Recent Community Posts

SERVPRO Helps Recover Florida from Hurricane Ian

11/15/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Helps Recover Florida from Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian in Florida caused catastrophic damage with losses estimated to be more than over $50 billion. Most of the damage was due to flooding from a storm surge of 10-15ft, hitting the cities Fort Myers Beach and Naples the hardest.

All of us here at SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan wanted to give our neighbors, SERVPRO of Midtown Manhattan a shout out for the cleanup and recovery they have been assisting with down in Florida. 

With bridges and other infrastructures destroyed, some areas and families can only be reached by barge. Helping all the way from NYC, SERVPRO uses a barge each day to transport their vehicles and equipment to help reach families that need help the most.

About SERVPRO Team Harvey

SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan is proudly owned by Lance and Jennifer Harvey - a husband and wife duo that owns three other SERVPRO locations, including SERVPRO of Holmdel/Aberdeen, SERVPRO of West Somerset County, and SERVPRO of Hoboken/Union City

We understand the stress and worry that comes from trauma and crime scenes and the disruption it causes your home or business. Our goal is to help minimize the interruption to your life and quickly make it “like it never even happened.”

The Best Time to Sell a House

4/4/2017 (Permalink)

Just like there’s a magic day to buy a plane ticket, there’s a specific month when you should try to sell your house: May.

It is said that spring time may be the best time to sell your house. Home selling and home buying are at peak during this season.

In a new study, researchers at Zillow found that homes listed between May 1 through May 15 sold, on average, around 18.5 days faster than homes that weren’t listed during that timeframe. Homes that sold in the first half of May were also purchased for about 1 percent more than the average listing, which translates to a premium of about $1,700. 

If you are thinking about buying or selling your house, spring may be the best time of the year to start making preparations.

Out with the old, in with the new!

3/7/2017 (Permalink)

New canvases on the walls.

Here at SERVPRO of Hoboken/Union City and SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan we want to make sure when our employees come to work they are entering a comfortable environment that in a way makes you feel at home. We want our office space here to be a clean and calming space for our employees to get work done. In recent weeks our General Manager, Jeffrey Lupo, took steps to get the office feeling more like a home than a work space. We added portraits to the walls as you can see in the picture. These photographs in particular allow for the viewer to be transported to a different setting while still sitting at work! This way we all can have the best of both worlds.

Fathers Day TREAT!

6/1/2016 (Permalink)

Surprise dad with this easy Coca Cola Frozen Treat!

I thought it would be fun to serve some frozen on a stick to celebrate Dad and his favorite drink.  Let’s enjoy a traditional Coke Float Popsicle by way of ice cold Coke, vanilla ice cream….and don’t forget the cherry on top!

The key to using carbonated soda in a popsicle, is to use flat soda.  Just open the soda, pour it into a glass and let it sit an hour or more in the refrigerator, so it stays cold, but loses some of the fizz.

Traditional Coke Float Popsicles

1.       Fill popsicle mold a quarter of the way up with flat Coke. Place 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla ice cream into form, drop one maraschino cherry into the mold and pour a little more coke on top. Leave about 1/4″ on top for the popsicle to expand when it freezes.

2.       Freeze for about 1-2 hours or until mixture starts to solidify enough to hold a popsicle stick upright. Insert popsicle sticks and continue freezing popsicles for at least 5 hours, or overnight. To release popsicles run hot water on the outside of popsicle molds for a 2-3 seconds.

TIP:  if you don’t have a popsicle mold, you can use small (3-5 oz) paper cups.

http://tidymom.net/2015/coke-float-popsicles/

Biggest Risks for Popular Summer Activities

6/1/2016 (Permalink)

Sitting on the dock

We all love the summer, but here are somethings we need to keep in mind when we head out to great adventures for this summer.

Cruise: Sprains are the most common injury for someone on a cruise, along with contusions and other superficial wounds.

  • Camping and mountain trips: Falls are the biggest threat, many due to poor decision-making, lack of skill or not being properly prepared. Dehydration is also a danger.
  • So what’s a summer-loving person to do?

  • Pack: Appropriate clothing, insect repellent, sunscreen and first aid items. Include soap, tweezers, wound gel, personal medication and items such as fever reducers, fungal creams and pain relievers.
  • Know: The level of ability of the people in your group and the environment around you.
  • Head over to redcross.org to find tips for specific situations, such as getting stung by a jellyfish or dealing with a blister.

    Bonus Preparedness Points: Classes and Apps

    Oh, so you’re an overachiever? Want all the safety arrows in your quiver? Get suited up with a couple more critical resources.

  • Take a Class: Prepare for the unexpected with First Aid/CPR/AED training.
  • Download Apps The Red Cross First Aid App has instant access on how to treat common emergencies as well as a hospital locator which is helpful for travelers, and the Emergency App is a single ‘go-to’ source for weather alerts and safety tips.
  • Stay safe out there, folks!

     by Sarah Layton

    http://redcrosschat.org/2016/05/25/biggest-risks-popular-summer-activities/#sthash.cDq5XEy9.dpbs

    Garden Tips

    6/1/2016 (Permalink)

    Garden Tips!

    Crushed eggshells sprinkled around your flower beds or veggie gardens will prevent slugs from passing through. Crushed eggshells also provide a nice calcium supplement for vegetable beds.

    Here are some other Garden tips that can save tons of time and energy.

    1. If its getting cold and you have tomatoes still ripening on the vine — save your tomatoes! Pull the plants up and bring them inside to a warm dry place. Hang them up, and the tomatoes will ripen on the vine.

    2. Keep garden vegetables from getting dirty by spreading a 1-2 inch layer of mulch (untreated by pesticides or fertilizers) around each plant. This will also help keep the weeds down.

    3. Paint the handles of your gardens tools a bright, color other than green to help you find them amongst your plants. You can also keep a mailbox in your garden for easy tool storage.

    4. Compost needs time to integrate and stabilize in the soil. Apply two to three weeks prior to planting.

    5. There is an easy way to mix compost into your soil without a lot of back breaking work: Spread the compost over your garden in the late fall, after all the harvesting is done. Cover with a winter mulch such as hay or chopped leaves and let nature take its course. By spring, the melting snow and soil organisms will have worked the compost in for you.

    6. Like vining vegetables, but don’t have the room? Train your melons, squash, and cucumbers onto a vertical trellis or fence. Saves space and looks pretty too.

    7. Garden vegetables that become over-ripe are an easy target for some pests. Remove them as soon as possible to avoid detection.

    8. Onions are ready to harvest when the tops have fallen over. Let the soil dry out, harvest, and store in a warm, dry, dark place until the tops dry. Cut off the foliage down to an inch, then store in a cool, dry area.

    9. Over watering is worse than under watering. It is easier to revive a dry plant than try to dry out drowned roots.

    10. When planting a flower or vegetable transplant, deposit a handful of compost into each hole. Compost will provide transplants with an extra boost that lasts throughout the growing season.

    11. Insects can’t stand plants such as garlic, onions, chives and chrysanthemums. Grow these plants around the garden to help repel insects.

    12. Plants will do best if they are well suited to your growing area. Take some time to read up and choose plants accordingly.

    13. For easy peas, start them indoors. The germination rate is far better, and the seedlings will be healthier and better able to fight off pests and disease.

    14. If you’re short on space, garlic, leeks and shallots make excellent container plants. They tend to have few insect or disease problems and don’t require much room for roots.

    15. Another reason to use natural and organic fertilizers and soil amendments: earthworms love them! Earthworms are extremely beneficial in the vegetable garden; increasing air space in the soil and leaving behind worm castings. Do what you can to encourage earthworms in your soil.

    16. Water your garden in the early morning to conserve moisture loss and to help avoid powdery mildew and other fungal diseases that are often spread by high humidity levels.

    17. Some vegetables actually become better after a first frost, including kale, cabbage, parsnips, carrots, and Brussels sprouts.

    18. When transplanting tomatoes, cover the stem with soil all the way up to the first set of leaves. This greatly encourages root growth, making a stronger, healthier plant.

    19. Healthy soil means a thriving population of microbes, earthworms and other organisms. A soil that has “good tilth” will produce robust garden plants that are better able to resist pests and disease.

    20. A simple five percent increase in organic material (compost) quadruples the soil’s ability to store water.

    http://www.planetnatural.com/vegetable-gardening-guru/tips/