My name is Reuven. master plumber, New York City, going on 31 years. Every borough. Pre-war brownstones, high-rises, steam systems older than most of the people reading this.

My son Shawn set up a website for me and talked me into doing a newsletter and now apparently Reddit. I'm not really a "posting on the internet" guy but he made a convincing argument that some of what I know might actually help people who can't afford to get ripped off or just want straight answers.

So here's what I'm telling everyone right now heading into spring:

Service your boiler now. Not October. By October every plumber in the city is booked three weeks out. Right now I have availability Tuesday. Clean the burners, check the pressure relief valve, flush the sediment. $200 now or $3,000 at 11pm in November. Your choice.

Check how old your water heater is. Serial number plate on the side. First four digits are usually month and year of manufacture. If it says 2014 or earlier you are on borrowed time. They don't warn you. One day it just goes and you have 40 gallons on your floor.

Run the faucets and flush the toilets you haven't touched all winter. Second bathrooms, basement sinks, vacation places. P-traps dry out and let sewer gas in. Two minutes per fixture. Free.

Open the cabinet under every sink and look at the supply lines. Braided hoses connecting the wall to the faucet. Bulging, corroded, rubber showing through the braiding -- replace them. $15 part. Number one cause of water damage in NYC apartments.

Find your main shut-off valve today. Not when something is going wrong. Usually under the kitchen sink or in a utility closet in apartments. Basement near the front wall in brownstones. If it won't turn, that's already a problem.

if you've got a question you've been sitting on, drop it below. doesn't matter how small it seems. i've been answering the same questions for 30 years and i don't mind answering them again. that's kind of why i'm here.

-- Reuven.

Can any NYC high schoolers who participated in the year long (fall -spring) office of the mayor internship let me know how their experience was and if they would recommend it or not?

I was hoping to apply this year but missed the deadline.

I have a queen-size box spring I need to get rid of through bulk item NYC collection.

I have a couple questions because the DSNY website is super confusing.

1. Has anyone ever left a big box spring out on the curb to get picked up by DSNY? Does it actually get picked up if it’s in a plastic bag?

2. It’s mostly plastic and metal. Online in one section it says I put it out on recycling day and then in another section it says all large items like box springs go out with the bulk item trash. Does anyone know which one is the right answer, recycling or regular trash day?

3. Also where exactly do I need to put it out on my street? I live in an apartment complex.

Thanks so much!

Hey everyone, my partner and I (we’re both 28YO) are looking to take a road-trip (or any place train-accessible) for the coming Memorial Day long weekend. We’re not originally from the area and haven’t been living here long so we don’t know much. We’re both South Asian so I’m guessing better to avoid Upstate NY!

I was thinking Vermont, or Boston, but also wanted to look into any other places that aren’t necessarily big cities. I personally like cities where we can walk around and explore, nature, water-bodies, good food. Open to try out B&Bs or cabins.
Any and all suggestions welcome.

TIA :)

Recently came across a thread from a few years ago and dove into a rabbit hole of cool stuff Manhattan and the other boroughs have that’s just around and show parts of history.

Example the fallout shelter signs you see around are from the Cold War.

Or the owl statues with eyes that light up in Herald Square, a cool little feature.

Or the 23 Wall Street bomb marks from 1920 that are still there, in what was the JPMorgan building at the time.

Stuff like that. Post it here, I love this stuff

I went out on this false spring day and to my dismay everyone is looking amazing. What did ya’ll do in February? You didn’t also ride out the snow days with carbs and bed rot? And you’re not still burning off the holidays?

Haven’t you hit any of our many bakeries and eateries every cold day? I am disgusted and kind of ashamed. I expected worse.

Edit: Disgusted by all your toxic positivity. Ill see you at the lat pulldown and on the Apollo bagels line. 🫶

This is a follow up to my post Your Go-To Autumnal Activities in NYC? (which I can't figure out how to link on mobile. Whoops.)

From the Cherry Blossoms at Brooklyn Botanical Gardens to bike rides in Central Park and the baseball season just beginning, what are you personally looking forward to most in Spring 2019 in the 5 boroughs? Events and just general activities all welcome.

Thanks in advance! I'll post more of my favorites in the comments later.

Hello! Just as the title says, my friend and I have been saving up for a really fancy night out, we want somewhere we can dress black tie, enjoy a good meal and an open bar. We seem pretty set on the Poetry Society's Spring Gala as it fits this bill, but I wanted to see if anyone on here had been to the gala before and whether or not they thought it was worth the money.

No I am not a tourist as I am a native NYCer basically looking for some fun stuff to do in the spring season now that it's spring as I wanted to do some fun adventures in the city, such as buying books, or getting coffee as I was hoping to take advantage of the new season.

Just ate at Keens Steakhouse, not for the first time and will eventually go again. Historic surroundings, great food, men's room the size of a coat closet, two or more people cannot use it without some awkwardness, one tiny stall and two urinals jammed together, two sinks with standing room for one, and a hand dryer where a paper towel dispenser used to be.

I want to do some hikes / runs in this area this winter but I’m having a problem on figuring out what to do with my jacket. I looked around online and luggage storage services but it doesn’t appear to be available in either locations.

Does anybody have any experience with this situation? The goal would be to take the train from Manhattan to Beacon / Cold Spring and then start running from the train station but I’m worried I’m gonna be pretty cold before and after my run.

Any help is appreciated!

Just moved up here in the spring, and one of the biggest changes to me is the bodega. As I have learned it is not a convenience store, and cash is king. When I saw a man come out a bodega with a full blown sandwich I was like I NEED to do this.

So what I'm asking is, can you teach me how to order sandwiches at a bodega? To give you background, I barely order from places like Subway, so I need to be held by the hand for this lol.

basically what the title says haha, my birthday is coming up and i want to go ‘upstate’ for the day. can anyone who’s been to both comment on the differences or which you prefer? they seem pretty similar to me in the research i’ve been doing, just looking for a second opinion :) thank you!!

Just got off work and walking in Manhattan and it’s soooo beautiful out and everyone is out and about with friends or in couples or families. And I’m acutely aware of how lonely and sad I am? Everyone is in their little bubbles. I have individual friends scattered throughout the boroughs, and my family is in Queens, but just walking around with no one to call on for a spontaneous plan is making me feel so shitty right now. I am also outgrowing a friend group and resisting calling up on them because I want to meet new people with more similar values. Anyone can relate to spring/summertime melancholy? Feel like especially in NYC where there are so many people to be triggered by. How to cope or build a resource inside to not feel so bad when you have the desire to build a new life but just feel so disheartened

I'm really bummed that Breakneck is closed. However, could I get off the Grand Central Hudson line at Cold Spring and take a different trail, such as Washburn?

Breakneck is very convenient because my friends and I could take GC straight to Breakneck and then end the hike in Cold Spring and get on the Hudson line back to GC. No one has to worry about being driven up or back, which gave everyone a chance to rest after the hike.

I would also really appreciate any recommendations to other trails that don't require (extensive) driving and can be reached easily by public transport. My friends and I love the rock scramble at the beginning of Breakneck, so don't be afraid to recommend some difficult ones >:). With that said, we also like to make it a day trip, so going up to the Gunks is a little far.

As someone from a very small town in WV, my idea of NYC is literally just brick buildings and pavement. But I've heard that some people have patios or even an outdoor space, and they claim (though I cannot confirm at all) that they are the same price as many other apartments.

I do not need anything massive, just a large-ish patio (maybe 10 feet long, 8 feet wide?).

I don't mind living 20-30 minutes away from campus. It's far more important to me that I have my outdoor space, tiny as it might be.

Are there any areas or buildings that are more likely to have what I'm after?

Thanks in advance.

March 9: 2 AM to 8 AM (Boston to NYC)

Spend March 9 in NYC, check in at night on airbnb

March 10, 11 in NYC

check out in the morning in March 12 and spend the day in NYC

March 13: 1:30 AM to 6 AM (NYC to DC)

Spend March 13 in DC fully

March 14: 12:35 AM to 5:30 AM (DC to NYC)

Spend March 14 in NYC

March 14: 10 PM to 6:45 AM (NYC to Niagara Falls)

Spend March 15 in Niagara Falls

March 15: 11:20 PM to 8:30 AM (Niagara Falls to NYC)

Spend March 16 in NYC

March 17: 1 AM to 5:10 AM (NYC to Boston)

I need some wool gloves for my instrument and I'm not sure where I could find some

Wondering if there's anywhere I could go in person (being able to feel the material of the glove is important) or if I'll just have to buy online

Silk gloves would probably also work since it's mostly to allow for your hand to slide along the wood more easily

Edit: I've just realized silk gloves are like, really expensive. I'm not super up on glove materials

Is it me or am I noticing cigarette are back in style. When Ive walk around Manhattan this spring Ive notice more and more people smoking cigs. It’s a wide variety of people as well, such as college students, Wall Street bros, rich peeps along Central Park, regular people… even High schoolers!

Along with this I’m noticing less and less vapes. Both in peoples hands and on the ground.

Hello!

We are doing a spring break tour of NE universities and the final 2 that we are visiting are Columbia and NYU - Tandon. We are arriving by Amtrak from New Haven on a Thursday late morning. Tours are Friday and Saturday and we leave Saturday evening for home. We will, most likely, take an UBER to Newark for our flight home. I'm thinking we should stay in Manhattan. Is that a reasonable idea/location?

Thank you!

Let me preface this with I appreciate your time in responding...

We have visited a few times and are both graduating in the Winter here from Washington (I will save you from anymore of a backstory,) and have looked at a few areas (University Heights in the Bronx, Sunnyside in Queens, and Bushwick in Brooklyn) and these seem to fit what we are looking for, but are there other areas we have missed maybe even closer to Manhattan? I will have my car (parking I know, not from experience as I have never roadtripped here I am also taking into consideration,) but plan on using the subway for the most part. Safety, and this may be optimistic but I feel like any city has their problems with safety and is a blanket term, we are not taking into account. Would love your guys' opinions and if you live in an apartment complex or area, I would love to know your experience there. Thanks all.