Virginia K. Smith

At long last, the blogger behind EV Grieve has revealed his identity (Village Voice)

Getting "snazzy" uniforms for your building's doormen is totally worth it (Habitat Magazine)

Q: I live in a 72-unit co-op building, and the board is considering a renovation of the lobby and upper hallways. They're consulting with a designer on a new paint scheme, but another option is a complete renovation of the upper halls from walls to ceiling, including new fixtures. Would this kind of renovation bring appreciable or equal value to our apartment, or is there a wiser capital improvement that would bring greater value to our apartments?

Landlease buildings have always been a bargain (with discounts of up to 30 percent compared to other buildings), but as we've written before, it's one that buyers enter into at their own risk. And with the cost of land in New York skyrocketing, the situation of landlease owners—who pay rent to a building owner based on the cost of the land it sits on—has become a whole lot more precarious in recent years. 

Why you should never, ever try to evict your neighborhood's bodega cat (Gothamist)

What to do about a dangerous neighbor (NYT, previously)

Mortgage rates have indeed been creeping up (WSJ)

Can't afford the $3.69 million to land the "doorman" apartment from Seinfeld—or just hankering for another replica-of-a-beloved-TV-set experience since the closing of that Central Perk pop-up? You're in luck: Hulu is creating a full replica of Jerry's apartment in the West Village in honor of the show's June 24th debut on the streaming service,

Further proof that even in New York's overheated market, the situation in Bed-Stuy is particularly bonkers: Yesterday, the New York Observer reported a "new era" of higher-end townhouse renovations in the area (with price tags edging towards the $3 million mark), on the same day Brownstoner spotted harshly wor