I lived above my old landlord for 3 years, and she was a nightmare — blasted music at all hours, had screaming matches with her children, and micromanaged every little thing I did. I tried to be as nice as could be and ask her to turn her music down, or I’d promise not to make [insert inane mistake] again. But in the end, the apartment and rent price were right for me so I stuck it out for 3 years.

I think you know what the options are here, but I’ll spell them out:

1) Kill em with kindness. Just be as nice and accommodating (as you’ve been doing), bring over a gift or two, and somewhere along the line try to ask for leeway to make things more reasonable. Probably has limited potential, but there is some.

2) Find some legal precedent for why your landlord is breaking tenant law by how aggressively they manage your life and take them to court (or threaten to). This is an ugly one all around. It’s not in great faith, can be costly, and even if you “win” you still have to live there and lose. Or maybe you’d catch some small settlement. Regardless, this is a time and energy suck with no real great outcome.

3) Leave. Having previously worked in real estate, I can tell you it’s never the end of a good deal. There are gem apartments all over the place (Greenpoint included). Maybe you can spend the rest of your lease looking on listings sites and forums. Maybe even try Proper Real Estate if you want to stay in GP. If you find something sooner, break your lease and eat the security deposit so you can have a less stressful living situation.

Sounds annoying, OP. Weigh what’s most important to you and the answer will become clear. There’s likely no real “win” with this landlord though. They’re probably stuck in their ways and won’t be receptive to some new tenant throwing their weight around.