Email Author J.A. Lobbia

2000 Stories by J.A. Lobbia

• One Track Mind

  published December 26, 2000

  Enjoyed lunch on the Gowanus Canal lately? Schussed down ski slopes in Pelham Bay Park? Made a quick exit through the Holland Tunnel via the... More >>

• Property Rights and Wrongs

  published December 19, 2000

  The view from federal judge Harold Baer's 23rd-floor courtroom at 500 Pearl Street is stunning, not only for its river-to-river panorama, but for... More >>

• A Gift From the Guv?

  published December 12, 2000

  George Pataki wants tenants to think he has done them a favor. Last week, his housing agency issued a three-page More >>

• Constant Vigilance

  published December 5, 2000

  With the bitter November air turning his breath into swirling streams of vapor, Bill stamped down Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, his eyes wet with... More >>

• A Landlord’s Road to Bountiful

  published November 21, 2000

  New Yorkers have many blessings to count this Thanksgiving. The subway series ended without bloodshed. There's money in the budget for 50 new... More >>

• Double Duty

  published November 7, 2000

  When backers of a plan to bring the Olympics to New York City in 2012 announced their ambitions in March, there was no lack of props. City Hall... More >>

• Your Home Is Your Landlord’s Castle

  published October 31, 2000

  For nearly 10 years, Carl Goodman endured cascading leaks, cold winters, and generally shabby conditions in his tiny one-bedroom West Village... More >>

• Money Changes Everything

  published October 17, 2000

  When it comes to political fat cats rolling in dough, both hard and soft, few are as larded as the city's real estate lobby. Stuffed to the... More >>

• Rudy Pal Boots Kids

  published October 10, 2000

  You'd think that a guy who claims to have spent his childhood doped up and locked in a dog kennel would have some sympathy for kids. That doesn't... More >>

• Efficient or Deficient?

  published October 3, 2000

  Frank Macaluso chooses his steps carefully. Diabetic, partially blind, and slowed down by a painful right leg, the 67-year-old East Harlem tenant... More >>

• In 'Voluntary' Servitude

  published September 12, 2000

  After slacking off for the latter part of summer, senatorial candidate Rick Lazio went to work in earnest on Labor Day, hitting the campaign trail... More >>

• Stepping Off

  published September 5, 2000

  Since the buildings at 19-25 St. Marks Place were constructed more than 150 years ago, they've housed a German singing society, Andy Warhol's... More >>

• Silk Stocking Strategy

  published August 29, 2000

  Since 1897, Manhattan's Upper East Side has been known as the Silk Stocking District. For 32 years, no one has been more of an icon in that... More >>

• ‘Self-Help’ That Hurts

  published August 8, 2000

  Tiny, with bright eyes peering out from beneath a mop of curly black hair, wearing a flower-print dress and stirring batter for a homemade... More >>

• Civics Lesson

  published August 1, 2000

  Four years ago, when she was 14, FenZhen Nie lived with her family in a three-and-a-half-story home they had built in Canton province, China. The... More >>

• Rubble Rouser

  published July 25, 2000

  Since his downtown antiques warehouse came tumbling down two weeks ago, Evan Blum has struck various poses: as an entrepreneur who has rescued... More >>

• Crackdown Could Profit Landlord

  published July 18, 2000

  More than two dozen tenants were made homeless last week, streaming out of their East 23rd Street apartments while Red Cross rescue workers stood... More >>

• Making It Legal

  published July 4, 2000

  Staffers at the city's housing agency have abandoned the usual channels to review an application that would allow a Harlem homeowner to convert a... More >>

• Lenders Lean on Landlords

  published June 27, 2000

  Bronx tenant Gregory Veney had tried all the usual tactics to get repairs in his apartment and his building. He called the super, the landlord,... More >>

• Rumble at the Rent Board

  published June 20, 2000

  With the precision of a well-rehearsed minuet and the ambience of a mosh pit, landlords and tenants squared off once again this year to perform... More >>

• Bounty on the Bowery

  published June 13, 2000

  Since it was established 41 years ago, the Cooper Square Urban Renewal Area on the Lower East Side has spawned bitter battles, sweet deals,... More >>

• Home Breaker: Doing Community Disservice

  published June 6, 2000

  Unlike his holiday parade in Babylon, where a stumble left him with a split lip, Congressman Rick Lazio had no problem striding across East 116th... More >>

• 'New' Mayor, Old Games

  published May 30, 2000

  Rudy Giuliani credits his cancer for making him more humane. But perhaps the mayor's claimed reincarnation began even before his May diagnosis. In... More >>

• The Devil, Details, and DHCR

  published May 23, 2000

  Think the rent war in Albany is over? Most people do, because it's been three years since headlines screamed about the state Republicans' campaign... More >>

• Tourists Over Tenants

  published May 16, 2000

  Last week's meeting of the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) was inauspicious from the get-go. Board member Edward Weinstein opened by warning the crowd... More >>