Virginia K. Smith

Now that the gift-opening rush has passed and, if you're anything like us, everyone's squarely in the throes of a holiday food coma, there's no time like the present to collectively zone out in front of some holiday viewing. Naturally, our recommendations all have one thing in common besides being set at the holidays: New York apartments.

When headlines started circulating recently about a high-priced Williamsburg rental building that'd been evacuated due to a lack of permits and conditions that rendered it a virtual "death trap," suffice it to say, our imaginations ran a bit wild.

If there's any good reason to leave NYC, these Christmas-themed towns might be it (CityLab)

From cheap to luxe, what to do with your friends and family when they visit the city (Thrillist)

Riverdale has long had a reputation as a haven for sprawling suburban-style mansions just outside the city, steeped in history and dripping with period details. Not so with this $2.675 million seven-bedroom home at West 261st Street which is newly built and larded with high-end perks, including rather imposing motorized steel front gates.

It's a truism about Brooklyn apartments that the best feature is often their prime views of Manhattan. And this luxury Williamsburg two-bedroom asking $6,995/month takes skyline-centric design to a whole other level, with a 750-square-foot wraparound terrace that's almost as big as the actual apartment: