Kevin Shin

The New York City Pension Funds agreed Thursday to abandon investments deemed to negatively impact affordable housing, according to a press release from City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr.

A new development rising into the West Harlem skyline is also raising the tempers of surrounding residents.

With a new initiative against needlessly vacant properties, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is leading an effort to fight housing shortages in upper Manhattan.

The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal is considering closing a legal loophole that allows some landlords to sidestep rent regulations in the case of “unique or peculiar circumstances.”

The Housing Conservation Coordinators held its 3rd Annual West Side Tenants’ Conference last Saturday, attracting hundreds of low-income city tenants to Fordham University at Lincoln Center where the event was hosted.

This year has proven one of the most turbulent for many tenants living in 3333 Broadway, a 35-story apartment complex located between 134th and 135th streets.

A new bill that would amend city administrative codes to prohibit landlords from discriminating against tenants based on source of income is soon expected to pass in the City Council.

A bill that would fine city business owners $200 for leaving their windows or doors open while air-conditioning systems are running is being discussed in the City Council.

New legislation to help resolve the lack of funding for New York City public housing projects is currently under review in Congress.

Alumni Karl Ward and Namrata Tripathi, both CC '01, headlined a benefit concert for the tenants of 47 E. 3rd St. at the Bowery Poetry Club in the East Village Saturday night.

Taking a tactic out of their landlords' playbooks, West Harlem tenants, through tenants' rights association Buyers and Renters United to Save Harlem (BRUSH), have secured pro bono counsel from law firm Jenner & Block LLP, which will investigate potential landlord abuses and take any appropriate findings to court.

In a spate of recent evictions at 3333 Broadway, evicted tenants have been accused of vandalizing their old apartments, and several evicted tenants have alleged that their belongings were taken away without their knowledge by city marshals.

Despite having earmarked 22,000 new Section 8 vouchers for disbursement over the next two years, many tenants say that the city has not done enough to resolve lingering problems.

Two new patisseries are poised to lure the Morningside Heights sweet tooth away from local mainstays Hungarian Pastry Shop and Nussbaum & Wu.

Four panelists gathered in Lerner Hall Monday night to discuss what they all agreed was a growing fear of Muslims around the world.

Chipotle Mexican Grill will replace Casbah Rouge in its space on 110th Street and Broadway.

A Columbia philosophy professor, a post-doctoral scientist, and a pastor from the Mosaic church of Los Angeles gathered Monday night at Roone Arledge Auditorium to discuss ethics, the existence of God, and the sources and limits of knowledge.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Housing Authority announced yesterday the that 22,000 new Section 8 vouchers would be dispensed to the city's low-income families over the next two years.

The Pinnacle Group, one of the city's largest owners of rent-regulated apartments, has fallen out of favor with residents and seems to be trying to buy its way back into their hearts.

The owners of La Rosita, a Cuban diner on Broadway between 108th and 109th streets, will close shop at the end of December, citing the $18,000 monthly rent for the space.

West Side Market is expected to return to 110th Street and Broadway in April, according to Nick Glenais, the store's future manager.

The 24-hour supermarket and neighborhood fixture took a hiatus in 2004 after the Surtsey Realty Company bought the building it was located in.

Rents at 3333 Broadway have risen out of the reach of many of its lower and working class tenants. As a result, the building, which is mostly occupied by black and Latino families, has seen a recent influx of white single professionals and students from nearby colleges, including Columbia, who can afford to pay market price out of their own pockets.

Brooks Hall, Barnard's oldest residential dorm, is undergoing restoration of its two historic lounges, the Living Room and Gallery, with funding from a gift given by parents of a Barnard alumnae.

Construction started two weeks ago and is expected to be completed by the time students return to campus after winter break.

Chelsea Zimmerman, BC '10, was voted president of Barnard's class of 2010 after a two day polling period ending Thursday at 11:59 p.m. Voter turnout was at 55 percent; in comparison, 40.1 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots during last April's Barnard Student Government Association elections.

Wood-O-Rama lumberyard, located on 108th Street and Broadway for the past 35 years, is the latest casualty in a recent tide of developers' buyouts of floundering local businesses.

Friday nights in college residences would hardly seem the place for peace-seeking, elderly retirees, but many call Barnard dorms home.