Before I started at RAND as an intern on the Facade & Roofing Team this summer, I had no idea what a FISP was, or for that matter, half of the things an engineering and architecture firm does. I’m glad…
Over the years, various boards of directors at Parkside Assocation, located at 549 41st Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, resolved to replace the leaky roof of the 89-year-old building. But best intentions aside, they managed only temporary fixes and patchwork repairs.…
To temporarily escape the grip of an extended heatwave, RAND coworkers, family, and friends fled the steamy city last Saturday for the air-conditioned facilities of Chelsea Piers, Connecticut (yes, you read that correctly—there’s a Chelsea Piers in Connecticut!) for RAND’s…
A moldy basement, leaking roofs, and oatmeal-like mortar are scary things no one should ever encounter in a newly renovated building. Unfortunately for one cooperative in Harlem, a less than stellar gut renovation, which included a new roof, windows, and joist…
In 1866, New York City’s first charity pediatric clinic began as a ship docked in lower Manhattan. It was the start of a series of vessels and barges that took poor immigrant children and their parents away from the unsanitary…
In Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza stand two imposing figures, Victory and Family, 24-foot-tall limestone sculptures flanking a memorial honoring the Brooklynites who lost their lives during the Second World War. Dedicated in 1951, the memorial is one of five WWII tributes…
Financial risk is always associated with construction projects, which often involve significant investment and a high level of coordination of several parties for successful completion. As a measure of financial protection, property owners can purchase performance bonds and labor and materials…
It’s been nearly one year since the 8th Cycle of New York City’s Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP, formerly called Local Law 11/98) began, and buildings with block numbers ending in 4, 5, 6, or 9 (Subcycle 8A) now have one…
One of RAND’s recent projects was supposed to be a routine roofing replacement job, until contractors discovered sand where there should have been concrete. Village House, a 75-unit, 14-story Greenwich Village condominium located at 60 West 13th street and built…
After digging out from last month’s blizzard, there’s no better time than now to think of those in need of a warm coat. As part of our charitable RAND Gives Back program, RAND held its annual winter coat drive in…
When property management firm Midboro Management moved their offices to 333 Seventh Avenue in Chelsea, they turned to RAND to design the build-out and administer the construction for the project. The newly configured 5,000-square-foot space entailed architectural, HVAC, electrical, and lighting…
The Second Avenue Subway project has affected many properties along its path, and a number of owners have had to make permanent alterations to their building systems as a result. Even with the first phase of the new subway line planning…