Professionals returning to office spaces across Manhattan have several considerations to weigh. Many have changed the way they commute, and others have modified their schedules to reduce their office occupancy. Top of mind for everyone is office building safety. Tenants at ElevatedNY can rest assured that our owner-operated building, the historic Hippodrome, has made changes since this spring to ensure our space is as safe as possible.
As part of our office space building safety measure, starting at the entrance, the building’s door handles have been coated in NanoSeptic self-cleaning material that helps to kill viruses on contact. Select doors are also propped open at high-traffic times, allowing for as much touchless access as possible.
As you make your way through the lobby, you may notice that the front desk now has a clear safety shield installed. But you’ll still recognize the same friendly faces who have always greeted you upon arrival. And, you can’t miss our incredible mural celebrating everyday heroes that adorns the wall behind the welcome desk by NYC’s own, Louisa Cannell.
Touchless access to the elevator bank is now available by tapping on the front of the turnstile with your building access card. And, a new elevator dispatch system has been added for access to floors 9-21 to allow high-rise tenants to select their destination floor and group same destination riders together. This increases elevator efficiency and provides substantially faster service. Plus, a Hippodrome team member will be present to coordinate groups into the elevators to prevent over-crowding. All these efforts combined means fewer people waiting for an elevator in the lobby at the same time.
Most importantly, major steps have been taken to improve the air quality in the building. All commercial office buildings must provide for the exchange of outside (fresh) air to an HVAC system to accomplish two primary indoor air quality goals: pressurize the building and increase indoor air quality by diluting polluted or stale indoor air. The fresh air mixes with the return air, and then is dispersed evenly throughout the interior space through the supply duct system. At the Hippodrome, the building is purged of inside air every two hours and often runs all day with outside air.
Additionally, there are two new important features that have been added to the Hippodrome’s HVAC system. First, “electric cleaning” technology provided by AtmosAir has been installed. “Electric cleaning” uses bipolar ionization (widely used in hospital settings) to reduce impurities. Contaminants such as dust, odors, viruses and bacteria are actively removed from the air flow. Second, MERV-13 medical-grade-level filters have been added to the system and the number of times filters are changed has doubled. The coils inside the air conditioning units have also been sanitized.
Commuting to the Hippodrome is as easy as it has ever been. Along with being centrally located and close to many subway lines, the building has on-site parking with discounts available through Edison ParkFast. Free bicycle parking is also available for all building tenants.
Everyone returning to work at the Hippodrome will be greeted with a welcome back gift bag, including a clean key to help them navigate the space, hand sanitizer, and cleaning wipes. But moreover, we’ll continue our commitment to safety and professionalism as we always have at 1120 Avenue of the Americas.
