In case you were wondering what became of Leona Helmsley’s “rich bitch” Trouble, rest assured she’s not eating trodden banana peels or slurping water from pot holes. “Trouble is no trouble. She is alive and well and thriving,” Howard Rubenstein, spokesman for the Helmsley estate told the Post. When her real-estate mogul owner passed away in 2007 the Maltese poodle inherited $2 million—reduced from $12 million by a Manhattan judge—and now resides at the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel. The manager there noted there should be plenty of cash leftover, since the dog isn’t expected to live more than five years. Watch out Trouble, we think he's angling to be your heir!
Leona Helmsley's Dog: "Alive and Well and Thriving"
Williamsburg: Not Just for Wealthy Hipsters
Did anyone really think that it was only trust fund kids living in Williamsburg? NYMag is on a myth-busting mission in this piece that looks beyond the hipster population in the neighborhood. And it turns out there's even more than just hipsters and those who want to slash them with machetes, there's also "a community of people mostly struggling to get by." The piece contains some informative stats for those who look at Williamsburg as solely a trustafarian paradise—did you know in the last 12 months the median income for the area was $39,663 (the city median is $48,631). Of course, talkin' about food stamps, Trinitarios, and Drano Bombs doesn't exactly move luxury condos (or grab headlines, as the site points out).
Williamsburg in Crisis: Parents Sending Less Money!
Ugh, with the financial crisis totally shredding mommy and daddy's investment portfolio, many young adults in Hipsterland are being forced to find jobs. Times reporter Christine Haughney talked to some landlords and people in the real estate industry, who confirm the tragic trend: parents are cutting back on their contributions to rent and apartment down payments, in some cases eliminating their support entirely. Landlord Ernie DiGiacomo says that instead of getting checks from his tenants' parents, some of them are moving back in with their parents!

