes a deeper issue.
In Condominiums and Cooperatives, one of the factors that will play into whether your Unit Owners, Shareholders or the building as a whole can easily get financing is the percentage of investor-owned units. Investor-owned, in this case, is a unit that is sublet out. If a building has greater than 15% of their units sublet out by the respective owners / shareholders, the banks will take notice and may give an issue when trying to obtain financing.
There are some buildings that don’t allow subletting at all, but most will at least make it difficult or onerous to do so. A sublet fee based on a per share basis, a flat fee or a sliding scale for different years can be put into place to create soft income for the building. The theory is that the person who is subletting out their unit is making money on the transaction, so why not also create a fee within the building.
Sometimes a Board of Directors in a Cooperative can overstep their bounds. Whether it’s from a lack of knowledge of what they can or can’t do or just a lax outlook on adhering to the building’s documents, Boards need to keep their limits in mind when making changes.
Recently, someone posed the question to the Habitat Magazine (http://www.habitatmag.com) forums asking if the Board can change the terms of the Proprietary Lease, to allow for Shareholders to now be responsible for the upkeep and replacement of windows. This was, according to the poster, done without the approval of the Shareholders at large.
The Proprietary Lease usually calls for a supermajority of Shareholders (either 66.6% or 75%, depending on the documents) to approve any changes to the Proprietary Lease or Bylaws. If there wasn’t a special meeting for this purpose or if it was not included on the agenda of the Annual Meeting, then the Board most likely made this change illegally.
We always advise our Boards to follow the law with regards to handling building documents to ensure that the rules and policies set forth are enforceable to the end.
From time to time a Unit Owner or a Shareholder will place an illegal sublet into their unit without the prior written authorization of the Board of Managers or the Board of Directors in that particular building. One Board Member had inquired if they could take it upon themselves to remove the sublet directly or if they needed to go to bat with the Shareholder in question, first.
June 18, 2014
I Think I May Have Bed Bugs. Now What?
Bed Bugs are a very scary element in any building. Not only can the wreak havoc on the resident that will be most affected by it, but left untreated they can drain a building’s operating account faster than almost anything else.
We always implore all residents in every building to immediately notify Management if they think that they may have a bed bug issue in their unit. We’ll immediately arrange for an inspection of the premises by a trained professional (canine inspection or visual inspection).
If there is a positive for an infestation, we’ll make sure to start the inspection process in all units that are above, below and on either side of the positive unit to try and note where the problem has spread to and to stop the spread with proper treatment.
If the resident is in a Cooperative or a rental building, the “landlord” should be footing the bill for the treatment while the resident is responsible for the costs to prep their apartment (dry cleaning, laundering, cleaning, etc.) The one way to force the tenant to pay for the bed bugs treatment is to pin down that particular unit as the only unit infected in the building (and talk to an attorney about this before you go to charge).
Residents that test positive should never throw away their untreated belongings in the building trash, drag furniture or uncovered mattresses through the building or in any other way increase the chance that the bed bugs will spread. Mattresses that are left on the curb for pickup after treatment (or any time) must be properly covered or the building will receive a fine (in NYC).
The apartment will need to be completely prepped prior to treatment because an apartment that is not fully prepped stands a better chance of not being fully exterminated. The exterminators will use a variety of treatments which include steaming, freezing and dusting, so there are many different treatment options that will be utilized.
Getting on top of this problem from the very first sign will help any building weather through the bed bug storm. Bed bugs can live up to a year without food, so knowing that they’re potentially within the common elements of the building and have the ability to travel should make every building prepare for the worst and have a bed bug plan in place.
Downloadable Bed Bug Disclosure Form: Click Here
Downloadable Bed Bug Prep Sheet: Click Here
Downloadable NYC Bed Bug Pamphlet: Click Here
Minutes of a Corporation are one of the most important documents in Coops and Condos but they’re so much more than just keeping track of what transpires in the meetings of Directors.
They can also be used as discovery in a lawsuit (whether the entity taking the minutes is the plaintiff or defendant) and they can also be used by legal counsel of those who are looking to purchase in the Corporation or Condominium.
We’ve seen a slew of minutes that are so much more than they have to be; sometimes an hour long meeting is summarized in a multi-page document that details every single conversation and every point that is made.
Our recommendation is that all minutes should be bare-boned and contain minimal information while still maintaining the character of all of the decisions that were made at the meeting.
The important items that should be on the minutes include; time, date and place of meeting, who was present / not present, all motions that were made and how they were voted. With keeping these minutes to a minimum, a Board can release minutes to any and all who are requesting them without redaction and they give a clear and concise record of important decisions while protecting the Corporation as a whole. Keeping them simple has an added benefit as well; they can be easily remembered at the next meeting when it is time to approve them.