in favor of small talk in the elevator - but not much more

Entertaining article on a rare building in NYC with friendly tenants: Love (and Leave) Thy Neighbor:

But in New York, where many people don't know their neighbors and prefer it that way, 126 Rivington Street, where the residents eat together, often sleep together and live above a cupcake shop, is an anomaly.

Many New Yorkers their age - or any age - would not choose to live in a place almost devoid of privacy. In most buildings, especially rentals, "there's an unspoken social rule that you only nod at your neighbors or grunt at them in the elevator," said Lockhart Steele, the publisher of the real estate blog Curbed.com.

I live in one of those buildings where people generally grunt in the elevator and hallways. And although I don't particularly care to "get to know" my neighbors, I do appreciate it when they are civil, and I admit, I'm not opposed to small talk in the elevator (sometimes I even attempt to initiate it!).