After years of dissent, racial and economic woes and political infighting, Yonkers, Westchester County’s largest city and New York State’s fourth most populous town, has transformed itself into a vibrant residential community and a prime de…
Kale pizza, street art (don’t call it graffiti— instead think eye-popping, colorful murals, like Danielle Mastrioni’s ode to late rapper Biggie Smalls), hour-long waits at the newest, hottest restaurants and soaring rents have all become h…
Valley Stream is known for being a big village with a small town feel. With a population of nearly 38,000, Valley Stream is one of the largest villages in the state of New York. The incorporated village is located inside the southwest p…
Williamsburg suffers from multiple personality disorder. Just one subway stop away from Manhattan in the Brooklyn neighborhood, you’ll find a large Hasidic Jewish community, a glut of ethnic enclaves, including Polish, Puerto-Rican, Dom…
New York City’s Department of Buildings wields great influence over how structures in the city are built and maintained, presiding over everything from building inspections to permits, building codes and materials. While that area of go…
It’s a pretty name for a pretty neighborhood. Located in the southern end of Brooklyn, Carroll Gardens has long been a destination for those in search of a little greenery to go with their city living. With its park, its tree-lined str…
If only I had had an extra $100,000 25 years ago. (OK—an extra $100,000, today would be good too.) But that’s what I kept thinking as I sat chatting with Oliver Allen, a retired journalist and author who is now a regular contributor to h…
For all the incredible diversity embodied in its population of eight million people and the many industries that call it home, New York City has always been a center of commerce. The city was founded not by a nation but by a corporation—…
Few people think of Flushing, Queens as a neighborhood of rich historical importance but they're missing the big picture. Perhaps best-known as the birthplace of television star Fran Drescher (and her unforgettable accent) and home to one o…
It’s an oft-repeated fact that if the borough of Brooklyn were still independent, it would be one of the biggest cities in the nation. According to the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, in 2000, the U.S. decennial census count…