Teri Karush Rogers
Founder and publisher Teri Karush Rogers launched Brick Underground in 2009. As a freelance journalist, she had previously covered New York City real estate for The New York Times. Teri has been featured as an expert on New York City residential real estate by The New York Times, New York Daily News, amNew York, NBC Nightly News, The Real Deal, Business Insider, the Huffington Post, and NY1 News, among others. Teri earned a BA in journalism and a law degree from New York University. During law school she realized she would rather explain things than argue about them, so she returned to service journalism after graduation.
Posts by Teri Karush Rogers:
At first, we will dig up answers through old-fashioned reporting. But over the coming weeks we will be assembling a panel of experts--the BrickTank--to provide cross-disciplinary feedback to your questions.
It turns out that the Department of Sanitation understands. In fact, they are more worried about the stuff that’s not being recycled (40 percent of paper and 60 percent of metal) than the wrong stuff going in.
Herewith, a few guiding principles to take the edge off everyday recycling:
We had always thought of our snug Upper West Side non-doorman building as a fairly safe place. Aside from a longrunning fraud by our former managing agent—who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars over many years and was eventually dispatched to Rikers Island—nothing felony-worthy had occurred here at least since we bought our apartments back in 2003.
Most buildings hold board elections in late spring and early summer. So who are you voting for?
Even in smaller buildings where elevator encounters can give you a sense of the people behind the ballots, you may not have devoted much thought to the composition of the board as a whole. But the right balance can make all the difference. Think of it as a symphony: You don’t want an orchestra comprised only of tubas and oboes running your building.
If you are newly self-employed, you may not realize that your home office can save you serious change on your taxes—as long as you don’t work exclusively from bed or the kitchen table.
“If you work from home and you have a separate area set aside specifically for your office, no matter what size, you can take a home office deduction,” says Koreen Jervis, a downtown accountant and president of Korje Tax Professionals.
You’ve chosen the tile and the contractor. Now, should you stay or should you go?
Jeannine Williams, a Manhattan interior designer who also oversees construction, recommends moving out for the first three-quarters of a renovation project if more than half of your apartment is being renovated.
But even if your job is smaller, it’s a good idea to seek refuge elsewhere at the following times:
