The job of managing a multifamily property is hectic, and often stressful - but it’s rarely (and blessedly) ever deadly. A tragic exception to that unfolded on August 22 in Atlanta, Georgia, when according to local news outlets a local condo manager and an accounting firm employee were shot and killed by a disgruntled condo resident and former employee of the firm. A building engineer was also sho…

In 2016, the New York City Council passed a citywide ordinance requiring the installation of natural gas detectors, 180 days after “an industry standard concerning the use of natural gas detecting devices in residential buildings has been promulgated.” In April of this year, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) published a standard for natural gas detectors (NFPA 715) which has led co-…

As temperatures around the globe reach dangerous highs, many places are hitting the highest temperatures they’ve ever recorded—yet large-scale federal action on climate legislation is stymied. War rages on in Ukraine; inflation dogs economies worldwide; ever-larger wildfires destroy homes, habitats, and resources; and we continue to endure an unprecedented viral pandemic that has disrupted everyth…

Prior to the 1980s, the majority of New York City apartment buildings were rentals, owned by landlords. Then, in the 1980s, many landlords realized that it would be more financially advantageous for them to sell their buildings to the tenants who called them home. Tenant groups were formed, and often were able to negotiate a favorable price for the building. This allowed rental buildings to be con…

Saving the planet from the effects of climate change is an urgent—and gargantuan—task. It’s such a huge, global issue that the actions of individuals and small entities like co-op and condominium communities to help can seem pitifully inadequate. While that’s understandable, the climate change crisis is the cumulative result of both individual and collective behaviors over time, and our response s…