I have an old home in brooklyn (1896) with an unfinished basement with
rough concrete floors.

My plan is eventually to renovate the basement as living space * but
that's a future plan - not a NOW plan.

Right now, the basement is very dusty and dirty. I've read up a bit
about priming/sealing the concrete and possibly painting some of it to
keep the dust down, but I also think that the ceiling is part of the
problem.

Its a very old plaster (and lath?) ceiling with various pipes and such.

I really have two questions. One, is it worth knocking off all the
plaster, putting insulation in (because I'm there) and screwing up
drywall? I.E. putting in a new ceiling. If so, are there any resources
on ceilings that people like?

Second question is am I just going to end up having to re-do the ceiling
when I renovate, or if I do a decent job am I likely to be able to do
the walls and floor long after I've done the ceiling?

If it is not a good idea, is there any cheap easy way to "seal" the
ceiling so it's not dusty? It's old plaster with multiple repairs (old
and new) where pipes or electrical were run.

-Ben