As tenants and landlords await to see what the rent hikes for rent-stabilized apartments will be, the NY Times looks at a new breed landlords: Private equity firms that buy buildings with rent-regulated apartments. The strategy seems to be for the firms to "recapture" the rent-regulated apartments by somehow increasing the vacancy rate from the more typical 5% to 20-30%. And tenants' advocates indicate equity firms do that by making tenants' lives hell to the......

Photo courtesy jenie212. Woodhaven Lanes, the classic Forest Hills bowling alley, will close in less than two weeks, NY1 has learned. But this latest loss of a beloved NYC institution wasn’t due to the obscene rents that are sucking all the character out of our city, but rather a multiplying swarm of radioactive scorpions that have nested in the lanes’ shoes and balls. Kidding, of course it’s the obscene rent. Owner Jim Santora tells......

Last night, the Rent Guidelines Board recommended to increase rents for rent-stabilized apartments by 3.5-7% for one-year leases and 5.5-9.5% for two-year leases. This figure was deemed too high by tenants and not high enough by landlords. This proposed increase is higher than last year's (3% for 1-year, 5.75% for 2-year leases), reflecting the rising costs landlords face. The Post noted the meeting last night followed "a well-worn script" with tenants asking for a rent......

On the heels of Florent's closure comes news that another one of the Meatpacking District’s pre-millennial hang-outs will walk the plank: The Hog Pit, a Southern dive bar and BBQ joint that opened in the late '90s, is the latest casualty of the neighborhood’s astronomical rent increases. Co-owner Felisa Dell sent an email to Eater today confirming the closure, which was brought on by a triple rent increase to 40K per month. The Hog Pit’s......

Florent, the beloved Meatpacking District hangout set to close this summer after almost twenty three years in business, will at least be going out in style, according to Frank Bruni, who spoke with owner Florent Morellet yesterday. The bistro's long goodbye will last five weeks, with each week dedicated to one of the Kubler-Ross stages of grief. Week One, starting Monday, May 26, will be Denial, with the remaining four weeks themed as Anger, Bargaining,......

For those who want more time with a furry friend than a visit to a dog park can provide, and less of a commitment than a full-time pet would bring, enter: FlexPetz. The company rents out real dogs and opened in New York last October...and yesterday's NY Times article has proof that people are actually using it.Ms. Stevenson explained why she was a customer: “I’m single and moved here from Scotland two years ago, and......

The Observer, keeping with their trend-watching, is reporting that 20-somethings are moving back in with their parents after college...that is, if the parents own prime New York real estate (aka: Brownstone Boomers). Didn't we all see this coming with The Royal Tenenbaums? One Carroll Gardens family, the Eisenbergs, have seen their three daughters return for varying amounts of time -- they are, of course, just one small section of a new generation of kids returning......

The owners of four Manhattan Burger King franchises are locked in a nasty legal battle with their royal overlord. Luan Sadik and his sister, Elizabeth Sadik, rebelled against the mandatory 99-cent menu and the recent dollar Value Menu because the prices couldn’t cover the obscene Manhattan rent and the fast food monarch roared. According to the Daily News, their rent at a Fifth Avenue restaurant is $9,000/month and $18,000.month at a 47th Street location. The......

After news spread that Upper West Side institution Cafe La Fortuna would close today, many people came by to bid farewell. The restaurant was packed last night and this morning and afternoon, as people enjoyed the sandwiches, Italian coffee drinks and opera music one last time, lamenting the closing of another standby. One woman arrived with a bouquet of flowers and a card for the staff. Owner Vincent Urwand explained that the West 71st......

It would a bit too simplistic to blame the impending closure of La Fortuna, the Upper West Side café that first opened in 1976, entirely on the skyrocketing rents of a turbo-gentrifying neighborhood. While the ever rising rental tide was certainly a factor – the building was taken over by a real-estate group after the previous landlord died – three years still remained on the lease. According to amNY, the closure has more to do......

They’ll deny it, but most college students who write plays harbor some secret fantastic hope that their new opus will be hailed as the arrival of a fresh new voice and open on Broadway to triumphant acclaim. It obviously never happens, except when it does: 28-year-old Lin-Manuel Miranda, originally from Washington Heights, conceived the musical In the Heights as a sophomore at Wesleyan. After graduating, the show, a hip hop and salsa-inflected homage to his......

A total no-brainer: The family of 17-month-old boy who was shot in the arm by an off-duty police officer has filed a notice of claim against the city. The Porcellini family will also pursue action against the NYPD and 24-year-old police officer Patrick Venetek. Last week, Venetek's service pistol fired through his Brooklyn apartment floor - right above the Porcellini's. The bullet passed through the Porcellini's ceiling and through the left forearm of little Jonathan,......

Patrick Venetek, the cop whose service weapon wound up shooting through the ceiling of his downstairs neighbors' apartment and striking an 18-month-old's arm, gave further details on how the incident occurred. Perhaps to the relief of Porcellini's six brothers and sisters, Venetek has been stripped of his badge and gun at this time and is on modified duty. Apparently, Ventek was going to start cleaning his 9 mm semi-automatic pistol in the dwindling natural light......

There are no "garage bands" in New York City. Unlike some of their suburban counterparts, musicians here have to pay the piper for their practice spaces, which can be hard to find in a city where every no-frills square-foot costs something. In fact, to really be a "garage band" in New York, one may end up paying $225K a year. The NY Times reports on where musicians city-wide are rehearsing these days, and how it's......

Photo of the still open Gray's Papaya by Wallyg Crain’s takes notes of a sharp spike in restaurant closings, with real estate brokers reporting many more closures than usual and a surge in restaurant auctions; the city's leading restaurant auctioneer tells Crain’s he’s been handling “20 liquidations a month for the past year, twice as many as the year before.” Especially telling is that many of the auctions involve seasoned operators rather than neophytes who......

RENT, the surprise smash hit musical that premiered in 1996 and went on to become the seventh-longest-running Broadway show in history, will close June 1st, producers have announced. Over the years the show cultivated a fanatical army of young repeat viewers (“Rentheads”) whose ardor has translated into profits of $280 million on Broadway, four Tony awards and a Pulitzer. Productions have been mounted on six continents, while an ill-conceived movie version of the show, filmed......

It probably sounded like a great idea over MySpace, Facebook, or whatever conniving teens are using to hatch their plans these days, but in the end the group behind the Porsche Craigslist scams were arrested by the police. Seven teens, all city residents, between 16-19 years old, were arrested. Two of the teens were charged in connection with both robberies. The two phony ads were placed by Agniesika Banach, 17, from Maspeth. Also charged in......

We've been monitoring how I am Legend, the big budget post-apocalyptic zombie movie set in New York, will be portraying the Big Apple ever since filming took place on the Brooklyn Bridge (it eventually gets blown up). Now, with reviews starting to pop up, we're hearing mixed things about the movie but raves about how a futuristic people-less New York City looks. The Observer's Sara Vilkomerson was freaked out, noting how the city is......

The NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal finally closed a loophole in rent regulations that would have allowed owners and landlords leaving government-subsidized housing programs to increase rents to market rates by citing "unique and peculiar" circumstances. According to the NY Times, some tenants' rents would have skyrocketed from $981/month to $4,500/month for a two-bedroom on the Upper West Side and from $1,000/month to $5,275/month for a three-bedroom, also on the Upper West......

The engines fueling Jane Jacobs' legacy are at full throttle, with the Municipal Art Society's new exhibition, titled "Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York." The show, opening this week at the Urban Center Galleries, delves into how today's (and tomorrow's) city fits into Jacobs' ideas and also examines how the public can draw on her values, given the major developments and rezoning now in progress. In case you've been sleeping for the past......

The Graduate (directed by Mike Nichols) If you're looking for a cultural touchstone for the '60s, or even one of the first great uses of pop music on a movie soundtrack, you don't need to search much further than The Graduate, Mike Nichols' dark comedy from 1967. A coming-of-age story that's spawned a Broadway adaptation and a poorly conceived movie continuation, The Graduate turns 40 this year (just like the Summer of Love) and in......

Last night was the annual meeting of the Rent Guidelines Board to decide on rent increases for the city's rent stabilized apartments. Amidst the usual chaos (the crowd yelled "Blah, blah blah!", "Free rent!", "Shame on you" and "Liar" while board members spoke), the board approved moderate hikes: 3% for 1-year leases, 5.75% for 2-year leases. These hike were less than last year's 4.25% and 7.25% increases, falling into a "middle range," given that tenants......

It's the countdown to the final meeting determining increases for rent stabilized apartments coming next week. City Comptroller William Thompson issued a letter asking the Rent Guidelines Board to either raise stabilized rents by the minimum or not to raise them at all, given last week's announced homeowner tax rebates and property tax cuts. Thompson's letter (here's a PDF) notes that the city has not kept up stock for low- and moderate-income housing and......

No one likes giving up a rent-stabilized apartment - except landlords. The family of an 84-year-old woman who has a two-bedroom apartment in Windsor Terrace that costs $587.96 a month claims that the landlord tricked her out of her apartment - by going to her nursing home and making her sign a surrender letter. The Post reports that Catherine Burke's stepson is leveling the charge against landlord Philip Meoli. Meoli has a signed letter from......

Last night, the Rent Guidelines Board voted 5-4 to propose rent hikes for rent-stabilized apartments on the order of 2-4.5% for one-year leases and 4-7.5% for two-years leases. Loft rent increases would be 2-4% for one-year leases, 4-7% for two-year leases. The NY Times says these proposed increases "could mean smaller increases than last year’s," and the Post says the increases could fall in the "middle range" of about 3.25% and 5.75%. Last year, the......

It's time for to break out the "Con Ed Sucks" signs! The utility has requested to raise electricity rates 17%; the Post reports, "typical residential cusomer paying $70 a month would pay an extra $12 per month starting April 1, 2008." (The increase for businesses is slightly smaller, 10.7%.) Well, we guess those livery cab drivers have to be paid somehow! And fixing the Long Island City network, which Con Ed should have been doing......

Not a good week for renters. Then again, when has it been a good one? Yesterday, data showed that the Manhattan vacancy rate is below 1%. Today, we find out that Mitchell-Lama tenants don't get "first dibs" to buy their apartments if their building owners decide opt out of the programs. The Daily News says that the ruling "voids the city's Tenant Empowerment Act," which had been passed in 2005 by the City Council. And......

Al Franken: God Spoke (directed by Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus): In terms of liberal armchair quarterbacking, it doesn't get more intriguing and cringe-inducing than unpacking the 2004 Presidential election. Watching the documentary Al Franken: God Spoke, you can't help but be fascinated and yet saddened by the look of idealism in comedian-turned-political pundit Al Franken's eyes. He's so sure he can make a difference, it's heart-breaking. Compounding that "we know how the Titanic sank"......

Forget about the downtown hipsters, the real tastemakers (for the tourists, at least) are in Midtown. The concierges of the city make hundreds of recommendations a day, so it's only natural they get their own nights at restaurants like The Palm. The NY Times looked at the world of concierges when they are being courted: A dinner at the Palm after a matinee of "Hairspray". Earlier in the week they saw “The Pirate Queen,” enjoyed......

I'm writing on behalf of a special friend I met who is wanting to become a photographer in NYC. Well I have worked with her much and have landed her a few jobs, but how in the heck do you find a decent place to live on a "starving artist budget?" What if any links, resources, and/or advice would you be willing to share to help us find some low budget housing that is safe......