In the last couple of years, New York City has passed two new local laws restricting the issuance of new permits, and in some cases revoking active permits, to properties with excessive violations and to those who owe the City…
A new class of Certificate of Occupancy, which removes red tape from the building occupation process for commercial and residential property owners, developers, and tenants, is coming to New York City starting April 2021. In December 2020, the New York…
RAND is proud to recognize Project Architects Brett Rieger, AIA and Michael Langwell, RA as RAND’s and Real Estate Weekly‘s Rising Stars of 2020. Brett Rieger, AIA Project Architect Brett Rieger, AIA is Project Architect on RAND Engineering & Architecture,…
Owners of buildings who fail to correct Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program (SWARMP) conditions noted in their 8th Cycle Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) Report will now face a Failure to Correct SWARMP civil penalty of $2,000 upon…
Over the past year, RAND has been working on new initiatives and looking for different ways to create a more meaningful and positive impact on our community and help those who are enduring hardship at this time. In lieu of…
Every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, RAND honors #GivingTuesday, the global day of giving. Started by New York’s 92 Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation in 2012, #GivingTuesday encourages everyone to take collective action to improve their communities, give…
Continued Commitment to Safety and Our Clients Dear Clients and Friends, As a construction industry Architectural/Engineering firm involved in projects affecting building infrastructure and public safety, RAND is designated as an essential business per Governor Cuomo’s “New York State on…
Like all of you, RAND is closely monitoring the latest news regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the health and well-being of our employees, clients, and community-at-large are of utmost importance to us, we are continually modifying our policies and procedures…
It’s official. Just in time for the start of the City’s 9th Cycle Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) on February 21, 2020, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has published a new amended rule aimed at increasing safety…
For the last couple of years, RAND has had the privilege of working with the staff of P256Q at PS43, an elementary and middle school consisting of school children from Kindergarten through the 8th grade, in Far Rockaway, Queens, to…
On November 6th, I hosted a delegation of Chinese civil engineers at RAND’s office in Chelsea, Manhattan. The delegation, which included ten senior engineers from the Tianjin Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute, a private engineering company in China, had…
2019 marks my 6th consecutive year as Co-Captain of our RAND Canstruction Team, and this year, we created “Don’t Let Hunger Drag On,” a behemoth fire-breathing dragon breaking through a wall for our sculpture at the 27th annual Canstruction New…
Liberty House Condominium, a 239-unit, 27-story tower over looking the Hudson River escaped Hurricane Sandy relatively unscathed. The building didn’t lose power like the rest of downtown Manhattan (Battery Park City happens to be on the Brooklyn power grid), and…
Going into a summer internship after completing only my sophomore year of college, it was hard to know what to expect from an internship at RAND. On my very first day, I was already out and about going on site…
We were the project engineer/architect for a large capital improvement project at Nordeck Apartments, a six-building, 343-unit complex near the Atlantic Ocean in Arverne, Queens, that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy. It was a $50 million project with a very wide-ranging scope of work – replacing bricks, windows, parapets, and roofs, an electrical upgrade, new...
As a LEED-accredited professional engineer and buildings expert working with RAND Engineering & Architecture, DPC in New York, I have the ability to shape urban life in a way most people don’t. I spend much of my energy maintaining and…
RAND is proud to announce our exterior and roof repair project at Park Slope Jewish Center in Park Slope Historic District has won a 2018 Evelyn and Everett Ortner Park Slope Preservation Award. The award is given out by the Park Slope Civic Council for restoration projects and interventions that preserve and enhance Park Slope's historic character.
After Black Friday and Cyber Monday, comes #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving. Spearheaded by New York’s 92 Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, #GivingTuesday encourages global charities, families, businesses, community centers, students, and others to take collective action to improve…
75 Henry Street was in between Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) cycles, when its management company and the board noticed some cracks in a few of the 33-story co-op's balconies. Instead of putting it off until their next mandated inspection, they decided to investigate, and hired RAND to perform an evaluation of its balconies as a precaution.
As August draws to an end, children and their parents around the city are busy prepping for the new school year. Something that most of us take for granted is that every school child should have access to basic school…
Being proactive pays off when it comes to your building. RAND President Stephen Varone, AIA, discusses what you need to know to stay up-to-date with your building's systems to save you money and time in this month's issue of Habitat Magazine.
The Park Slope Civic Council has selected RAND’s exterior restoration of 153 Lincoln Place as a recipient of its 2017 Evelyn and Everett Ortner Preservation Award for excellence in exterior restoration. Inaugurated in 2014, the Ortner Awards recognize and encourage…
NYC BENCHMARKING LAW Since 2011, New York City’s Local Law 84/09 has required owners of large buildings — single buildings larger than 50,000 SF, or groups of buildings on a single lot larger than 100,000 SF — to annually measure their energy…
A building’s exterior walls protect the interior spaces from a constant barrage of the elements. Over time, however, exposure to wind, rain, snow, and sun; lack of maintenance; improper repairs; and/or poor design and construction can lead to leaks, cracks,…