Envy Apartment

Morningside Park, a Kushner Companies- owned housing complex , in Middle River, Maryland (Philip Montgomery for The New York Times) Maryland’s two U.S. senators and four of its U.S. House representatives , all Democrats, sent a letter today to the large real- estate company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump ’s son-in-law and senior adviser, demanding information about the company’s management of 17 apartment complexes it owns in the state. The letter to Kushner Companies came in response to a May 23 article co-published by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine investigating management practices at the rental complexes, most of which are in the suburbs of Baltimore, as well as an article this week in The Baltimore Sun that revealed additional details . The original story described the highly aggressive legal tactics that Kushner Companies has used to pursue tenants who owed back rent or had left their leases early — even tenants who left the complexes...

PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg Housing Authority is expecting another positive review as it submits annual certification of the housing choice voucher program to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Section Eight Management Assessment Program , or SEMAP, requires housing authorities to measure their performance over the year in 14 key areas, including selecting the recipients properly, determining the right rent and inspecting the properties. This year, the housing authority anticipates another “High Performer” designation after completing the requirements for each section. Of the indicators, payment standards for the voucher program shows studio apartments going for $1,435 a month, one- bedroom apartments going for $1,723 a month, and two- bedroom apartments going for $2,173 a month. The Pittsburg Housing Authority does not administer a Family Self- Sufficiency program , which provides incentives to families living in multifamily assisted housing to increase thei...

CLOSE Kristine De Jesus , a staff psychologist and coordinator of the Alcohol and Other Drug Program at MSU, speaks about the services the school offers to students dealing with alcohol and drug abuse. Mollie Shauger/NorthJersey.com Montclair State University " /> The Montclair State University Red Hawk statue on the school's campus. (Photo: Chris Pedota/NorthJersey.com file) For students recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, the typical college campus can seem like a minefield of temptation, with frat parties, tailgating and late night rounds of beer pong. To help recovering students cope , Montclair State University has set aside a floor in one of its dormitories for those committed to sobriety. Officials hope it will give recovering students a refuge on campus, as well as a way for them to develop a small community of classmates who can provide each other support. The initiative at Montclair State  is part of a growing trend nationally , with about 50   coll...

The Oasis Terraces housing complex in Singapore and the original cast of “Rent” How to tell if one has made it in America? See if they own a home. For decades, homeownership has been one of the cornerstones of the American dream, and the U.S. housing market was the envy of the world. But that’s changed. The federal mortgage subsidy complex , which turned (white) America into a nation of homeowners in the postwar decades and helped build the world’s largest middle class , is no longer doing what it’s supposed to. Faced with stagnating wages and ballooning property prices , fewer Americans can afford to buy their own homes. The mortgage interest deduction and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are turning into regressive subsidies, channeling taxpayer money to rich homeowners and driving up housing costs while a growing group of middle-income renters must fend for themselves. Rent-stabilization laws have become weaker over time. And New York is dealing with a crumbling public housing infrast...

AMCAL’s new Southern Los Angeles County community has high- efficiency appliances and low-irrigation landscape Screen Shot 2014-07-23 at 4.29.29 PM AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - July 23, 2014 - PRLog -- AGOURA HILLS, CALIF. - AMCAL Multi-Housing, one of California’s leading builders of workforce and affordable housing, announces the planned LEED Gold certification for the new apartment community , Terracina in South Los Angeles County . Terracina is AMCAL’s fourth LEED Gold development since 2011, along with four Platinum and two Silver apartments qualifications . To achieve LEED Gold , AMCAL created a community with a range of unique green features : - 27% reduction in energy use - 70% of construction waste was diverted from landfills - Water- efficient flow fixtures to reduce indoor indoor water use - ENERGY STAR appliances installed to reduce energy loads - Storm water runoff managed by increasing vegetative landscaping , directing impermeable surfaces towards infiltration feat...

Last week, we sponsored the 11th annual Points Summer Book Club , a community discussion of Matthew Desmond's piercing Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City . We debated the causes of eviction, the effect on children, how to view landlords' role, and what this discussion means for a city like Dallas. The book club also included an event with the author, in a partnership with Southern Methodist University 's SMU Reads program . On Thursday, Desmond spoke to a crowd of more than 900 people, laying out his research and his experience with evictions' damaging effect on people's safety, family, jobs and mental health. "When you add all that up, we have to conclude that eviction -- which used to be rare in this country, which used to draw crowds — it's not just a condition of poverty, it's also a cause of it. And it's making it worse. It's leaving a deep and jagged scar on the next generation — which means that we can't fix poverty in A...

Collect this idea Rooftop lounge at The Dylan in West Hollywood As the second-largest city in the U.S. with the biggest population in California, Los Angeles has mountains, beaches and deserts all within a short driving distance . In addition to a multitude of outdoor activities, L.A. offers job opportunities galore ; its diverse economy is the third largest in the world, after Tokyo and New York. Some of L.A.’s biggest industries include culture , fashion, education, sports, entertainment, medicine and a booming startup tech field that is thriving on the Westside ( nicknamed Silicon Beach ). Los Angeles is often called the creative capital of the world , as one in six residents works in the creative industries of music, TV or film. Not surprisingly, the city has a thriving arts scene . There are more than 800 museums and art galleries in Los Angeles County —   more per person than any other city in the world. And for night owls, the nightclub and restaurant scene offers plenty of...