Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: smoke inhalation victims at Centre and White Sts. in Manhattan, a shooting on Neptune Ave. in Brooklyn, and a truck vs. overpass at 155th St. and South Rd. in Queens. Design firm EDAW was chosen to plan the Steeplechase Plaza for a now-vacant lot near the Coney Island boardwalk. The development beneath the Parachute Jump may include a water park and a platform for viewing Cyclones minor league baseball......

The 2nd Ave. subway isn't scheduled to receive any passengers until 2014, but some residents are relishing the prospect of a new line, while others suspect it could deliver trouble. People living on East End Ave. or York Ave. are cursed with a hike to the nearest subway station, but also somewhat insulated from the increased crowding and pricing pressures that easy access via a subway accompanies. The construction of the 2nd Ave. subway could......

The NY Times is hinting that Brooklyn may be so over, a theory that seems to be based around Heath Ledger leaving the borough.What if Brooklyn’s recent cachet as the locus for what’s next is little more than a thin and fragile crust of chic, hiding the insecurity of people who constantly measure the social currency of their ZIP code by Manhattan standards? The number of trendy boutiques, bistros and music clubs in Brooklyn may......

If the Manhattan real estate market is still a bubble, then it's a bubble with unbelievable staying power. The Sun reports that second quarter real estate data reveals that the average Manhattan apartment sells for $1.3 million (a record-high according to three of four real estate firms). The median sales price of a Manhattan apartment is another record: $895,000. And the commercial side is also very strong, with foreign buyers opting to buy buildings and......

Everyone has abandoned an air conditioner or left condiments in the fridge when rushing to move out of an apartment. The NY Times goes behind closed doors to find out what is most commonly left behind when people move out. Surprisingly, most landlords don't take from the security deposit for cleanup of moldy bathtubs, grimy counter tops and left behind items. Instead they are cleaned by a superintendent, who is free to take any leftover......

For the first 60 out of approximately 400 residents that are losing their homes to 2nd Ave. Subway construction, it is finally beginning to sink in that the MTA is serious about demolishing their buildings. As the accomanying graphic shows, the MTA is in the process of purchasing six buildings near 2nd Ave. that will be destroyed to make way for a station at 72nd St. The Daily News talked to two of the soon-to-be......

Real estate pundits are calling the downturn in the New York residential real estate market, as the NY Sun reports, a "soft landing" versus a "bubble burst." Apparently the fourth quarter was pretty good for some real estate brokers! What happened? Real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller, who prepared a report for Prudential Douglas Elliman (one of three reports released yesterday), said there were less properties on the market and sellers were setting realistic asking prices.......

The National Fair Housing Alliance says that real estate brokerage Corcoran discriminates against black people and also tries to steer white people from black neighborhoods. The NFHA, which was following up discrimination claims in a 2000 Department of Housing and Urban Development report, put both black and white people, posing as potential buyers, in a Brooklyn Corcoran office. Though the black "buyers" were more qualified, the whites received extra information about financial incentives. Further,......

Corcoran is reporting that the average price for a Park Slope brownstone has hit 3.35 MILLION dollars! New York Magazine has the rundown: Yes, Brooklyn Heights’ dreamy blocks continue to be a haven for townhouse types. But Park Slope is still the center of a certain kind of Brooklyn life, and last week, when the Corcoran Group released its end-of-the-year report—painting a patchy picture of a housing market that’s up, down, and sideways, all......

Nikki Lewis...