Guardian Service Industries, Inc.

The rise of more high-rise luxury condominiums has claimed another fatality, the main showroom for Steinway & Sons pianos, Steinway Hall.  Does New York City have enough high-rise luxury condominiums? Should the city continue to close down iconic landmarks? What do you think?

Private vs. Public Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an ambitious goal: The city, he said, would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. But that goal encapsulates city owned buildings, not the private sector. Getting private owners of buildings to go along may be difficult as well, especially since there are no mandates for the private sector. Instead, the city is dangling a carrot in the form of incentives to lure private building owners and homeowners to cut emissions voluntarily. Mr. de Blasio said in September that if incentives did not work, some sort of requirements would be introduced. What do you think? Should the city force private entities to reduce their emissions? 

The Elevator That Goes Sideways As Well As Up And Down German company ThyssenKrupp is proposing a self-propelled lift that can travel both horizontally and vertically through large buildings and skyscrapers. The system operates without cables and uses magnetic levitation technology similar to that used on some train networks. The proposed system is made up of multiple cabins traveling in a loop at about 5m per second (about 11 mph, 17 km/h), allowing passengers access to a lift cabin every 15 to 30 seconds. Would you try it?

Heritage Equity Partners, a Brooklyn-focused real estate investment and development firm headed by Toby Moskovits, has secured a $70 million loan for the construction of an eight-story boutique office property with floors ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 square feet each. The general thinking behind this investment is, lets target a number of the creative outfits in media and technology that 'may' start flocking to Brooklyn rather than Manhattan.  The deal follows another loan that Heritage last week secured for the nearby Williamsburg Hotel, which it is building on Wythe Avenue. In that transaction, the firm received a $40 million construction loan from G4 Capital Partners to build the 150-room hostelry. What do you think? Is Brooklyn worth the gamble? Is this a trend that is just that...a trend? Time will tell.

LEED stands for green building leadership. LEED is transforming the way we think about how buildings and communities are designed, constructed, maintained and operated across the globe. LEED certified buildings save money and resources and have a positive impact on the health of occupants, while promoting renewable, clean energy. LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. Prerequisites and credits differ for each rating system, and teams choose the best fit for their project. LEED is flexible enough to apply to all project types. Each rating system groups requirements that address the unique needs of building and proj...

What You Should Know for the 2014-2015 Influenza Season Media reports from just about every corner of the country are cautioning that Americans could be in for a particularly intense flu season this year, with many medical experts encouraging folks not to delay getting their flu shots. The flu season is not only here -- it could last until as late as May of next year according to the CDC.  When will flu activity begin and when will it peak? The timing of flu is very unpredictable and can vary from season to season. Flu activity most commonly peaks in the U.S. between December and February. However, seasonal flu activity can begin as early as October and continue to occur as late as May. What should I do to prepare for this flu season? CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease. While there are many different flu viruses, the seasonal flu vaccine i...