BrickUnderground

Ever wonder about the people in your building who've been there so long they seem to come as a package deal with the place?  (If nothing else, you've probably fantasized about their rent-controlled apartments.) The New York Times recently chronicled one such lifer in their "Character Study" column, a 93-year-old woman born—literally—in her Hamilton Heights building.

No matter how big or small, fancy or unfussy your apartment is, there will be dust—the sooty, filmy kind, especially, if you live on main streets and avenues. That's why a good vacuum is essential. And by good, we mean one that's powerful enough to take on not only dust but the grit and grime we walk in with from our streets; light enough so you don't crack your back on chore days (especially if you live in a duplex or townhouse and have to ferry it up steps); and maneuverable enough that it can navigate the most "eccentric" of NYC layouts.

1. Here's how to get a $1,070 two-bedroom in Park Slope

2. How to live rent free in NYC

3. Rentals as cheap as $833/month in a luxury new Williamsburg building -- how to apply now

As we've heard, there are plenty of houses on the market in darling brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods right now. But what if your budget isn't big enough for one? No problem! Here, a handful of apartments in the townhome-heavy neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Park Slope—hey, at least you'll be walking down picturesque blocks!—loaded with brownstone-like charm and open for your perusal this weekend:

New York City landlords often get a bad rap, but sometimes they deserve it. And with rents continuing their upward march—in some cases, Queens is now more expensive than Brooklyn, for instance—tenants are increasingly caught between the proverbial rock and a super-expensive hard place, with no other recourse but to pay up or ship out and find yet another costly rental.