A family in Riverdale is engaged in a war with their co-op board, who want to evict them over their singing dog. Rita and Murray Hyman claim they are being unfairly persecuted because their daughter's Maltese pooch, Rocky, likes to sing with Rita, 62, when he comes to visit. Rita, who was left disabled after a 2003 car crash, doesn't want to give up the singing, because she considers Rocky her "therapy dog": "Rocky gives me a whole different outlook on life and keeps me going...They've hurt me so much by trying to take away our special relationship. Who will I sing with?" more ›

So you want to live in a fancy co-op? Well, it's not easy if you have a dog. Thankfully, Brick Underground has a little guide on how to get your dog past the co-op board, which these days can include making sure they pass their "dog interview." And don't worry, there are prep courses for your dog to make sure you get that Central Park view! more ›

The NY Times Real Estate section looked at how co-op boards are jumping on the Information Highway to find out more about prospective buyers. But this anecdote about using the Internets to get a better sense of a potential tenant struck us:

Landlords, too, find the Internet immensely useful. Victoria Shtainer, a senior vice president of Prudential Douglas Elliman, and her husband were seeking a tenant to rent their luxury Midtown apartment. A young man described by his broker, a colleague of Ms. Shtainer’s, as “an Internet genius” wanted to do a deal. more ›

The Times got a hold of some petty e-mails exchanged between unhinged members of the co-op board at 301 East 62nd Street, a 130-unit brick building that went co-op in 1984. These people kind of hate each other, and it's not really clear why, so we're assuming one their sons accepted an astronaut pen as a gift from one board member, thereby setting off an irrevocable chain reaction of gossip, resentment, and backbiting. The e-mails are certainly entertaining: more ›

New Yorkers may love their pets, but sometimes New York apartment buildings don't like them that much: The Wall Street Journal has some anecdotes of brokers turning down potential buyers of multimillion dollar apartments because the buildings don't allow pets! In fact, some buildings can be especially strict about dogs—sometimes forcing Solomonic choices. more ›

A Chelsea co-op's attempt to evict a family over its "gassy" Neapolitan Mastiff has been thrown out by a judge. In January, the Post detailed the plight of the Lyons family, who were shunned and hated by their neighbors—including CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien— because their mastiff Ugo is smelly. Though the West 26th building allows pets, the co-op board (with board secretary O'Brien) became fed up and moved to evict the Lyonses, who tried to address the issue by grooming him three times a month and spraying him with deodorizer. Now the Post reveals that Ugo can stay because the Lyonses "were not properly served in the suit." The Lyonses' lawyer said, "The board is trying to evict a family, and it can't even serve the initial papers correctly. Maybe the board should be put on a leash." Since news of Ugo's plight attracted many supporters, O'Brien has suffered a bit of opposition; she resigned from the co-op board in February, explaining, "After discussions with neighbors and others, [my husband] and I have become increasingly concerned about my personal safety." The Post also has a chart comparing O'Brien's and Ugo's characteristics. more ›

The Post reports that a family is fighting their Chelsea co-op to keep their beloved Mastiff—and that the co-op board secretary, CNN's Soledad O'Brien, is especially critical. Steven Lyons, who bought his 4,000 square-foot apartment in 2003, says, "[O'Brien] told me at a shareholder's meeting that my dog stinks." Ugo, a 150-pound mastiff, arrived in the Lyons household in 2007, but O'Brien noted his "size, slobbering, shedding, drooling, gassiness and odors" in an affidavit (the family gets him groomed three times a month and sprays him with a deodorizer). The co-op allows pets, but Lyons's wife Monica Nelson tells the Post that other board members hold their noses when they share the elevator with her—even when she's without the dog! The co-op board has terminated their lease, and the Lyonses may have to leave their apartment or get rid of Ugo. Interestingly, O'Brien put her apartment on the market last October—you can see it and her cat in this video. more ›