contact

PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN NYC MULTI-FAMILY BUILDING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

Sunday Times Real Estate Section, Jan. 19, 2003

 

The Super: Handyman, Ambassador

By Jay Romano

In most apartment buildings, the most recognizable person is the man or woman referred to as "the super."

The traditional image evoked by those words is that of a tool-toting jack of all trades who fixes leaks, changes light bulbs, hauls out the trash and kick-starts a quirky furnace. Today, however, superintendents — particularly those in the larger buildings — need a broader array of technical, mechanical, managerial and social skills. It stands to reason, then, that considerable effort should go into finding an effective superintendent.

"Superintendents are, first and foremost, directors of maintenance," said Dick Koral, director of the Apartment House Institute at the New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn. "They have to know how the mechanical systems in the building work; they have to be able to maintain those systems themselves if necessary; and they have to be able to schedule, supervise, manage and discipline the building's maintenance crew."

Under the city's Multiple Dwelling Law, buildings with nine or more apartments must have a representative of the owner either living in the building or within one block of the building.

Superintendents also act as ambassadors, of sorts, for a building's owner or board. "Their ability to deal with residents in a constructive way is very important," Mr. Koral said.

Kevin Doyle, vice president of Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, which represents most building service workers in New York City, said there are about 28,000 union employees working in about 3,000 residential buildings in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. (Workers in the Bronx, who had been represented by a different bargaining unit, only recently signed on to be represented by Local 32BJ.) In most cases, Mr. Doyle said, those workers are supervised by a superintendent, sometimes called the resident manager.

When a superintendent or other building service worker is hired in a building where the workers are already represented by the union, that new worker must join the union.

Members of the union have a probationary period — six months in the case of superintendents. After that period a superintendent can be removed for "just cause," usually after an arbitration in which the employee is represented by the union, and the building ownership by the Realty Advisory Board, which represents landlords in their dealings with unions.

James Berg, president of the Realty Advisory Board, said that while superintendents in different buildings are paid different salaries, the board generally negotiates the terms of any salary increases as well as changes to benefit, vacation and sick-leave packages with the union every three years. (The current contract expires on April 20.)

Generally speaking, he said, the superintendent's compensation is based on the duties he or she is expected to perform. In most cases, Mr. Berg said, the superintendent's duties include managing and supervising other building employees, including doormen, porters, elevator operators and handymen.

And while compensation paid to superintendents varies from building to building, Mr. Berg said, once a salary has been set for a particular superintendent in a particular building, any new superintendent in the building must be paid at least that much unless there is an agreement with the union providing otherwise.

Since top-notch superintendents are often hard to find — the really good ones generally already have jobs — it is not uncommon for owners or boards to offer a new superintendent even more money than his predecessor was earning.

"And most supers live in the building," Mr. Berg noted, adding that besides receiving a free apartment, supers often have all or part of their utility bills paid by the owner.

David Kuperberg, president of Cooper Square Realty, a Manhattan management company, said, "Getting a good super or resident manager often requires paying a premium."

In smaller buildings, particularly those outside Manhattan, he said, a superintendent may be "a staff of one" with a salary of only $35,000 a year and a studio apartment. And while the average salary for a super in Manhattan ranges from $60,000 to $80,000, the salary and benefit package in some large luxury buildings can represent considerable compensation.

"We have a resident-manager position available in one building where the base salary is about $100,000," Mr. Kuperberg said. In addition to that, he said, the person hired will also get all the benefits provided by the union — including health insurance and a pension — as well as free use of a $1.5 million, two-bedroom apartment.

"And oftentimes we have difficulty filling a position because the apartment we're offering is not adequate," he said.

Mr. Kuperberg added that with so much at stake, hiring the right superintendent or resident manager is one of the most important services a managing agent can provide. So, in addition to conducting extensive background checks on a potential hire — including credit checks, criminal background checks and reference checks — Mr. Kuperberg's firm will typically visit the candidate's current place of employment to see firsthand how well the individual is doing his job.

"We'll show up at his building and ask him to show us around," he said. "We even ask to take a look at his private apartment. Generally, the way somebody keeps their own apartment is a good indication of how they're going to keep the building."

Mr. Kuperberg added that in addition to the traditional skills required by a good superintendent — including significant mechanical understanding and managerial ability — supers today also need to be computer-literate because in some buildings, many systems are tied into a central computer that might also be used as a means of communicating with residents.

In fact, Mr. Kuperberg said, the ability to communicate effectively with residents is a critical consideration when hiring a superintendent. The importance of those skills may be magnified if the property is not a rental building. "A superintendent's people skills are far more important in a co-op or condominium than even in a luxury rental," Mr. Kuperberg said. "That's because in a co-op or a condominium, the tenants aren't just tenants; they're bosses, too."

The need for diplomacy can cut both ways, however.

Stuart M. Saft, a Manhattan co-op lawyer, said that shareholders or unit owners also need to fine-tune their communication skills when dealing with a superintendent or resident manager.

"One particular trap is the potential for claims of employee harassment," he said, explaining that in a rental building, if a tenant treats a superintendent or other staff member badly, the employee can complain to the landlord who will, typically, admonish the tenant to refrain from abusing the building staff. Tenants who continue to do so, he said, may even face eviction proceedings.

In a co-op or a condominium, however, a resident who treats a building worker badly could be accused of harassment by the employee.

"We are regularly asked to send letters to unit owners and shareholders advising them that they do not have the right to mistreat building personnel," Mr. Saft said. "We also tell them that if a lawsuit is brought as a result of the harassment, the co-op or condo will look to the particular shareholder or unit owner for reimbursement of any of the expenses of litigation."

download toolbar