By David Grant
One day last June, Damon Gersh, chairman and CEO of Maxons Restorations, got an emergency phone call: there was a major fire at Trump Tower that needed immediate clean-up.
Such calls are not unusual for Gersh, the second-generation owner of Maxons, the metropolitan area’s leading disaster restoration company. Whether it’s a commercial skyscraper, a residential high-rise building with multimillion-dollar apartments, a school, a church, a hospital, or any other kind of large facility, Maxons has been the restoration specialist of choice whenever a major incident involves fire, flood, mold, asbestos, lead or other unexpected property damage.
When Maxons receives those calls (often during nights and weekends) its team springs into action 24/7, led by company President Howard White and COO Jeffrey Gross, both with the firm for more than a quarter of century.
“When we’re alerted to an emergency,” noted Gross, “we dispatch a crew — usually in less than two hours, day or night. Maxons is able to provide the manpower and equipment to meet the demands of any such situation. For example, we sent over 1,600 workers after 9/11, on sites throughout lower Manhattan.”
Most of Maxons’ work covers New York City and the surrounding tri-state area, and its team has a thorough understanding of how to navigate the world’s most complex market —
given the city’s density, quirks, complex laws, regulations and codes.
“For that reason — and because business transactions in New York are often litigious and expensive – it is essential that, when a disaster strikes, you are working with a company that not only has depth and history, but also the specialized expertise to get the job done right the very first time,” noted White.
“Unfortunately, property and facility managers make many serious errors with real consequences,” noted Gross. “They’re busy managing their day-to-day responsibilities, and so often they don’t allocate the time, attention and resources to adequately plan for an unexpected disaster.”
There are two all-too-common mistakes Maxons sees, even among seasoned real estate owners and property management professionals.
“The first mistake is that they don’t understand the often-complex insurance coverages and the ensuing claim process,” noted White. “As career problem solvers, they often demand immediate service — only later to realize that they don’t have the insurable interest or coverage needed to pay for such services.”
“Since many of today’s leases are negotiated and customized, it’s important to be well versed with the terms of both the lease and the property’s insurance policy, including applicable deductibles, coverage limits and exclusions,” said Gersh. “It’s also vital in the haste of responding to an incident that the source of the loss is preserved for inspection by the insurance company’s ‘cause and origin’ experts, so they can properly determine the responsibility for the loss.”
The second mistake that Maxons sees often is when property managers take the position that “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission” when dealing with an insurance company. “On the contrary,” Gersh said, “we advise our clients that it is essential to work very closely in partnership with your insurance claim representatives, and make absolutely sure they approve of decisions being made each step of the way.”
This approach prevents an adversarial dynamic from the outset, and allows all parties to align their expectations, he noted. It also avoids mistakes that lead to non-reimbursed out-of-pocket costs or turn into time-consuming and costly litigation.
“For three-quarters of a century, we’ve been proud to have served our fellow New Yorkers through all types of calamities,” concluded Gersh. “It’s our town and we want to leave things as clean and safe as possible for all of our clients — one relationship and one project at a time.”
