Building amenities such as elevator systems are often taken for granted. But, elevators are for more than just avoiding a workout and creating awkward silences between neighbors; they accommodate residents unable to climb stairs and are cri…
If you think about it, a multifamily building isn’t that much different than the human body. Both house important complex operating systems and organ-like pieces of vital equipment, both take in fuel, produce waste, and both require regular…
Q “We live in a condominium development of 130 units. One investor own 48 of these units. He’s taken two seats on the board since 1986. No one votes for him, I suspect he always votes for himself and gets on the board. Can this be possibl…
In a recent case decided on August 12, 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that an association is not immune from liability for personal injuries sustained on a sidewalk which is privately owned by the community association. This ruli…
Dozens of writers, actors, actresses and music personalities were born in the hardscrabble neighborhoods of Newark—New Jersey’s largest city, and the nation’s 67th most populous municipality. Mystery novelist Harlan Coben and fiction write…
As long as there have been residential buildings, there has been maintenance personnel—be that a superintendent, a chief engineer, or a collection of reliable individuals. They're charged with the all-important task of ensuring that operati…
While ice damming on roofs is nothing new, the record-breaking snowfall of the 2014-15 winter was especially devastating in terms of ice dams. An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow from drai…
When you live in a multifamily building, however, peace and quiet can be hard to come by. From the guy upstairs who gargles loudly at precisely 6:47 a.m. every morning to the neighbor with the yapping Chihuahua—at some point the soundtrack …
It happens in business, government, and industry every day: employees learn the rules of a new job, and before long they know those rules so well, they start going around them or taking short cuts. Rarely is this done with malicious intent.…
It's a truism that's been phrased many ways by many wise people: “A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.” That's the case in any number of situations, but it's especially applicable to the administration …