Page 9 - New England Condominium November 2021

NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -NOVEMBER 2021 9 Online Homeowner Payment Portal Lending Solutions 3 Extensive Deposit Solutions 4 No-Fee Lockbox Services 1 ConnectLive Software Integration TM Full Online Banking Services 2 Specializing in: Innovating community association banking solutions is our business, so you can focus on growing yours. 1 Funds deposited through the Lockbox will follow Western Alliance Bank’s funds availability policy as outlined in the Deposit Account Agreement Disclosure. Fees may be imposed for additional services related to online banking. Refer to 2 Business Online Banking Setup and Authorization for more information. All offers of credit are subject to credit approval, 3 satisfactory legal documentation and regulatory compliance. Refer to the disclosures provided at account opening and 4 the Schedule of Fees and Charges for additional information. Alliance Association Bank, a division of Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC. Western Alliance ranks top ten on Forbes’ Best Banks in America list, five years in a row, 2016-2020. | allianceassociationbank.com Tom Loughran Vice President (781) 254-8220 tloughran@allianceassociationbank.com Stacy Dyer, CMCA, AMS Senior Managing Director, East Region (843) 637-7181 sdyer@allianceassociationbank.com Meet Your Community Association Banking Experts: Top 10 - Forbes Best Banks linked to unexpected events, like the CO- VID-19 pandemic. To illustrate, Wollman points toward such products as air filters. “Companies are offering more products relative to COVID,” he says. “Air purification sys- tems are now ramping up, new and inno- vative. An example is the MERV 13 filter, 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 or excessive water infiltration. 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 com- munity run better, for longer. n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for New England Condominium, and a published novelist. He can be reached at alan@yrinc.com. ic changed all that. Initially, everyone was told to stay home. No contact with others. If you found yourself in a situation where you had to have contact, say going to the grocery store, it was necessary to wear a mask (maybe two) and keep a safe dis- tance between yourself and anyone you might encounter, friend or foe, neighbor or stranger. That was hard enough when the pan- demic began, but no one expected all those cautions and protocols to continue for nearly two years and counting. After a while, the effects that distance and isola- tion imposed on us—perhaps particularly for people in typically congenial, socially interactive communities—started to sink in. Those effects included depression, anx- iety, shortened tempers, and a sense of be- ing detached or cut off from others. Dana Greco is a Licensed Clinical So- cial Worker specializing in interpersonal relationship work. She is also a share- holder in a large co-op community in the Bronx. “There was a sense of loss in the community,” she says of her own experi- ence. “In a way, it was a sense of loss for the loss of community. We have people of all ages and walks of life in my building, and prior to the pandemic, my neighbors were an active community. We had clubs, and a pool, and other common outdoor areas. All these activities were shut down immediately. We now have rules as to how many people can ride in the elevator at once. It’s a 17-story building. Getting up and down became more difficult due to these necessary rules and restrictions. “After the shutdown,” continues Greco, “we tried to maintain certain activities, like the book club, online with Zoom. Not everyone is comfortable or feels compelled in an online framework like Zoom. Con- versation and ideas are exchanged more easily in person, so a certain amount of spontaneity was lost. It lost its enjoyment, and after a while it just broke down com- pletely and we put it on hold. “Perhaps even more broadly damaging to the community was that we had to can- cel our two annual events, our Christmas party and our summer pool party, both of which draw a large segment of the resi- dents and serve as the bookends for our social interaction as a community. The end result was a general feeling of withdrawal REBUILDING... continued from page 1 continued on page 16