New NST Management AKAM Associates Replaces Greenthal Mgmt. After 25 Years

By Michael Kohn

After 25 years of managing North Shore Towers, Charles H. Greenthal will be replaced by AKAM Associates, Inc. on Thursday, June 1st. The NST Bd. of Director’s announcement was made at their special meeting on Monday, April 17th, in the Towers Cinema after Greenthal was acquired in January by FirstService Corporation. Former Interim General Manager Desi Ndreu will stay on as a consultant for the foreseeable future, according to the board.

In announcing the change, Bd. President Ed Phelan said that under Greenthal NST has, “a depleted infrastructure.”

“The North Shore Towers history is one of kicking the can down the road,” he continued. “This needed to stop and stop now if North Shore Towers is to regain its status as a unique and well-managed quality property. The marketplace does not favor properties that are undermanaged and saddled with deferred maintenance. This board was elected to overcome years of boards that took the line of least resistance…They lacked courage in facing the needs of a nearly 50-year-old property.”

Before selecting a new management company, the board interviewed six firms and narrowed those down to three in the last few months. “The board felt that we need more than a management firm,” Phelan said. “We need to build a relationship.”

AKAM President Michael Rogoff told the co-op’s residents he and his staff were very excited to be managing the Towers. “I mean, it’s hard for all of us to contain it,” he said. “…When we were here for the first time we were all blown away by what you have here. You have the most special, amazing community that just doesn’t exist in the rest of New York City.”

Rogoff said he joined in the NST board’s vision to rejuvenate and bring out the best of what already exists at the Towers. “You don’t need to rebuild anything from scratch here,” he said.

Praising the co-op’s existing infrastructure, Rogoff continued, “We keep hearing about what North Shore Towers used to be, and we want to make this a vision for the future. We want to work collaboratively with the board and do whatever we can to make this the amazing community that I’m sure all of you know it can be, and we look forward to this renaissance at North Shore Towers.”

AKAM was founded in 1983 and has managed many large complexes throughout Queens, Brooklyn, and NYC, totaling about 75,000 units. “We really get to know all of our clients,” Rogoff said. “We work with them, and we want to continue to build our organic growth,”

He proudly pointed to many resources his company offers, from technology to financial services, a brokerage, energy operations, oversight, and an executive team. AKAM manages almost 400 buildings in New York City, with several over 1,000 units and over, with 50 featuring site offices. “So we are well equipped to handle a property like North Shore Towers, but again, North Shore Towers is very special,” he said

The company also has expertise in branding and positioning. “These are resources that not all management companies have, but it’s necessary if we want to elevate the level of service and the expectations,” Rogoff said.

NYC code compliance is another major issue for the Towers and other co-ops. “New York City codes are not fun,” he said. “They change almost every day, but we have an entire department focused on that. So we really take these systems and these detailed procedures very seriously.”

Rogoff said AKAM’s vision is to enhance NST’s wellbeing and quality of life, investment, and asset value. Although he admitted that property management doesn’t have the best reputation, he said his company is trying to transform those negative connotations by exceeding expectations, enhancing the service level, and taking pride in their communities. “And this is a partnership built on bespoke services, so nothing is cookie cutter,” he added.

“We’re here to understand what you want the culture to be, not for us to try to bring our culture here to North Shore Towers,” he said. “We want to understand from the board the vision of the culture, so we can enhance it and make it better and get feedback from all of you as residents and shareholders.”

Approximately nine people will be on the site management team, although that number could be reduced “if things are going very well,” Rogoff said. “And we committed that any savings we get from our team will be passed on directly to North Shore Towers.”

Newly appointed NST General Manager Alexis Kaminoff-Fritz, Senior Managing Director at AKAM, promised

Continued on Page 14