BOMA works to raise industry standards.

BOMA works to raise industry standards

In a field as varied and complex as the real estate industry, trade associations are essential to personal and industry-wide growth. Many fill a clearly-defined niche, yet only one association--Building Owners' and Managers' Association of Greater New York, Inc. (BOMA/NY)--provides the full range of opportunities, services and education that will help you, and your company, continue to develop and prosper within the real estate industry.

Membership is drawn from the Greater New York area's broad base of building owners and developers; corporate asset, property and facilities managers; property management firms; contractors; suppliers and manufacturers with a direct interest in real estate; and architects, engineers and related consultants who are licensed or have experience in a profession with substantial real estate involvement.

Our new membership campaign, which is about to get underway, will reach out to all companies eligible for membership so that we speak for the real estate industry with a united voice.

Membership in BOMA/NY also means commitment and activity, with all members encouraged to sit on at least one committee, attend our monthly luncheon meetings on topics of timely interest at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, participate in our wide variety of local, regional and national seminar/workshop opportunities, and advance their professionalism by the Association's educational arm, the Building Owners' and Managers' Institute.

BOMA/NY, the largest BOMA chapter in the country, has been raising the standards of the New York real estate industry for the past 24 years in a variety of ways. We continue to focus on developing a proactive role in governmental affairs, sharing information and establishing close working relationships, serving as a conduit of information pertinent to career development and industry progress from within and outside of the Association, and perhaps, most importantly, enhancing the professionalism of our members through the most comprehensive educational program in the industry.

Our educational programs, designed to bridge the gap in the traditional college-level property management curricula and provide ongoing post-graduate study, are constantly being refined to respond to new technology, trends, products and services. We now offer the Facilities Management Administrator (FMA) certification program, in response to the need for such expertise in that growing field. (Our Real Property Administrator (RPA) and Systems Maintenance Administrator (SMA) certification programs continue with great success, with approximately 1,500 New York area graduates and students involved in these programs since their inception.

We look to raise the standards of professionalism by offering scholarships for the certification programs and through our awards program. Our Awards for Excellence recognize management, operation, marketing, development and design of office buildings in a variety of outstanding achievements in management, operations, marketing, development and design of office buildings in a variety of building categories. Our Civic Betterment Award honors a person or organization who has dedicated substantial time and effort in helping to solve the problems of New York, thereby enriching the lives of the inhabitants in the metropolitan area.

On-going education and information is provided through a combination of high-quality seminars, workshops, association conventions and trade shows. BOMA/NY's 1991 luncheon speaker series has and is featuring key New York City Commissioners, including Lee Brown (Police Department), Rudolph J. Rinaldi (Buildings Department), John McCormack (Fire Department), Albert Appleton (Environmental Protection Agency) and Steve Polan 'Sanitation Department.)

BOMA/NY is the host of the BOMA Middle Atlantic Conference, taking place at the Vista Hotel from, Oct. 24 through Oct. 26. Our speakers will include a roundtable of governors and key local, regional and national legislators. "Hot" issues such as recycling, drugs in the workplace, deal-making in a recessionary economy, the homeless, and new legislation regarding the handicapped, are all on the workshop docket.

All Members are kept informed of industry-wide research through BOMA's Experience Exchange Report (EER) and other studies reporting on office building performance data, operating costs, and such valuable market data as vacancy rates, rental rates and more. Interpretations of new or pending regulations and legislation, such as recycling, indoor air quality, the environment, Disability Act provisions, as well as economic trends, are regularly offered in our own BOMA/NY newsletter.

Our annual magazine, featuring articles by BOMA/NY and other industry experts, is a forum for the exchange of ideas and a reference tool on such key issues as asbestos, the market, energy management, air quality, education and much more. Issues are dealt with in a real and candid fashion, becoming "required reading" in many instances.

We've stepped up our diligence in monitoring new and proposed legislation, codes and regulations, and adopted a pro-active stance, working closely with governmental agencies to inform them as to the effects of such regulations on building tenants, management and ownership. Our activities in this arena, including expert testimony and preparation of analysis documents, have resulted in more practical recycling, fire safety and handicapped access regulations. We are now developing a series of BOMA/NY position statements on current issues to make future efforts even more effective.

As part of a network of 103 federated associations worldwide, the resources and experience we can draw on are almost limitless. We invite you to take advantage of the opportunities that await you by contacting our staff office in suite 316 at the Empire State Building at 350 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10118, or by phoning [phone].

Carl T. Miller, RPA President Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater New York (BOMA)