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Even with the recent drop in oil prices, many co-op and condo boards are considering converting their building’s heating plant from an oil-burning system to one that burns gas, or to a dual-fuel system, which burns gas most of the...

If there’s a construction site next to your building, you know firsthand the potential problems: Not only are there noise and dust, but you may also be facing facade cracks, shifted walls, deflected floors, foundation settling, and structural instability. In...

Last Thursday night my RAND colleagues and I joined more than 500 people to celebrate the beauty and grandeur of historic restoration at the 25th annual Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards. We’re proud to say that a RAND project was...

Because of the heavy pollutants emitted when it is burned, No. 6 heating oil has been on its way out as a fuel source for New York City buildings. As required by a Department of Environmental Protection rule and Local...

The New York City Department of Buildings has announced an amnesty program for building owners who failed to file a Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) report in the 7th Cycle, which ended February 20, 2015. Under the program, non-compliant owners...

We're happy to announce that Jeffrey Stein, former Senior Director of Advertising Sales and Marketing for Habitat magazine, has joined RAND as Business Development Manager. Jeff has more than 20 years of experience in the New York and New Jersey...

As a reminder, New York City's benchmarking law (Local Law 84/09) requires owners of properties 50,000 square feet or larger to submit their building's annual energy usage by May 1, 2015. The law is part of the city's Greener, Greater...

Those of us in the engineering and architecture industry in New York City are fully familiar with the Facade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP), formerly known as Local Law 11/98 and in its original form, Local Law 10/80. But while...

If your property has a retaining wall that's 10 feet or taller and faces a public right-of-way, the New York City Department of Buildings requires that it be inspected by a qualified engineer. According to Rule 103-09, which went into...