Virginia K. Smith

Most New Yorkers only head to Coney Island when the mercury gets up past a certain point, but as the unofficial face of the neighborhood, Dick Zigun is down by the boardwalk year-round. It's only fitting—Zigun's the founder and artistic director of Coney Island USA, the arts nonprofit responsible for the Mermaid Parade, the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, and the Coney Island Museum and Burlesque at the Beach, and might be the neighborhood's biggest booster. 

File this under 'amenities that actually make life easier': the Ritz Plaza Times Square recently rolled out Let's Drive NYC, a program that lets residents of the 479-unit luxury building have 24-hour access to vehicles located in a garage adjacent to the building, and available to rent at either an hourly or day rate.

We recently wrote about Data2go.NYC—a massive new interactive data map with huge troves of customizable data about the city—and now, it seems, there's further incentive to while away hours with it: Measure of America, the nonprofit behind Data2Go has launched a Visualization Challenge and will be awarding a $2,000 prize to whichever individual or group most compellingly "uses the [tool] to illu

Dear Sam: My landlord put a "don't sue" clause in my rental contract. Is that enforceable?

Even dogs should have respect for a host's "my house, my rules" policy (Apartment Therapy)

Moving back in with your parents doesn't have to be all bad (Gothamist)

Even luxury renters aren't immune to dealing with shoddily constructed buildings (NYP)

While most New Yorkers don't tend to have a whole lot of sympathy for renters dropping $5,000  a month on Williamsburg studios, it's hard not to feel terrible for the residents of the Bedford Lofts, who made headlines recently after being booted from their apartments shortly before Thanksgiving, as the New York Post reported. It's also hard not to feel a twinge of paranoia and wonder if this could happen to us.