Virginia K. Smith

This recording captures exactly what it sounds like when landlords try to trick rent-stabilized tenants into leaving (Gothamist)

Lighting ideas that won't break the bank (Refinery 29)

After months of speculation about a potential increase in interest rates for mortgages, the Federal Reserve decided yesterday to keep rates where they are, citing evidence that the economy isn't strong enough to handle an increase. (Talk about bad news wrapped in good news.) This means that it's still a good time to take out a mortgage, provided you've got the cash to buy anything at all in New York City's overheated market.

The cheapest—and most expensive—New York neighborhoods for renters right now (Business Insider)

Steal space-saving ideas from this Swedish studio (Refinery 29)

Got a discount on the down payment? Good luck getting a mortgage (Bloomberg View)

News started making the rounds yesterday about an Upper West Side co-op that made the bold, bizarre move of demanding that the building's mutts be DNA tested to determine whether or not they're comprised of one of the numerous breeds banned in the building. Dogs with a mix of 50 percent or more of these breeds (which include dogs as disparate as St.

As expected, the city's rent regulation rules expired last night amid political gridlock in Albany, and while Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that the loss of these regulations would be worse for New Yorkers than any natural disaster, we're guessing your apartment situation didn't change overnight, right?