BrickUnderground

Now that I had lined up an exterminator and the bites were less frequent (flawed as my original exterminator was, he had gotten rid of most of the bugs for the time being)--I had to go through every single one of my possessions, heat-treating or examining them, then bagging them in airtight plastic.

I hadn’t quite gotten it in the beginning.

“You’ll have to go through all this stuff,” the first guy had said vaguely, sweeping a hand toward the piles of boxes stacked around my living room that were a combination of belongings I’d shipped from my seven years in Mexico and stuff that had been in my parents’ basement while I was away. I was still unpacking.

Over drinks last spring, an exec at one of the city's better-known real estate PR firms confessed that during the boom, she and her colleagues spent many hours brainstorming the amenities that would make the biggest media splash for a new development: Developers preferred that calculus to the potential effect on unit owners' common charges down the road.  CurbedNY's "Amenity Deathmatch" poll,  asking readers to vote on which condo--15 Broad (downtown) or TheAldyn (UWS) has the better bowling lane --reminded us of that conversation. In Curbed's "building vs. building showdown based solely on the things that drive up maintenance costs and never get used," The Aldyn has received 76% of the votes for best lane at last check. 

The floor plan of this two bedroom, 1.5 bath first-floor Murray Hill duplex will not appeal to all: The second bedroom on the main floor is tiny (three smallish pieces of furniture would be the limit) and the kitchen is somewhat awkwardly positioned in the entry hallway.  However, the prewar apartment boasts a (washer-dryer equipped!!) bonus lower level of about 200-square-feet that would be ideal for sequestering a teenager (like vampires, they often shun light and company) or for a playroom or home office. There's also a small garden for your dog. The kitchen is renovated, complete with Sub-Zero, and the zoned elementary and middle schools (P.S. 116 and M.S. 104) are highly regarded. The duplex was originally listed in September of 2009 at $929,000 and its current asking price is $799,000, below the $830k it sold for in August 2005.  For someone looking for flexible space and charm, sans doorman, this might work very well indeed.

Billions of dollars have been earmarked for dormitory construction in New York City over the next few years.  According to The Real Deal, no fewer than 11 local universities have recently opened, are currently constructing and/or have active plans to build. So what does that mean for NYC dwellers who've already matriculated?

• Containment! With colleges and universities providing a place for their students to rest their heads, they won't have to proliferate as much to other neighborhoods. They'll be much easier to locate and avoid, if desired.
• Lower rents! Billions of dollars builds a LOT of housing. Less demand for off-campus housing--the low-to-moderately priced rentals typically favored by students--could in theory make those apartments more affordable  to people already paying off their student loans.
• Neighborhood domination! New York University and Columbia will finally realize their dreams of total control of the Central Village and Upper Manhattan.

Manhattan-born and raised actor, author, filmmaker and former cab driver Eric Schaeffer has lived on the Upper West Side his entire life. He is the creator of seven feature films (he is currently filming his eighth in Paris) and four TV series, many of which are set in his beloved hometown. I Can’t Believe I’m Still Single--Schaeffer’s reality-based show chronicling his mishaps finding Ms. Right--kicked off its third season on Showtime last Thursday; he is also the author of a memoir of the same name.

We asked Schaeffer for his NYC apartment-dwelling backstory and were shocked—shocked—to find out that a guy who is nearly 50 and has made a career out of being single is, by Manhattan standards, an apartment monogamist. We also learn that chicks dig hammocks. 

According to a new work/life balance study of 1,100 Brits, men are happiest "when they do more of the housework themselves, spend longer with their children and have working partners who are in the office just as long as they are," says a report in The Guardian.   Eighty-two percent of full-time working men want more time with their families. What's preventing this scenario? Employers, who are ignoring the fact that family dynamics are changing.   As Apartment Therapy notes, anecdotal evidence indicates the same is true in the United States. Read on to hear what the commenters had to say...