It Happened One Weekend: Playroom Politics, Admiral's Woe

1) Silly us for thinking that fall is the season of football and pumpkin-flavored beer. In fact, it's "the season of playrooms, and playroom politics." Yep, with children's playrooms getting a bit out of control (the slide show will blow your mind), residents' desires to convert common space to kids-only fun zones can get a bit testy. Especially when they cost $300,000, like the one at Manhattan House. ['The Ruckus Room']

2) This just in: Boerum Hill is not a scary hellhole anymore! Oh, and this "Living In" column also sheds light on the current market for Boerum Hill's "meat and potatoes," those lovely town houses. Says one local broker: "Whatever you could sell for $2.3 million at least two years ago, you'd be lucky to get $1.9 million for now." Yeah, the market is a real fortress of suckitude right now. ['Living In: Boerum Hill, Brooklyn']

3) The speculative office tower known as 11 Times Square is three-quarters complete, but the building still doesn't have any signed leases. According to the developer, the building can be carried "dead empty" for three years. What about the retail space? "We're looking at venues that haven't been brought to Times Square yet. We've had incredible interest in one venue that I can speak of: large aquariums." [Square Feet/The 30-Minute Interview: Steven J. Pozycki]

4) Proposals for knocking down Admiral's Row in the Brooklyn Navy Yard to develop a supermarket are due this month, but here's one character fighting to preserving the decrepit old mansions. He's the man behind Brooklyn's Other Museum of Brooklyn (B.O.M.B.) in Wallabout, and he'll be happy to tell you all about Admiral's Row, Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. ['A Tiny Museum’s Mission: to Still the Wrecking Ball']

5) Long Island empty nesters want to move back to the city, to a two-bedroom rental priced under $5,000. After scouring the Upper East Side, they find the "wow factor" in a place on...Roosevelt Island. Normally this is where we make fun of Roosevelt Island, but when a guy cuts down his work commute from an hour and 45 minutes to a tram ride and a one-block walk, we can't be mad at that. But renting? Really? At your age? [The Hunt/'The Tram Trade-Off']