On October 22, 2004, the Department of Buildings by enacting Local Law 26/04 amended Local Law 5/73. Local Law 26/04 added sections 27-228.5(b) and 27-929.1 to the 1968 Building Code (which has been superseded by the 2008 Construction Code). The law requires all commercial office buildings 100 feet or more in height which are not equipped with sprinklers (the building code had allowed for what is called “compartmentalization” which would no longer be acceptable) to be fully equipped with sprinkers by July 1, 2019. This law, like it’s sister law of Local Law 26 (installation of photoluminescent markings along egress…

Con Edison steam has provided reliable service to its customers for over 100 years, with over 1,800 steam customers south of 96th street Con Edison has capacity close to 13,000 Mlbs. More importantly, the steam system provides close to 625,000 tons of cooling, relieving the Con Edison electric grid of close to 375 MW of electricity that it does not need to carry or a supplier produce in the peak of summer. Each year with the summer peak cooling season about to commence, various energy consultants (Curtailment Service Providers or “CSP’s) begin to offer enrollment incentives to sign up for…

With the recent increased activity in the distressed asset market, I find myself thinking back to before 2007 and 2008 when the purchase of an asset was performed with little money down and was highly leveraged. There was little in the way of equity and purchases were made with the anticipation of a quick sale and profit. This changed in late 2007 and 2008 as borrower’s started to default and there was no interest to purchase these securities anymore, and lending all but dried up. Distressed Assets and the management of these assets were now the concern, as it was…

For those with children, depending on their age, the cry from the backseat “are we there yet?” can invoke either wonderful memories of years gone by or dread with your summer vacation nearing. However, most recently, this cry is not heard from children, but from some of the most intelligent and respected real estate industry experts and analysts, who are much more intelligent than I with respect to Capital Markets and rental numbers. With the national office vacancy rate edging up from 16.4% in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 16.7% in the first quarter of 2010, this rise in…

Sustainability, much like global warming to the scientist, is a word that has now become part of every Property Manager’s vocabulary. Having witnessed this evolution first hand, one must applaud the U.S. Green Building Counsel (USGBC) in how well they have been able to sell the greening of commercial office buildings. Survey any property manager and ask if they believe that they must be sustainable to be successful in their career, they will overwhelmingly all answer “yes!” because they must. Why is this? America is a capitalistic society with property value predicated on supply and demand. With this in mind,…