Leah Hochbaum Rosner

If you live near a school that lacks its own playground (as many city elementary schools do), your block might be designated a “play street.” Sounds fun, right? Wrong. One Upper West Sider told us why:

With walls as thin as they are in most NYC apartments, you’ve probably heard your neighbors knocking boots a time or two  (or 20). But are you worried about your neighbors overhearing you? Here are some ways to stay off their radar (and not get 311 called on you so often you end up on the news):

While Park Slope and Williamsburg are likely out of reach at this point for the budget-conscious New Yorker, East New York is still a viable option, and has been garnering plenty of buzz as Brooklyn's latest "up and coming" neighborhood. Joe Azar of Citi Habitats gives an overview of the neighborhood—and explains why you haven’t yet missed your chance to become a Brooklynite—in this week’s Buy Curious.

Think that just because you live in a nice neighborhood that you don’t have to worry about such lowbrow concerns as, say, a prostitution ring in your building? You’d be wrong, as our Upper West Side writer was shocked to discover after noticing a glut of young, fishnet-clad women in her lobby.

Eventually they were ousted from the rental building, but it was a true "Only in New York" story until then. So what are some clues that you might be sharing an address with the best little whorehouse in NYC?

If you're planning on staying in your apartment for a bit, but want to give it a (somewhat painless) makeover, painting is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to overhaul your apartment's look (hey, we said relatively). Still, with so many choices out there—neutral or bright? Dark or light? Sunflower yellow or blood red?—many folks can be easily overwhelmed. So how should you proceed?

Want to buy a multi-family home, but aren’t sure what it’ll be like to live among people who pay you rent? James Guimaraes of Ideal Properties Group gives us the pros and cons of being a live-in landlord in this week’s Buy Curious.

THE WISH LIST:

I’m thinking of buying a multi-family house (two or even way more) and living in some of it while renting out the rest. What should I know? Which neighborhoods are best?