So what gives? Having something delivered used to be a snap. You bought a lamp at Crate & Barrel or your favorite antique store, and the delivery guy arrived at your apartment, plugged it in and voila – let there be light. No more. Whether it’s a guy coming to deliver a newly purchased upholstered chair or pick up a rug to clean or replace a gasket in your refrigerator or repair your flat screen TV, increasingly in buildings all over the City, boards are declaring “No Entry” -- unless the contractor has the proper papers for passage. No, not a visa, an insurance certificate. Read more »

Now that you know the problems of renovating, it’s time to take a look at the proposed solutions and what they mean for you. The new Alteration Agreement imposes few new restraints on the types of work owners can do, but it vests boards with considerably more control over the process by empowering them to use advance cost shifting as well as stringent monetary and other sanctions. But does the punishment fit the crime? Read more »