Miscommunication in NYC Co-ops and Condos
New York City Co-op and Condo management is as efficient as its team members. With the many layers of management, it is easy to see that inefficiencies can develop. Being aware of why Co-ops and Condos are inefficient is fundamental to correcting the problem.
Do you remember as a kid playing the game of “Telephone?”
One person would whisper a few sentences to someone, who would then repeat it to the next person, and so on down the line. The idea was to see how close, or most likely ridiculously far, the final version was from the original. Of course, the more people involved the more likelihood of distortion.
That is similar to how things work in life.
In co-ops or condos, this is exacerbated because there are extra layers within management. We have the board that governs, and then the property management firm that is supposed to execute. In order to execute, the property manager calls on either their property management assistants, bookkeeping department, project management department, closing department, or the resident manager/ superintendent. The resident manager in turn does not directly implement the final directive himself, but instructs his staff to do so.
Instructions are passed on down the chain of command, and the more “chains” the more the chance of distortion, which could also be considered failure. Here is one example to illustrate what we mean:
A new board member thinks that it is a waste of water for the staff to wash the sidewalk every day.
A discussion begins.
“I see the men out there just standing around, doing nothing but holding a hose. Why can’t they sweep the sidewalk instead? We’d save a lot of water and a lot of money!” A few longer-serving board members point out that you need water to wash away garbage, dog waste, etc., which the property manager dittos. “We understand your concern, but particularly in the summer that just isn’t feasible. They are not ‘just standing there,’ they are moving debris into the gutter. Remnants from garbage pick-up, people who don’t curb their dogs, etc.”
Other solutions are discussed. The board decides to try to placate the newcomers who are adamant about saving water and money, and see how it goes.
The president of the board tells the property manager to get it done. The managing agent delegates this simple action to his inexperienced and overworked assistant, explaining the gist of the action.
The assistant is tasked with several menial admin actions and is a bit confused but he remembers the talk about cleanliness, especially since it is the beginning of August. He tells the super that it is going to stink, but it requires a lot of water to clean the sidewalks.
The super is frazzled, is getting notes from the newer board members who are trying to make their mark (which violates the change of command) but remembers “stink” and “water.”
The super berates the staff- “It smells like sh!t out there! Use more water!!!”
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