A discontent tenant fatally stabbed his building super when he came to collect the rent on Friday. Super Shayne Sinclair was collecting overdue rent at a single room occupancy building on E. 51st Street in Flatlands when he was stabbed by the unidentified killer. "Somebody owed him some money and that's what he was trying to get. He left home to go look for a paycheck and he's dead now," a relative of Sinclair's told the News. more ›

It's a gorgeous sunny day outside, and you're as far from the beach as you can get, stuck inside your airtight office with summer 2010 pretty much over forever. But take heart; statistics show that escape from this cruel world awaits just a few flights of stairs away, up toward the roof, where New Yorkers (or those just visiting New York) attempt to end it all in numbers far surpassing the rest of America. Nationally, just 2% of suicide attempts take place from tall buildings, but here in the Big Apple, almost 20% of suicides are committed via gravity. more ›

After being approved by the City Planning Commission in July, plans for a 1,200-foot tower just two avenues away from the Empire State Building are being reviewed by the City Council. If passed, the tower at 15 Penn Plaza would be a huge change to the New York City skyline. And the Empire State Building isn't happy about it. Anthony Malkin of Malkin Holdings, an ESB owner, wrote to the City Council: more ›

If you spot anyone standing on the ledge of a building today—and it's not a statue—take a second look before alterting the authorities. NotifyNYC notes that today "there will be a filming of a movie which will involve a stuntman standing on the ledge of a building at 80 South Street between Fletcher and John Streets in Manhattan. This is a simulated activity and will be filmed until 4pm. NYPD will be on site." more ›

A judge ruled yesterday that embattled Brooklyn architect Robert Scarano Jr. can no longer file construction plans after he was caught "deliberately overbuilding" and making multiple false statements "so deceptive that they call to mind out-and-out fraud." The prolific builder—beloved by developers and reviled by community groups for manipulating zoning rules to construct taller and bulkier structures—will no longer be able submit documents to the Department of Buildings, "threatening, at least temporarily, his ability to work as an architect in the city," according to the Times. more ›

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is simply not pleased with a developer's plan to build a condo in her Greenwich Village neighborhood. She put pen to paper (official Vogue letterhead, to be exact) and wrote a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, calling the project "a totally out-of-scale, inappropriate eight-story building" and an "unwelcome intrusion." According to the NY Post she wrote the letter in February 2009, but just last week sent an appeal to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. more ›

For the first time since the 1950s, the city's ubiquitous sidewalk sheds are going to get a makeover. The new scaffolding design — selected after an international contest — is intended to "improve quality of life, reduce construction impacts on businesses, increase pedestrian safety and increase available space for pedestrians on sidewalks," according to the Mayor's Office. The so-called "The Urban Umbrella" will "complement the city's architectural beauty rather than take it away from it," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Sidewalk sheds are a part of New York life, reflecting the face of a city that is constantly changing — yet the sheds themselves haven't evolved at all during the past four decades and its time to bring them into the 21st century." more ›

Overnight we started receiving reports of "heavy smoke conditions" at JFK airport's old TWA building. The building (pictured) is now part of Jet Blue's Terminal 5, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ABC now reports that the fire, which broke out in a refrigeration room, was safely put out — and no one was in the building at the time. There is minor damage, and an investigation is now underway. more ›

While AT&T takes a lot of heat for their horrific service here in New York, Verizon gets criticized constantly for putting up the most loathed building in the city — which practically sucks the soul out of the skyline (we are looking at it right now). more ›

A resident of a "luxurious small building" facing Central Park got some lip over a holiday tip, and turned to the UrbanBaby message board for advice: "So, I gave my doormen/ porters and handyman 60 dollars bonus each (times 11) and to the super, 100 dollars. One of the doormen complained about his bonus, saying, 'I love the card, not so much the contents.' I couldn't believe it. I wonder how much everyone else gave this year." And so the agonizing debate over whom to tip and how much rages on! One proposed solution for this particular contretemps? Re-tipping and apologizing to the doorman. more ›

During planning for the Ground Zero redevelopment, the Signature Theatre, which devotes an entire season of productions to one playwright, was to have been one of the anchor arts organizations at the WTC site. That idea was nixed in 2007, and now the company, whose lease at 555 West 42nd Street expires in 2001, has finally settled on a new home. Today the Bloomberg administration announced a $25 million contribution to the project, part of an $800 million, 59-story, residential building and hotel on 42nd Street and 10th Avenue being built by Related Companies. more ›

NYC's Bicycle Access to Buildings Law takes effect tomorrow, requiring commercial buildings to allow tenants to bring their bicycles into offices using the freight elevator. If your employer approves your request to bring your bike up into the office, he or she can submit a formal request to the DOT, which will then require the person who controls the building to complete a Bicycle Access Plan. It's not really that complicated, and Transportation Alternatives has put together a great manual [pdf] to guide you through the whole process. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg has abandoned the most ambitious part of his plan to reduce greenhouse gases, which would have required the owners of the city's largest buildings to undergo mandatory energy audits to determine green renovations — and forced the landlords to pay for the improvements. more ›

If it's November, it's time to start dreading the Holiday tipping ritual. How much do you give the super or the doorman or—no joke—the sanitation worker? Well, if you're the board of directors at a tony co-op, the solution is simple: Nothing. A thread on the Urban Baby message board has sparked a vigorous debate about noblesse oblige during a recession, beginning thus:

SANTA CLAUS CAME EARLY!!! Just got a notice from our co-op board: "In response to past complaints about favoritism, and in light of the current recession that has dealt a significant blow to many of our shareholders, the board of directors of (XYZ Building) has implemented a strict "no tipping" policy for the building staff." THANK YOU SANTA!!!

Remember that free building in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens? Unsurprisingly, the whole thing was a prank. Reportedly a local resident was fed up with the rundown building (located at 205 Parkside Avenue) and decided to put up a sign and a Craigslist ad advertising it for free. The prankster told the Daily News: "We want to see something positive happening with the building [not just a] festering rathole on what could be a lively thriving commercial strip." more ›

Do you want 14 residential units and 3 commercial units in beautiful Brooklyn for the low low price of: Free? The blogger at Hawthorne Street points to Prospect Lefferts' 205 Parkside Avenue, "an abandoned rathole" that has been vacant since 1979 and is now being advertised as free (though they doubt it's really free). There's even a Craigslist ad backing up the sign on the building. Any takers? UPDATE: The new rumor is that this is a prank. We still bet squatters could get in a few months of free rent, however. [via Curbed] more ›

The son of a Harlem landlord is accused scamming potential buyers by trying to sell a building he did not own. The commercial property, located on a triangular lot just north of Central Park at 21-41 Lenox Avenue, was entirely owned by another man. But alleged grifter Henry Vargas told buyers the man, Manuel Duran Jr., was just an elderly farmer from the Dominican Republic whose share was only 10 percent. more ›

Astoria property owner Santino DiFiore has a permit to build a six-story "DiFiore Tower" next to his other four-story building, where hairdresser JoAnn McGurty Sullivan, 42, has been living in a rent-controlled apartment off-and-on since childhood. The other tenants on her side the building have all vacated, but she's proving to be the fly in DiFiore's ointment, because doesn't want the landlord to brick in nine out of her ten windows to accommodate the new building. Apparently one window just isn't good enough for Sullivan, who's managed to get the Department of Buildings to issue a stop-work order. She tells the Post, "[DiFiore] took my life, shook it up and threw it on the floor—all for greed." more ›

Yesterday we looked at the newly renovated lobby of the Empire State Building, and all its Art Deco glory made us nostalgic. LIFE magazine images are often good for curing that; they even have a whole gallery of the building being made by hand. Enough to make you reread The Fountainhead. more ›

Just when it looked like The Man was standing up for photographer's rights, or at least understanding the law, things have gone sour again. Carlos Miller reports that 43-year-old professional photographer Randall Thomas "was jailed for six hours—and had his camera and memory card confiscated by a judge—after filming an FBI building from across the street in New York City Monday." more ›

Re-Brooklyn, which hosts images comparing past and present day buildings in the borough, has just posted a cleaner shot of the Norwegian Evangelical Church... or as you may know it: Strauss Auto. The interesting thing here is that if you look at the trim on the side wall, you'll see that the building is the same. An old NYPL image points out the original photo was taken in 1930, and the structure is on 15th Street and 4th Avenue. more ›

Yesterday, a construction safety coordinator filed a $20 million lawsuit, accusing her employer of ignoring reports of sexual harassment while working at a Park Avenue JPMorgan Chase building site. Bianca Wisniewski, a 43-year-old widowed mother of two, says she repeatedly fended off lewd advances from elevator operator Steve Greco in 2007. According to the suit, Greco's overtures included grabbing her around the waist and cooing, "I just want to take you to dinner, no fu*king," and "Everybody kisses engineer Steve. This is a man's world, not a place for women to work." The suit accuses LIC's Total Safety Consulting of ignoring her complaints, offering her job back but then rescinding the offer and replacing her with a man. Her lawyer says, "What I find atrocious is that here's a woman who was working in a job where we have... crane accidents and people dying, and she was in a position of authority to ensure safety. But when she reports a guy vilely hitting on her, instead of protecting her safety, they protect a scoundrel." None of the defendants in the lawsuit—JPMorgan Chase, Total Safety, Greco, and his union—have formally commented, but Greco told a Daily News reporter yesterday, "I don't know [Wisniewski]. I don't know what you're talking about." more ›

Bad news for squatters and survivalists: Instead of just letting abandoned condo developments turn into illegal havens for trespassers, the city is starting a $20 million pilot program to turn unsold condominiums, unrented apartments and stalled construction sites into affordable housing for middle-income families. Yesterday Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced the plan, called the Housing Asset Renewal Program (HARP), in which the city will negotiate with developers and banks to turn the unoccupied units into affordable housing. more ›

There's good news for the famously decaying Windermere, a complex of three 1881 apartment buildings in Hell's Kitchen that was landmarked in 2005. The Japanese owner of the structure, Masako Yamagata, has finally agreed to a settlement with seven tenants who had to be evacuated in 2007 because of the extreme decay. They'll collectively share $2.6 million in exchange for relinquishing claims on their apartments, and Yamagata has also agreed to pay $1.1 million in civil penalties to the city for failing to maintain the building. A judge had issued a court order last year requiring Yamagata to repair the landmark, but the city had been unable to enforce it because he was in Japan. Once a buyer expressed serious interest in purchasing the Windermere, Yamagata finally settled so he could unload it for an undisclosed sum. The buyer has promised make all necessary repairs to the complex, which was popular with single working women and artists at the turn of the 20th century. When it opened, it was known for its technological marvels like the hydraulic elevator and telephone. more ›

Deed fraud is in alive and well in the city. Late Friday, the Real Deal reported that a woman posing as the rightful owner of three Upper East Side buildings obtained deeds for them and tried to get tenants to send her their rent checks. And today the Post adds the tabloid detail—she's a "former exotic dancer with a body for sin and maybe a brain for it." more ›

The owner of the 153-year old, five-story building on Reade Street that collapsed yesterday morning had been cited for numerous violations by the Department of Buildings over the years. In 2007, inspectors discovered a 15-foot-long crack and a section of a wall in danger of collapse, but the Times reports that owner Aharon Vaknin never addressed the violation. And in April the department received five separate complaints about the building's landmarked facade, including one just days ago warning that it looked unstable. On Tuesday, Vaknin began installing structural supports to the building, per DOB orders; he'd originally planned to build a boutique hotel behind the crumbling facade, but the recession stalled the project. According to the Tribeca Tribune, Vaknin had recently submitted plans to partially demolish the very section of the building that collapsed. But it seems gravity and neglect took care of that for him. Last night the DOB razed the remaining portions of the structure in a controlled demolition, and the department is investigating whether the construction of a planned six-story, 63,000 square-foot condo at 77 Reade St contributed to the collapse. more ›

Over a week ago, a jewelry designer was injured when an outdoor staircase at the artists' warehouse 5 Pointz collapsed. As Nicole Gagne, who was trapped under concrete and metal debris, remains in serious condition, the prospect for the building, which houses at least two hundred artists, remain unclear. more ›

After reports of construction being stopped at the Financial District site of a Frank Gehry-designed skyscraper and that developer Forest City Ratner was cutting the tower's height from 76 floors to "just" 38, now Crain's has some more details on what's happening with the Spruce Street building. The developer's spokesperson said, “Given the current economy, we are conducting a study to assess costs, risks and overall timing. Work is continuing on the building including on the school"—the building has a 100,000 square-foot pre-K through 8th grade school—"and we should have some conclusive answers shortly" (as in whether to add the additional floors). The building is also supposed to include a hospital and parking garage. Crain's adds, "The building was to have roughly 900 apartments with stunning views of lower Manhattan and the nearby Brooklyn Bridge and was expected to open next year." Boy, Frank Gehry when it comes to NYC skyscrapers. more ›

It's a scary world out there for those developers who sank millions into new luxury rental buildings, and the desperation has begun to manifest itself in increasingly entertaining ways. Take the dispiriting new Truffles TriBeCa over by the West Side Highway; this 291-unit eyesore has been trying to lure tenants with an increasingly "offbeat" marketing push, replete with half-naked models lying ass up on a sofa in what could be your totally boss apartment, brah. Truffles's latest gambit is to liven up the place with a bunch of lifeless, albeit stylish, mannequins, seen here lounging smugly on the balcony. Because nothing dispels an atmosphere of sterile desolation better than a pair of faceless white human replicas. Doesn't it kind of remind you of that scene in "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" where Indian Jones finds himself in a nuclear testing "village" populated by mannequins about to be annihilated? (Or did we just needlessly confess to watching "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"?) Either way, fire at will. [Via Runnin' Scared/The Landscape] more ›