Remember those pesky Artist-in-Resident laws down in Soho? You know, the ones that say only "artists," as defined by the Department of Cultural Affairs, can live in the 200 or so buildings that were converted from commercial to residential use? The laws have been hampering real estate deals for some time, and now a group of concerned neighbors wants to abolish the AiR laws forever. more ›

That long lost time when artists lived in Soho is a relic that still lingers in the depths of New York's memory, right next to dirty Times Square and industrial Dumbo, burrowing closer and closer to "things to tell the grandkids" status with each new rent increase. Buried with it, it seems, was the law that required those SoHo lofts to be rented only to certified artists. Until now! Turns out, that law still technically applies, and for reasons unbeknownst to the Times, the city has begun to care. Which could really suck for people like Kelly Ripa. more ›

The Gray Lady slums it out to far East Williamsburg to report on the hipster bohemian squalor of the sprawling McKibbin Street “dorms;” two hulking buildings converted from garment factories to lofts in the late nineties by a trio of savvy Stuyvesant alums. It’s since become a filthy, bed-bug ravaged rite of passage for the young DIY arts set, who pile on top of each other in warren-like lofts more crowded than one of Dan Deacon’s dance-a-thons. more ›