39 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. Image credit: CityLand

Rent-stabilized tenant substantially profited from 93 individual Airbnb sublettings. In 2010, Linda Lipetz was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to work for over a year. From March 2011 to August 2012, in order to subsidize her rent, Lipetz sublet her rent-regulated apartment located at 39 Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village. Lipetz hosted 93 different people for 338 total days through Airbnb, charging a nightly rate of $95 for one person and $120 for two, and generating $33,592 in revenue. (read more…)

Image credit: LPC

Main reading room and catalog room of New York Public Library’s main branch lauded for both architecture and social significance. On July 18, 2017, Landmarks held a public hearing on the potential designation of the Main Reading Room and Catalog Room of the main branch of the New York Public Library as an interior landmark.  The Carrere & Hasting designed library, whose exterior is designated an individual City landmark, stands at 476 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The building’s main lobby, north and south staircase, and third floor central hall were also designated an interior landmark in 1974. Landmarks voted to add the reading and catalog rooms to its calendar at its meeting on June 6, 2017. (read more…)