Page 9 - Chicago Fall Cooperator 2020

CHICAGOCOOPERATOR.COM THE CHICAGOLAND COOPERATOR — FALL 2020 9 Subject to credit approval. inlandbank.com No Prepayment Penalties • Fast Loan Approvals • Expertise • Flexible Terms and Conditions If your association is in need of improvements, please contact Tim Haviland 630.908.6708 or thaviland@inlandbank.com at LOW COST CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION LOANS dents who left the city,” he says, which held true for cities like Chicago as well. “Th us, communicating with shareholders has been a little more challenging. Most buildings keep lists of email addresses, and continu- ing the communications by email has been helpful for day-to-day business. While of- fi cial notices usually must be mailed, they can be sent by a secondary means in addi- tion, which could be via email as a cour- tesy.” Shapiro off ers an in-person alternative that some of her clients have successfully used. Th ey held their meeting outdoors, to accommodate social distancing, and every- one wore masks for the duration. Owners brought their own chairs, the board had ample hand sanitizer on hand, and every- one was respectful of the limitations and understanding of the inconveniences of the current crisis. Th e one potential prob- lem point was the ability to hear others speaking. Passing around a megaphone or cordless mic obviously wasn’t advisable, so some residents brought their own. “You do the best you can and think out- side the box to keep stuff going,” says Sha- piro. “You can’t just throw up your hands because of COVID and stop functioning. You have to fi nd ways to succeed.” n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for Th e Chicagoland Cooperator, and a published novelist. mercial or offi ce sector, or to fi ll shortages with cars fl ed urban apartments for more while others—like valet and cleaning staff — where staff needed to quarantine aft er expo- sure to or contraction of the virus, or if they meals, evening applause, and PPE dona- had underlying health concerns and were tions. therefore staying home or isolated. According to González, while most 32BJ example, general manager Jeremy DiFlami- members working in residential properties nies with FirstService Residential enlisted city of Miami the importance of designating were happy to be employed at a time when his wife to sew upwards of 60 masks for building service workers as ‘essential’ em- millions of other Americans were losing building staff . Residents of Seward Park ployees who could continue to go to work in their jobs, they still had to contend with the Cooperative in New York’s lower Manhat- risks of contracting and spreading the vi- rus on their commute to and from work— which by and large involved either public commercial tenant restaurants—thereby though the 20 or so buildings in the Alliance transportation or carpooling, at a time when supporting local businesses, keeping their have diff erent structures, populations, and mask wearing and social distancing had not own commercial tenants afl oat, and of- become municipally mandated. And their fering appreciation to their hard-working landscape of the crisis cooperatively proved risks didn’t end when they got to work: as building employees in one fell swoop. And eff ective in encouraging compliance and states and municipalities locked down in in Miami, Florida, a group of condo boards fostering a sense of assurance—from both the spring, PPE was in woefully short sup- ply, residents who were normally at work or fi rst-responders appreciation events with school were now confi ned to the buildings, banners and a parade of cars honking for was especially important given the dearth of and offi cial guidance was sparse and incon- sistent, to say the least. Although there was “a lot of mental and of the pandemic. emotional strain \[on\] the guys” at the time, González expressed that the closeness of residential building employees’ relationships Marta Arnold, who serves on the board uncertain and tumultuous environment to with those who live in and operate their of Th e Palace condo building, her board deal with—and with the stakes extremely workplaces gave many workers the motiva- tion to maintain the “continuity of service” KW Property Management & Consulting, that their jobs require. And across the na- tion, many boards, residents, and managers the coronavirus crisis. She says that since off ered accommodation and appreciation certain workers at the condo’s three tow- to their property service workers with free ers—including front desk, security rovers, parking (made available when many owners and gate personnel—are employees of KW, spacious and isolated living situations), hot are subcontracted from outside vendors, it At Th e Residences at Pier 4 in Boston, for the same page.” tan organized a fund to provide meals to able to come up with unifi ed regulations and staff under a partnership with the co-op’s guidelines to share among the condos. Even called the Brickell Alliance organized two residents and staff of the buildings. the police, fi refi ghters, EMTs, and their own initial guidance from the government. Even building service workers on the front lines when local protocols did start to trickle in, A Unifi ed Approach According to Brickell Alliance president from Miami-Dade county’s. With an already worked with their management company, high—unifying the boards’ position on to make proactive decisions at the onset of was important to line up protocols and pro- cedures to “make sure that everyone is on Aft er the Alliance impressed upon the the event of shutdowns or curfews, they were facilities, approaching the ever-changing Arnold says that the Alliance’s function Florida’s statewide mandates might diff er from Miami’s, which in turn might diff er SUPPORTING... continued from page 1 continued on page 10