What do these have in common? Construction debris is a tell-tale sign of building or demolition, and easy to spot. They see everything that’s going on, including construction….do you know a chatty driver? Aerial views-some building departments have employed interns during summers to look online via Google Earth, for differences between what’s on file vs […]
Ok, what’s the vig?
Like we stepped out of a dark Ray Donovan episode, one of my customers asked “Ok, What’s the vig?” after our project was conditionally approved at a recent municipal board meeting. His innuendo carried a sharp cynical tone, and he was right. The “vig” is an old Yiddish term “viggorish” for what we’ll politely call a “surcharge”. The town […]
Pandemics, unemployment and basement apartments
” So I heard Bill lost his job to Covid, that’s awful, he was there for what 12 years?” “Looks like we’ll be taking on a boarder in the basement to help make ends meet, at least for the time being.” In addition to the light-starved, often unpleasant conditions of a basement, the financial pressures […]
What do you mean “I may need more insurance”?
tree down
What’s up with all the scaffolding in NYC?
About 32 years ago, laws went into effect requiring facade inspections for buildings taller than 6 stories in NYC. In general terms, an architect or engineer must inspect the building facades every 5 years to confirm that the conditions do not pose a threat to public safety….. Sooo, when the facade repairs are being undertaken […]