CROWN HEIGHTS

The board at 572 Sterling Place deals with challenges every day, but its members know how to face them. The key, they say, is that instead of picking up the phone and calling a manager when problems and challenges arise, they're willing to roll up their sleeves and take on the task themselves. Or, as board vice president Ralph Pinero puts it: "Nowadays, if you want a place to live that's decent and affordable, you're going to have to get your hands dirty."

For New Yorkers of the 1990s, Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood was the fearsome site of racial conflict, crime and the aptly named Crown Heights Riot. Lately it's been the scene of "knockout game" attacks. But architecturally, Crown Heights is a crown jewel, and now, joining its townhouses and rowhouses, comes a cornucopia of condominiums. The New York Times reports on a plethora of projects, including one at the prewar building 875 St. Marks Avenue, where all but two of its seven condos have sold for prices ranging from $470,000 to $659,000.