Page 21 - CooperatorNews South Florida Expo 2021

SOFL.COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS SOUTH FLORIDA — EXPO 2021 21 BONDED, LICENSED, & INSURED WWW.AGEOFEMPIREINC.COM DADE: (305) 851 – 5897 BROWARD: (954) 338 – 1020 Specializing in the restoration of Mid to High-Rise Residential and Commercial Buildings. which can be used in older A/C systems. The newest version is MERV 16 for cen- tral A/C and individual units in private apartments.” Another recent innovation mentioned by Wollman is a series of leak detection systems that use sensors to detect mois- ture, and then send an immediate alert to the manager or super. These systems can be very helpful in catching leaks ear- ly, thereby preventing more severe—and costly—damage from hidden water infil- tration. Where to Get Some Help New York State has extensive subsi- dies that can benefit a building. If your building has a semi-private garage with some parking spaces available to the pub- lic, you can get electric charging stations installed for very little out-of-pocket cost. Through the Charge Ready NY pro- gram run by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), private garages attached to buildings can get about 50% of the instal- lation costs covered via rebate. ConEdi- son also has a subsidy program that de- velopers, equipment owners, site hosts, customers, and approved contractors can all apply for. Low Carbon Capital Planning Support offers cost-share incentives through NY- SERDA’s Flexible Technical Assistance (FlexTech) program to help pay for an energy study of your multifamily port- folio or buildings within your portfolio, which must focus on electrification. The state of Florida also offers a va- riety of incentive programs to promote energy efficiency via Florida Power & Light, which are updated frequently. There are also opportunities like the property assessed clean energy (PACE) program, where you can take advantage of financing to fund energy efficiency projects for your property. The PACE model is an innovative mechanism for fi- nancing energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements, and variations of this program exist in several states, in- cluding New York and Florida. PACE programs are typically enabled through state legislation and authorized by the local government with financing options available for commercial and residential properties. While not everyone can live in a smart systems-integrated, carbon neu- tral, LEED platinum-rated high-rise with an EV charging station for every unit, the current trends and innovations in multifamily housing nevertheless have implications for all types of communi- ties. Keeping abreast of what’s new—and what’s becoming obsolete—can help your board-management team determine what advancements can help your own community run better, for longer. n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for CooperatorNews, and a published novelist. He can be reached at alan@yrinc.com. SUPPORTING... continued from page 1 the communities they serve—it is more important than ever to ensure that prop- erty workers continue to feel safe, secure, and supported on the job. In the Beginning In the early days of the coronavirus crisis in 2020, CooperatorNews South Florida spoke to Carolina González, New York regional communications manager for 32BJ SEIU, the largest property work- ers union in the country. She explained that in New York, there were early agree- ments with the city’s Realty Advisory Board (RAB) to extend sick pay for work- ers, incorporate employee protection guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and al- low flexible staffing to help keep workers laid off from buildings in the commercial or office sector employed and fill short- ages where staff needed to quarantine or had underlying health concerns that pre- cluded them from working certain jobs. According to González, while most 32BJ members working in residential properties were happy to be employed at a time when millions of other Americans were losing their jobs, they still had to contend with the risks of contracting and spreading the virus on their commute to and from work—which by and large involved either public transportation or carpooling, at a time when mask wearing and social distancing was not municipal- ly mandated. And their risks didn’t end when they got to work: as states and mu- nicipalities locked down in the spring of 2020 (and some again in the post-holiday delta variant surge earlier this year), PPE was often in short supply, residents re- mained confined to their buildings, and official guidance was often sparse and in- consistent, to say the least. Although “\[There was\] a lot of mental and emotional strain \[on\] the guys” dur- ing the initial wave in 2020 and the later delta surge, González notes that the close relationship between residential build- ing employees and the people who live in and operate their workplaces gave many workers the motivation to maintain the “continuity of service” that their jobs require. And across the nation, many boards, residents, and managers offered accommodation and appreciation to their property service workers with ev- erything from free parking to hot meals, evening applause, and PPE donations. In Miami for example, a group of condo boards called the Brickell Alliance organized two first-responders apprecia- tion events with banners and a parade of cars honking for the police, firefighters, EMTs, and their own building service workers on the front lines of the pan- demic. Other communities around the continued on page 22 See us at Booth 627 See us at Booth 501