Finance Commissioner David Frankel admitted yesterday that mistakes were made when his office miscalculated the city's condo and co-op property values to reap increased tax revenue, according to The Post. Frankel's office initially increased the value of some homes, like Queens State Senator Toby Stavisky's, by as much as 147% from 2010 to 2011. Housing bubble, schmousing bubble. Didn't you guys get your complimentary Infinity Pool after the bailout? more ›

The Real Deal reports that, according to the Federal Reserve's "Beige Book," Manhattan co-op and condo sale prices have "fallen by 15 to 20 percent since mid-summer, though it is hard to get a clear handle on prices due to thin volume. Much of the recent activity is reportedly from desperate sellers." Sales volume was also apparently off by 28% for the first three quarters of 2008, and appraiser Jonathan Miller explains, "A drop in transactions always precedes a drop in prices, because it leads to [an] increase in inventory. It's really a canary in the subway." Still, some brokers are trying to insist business is picking up, with open house attendance rising recently—which some Curbed commenters question. more ›

Pigeon keeping and racing has been a part of the city for a while, and finally someone has poured over all the ink that has been somewhat-recently spilled on this other American Pastime. Bed-Stuy Banana's rundown finishes with a link to Overlooked New York, which features profiles on some of the top pigeon keepers in the city. All 40 or older, they each seem to have a long, quirky history with pigeons (not street pigeons, mind you, which they refer to as "rats").

"I’ve had pigeons since I was a kid, but we didn’t have a coop on the roof back then; my mother wouldn’t let us up on the roof. So my brother came home one day with two milk crates, and he manufactured this thing and he put it on the window, and that was our pigeon coop." - Orlando more ›

A married couple in the Upper West Side's Ansonia Building are suing their neighbor over her smoking. They claim her smoking is adversely affecting the hallway environment and the health of their four-year-old boy. more ›