NEW YORK CITY— “I found most of the technology in the realestate space that focuses on property management really targets thelarge luxury complexes,” says Alex Norman, the co-founder and CEOof the proptech startup MyCoop Technologies. “Actually there arenone for the most part that service smaller buildings that are runby mom and pops or individuals who can be hard to reach.”

He notes smaller walkup buildings seldom have onsite managementand maintenance staff. “Residents are pretty much left to their owndevices. Communications are left to periodic emails or paper postedin foyers, in the elevators or slipped underneath your door in yourapartment.” And Norman says that's not enough, especially whenthings go wrong such as when there's a problem with the heat or aflood or hurricane hits. Those are times when communication isneeded the most but these smaller buildings are generallyunderserved, he adds.