Tina Larsson
Tina Larsson is the co-founder of The Folson Group, New York City's leading co-op and condo consultancy. A prominent speaker on proactive co-op/condo leadership and ESG matters, Tina is the author of Living the High Life: How Smart Co-op and Condo Owners Protect Themselves and Their Investment. In addition to two decades experience as a business analyst and investment advisor, Tina holds a BS and MBA from Pace University and a LEED Green Associate designation. Her mission is to make NYC safer, more sustainable, and more affordable.
Posts by Tina Larsson:
Local Law 33 (LL33) requires that all buildings over 25,000 square feet post their energy efficiency scores near the building entrance. An energy efficiency score is the Energy Star rating that a building earns using the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) online benchmarking tool, Energy Star Portfolio Manager, to compare building energy performance to similar buildings in similar climates.
The letter grade ranges are as follows:
Under the leadership of Michael Bloomberg, who served as New York City mayor from 2002 to 2013, significant effort was made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city. His administration passed local laws that require large buildings, including residential buildings exceeding 25,000 square feet, to track their energy and water consumption patterns (initially, the requirement applied to buildings exceeding 50,000 square feet but was later revised to half that size).
Co-ops and condos need to comply with a seemingly ever-expanding number of regulations. Many of these are geared toward making aging infrastructure safe for residents and passers-by, while a new crop of ambitious legislation aims to drastically reduce carbon emissions across the city's housing stock.
Here are the major energy and infrastructure regulations that your building may need to comply with along with some signs that you may not be in compliance, and a general sense of the costs your building may incur.
The cost of property management services primarily depends on the size of your building: Brownstone walk-ups with a part-time super have different needs than a 20-story fully staffed doorman building.
To replace any other vendor, your board’s first call is to your property manager. But when it’s time to replace your property management firm, you usually do not have that luxury. Finding a good match for your building and budget will likely take some effort.
Your coop or condo board has a fiduciary responsibility to the community that it serves that includes ensuring that your building is being properly managed. Here are some signs that it’s time to re-evaluate your property management firm:
Residents are complaining
