Here's another classic New York City rental question concerning what happens to the rental apartment when one's significant other moves away. The heck with the girlfriend moving to California, will the boyfriend still qualify to rent with the reduced income? Here it is:

When my boyfriend and I signed our lease in December, we made 40x the rent combined ($1850). However, I'm being transferred out to California at the end of the year; boyfriend will stay in the apartment. Here's my question - he makes $50K, so 27x the rent. Do you think the landlord will let him renew the lease just under his name with that salary, or will I have to stay on the lease as well even though I'm moving out? (As in, would he have to reapply for the apartment all over again?) I guess I could call the management company, but it's a little early to notify them!

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Here's one from the Ask Curbed Inbox to which more than a few readers may be able to relate. It concerns an upstairs neighbor with, uh, lively little ones:

My upstairs neighbor in Queens recently "acquired" a wife and two young children (2 and 3) that have a habit of running laps around the house, riding toys, bouncing balls, and doing something that sounds like moving furniture. Now, children will be children, but this seems to occur between 11am and 4am every week night, effectively making it impossible for me to go to sleep (even with wax earplugs). I've spoken with the neighbors three times, but little to no change in activity seems to occur. The tenant always implies that he will be getting carpet, but never seems to get around to it. How do I solve this problem? Small claims court? 311? Community board?

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With the weather getting beyond nice, an email lands in the Ask Curbed Inbox that cuts to the heart of grilling season:

I live in a new apartment complex in Long Island City. It's owned by the same company who have 3 other building there, one of them being built right now. We currently pay an "amenity fee" of fifty dollars per tenant per month for the use of the the facilities, which includes a swimming pool, screening room, billiard room, and outdoor space, known as the sun deck...

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Living in a construction zone does lead to some questions here and there. This one comes from a spot in Williamsburg on which we've focused from time to time. According to the reader, the scene isn't pretty:

I live on Ainslie and Union in Brooklyn and the construction around my building is ever-present. Having called the city of NY on several occasions about after hours construction, in hopes of getting some relief from the constant drilling, hammering, digging, etc., I have become increasingly frustrated with the virtual impossibility of a resident having any sort of control over the quality of one's home life when this hyper-urban renewal is taking place. Making a complaint, being given a reference number and being told that the EPA and/or dept. of buildings will investigate the issue within 5-7 days is very disheartening. Do you have any advice or information about what can be done by residents who are tired of having their lives disrupted on a constant, seven days a week basis?

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Have a real estate or homeownership question that you'd like the Curbed readership to tackle? Send it in to tips@curbed.com and it may just get the "Ask Curbed" treatment.

We don't think this question that arrived in the Asked Curbed Inbox has anything to do with the mass evictions at 475 Kent, but it's hard to say. It's about artists and other tenants and their rights when a living situation in a commercial building comes to an end:

What are artist/tenant's rights when evicted, after an inspection but the city, from a commercial lease that they have been living/working in for over ten years? Does this constitute a breach of the lease? And, is it possible for the artist/tenant to get their security deposit back?

[Photo courtesy of aldella/flickr]

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Have a real estate or homeownership question that you'd like the Curbed readership to tackle? Send it in to tips@curbed.com and it may just get the "Ask Curbed" treatment.

Here's a simple, yet compelling question about a longstanding plumbing problem that comes to us from Williamsburg, presumably from one of the older buildings in the neighborhood:

I have lived in the same building in Williamsburg for 2 years now. I cannot remember days without having a leaky bathtub faucet here. I have asked the super to fix it multiple times but he does not want to go through the trouble of making a hole in the wall. It is leaking 96 gallons a day! (A 1 gallon jug fills in 15 minutes with the faucet turned off as hard as I can turn it). Not to mention it attracts roaches and my tub is deeper opposite the drain so there is ALWAYS a couple inches of water in there (fat chance to get that one fixed too, huh?). Is there any way I can get this fixed outside of my politely asking? Is the cost of water worth it to the landlord-I'm considering sending a letter to him directly. Otherwise I have a pretty good relationship with the super and like living here, so I am also looking for the solution with minimal drama!

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We can't honestly say we've heard much about water-pressure problems in new buildings. We've heard about hot water issues and noisy pool pumps, but not stream strength. But at least one condo buyer out there says there is a chronic problem with new construction, so we'll hear him out:

I am in the process of buying a new apt in williamsburg and every new condo i like has weak water pressure especially in the bathtub/shower. Since the buildings are empty I wonder what the pressure will be like when people live there? Is this a overall building issue? Is this because of new water saving efforts? I have been lucky to always have apartments with strong water pressure.

The matter of holiday tipping is well-worn territory, but the area of compensating handymen is grayer than Sean Connery's mustache. A new co-op resident writes:

What's the handyman's job?

I just moved into a co-op. How much work can I expect the building handyman to do in my apartment without paying extra? In my previous rental, I just expected the super to make repairs as a matter of course, only tipping at the holidays. But do I slip the handyman a $5 (or $10 or $20) if he comes up to fix the blinds in an apartment I own? What if it's part of the building he's fixing--say, my radiator or toilet? Does that make a difference?

Have a real estate or homeownership question that you'd like the Curbed readership to tackle? Send it in to tips@curbed.com and it may just get the "Ask Curbed" treatment.

The gradual melting of the polar ice caps is doing a lot more harm than just killing off a few thousand species. It's also totally messing with people's insurance! Here, an Upper East Sider speaks out:

I'm currently being hassled by my mortgage company regarding my building's designation of being in the "Special Flood Hazard Area" by FEMA, requiring me to obtain flood insurance (or else they will buy for me and charge me ~$500 per year!). The building is Mill Rock Plaza, at 345 E 93rd St, and at this time I cannot get the FEMA flood zone identification form to work.

Considering that I live on the 19th floor of the building, a flood that would damage my property seems somewhat apocalyptic. I understand the need for this in traditional neighborhoods, but is there something I can do to avoid this requirement in a high-rise?

Last week, amNY made some noise with a fairly obvious story about artists being chased out of the city because of high rents. Sad, but true. But luckily for the creative spirit, there are still folks out there willing to give this cold, dead metropolis a shot. For example:

My wife is, for lack of a better term, an artist. Meaning she needs a studio where she can bang nails into the wall at all hours, spatter paint on the floor, blast music, etc. We lived in a one-bedroom in Astoria for 5 years, and she had a small studio in Long Island City. At night it took over an hour to get there. The studio was a block away from the Queensboro bridge, and the bus to Riker's Island would drop convicts off practically at her doorstep. (It was about two blocks away from Arris!) She's off getting her MFA now, but when we return to the city next year we'd like to rent a real live-work space. Our budget would be tight, $2000 a month at the most, does any one know where we should be looking? We're thinking Mott Haven, Bushwick and Red Hook. Any other ideas?

We reach into the Ask Curbed Inbox for a question about how to ensure that the place that one buys will be quieter than the place that one rents. Here is the situation and the questions:

After a decade of NYC living, I'm tired of hearing people above me, below me, and beside me, and in the hallways, and on the steps. It's time to move from renting to buying. Here's my question about apartment noise: what questions do I need to ask about the building's materials to ensure no noise from above or below? What building materials are best? Will all new buildings be built out of soundproof material? (Concrete?) Is a general rule the older the building, the noisier it will be, or will newer buildings be even noiser?

If it's fall and winter, that means it's time for some questions about heat or, actually, the lack thereof. Here's one about the relationship between heat and paying rent:

I live in a railroad apartment in williamsburg, and upon waking sunday morning, our steam heat was not on. it's now tuesday morning, and it still has not been on. while i'm not home during the day, the last two nights of sleep have been freezing and miserable to say the least. the landlord is out of town and his wife has claimed it's being looked into. am i allowed to not pay rent for these days of no heat? for the month? he has a past history of serious neglect on problems in this building so i'm not surprised at all with the delayed response.