Teachable Moments: Dealing with Disaster

Andy Ashwal
Executive Director, KW Property Management & Consulting

We recently had an association [whose members were] looking at hurricane preparedness. They had a plan in place based [on] their [superstorm] Sandy experience that enabled them to save a lot of the core systems in their basement. We were able to take our experience from other emergency preparedness work to include action steps and other preparedness items in their emergency-plan manual, such as call lists for all of the residents and contractors to use during and after a storm. The takeaway here is that management has a wide experience to draw upon that, if tapped, can help boards achieve the goals they have set for their buildings.

Michael Berenson
President, Akam Associates

Akam recently used the comprehensive hurricane expertise of our South Florida affiliate, Akam On-Site, to cope with [superstorm] Sandy and its aftermath. That enabled us to mobilize our internal staff, the resident managers/superintendents of our managed properties, and the boards and residents with detailed storm preparedness and management directives. In several instances, we got complaints from boards that questioned our shutting down all building elevators before the storm hit. But experience compelled us to stand firm. After the storm, those same boards sent letters commending the decisive management we provided. Boards also were concerned about communication, especially since the building housing our corporate headquarters was closed down during and after the storm. Akam maintained uninterrupted contact with our boards, resident managers/supers and residents through our proprietary phone and text broadcast system.

John D. Wolf
President, Alexander Wolf & Company

The bylaws in a condo I manage required the board to restore individual units to “builder-grade” condition in the event of a disaster. After [superstorm] Sandy, the building’s insurance company paid the building more money than was needed to restore units to builder grade. The owners, who wanted to use the additional money to cover their claims, were upset because the bylaws did not permit this, and the board was caught in a tough squeeze. There will be a change down the road, however, with a rewrite of the bylaws essentially saying that, in future disasters, the unit-owners will receive most of the insurance money, less any deductions for legal fees or public adjustors.

Andrea Bunis
President, Andrea Bunis Management

In the management field every problem is teachable. One of our buildings always flooded, and [superstorm] Sandy made the problem worse. After the destruction, we pleaded with the board to consider moving electric pumps and motors higher up in the building to prevent future outages. After long conversations, the board finally agreed.

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