Virginia K. Smith
ContactPosts by Virginia K. Smith:
Nothing can prepare you for life in New York (and that's a good thing), says Urban Planner Julia Vitullo-Martin Read More
September 18, 2015 - 13:59 PM
If you want to get a dose of reality about our ever surreal city, there's no better person to talk to than an urban planner.
Calling all history buffs: the Museum of the City of New York's affordable housing exhibit opens today
September 18, 2015 - 13:15 PM
The term "affordable housing" as it applies in New York a bit of a head scratcher. The city's complex, rather Byzantine network of subsidized housing includes public housing, options for buyers like Mitchell-Lamas and HDFCs, rentals in 80/20 buildings, and apartments so expensive (think $1,900/month studios) that the very definition of "affordability" itself gets called into question.
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The lure of the South Bronx, how roommates share a miniscule space, and more Read More
September 18, 2015 - 10:59 AM
On your next apartment hunt, don't discount the South Bronx (NYT)
If these two girls can live in a 350 square foot apt, you can make your tiny studio work (NYP)
The Fed says: rates won't be going up just yet (Crain's)
Rentals as cheap as $833/month in a luxury new Williamsburg building—how to apply now Read More
September 18, 2015 - 09:59 AM
Hoping to live right near the epicenter of Bedford Ave. on the cheap? Applications opened today for 19 subsidized rentals at 223 North 8th Street, per a listing on NYC Housing Connect.
People in the suburbs: they're just like us (mostly)
September 17, 2015 - 15:59 PM
A new survey of American's housing pet peeves sounds awfully familiar...
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Reel Estate: 99 Homes takes real estate scamming to a whole new level—and reminds us of a scam that happens in NYC, too
September 17, 2015 - 14:45 PM
In case you needed a further reminder of the horrors of the housing crisis—or validation of your suspicions that developers and banks legitimately are out to get you—well, have we got the movie for you. 99 Homes—which opens in limited release next Friday, the 25th, and just picked up the Grand Prize at the prestigious Deauville American Film Festival—follows a Florida construction worker, Dennis (Andrew Garfield) who's desperate enough for cash that he starts working for the same shady broker/developer/flipper, Richard Carver (Michael Shannon), who unceremoniously evicted Dennis' family from their home.
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