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The article focuses on the author's perspective that despite President Biden's recent commutations and pardons, there is still room for him to take substantial action in addressing mass incarceration without relying on politics or Congress, drawing on the examples of Barack Obama.

Reports on Manhattan Housing Court judge Gerald Lebovits' ruling in London Towers Inc. v. Davis affirming the power of a cooperative board to terminate the lease of a tenant shareholder who violates the proprietary lease by engaging in objectionable behavior. Opinion that had been awaited by co-op lawyers since May 2003; Comment of lawyer Stuart M. Saft; Details of the preceding case involving shareholder David Pullman.

Focuses on transferring title in a home to the children in the U.S. Protection of the home from end-of-life medical expenses or nursing home costs; Avoidance of transfer tax.

Reports that co-op corporations and condominium associations in New York City can gain added income from renting space on their roof for cellular antennas. Rental rates; Tips from real estate lawyer Adam Leitman Bailey on dealing with cellular phone companies regarding antenna installations.

Gives advice to a tenant who has to end the tenancy before the lease ends. Claim that a lease can be terminated only with the consent of all parties; Difference between rent-stabilized tenancies from free-market tenancies; Suggestion that most leases make tenants responsible for paying rent for the full term even if the tenant vacates the apartment.

Provides advice to homeowners in the United States with regards to the taxation of capital gains. Possibility of avoiding paying taxes on the profit from the sale of a principal residence if the homeowners had lived in the house for two years before the sale and bought a replacement home of equal or greater value.

Discusses the importance of having a fire sprinkler system in the home in the United States. Discounts on fire insurance policy premiums when a home has a fire sprinkler system; Issue of water supply; Cost of installation.

Focuses on the use of legal advice to examine the listing agreement, a contract between the seller and the broker. Important elements in the listing agreement; Tendency of a majority of sellers to sign a listing agreement without hiring a lawyer.

Reports on insurance experts' advice to New York City homeowners to examine their policies to determine their deductibles. Addition of hurricane and windstorm deductible clauses to homeowner policies, according to Jeanne M. Salvatore, vice president of consumer affairs at the Insurance Information Institute; Features of hurricane deductibles; Variation in percentage deductibles.

Provides information about construction loans. Difference from regular mortgage loans; Need for the borrower to ensure that the stages of payments to the builder set in the contract will coincide with the payments the borrower is receiving from the bank; Advantages of construction financing that automatically converts into a permanent mortgage.

Provides information about bedbugs. Reproduction; Control strategies; Hiding places.

Focuses on trends in home ownership through mortgage loans in the U.S. Interest rates; Mortgage rates; Popularity of adjustable mortgage; Difference between a fixed-rate loan and an adjustable mortgage; Trends in borrowing; Payment terms; Savings.

Explains the most common concerns involved in construction law. Discussion of the risk related to the potential for liens against the building; Ways in dealing with the issue of contractors use of subcontractors; Suggestions in determining whether the subcontractor meets the same standards as the general contractor.

Warns homeowners against overinsurance. Mistake in linking insurance coverage to the market value of the property; Alternative to mortgage lender's demand for insurance equal to the amount of the mortgage loan; Savings from buying guaranteed replacement cost coverage.

Focuses on the ruling of a New York City appeals court that co-operatives have the right to sue a sponsor who has not sold enough apartments to create a viable co-operative. Role in broadening the scope of objectionable conduct a co-operative can use to terminate a troublesome shareholder's propriety lease; Need for the co-operative to prove its allegation that the sponsor had a duty under that co-operative's offering plan to sell enough shares to create a viable co-operative.

Reports on several methods designed to mislead and terminate mosquitoes. Plan of the Blue Rhino Global Sourcing vice president Rick Belmont to make use of the insect’s natural strategy of tracking down prey based on mammalian carbon dioxide tails; Process overview on carbon dioxide production; Application of sticky paper or vacuum devices to trap the insects; Possibility of using odors favored by mosquitoes to attract them towards waiting traps.

The author looks at how many rental tenants and owners of co-ops and condominiums are banned from displaying the American flag on national holidays. The article includes comments regarding the issue from Arthur I. Weinstein, vice president of the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums. Weinstein states that many boards of directors seek to avoid being involved in arbitrarily deciding what displays are appropriate and which are not.

Considers the use of private video monitoring systems for home security purposes. Overview of the market for video-based home security systems in the U.S.; Evaluation of video systems available in the market; Factors to consider when buying private video monitoring systems.

Discusses the implications of the decision of manufacturers of wood treated with chromated copper arsenate to voluntarily discontinue marketing the product for use in children's play sets, lawn furniture and decks. Popularity of pressure-treated woods as the material for use when building decks; Selection of chemically treated, natural and synthetic materials for deck building; Use of cedar and redwood for exterior of homes.

Advises owners of two- or three-family homes in New York City on renting out part of the house. Things that landlords can impose on their tenants; Registration of buildings with tenants; Taxation issues.

Offers insurance tips for homeowners in the United States. Risk of closing a homeowner's insurance policy; Premium payments; Purchase of a policy with extended replacement cost coverage.

Focuses on the advantages of disposing houses through reverse mortgage in New York City. Increase on the total amount of profit; Appreciation on the market value of the house; Number of mortgage lenders in the city.

Comments on issues related to the practice of home exchange by residence in New York City. Availability of home-exchange services that allow those with homes or apartments to swap to list their accommodations; Increase in the number of people taking interest in the so-called home exchanges; Measures to take to ensure a pleasant vacation exchange experience.

Delves into home ownership of same-sex couples in the U.S. Issue of addressing the manner in which title to real estate is held; Definitions of tenancy in common and tenancy by the entirety; Discussion of joint tenancy with right of survivorship.

Reports that metropolitan area homeowners who are listing their property for sale are likely to be asked to complete a property condition disclosure statement to provide potential buyers with the information about the condition of the property. Laws in New York and Connecticut on disclosure; Effects on the failure to complete the property condition disclosure law in New York; Protection on buyers.

Features issues about real estate in divorce in the U.S. Result of the failure to address the issues about real estate owned by one or both partners; Agreement of divorcing spouses to allow one party to remain in the home for a specific time; Parties to remain as co-owners.

Discusses the implications of a ruling issued by a Manhattan Supreme Court justice which holds that individual condominium unit owners can be held personally liable for all or part of the damages awarded to people injured as a result of defects in common areas of a building, for condominium unit owners in New York. Need for both condominium associations and individual unit owners to purchase insurance to cover the newly expanded exposure to liability; Lawsuit filed on behalf of Michael Taratuta, who received serious head injuries when a piece of chain-link fence fell off the roof of a building at 69 West 106th Street.

Reports on the lead-based paint law in New York City. Role of the law in protecting children from hazards to lead-based paint in residential buildings; Exemption of owner-occupied cooperative and condominium apartments from the law; Details of the law.

Provides information on the area of the houses in New York City. Description on the architectural design of the building; Affordability on the costs of the houses; Number of families renting in an apartment.

Focuses on the issuance of summonses to property owners failing to shovel sidewalks after snow storm by New York City Department of Sanitation. Number of summonses issued by the agency; Availability of different snow and ice removal tools; Categories of snow removal tools.

The article discusses hard water. Effects of hard water on cleaning tasks; Determination of the health hazard of hard water; Result of the interaction between soap and water.

Focuses on mortgage interests rates. Use of retrofitting strategy to attract customers; Interest payments by the borrower; Repayment of principal balance.

Reports on carbon monoxide (CO) alarms that have become more reliable and inexpensive. Instances of carbon monoxide poisoning; CO alarms manufactured by Senco Sensors, Aprilaire; Three different technologies used in CO detectors; Comments of Consumers Union spokeswoman Lauren Hackett.

Examines insurance disputes between individual unit owners or shareholders and condo or cooperative associations in New York City. Basic types of insurance coverage in cooperatives and condominiums; Items covered by insurance; Insurers' examination of proprietary lease before providing coverage.

Presents several legal cases related to real property in New York City. Controversy over the eviction of tenant David Pullman by the cooperative of apartment house; Decision of the New York State Court of Appeal to nullify a New York City law governing how property owners must address lead-paint hazards in residential buildings; Confusion over legislation requiring nonresidents to pay estimated taxes on profits realized on the sale or transfer of real estate.

Provides tips in improving the efficiency of fireplaces. Use of glass doors to retrofit the fireplace; Emphasis on preventing the escape of warm air from the chimney; Installation of fan to increase air circulation.

Delves into the mortgage law enacted in New Jersey to protect consumers from being victimized by unscrupulous mortgage lenders. Views of Linda Foster, chairwoman of AARP's Predatory Lending Committee in New Jersey, regarding the law; Factors for consideration of a mortgage as a high-cost home loan; Definition of covered home loans, as mentioned in the law.

Focuses on the availability of Internet-based communication service at apartment buildings in New York City. Benefits of the service for residents; Increase in the number of condominiums using the Internet; Advantages of Web sites for the residents.

Focuses on the document called the offering plan in house buying. Importance of an offering plan to someone buying a building under construction; Contents of the offering plan; Importance of reading the engineer's report and the bylaws in a condominium or co-op plan.

Reports on a radiant snow-melting system from Radiant Panel Association. Product features; Specifications; Price.

Discusses the factors to consider when purchasing a gas- or kerosene-fueled portable space heater. Selective ban on kerosene heaters; Unsafe levels of carbon monoxide produced by a portable space heater; Certification required for the heater; Different types of heaters.

Reports on the New York City Council's decision to postpone the implementation of a law that would add a surcharge to the property tax bills of owners who rent homes for income and do not live in them. Controversy concerning the "absentee-landlord surcharge"; Suggestion that the tax surcharge is unlikely to be repealed.

Describes various snow throwers or blowers. Basic types of snow throwers or blowers; Features of electric power shovels; Capabilities of single-stage gas snow throwers from Toro Co.; Back-saving feature of two-stage snow throwers; Comparison between tractor-mounted snow throwers and riding snow throwers; Problem with riding tractors; Features of Simplicity snow throwers.

Provides insights on converting a co-op building into a condominium. Complexities of such a conversion; Tax and financial implications; Need for individual shareholders to pay off their existing share loans and obtain a mortgage on the condominium unit.

Reports the ruling of the appeals court on overcharging of rent lease in New York City. Violation of the provision of the Rent Stabilization Code; Interference of the ruling on the private financial relationships of tenants and roommates; Amendment of the Rent Stabilization Code.

Discusses the mechanic liens filed by home improvement contractors in cases of disputes. Nature of the mechanics lien; Authority accepting the mechanic liens in New York; Disadvantages of the mechanics liens.

The article reviews a concert by hip-hop artists Ishmael Butler and Tendai Maraire at the Shabazz Palaces during the 2012 Lacoste Live Concert Series held in Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York in 2012.

The article features several women disc jockeys who are making progress in the electronic dance music (EDM) including DJ dou Nervo, Cassy Britton, and Nicole Moudaber.

The article presents questions and answers related to liability for injured workers laws that enforce strict liability on real estate owners, selling a condominium in compliance with the bylaws and electrical charges in the monthly maintenance bill of the apartment.