I'm 11:24. Sorry, I wasn't able to sign in earlier. I had to do this myself. (not a pleasant experience) Ysabelle is completely right in saying the courts and laws are pro tenant. But take that with a grain of salt. Judges are not fools. And they can readily spot a tenant trying to take advantage of a living situation. That said, you ABSOLUTELY must have all your 'ducks in a row'.
I consulted with an attorney first, but just couldn't swallow the fee. Here is a resource that can be fairly helpful.

http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/housing/pdfs/Landlordbooklet.pdf

I used it along with the help of the pro se attorney.

From start to finish, I ended up with the tenants getting out, saved on the atty fee, and only had the apartment vacant for 1 month, and ended up with the tenants from HEAVEN!. It can work for you

Good Luck.

Posted by: PutnamStoner at January 23, 2008 4:32 PM in response to Non-payment of rent

I'd love to take the Parquet floor and doors. Email me at soloflex91@aol.com I can pick it up today.

Thanks.

Posted by: PutnamStoner at January 24, 2008 10:28 AM in response to Salvage materials to give away

I recently got a quote from Carlos. I thought it was a little high, but I really liked his energy. I'm also got a quote from 1800 flooring. They sounded extra professional and their price came in below ANYONE.

Has anyone had any experience with either?

Posted by: PutnamStoner at January 24, 2008 10:38 AM in response to Verrazano Flooring?

could you expand on the "minor problem areas"?

Posted by: PutnamStoner at January 24, 2008 10:39 AM in response to 1800 Wood Floors

I'm wondering how difficult would it have been to proof read that? I mean.... It's the first friggin' sentence! Or maybe they were more focused on clip art and getting the phone number right.

Good Grief!

Posted by: PutnamStoner at January 24, 2008 10:43 AM in response to 110 Livingston Rental Ads Go Underground

Mrs. Limestone,

I'm green with Envy. The Corbels... Where'd you get them? How much did they cost?

Also, if you don't mind, what was the cost of your cabinets?

sorry to be so intrusive. I'm right at the point where I've got to make purchases and I don't want to over pay, or have false expectations.

Posted by: PutnamStoner at January 24, 2008 10:59 AM in response to Kitchen Progress Heats Up

Extremely helpful. Thanks for your thoughts. Any others?

Posted by: PutnamStoner at January 24, 2008 4:41 PM in response to Dish Washer vs. More Cabinet Space

9:33, Do you have pictures that you wouldn't mind sharing?

Posted by: PutnamStoner at January 25, 2008 9:28 AM in response to Yellow Pine

I've been going on and on about the HSBC Community Works program for about 2 years now. I got my conforming 30yr fixed rate mortgage in '05 for 4.875% when regular rates were @ 5.75. Anywhere in Bed-Stuy or the CH/BS border will qualify. It's a program that is targeted to lesser developed neighborhoods with the intent of attracting quality home/business owners.

http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/personal/home-loans/mortgage/mortgage-rates/nat-rates

Check the rates today vs. conforming rates.

They also have a good package renovations loan. I didn't find out about that until after I closed.... but it worked out better for me since I saved enough to do it with cash. ( but it sure did hurt)

Posted by: PutnamStoner at February 19, 2008 11:06 AM in response to Newbie Homebuyers Face New Challenges

And NO, I'm not a broker. Just would love to see some more conscious family oriented families come on over to the Stuy!

Posted by: PutnamStoner at February 19, 2008 11:08 AM in response to Newbie Homebuyers Face New Challenges

Has anyone had problems with getting unwarranted sanitation tickets lately, and if so, have you had success fighting them? I've gotten two in the past 3 months for "improper recycling" but I swear I've had all my bottles/cans and paper in the proper bags & bundles! Some of my neighbors have also complained that they've gotten unfair tickets lately, too. I have to go to trash court next week to fight one, which is really annoying, but for $100 I can't let it go.

Posted by: guest at June 26, 2008 4:38 PM in response to Sanitation Ticket -- Wrong Name

Sanitation inspectors have these occasional zero-tolerance ticket blitzes. They nailed my neighbor for putting out his garbage ten minutes early and cited another for putting his crushed boxes inside a box rather than a plastic bag. Funny thing there is that the latter is a retired sanitation worker.

Posted by: Steve at June 26, 2008 5:16 PM in response to Sanitation Ticket -- Wrong Name

Just read Steve's comments on the recent forum thread about how you can dispose of construction debris through DOS, and you will find the way to avoid these nuisance tickets.

Posted by: guest at June 26, 2008 6:51 PM in response to Sanitation Ticket -- Wrong Name

Okay...

To the person with the "improper recycling: tickets:

Do you think people walking by are possibly dropping beverage containers, paper items, or garbage into open bins. Sad to say, but may be worth wasting polyethylene and put all your recycling and garbage in bags. We use blue, clear bags for the plastic, metal and glass, colorless for paper and heavy contractor bags for garbage.

We had a LONGGGGG drawn out experience when we got a ticket for the neighbouring building. It is only a little bigger than our house but has been cut up into tons of tiny apartments. There are a lot of people living there. The buidling had a bunch of cans that disappeared (stolen, whatever) and the landlord hadn't bothered to replace them for quite some time. The garbage, esp. recycling, was simply overflowing. Plus, with all those units, there are frequent move outs and move ins with all the associated trash this seems to create.

WE got a $100 ticket! The sanitation worker signed the slip so you couldn't read the name (of course) and walked up OUR stoop...hello, different coloured building from the one that had the mess, and taped the slip to our door. Like his brain or visual cortex simply wasn't working...hhh...an astute 6-year-old could see that our rowhouse is a different colour and possibly infer it as a separate address...hhhh.

Came home from a vacation (when we, of course, had no trash at all outside). Pissed at both getting an unwarranted fine AND having something out in the open like a flag saying "these people aren't home--they haven't taken down this slip for days!".

Oh, and the slip had "Overflowing receptacles"...uh...we had NO receptacles at all in front of the house. Nothing.

I took lots of digital photos of the mess next door (it was atrocious at that point) and our house's lack of any receptacles, had everything notarized per the mail-in instructions and paid for a FedEx shipment so I'd have a tracking number.

It took, I think, almost TWO years to finally get a slip back stating it had been dismissed at the hearing. Hhhh...frankly, I had forgotten about it and I had one of those "What NOW?" moments when got the mailing from DEP and it looked like it would be some form of new annoyingness. I was pleasantly surprised when i opened the envelope. It cost about $25 and a waste of time to fight the fine but there was NO way I was going to pay it.

Now, there is another building near us that puts its trash out DAYS before garbage is collected. This has been going on for a year or more since a new guy started doing their building maintenance...it's not a large place, just an absentee landlord brownstone so it relies on City garbage collection like us. It's annoying because they seem to be offloading huge contractor bags to the curbside to alleviate the lack of garbage can space. They must have greased some palm because they keep doing it. It is consistent, every day basically...the bags sit for days but as soon as they're removed on garbage days, by evening, new bags are out at the curbside.

The breakdown of civilization! Heavens!!!

;-)

No but seriously, bags left on the sidewalk for days are more prone to rats and dogs ripping into them...plus, there used to be regularly (and it still happens occasionally) that an emotionally disabled person rips into the bags, not apparently walking away with anything, just making a huge mess.

Posted by: guest at June 26, 2008 7:03 PM in response to Sanitation Ticket -- Wrong Name

awesome story! i would almost call it a rant but it is so much more

Posted by: Smokychimp at June 26, 2008 9:11 PM in response to Sanitation Ticket -- Wrong Name

I am surprised nobody has challenged such tickets in a larger court.

You can't control who puts what into your the trash in front of your home. It is unreasonable to expect you to sit and watch and guard it - especially since sanitation has no rhyme or reason as to what time of day or morning they come.

I've had my house ticketed for improper trash when I didn't even put any trash out - it was the neighbor's trash, but the garbage men threw the cans in front of my house.

I've had my house ticketed as a multi-family dwelling when it is just one family.

I've had my trash ticketed when I had all the paper in recycling bags - but it was supposed to be clear bags (not clear blue bags) or something.

Total bureacracy.

Posted by: guest at June 26, 2008 11:37 PM in response to Sanitation Ticket -- Wrong Name

To the original poster.....what neighborhood do you live in? Where is this going on?

Posted by: guest at June 27, 2008 8:33 AM in response to Sanitation Ticket -- Wrong Name

Plastic is the tricky one. When I walk down my block and see all the neighbor's trash in clear bags, I often see items that NYC doesn't recycle. It's unfortunate because I know these neighbors are tyring to do the right thing, i.e. recycle, but the city's rules are very confusing. They only take #1, #2, #5 "bottle shaped" items. That means no yogurt containers, no deli containers, no clamshell holders of strawberries or grape tomoatoes. Only beverage bottles, dish soap, lotion, shampoo bottles, etc... with those numbers. Perhaps some of these items ended up in 4:38's bags and he/she got ticketed for them.

Posted by: guest at June 27, 2008 1:54 PM in response to Sanitation Ticket -- Wrong Name

Absent controls, a landlord can ask for anything he wants. However, a lease is a contract and NYS law prohibits automatic contract extensions without prior notice of intent to renew. Even if the terms of the lease hadn't changed, your boyfriend defaulted to a month-to-month tenant with the terms of the previous lease.

Posted by: Steve at July 1, 2008 11:15 PM in response to Raising the Rent - backdating..?

At the very least he should wait 2 months to pay up the supposed back rent.

Posted by: guest at July 1, 2008 11:54 PM in response to Raising the Rent - backdating..?