LONG ISLAND

The Blair House – at least its lobby and hallways – had possibly seen better days, but it was hard to tell. “Dark and dreary” is how one observer described them, with decades-old furniture crowding the lobby and dimly lit bulbs illuminating the long hallways at the 42-unit Great Neck, Long Island, co-op. “We felt it was time for a change,” recalls Naomi Schurr, a board member and chair of the five-person lobby committee. A refinancing provided the money and a shareholder who had recently redesigned her apartment provided the savior: Tina Tilzer, president of Art & Interiors, a redesign firm.

... a court rules against a Queens co-op that tried to evict an elderly couple when the asthmatic, severely allergic wife needed a disallowed air conditioner in order to, you know, breathe and live. Also: How to prep an apartment for sale, what to expect from brokers in 2012, and how condos are becoming like co-ops when it comes to admissions.