Virginia K. Smith

Bringing in the super for minor repairs around the apartment (and giving him some extra cash for his trouble) is often a natural fit—after all, you know him, he knows the building, and it's all much faster than calling in outside help.

Caution: even if you win your court case against the landlord, the dispute could still land you a spot on the tenant blacklist (NYT, previously)

Train rumblings, trucks and traffic—DUMBO's noisemakers may get on your nerves (Gothamist)

Neighborhood identity in New York is a delicate thing, an ever evolving mix of people and places that, um, can be easily categorized and tracked in map form? That seems to be the thinking behind a new map tool from software company Esri, which has broken down Zip Codes across the U.S. (and in NYC) into "67 profiles of American market segments" based on population data.