The transformation of New York City from one of the nation’s perceived most dangerous places to one of the safest, if not the safest, big cities in America is an old story by now, but it still continues to amaze both longtime New Yorkers…
In a real ad posted on craigslist, a popular website for free classified ads, someone is looking to rent out their 22nd Street apartment in Manhattan. It’s a 625-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment with a doorman, air-conditioning, laundr…
Even though crime statistics are lower in New York City today than they have been in decades, the fact remains that in an urban metropolis such as this, crime is a reality. It only takes one break-in or personal assault to focus everyone…
It’s official. According to an analysis of FBI data by the Associated Press, New York is the safest big city in the United States, with roughly one crime reported for every 37 residents per year. Not that this is surprising new…
Living in a co-op or condo building is a lot like living in a small town. When everyone abides by the rules, life flows along smoothly. If that stops, though, and one person disrupts the flow, those smooth waters turn rough and trouble c…
Molds are naturally occurring organisms that are present almost everywhere. While molds need both moisture and nutrients to grow, moisture is the primary factor that promotes indoor mold growth. Therefore, whenever there is a water leak…
It is essential that co-op and condo boards or management companies have an emergency plan in place for situations like fires, power blackouts, hostage situations, or terrorism. While good planning is a major factor in keeping residents …
Stretching from 14th to 20th Streets between First Avenue and Avenue C on Manhattan’s East Side, the 110-building Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town high-rise complexes comprised a vast middle-class, largely rent-regulated city-wit…
Located in the Northeast corner of the Bronx, in the area known as Baychester, sits the largest housing cooperative in the world. Co-op City is home to about 50,000 people; if it suddenly decided to secede from Bronx County, it would be …
On October 22, several hundred hurricane evacuees descended on Brooklyn’s New York City College of Technology. The school had been temporarily converted into an evacuation center, where refugees were screened before being sent to shelter…
A few years ago, a commercial aired that featured a hip-looking fellow plugging away at his laptop—checking his e-mail, surfing the Web, downloading music. What was different about this guy was that he was on the roof of a skyscraper, a…
Many years ago, when I was living on the Upper West Side, a neighbor of mine was notified over his scratchy intercom system that a UPS carrier had a package for him. Without hesitation, he buzzed in the deliveryman and opened his fron…