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Problem Solved! For Co-ops and Condos
From building repairs and maintenance, energy upgrades, insurance, lobby redesigns, accounting and financing - the challenges facing co-op and condominium board directors are endless. In this series, Habitat Magazine editors interview New York City experts to learn how problems have been solved at their client co-op and condo buildings. We take a deep dive into the issues being confronted, the possibilities for solutions, the costs, the challenges, and the outcomes. Habitat Magazine, founded in 1982, is the trusted resource for New York City co-ops and condo board directors. Visit us at www.habitatmag.com
Episodes
55 episodes
The Terracotta Trap: Why the 'Obvious' Fix Isn't Always Right
When a century-old building's terracotta cornice started cracking, the board faced what seemed like a straightforward fix: replace the damaged sections with new terracotta. But a closer examination of the numbers told a different story, says Mi...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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14:34
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How One NYC Co-op Stopped Playing Whack-a-Mole with Water Leaks
Board members struggling with constant water damage need to hear this: Jerry Kestenbaum, CEO of the technology and service provider Aware Buildings, explains how one 220-unit luxury co-op in Sutton ...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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14:14
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How One Bronx Co-op Cut $100K Annually Through Smart Building Technology
Tired of sky-high heating bills and residents complaining about wildly uneven temperatures? In this interview, Kelly-Ann Corrigan, CEO at the technology and service provider Runwise, reveals exactly how a ...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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16:18
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Digital Payment Platforms May Be Secretly Routing Your Building's Money
Think your digital payment system is safely depositing maintenance fees directly into your building's account? Think again. This eye-opening episode reveals how a Queens co-op discovered their payments were making mysterious detours through una...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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10:57
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The $3 Million Second Opinion
Smart moves save money - just ask 160 West End Avenue. When this Manhattan co-op faced a $4 million facade repair project, their board sought a second opinion. The result? A more targeted approach that brought the cost down to under $900,000. J...
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Season 2
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Episode 27
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16:48
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Breaking Up With Your Property Manager? Here's Your Roadmap to Success
A new board at a 150-unit Westchester co-op was eager to take charge and make changes only to find themselves struggling with their current management company. The board couldn’t get access to the building’s financial records, had a never-endin...
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Season 2
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Episode 26
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14:53
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How Bundling NYC Building Inspections Could Save Co-ops Nearly $1M
With nearly 40% of a typical $2 million facade project going to "soft costs" like scaffolding and sidewalk sheds, smart planning of these inspections can lead to massive savings. In this episode, Gene Ferrara, president of
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Season 2
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Episode 25
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12:29
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Following the Money: What New Condo Boards Need to Know About Sponsor Exit
During the period when a new condominium comes on the market and the sponsor finally turns over control to the condo board, who is paying for the condo’s operating expenses? The building is not fully sold so there aren’t enough paying owners to...
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Season 2
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Episode 24
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17:50
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A Practical Blueprint: Yorkville Co-op's Decarbonization Plan
A Yorkville co-op's successful HVAC upgrade demonstrates how boards can tackle Local Law 97 compliance while achieving significant cost savings. The $900,000 project, overseen by the ENPOWER Group, replaced an in...
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Season 2
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Episode 23
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16:27
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Rising Waters, Brooklyn Battles: Fixing Floods in the Heart of NYC
Rainwater is becoming more intense and groundwater tables are rising throughout New York City. 10 Plaza Street East, a Brooklyn co-op, felt this full force during 2021's Hurricane Ida when its entire subcellar floor flooded, including the stora...
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Season 2
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Episode 23
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13:33
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The Financial Consequences of a Condo's Near Collapse
When a loft condominium faced a potential collapse, residents were forced to vacate, revealing the financial and logistical challenges of such emergencies. Carl Cesarano, the accountant for the condo and principal at
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Season 2
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Episode 22
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20:57
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Meeting Your Property's Insurance Challenge
Budgeting is always a complicated affair and increasing insurance costs have made this even more challenging. Jason Schiciano, co-president at Levitt-Fuirst Insurance & Bonding, shares how the tim...
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Season 2
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Episode 21
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15:50
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How to Create A “Best Case” Repair Program
Board members of newly constructed condominiums often find themselves battling a sponsor over construction defects, leading many to wonder why does this happen so often? Each building is different, but RAND E...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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28:11
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Facade Fix or Repair: One Board's Decision Journey
What approach works best with façade issues: Band-Aid repairs or full-blown replacement? Depends on each building, and 245 West 99th St, a 34-story condominium, faced this issue when inspection of 17,000 rainscreen tiles revealed cracks that co...
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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14:55
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Taking the Right Steps In A Lobby Transformation
It was a dark, dim lobby with no package storage, a small mail room, faux fireplaces with two sad chairs on each side, and no curb appeal. A redesign was in order, and Marilyn Sygrove, president of Sygrove Associa...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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12:56
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How A Robotics Sleuth Came To The Rescue
Construction defects aren’t just a new building problem, they can happen anytime a co-op or condo hires someone to take hammer and nail to something. In this episode Akaash Kancharla, CEO of aRoboticsCompany...
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Season 2
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Episode 17
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13:24
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Steam Traps and Orifice Plates, Oh My!
Sometimes the smallest parts can play an outsized role in reducing your building’s energy consumption. If you’ve got radiators, look no further than the steam trap or the oddly named orifice plate to see how these components, with a bit of dili...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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13:35
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How Form And Function Guides A Lobby Re-Design
Apartment lobbies come in all sizes and shapes, but one thing most have in common are mailboxes. Jonathan Baron of Jonathan Baron Interiors shares how he modernized this vital area for one co-op, inc...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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12:45
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How To Overcome Building Staff Hiring Challenges
Hiring building staff can be a daunting exercise, particularly if it’s a key position such as a super or resident manager. One large Manhattan co-op faced this task head on when it fired its resident manager and turned to Spark Super, a third-p...
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19:20
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Why Your Building's Best Friend Should Be Wireless Technology
Using wireless technology to monitor conditions in your building is the gold standard of catching leaks and other dangers. In this episode Jerry Kestenbaum, founder of Aware Buildings, explains how ...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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18:01
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How a 1910 Co-op Conquered Elevator Retrofit Challenges
Retrofitting a building’s elevator is one challenge, but equally important are its aesthetics. Louis Lipson, a principal at Ethelind Coblin Architects, unpacks the story of a 1910 co-op that was upgrading its elevators to meet current building ...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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19:15
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How An Action Plan Helped A Condo Overcome Insurance Challenges
A relatively new 41-unit condo on the lower east side of Manhattan was plagued by leaking PTAC units in owner apartments, and it filed $500,000 dollars in insurance claims over four years. That helped pay for the fix, but over the years their a...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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17:11
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Terracotta Troubles: How a Fifth Avenue Co-op Faced the Challenges of Facade Repair
Many apartment buildings with terracotta details are beautiful to look at, but with beauty comes expense if the material needs repair. Dane Barnes P.E, partner at Joseph K. Blum, was hired to do a façade in...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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14:40
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Laundry Rooms: Tech, Compliance and Contracts
Some people own multi-million-dollar apartments, others on a more modest scale, but doing laundry in a communal laundry room is one activity that levels the playing field. That makes the choice of a laundry room vendor crucial to providing a sp...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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13:36
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From Steam to Green: How A Beekman Hill Co-op Made the Leap
Around 1500 buildings in New York City use Con Ed steam for heating and cooling, and many are considering moving to electricity to reduce their carbon emissions. If your building has a distribution system that uses the same pipes for heating an...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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13:11
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