Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) reached agreement on a new three-year contract, averting a potentially costly and damaging strike that would have impacted more than a million apartment dwellers in Manhattan, …

"The whole island is like a garden, and affords very fine scenery." - Henry David Thoreau, Staten Island, 1843 Since Thoreau wrote about its charms nearly 200 years ago, Staten Island has occasionally been referred to as the "s…

A bare wall to a homeowner or interior designer is like a blank canvas to an artist - the options to create are endless. Gone are the days when you were restricted to either white paint or gaudy wallpaper. Today, you can colorize with peac…

Reporter's Diary Day One: The Assignment 2:30 PM: Read e-mail assignment letter from editor at The Cooperator. Topic is compulsive hoarding: who does it, how it mushrooms into problems for shareholders and their neighbors, what can…

With so many woods to choose from, it can be a daunting task to make a decision. Luckily, we've whittled down the list for you. Certain species have proven to be popular throughout history - and for very good reasons. Here's a sampling o…

These days there's a virtually an endless array of building materials available, so why is good old wood still a perennial favorite? Maybe because it lends an organic warmth to any space. Maybe because it harkens back to another time and p…

It was bound to happen: Your building, in its heyday an architectural gem, has started to show its age. The facade, with ornate details that were once a striking accent to the neighborhood, is beginning to deteriorate. If it's been years s…

Now that the city has shed its dark winter shades and spring is finally here, it's time for the renovation work to begin. Whether yours is a 250-unit high-rise or a seven-unit walk up, buildings all over the five boroughs are getting ready…

To swim a straight fifty-foot lap, the majority of New York's eight million souls have no choice but to brave the Hudson River. This is not the case, however, for residents of Trump Place at 200 Riverside Boulevard, who merely need to head …

Of all the problems that can befall a residential building over the course of its long, eventful life, perhaps none is more insidious and damaging than water leakage and infiltration. Water leaks are hard to triangulate and hard to stop, a…