Q: My boyfriend and I signed a lease for an apartment in a new building in Williamsburg last summer. Three days before our move-in date, management told us the apartment would not be available until October because it did not have a temporary certificate of occupancy. They put us in a smaller unit on a lower floor, with our belongings spread out between the two units. Other tenants got the same bait and switch, and are also living in smaller, temporary units. What can we do? A: You should not have to wait a year to move into your apartment. Check your lease to make sure your landlord countersigned it. If the landlord did not sign a market-rate lease, then it was never effective and you are not bound by its terms. If it was countersigned, see if it includes a provision saying that the landlord is not obligated to give you the apartment you selected, as it is possible such a clause is in there giving the landlord more leverage. But even if the lease has such a disclaimer and was … [Read more...] about That Apartment You Rented? It’s Not Available. Take This One Instead.
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Is Rent the Runway’s unlimited clothing subscription worth your money?
— Our editors review and recommend products to help you buy the stuff you need. If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. However, our picks and opinions are independent from USA TODAY’s newsroom and any business incentives. It was 1998. The Spice Girls were thriving. Titanic was in theaters. Harry Potter was new. And thanks to Limited Too being the coolest retailer for 10-year-old girls, I was developing an addiction to clothes. Limited Too was my safe haven. The graphic tees. The glitter camisoles. The flower-embroidered overalls. Whatever was trendy, whatever was new, I had to own it. As the years went on, my obsession with Limited Too faded, but my need to have new clothing remained. I remember in 7th grade, my social studies teacher asked me if I wore a new shirt every day. Later on in high school, my mom would yell at me for not wearing things in my closet. “That shirt is two years old,” I would tell … [Read more...] about Is Rent the Runway’s unlimited clothing subscription worth your money?
West Bloomfield’s Danny Kornfeld to star in ‘Rent’
Correction: The run dates were incorrect in a previous version of this story. Also, Abbott Middle School theater teacher Ryan Moore's name was incorrect. When he was still in elementary school, Danny Kornfeld’s parents took him to see the Broadway production of “Rent,” the rock musical about a group of young New Yorkers at the height of the AIDS epidemic. “Why I took an 11-year-old to see ‘Rent,’ I’m not quite sure,” his mother, Pam Kornfeld, said. (For the record, Danny thinks he was just 9.) She added, “Maybe it wasn’t the best parenting decision, but he just loved the show.” In retrospect, it all has the look of destiny. Danny, now 25, will return to his hometown next week as the star of the 20th-anniversary national tour of the Pulitzer-winning “Rent,” at the Fisher Theatre starting Tuesday and running through March 26. The graduate of West Bloomfield High School and Syracuse … [Read more...] about West Bloomfield’s Danny Kornfeld to star in ‘Rent’
Fighting Rent-to-Own Racism This Christmas
I am not done with my Christmas shopping. I realize this is not great. Partly, I blame procrastination. I also don’t like crowds. But I also hate the way searching for the perfectly priced present reminds me that for many Americans, especially African-American shoppers, prices are never going to be perfect. In cities like Boston, New York and Chicago, high-quality retailers often avoid majority-black neighborhoods. In segregated cities like Detroit, some residents say that trying to find something as basic as a Gap can feel impossible. Without mainstream stores, many customers in urban black neighborhoods are left to shop at low-quality and exploitative outlets that fleece their patrons during the holidays. I saw this for myself when I walked into a holiday sale at Rent-A-Center in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Oversize flat-screen TVs lined the walls and overstuffed couches filled the floors. The large “No Credit Needed” sign on the window made me feel as if I might actually … [Read more...] about Fighting Rent-to-Own Racism This Christmas
Rent the Runway CEO: Giving all employees the same benefits is the ‘right thing to do’
This article originally published July 3, 2018. (CNN Business)When Jennifer Hyman co-founded Rent the Runway, she sought to disrupt an industry and change the way women shopped for clothes. Now she's focused on shaking things up within her own company. In May, the 37-year-old CEO announced the company will offer the same benefits to all 1,200 of its employees. Everyone -- from salaried C-suite executives to hourly warehouse workers -- will have the same bereavement, parental and family sick leave and sabbatical packages. "It's the right thing to do," says Hyman. But it wasn't always the case. "I, in founding Rent the Runway, had set up a system where I just copied what best-in-class companies [did]," Hyman tells CNN's Poppy Harlow in a recent episode of Boss Files. "And what I realized was that we were perpetuating income inequality in this country." When she announced the new policy at the company's warehouse in New Jersey she said it was "some of the most profound hours of my … [Read more...] about Rent the Runway CEO: Giving all employees the same benefits is the ‘right thing to do’