Landlords banned from using the term 'illegal alien,' kitchen countertops can make workers sick, & more

By Austin Havens-Bowen | October 2, 2019 - 11:00AM

NYC landlords are banned from using the term "illegal alien" to demean or harass a person and face a $250,000 fine for the offense (HuffPost)

There are fears thousands of workers who cut countertops out of artificial stone may be inhaling dangerous amounts of lung-damaging silica dust (NPR)

Attention architecture aficionados: This year's Open House New York is weeks away and new sites include the High Line Spur (Curbed)

Want to live like a model? Karlie Kloss just listed her West Village townhouse co-op, featuring a front garden and second-floor terrace, for $2.75 million (6sqft)

A controversial homeless shelter in College Point is set to open this week, but will now house 200 single women instead of the proposed 200 single men (Flushing Post)

Heat season has arrived but according to a recent report, NYCHA needs $3 billion to upgrade heat and water systems (Curbed)

Austin Havens-Bowen

Staff Writer

Staff writer Austin Havens-Bowen covers the rental market and answers renters' questions in a column called Realty Bites. He previously reported on local news for the Queens Ledger and The Hunts Point Express in the Bronx. He graduated from Hunter College with a BA in media studies. He rents a one-bedroom apartment in Astoria with his boyfriend and their two cats.

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