Friday, June 22, 2001
Excitement
You know you need to add more excitement to your life when you actually sit and watch the window-cleaning guys as they move up and down the side of the building.
Tuesday, June 19, 2001
I'm Out'a Here
In New York City, housing is everything.
Finding an apartment in New York is not like finding an apartment in almost any other city. In Buffalo, Rochester, Munich, Istanbul, etc. you would go to the local newspaper and look in either the real estate section or the classified ads. In New York, that is a waste of time. The most you can expect from that activity is to find a real estate agent. These guys and gals place ads for apartments that do not exist. Their hope is to get you to call so they can sign you up.
Renters in New York pay the real estate agent up to 15 percent of the annual rent of an apartment in order to have the agent put you together with the landlord. The only other way to find a livable apartment in this city is to know somebody who already lives in the building. They can then put in a "good word" with the super. That is my current situation.
My current apartment that is about as large as my office at work. Well, that's an exaggeration. Still, having moved from a three-bedroom home, with a dinning area and finished basement, into this place has been a shock. For example, when moving the furniture, the movers were unable to get the sofa through the door. This was ok, because the living room is not large enough for a sofa. I gave the sofa to the mover. (It had been a scratching post for the cats for a decade. It wasn't much of a loss). I was thinking of buying a second chair for the living room, but decided against it. It won't fit.
Think I'm still exaggerating? I have had company. Ask Bonnie, Kathy, Jennifer or Jim.
When I moved here I needed to find a place to live quickly. It was important that I start work on February 1. In hindsight, I should have lived at a cheap motel for a while so that I could search for a real apartment.
My first mistake when looking for an apartment was thinking I HAD to live in the city. That was an expensive mistake. I forgot they have a separate income tax for people who live in New York City.
My second mistake was thinking it would be cool to live above a deli. I forgot that a deli closes at 12:30 in the morning. This wouldn't be a problem except that when the deli closes, Mohammed pulls down the heavy metal doors that cover the windows. I'm a heavy sleeper, but even I can't sleep through that.
In addition to the noise, it isn't a great idea for me to live above a place that sells Ben and Jerry's ice cream in pints.
My third mistake was not realizing that apartments in NYC are measured in square footage, not number of rooms. As my apartment clearly indicates, you can make a two-bedroom apartment out of a closet. All you need is sheet rock and imagination.
So now I'm looking for a new place to live. I think I have found it. It is in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
The attitude of the average New Yorker is that New Jersey is another country altogether. It is beneath contempt. It is ugly, dirty, smelly and populated by undesirable people. To these people I ask only "have you been to Queens?"
The apartment into which I'm hoping to move has twice the square footage. It is on the 11th floor, which means it has a view. Ok, it is a view of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Still, you can see the lights of two bridges from the apartment. In addition, you can see the incoming planes lined up for landing at Newark International Airport. (You can see them, but you can't hear them. The pattern doesn't go over the building. I checked.). All of this, for the same amount of rent I'm currently paying.
I have been asked often "what about your current lease?” Well, I started out with the position that my landlord, Frank, is a nice guy. I don't want to put him in a bad position. However, my position on that issue has shifted. Yesterday I received a notice from Con-Ed, the electric company that the power for the common areas of the building would be turned off in July. This is for non-payment of $118.00 in electric charges. From what I can see, the common areas of the building use three light bulbs. You would have to not have paid the bill for a period of 10 years to run up $118.00 in electric costs, even in New York City.
This comes on the heals of a period of three days where I had no hot water. That was in April. I assumed the water heater had malfunctioned, so I wasn't overly concerned. It turns out that Frank hadn't paid the gas bill, so the gas company turned off the service. I wouldn't know this except that I mentioned it later to Frank, who told me this story. I'm surprised. If I were Frank, I would have lied and said the water heater was broken.
In March the heat in the building was not working. The furnace is over 40 years old and a part needed to be replaced. I don't know a lot of about furnace repair, but I'm guessing that parts for a furnace that is over 40 years old are not found at Home Depot.
I already told you about the mouse. Actually, the cats like the problem with the mouse.
So, I'm planning to move. To sunny New Jersey. Where I can park my vehicle in my own reserved spot in a fenced parking lot. New Jersey, where I can go to a grocery store that actually has carts, which you can push up and down the isles. Currently, in Queens, I have to turn sideways to go down a grocery store isle. New Jersey, where I can ride a bus to work without standing and be to work in half the time. New Jersey, where the junior U.S. Senator is about to be indicted for accepting illegal campaign contributions.
As we age we grow. We learn. We decide what is important to us. For me, I've learned that I don't like standing for 40 minutes on the F train every morning and every evening.
True, "the beautiful people" will turn their noses up at me when I tell them I live in New Jersey. However, I haven't had many deep, interesting conversations with "the beautiful people" in the five months I've lived here, so I suspect that really isn't the big issue I thought it would be. Besides, if you don't live in Manhattan, you don't live in New York City according to "the beautiful people".
I will take solace in the fact that I work in mid-town Manhattan. I will get a daily fix of "The Big City". However, when I go home at the end of the day I will be going to a place that more closely resembles my previous life. Will people still want to visit me? I'll find out. For now, I can't move soon enough. I am waiting for a call from my potential new landlord, Benito.
I still love this city. I just need to have fewer challenges in my day to day living.
Finding an apartment in New York is not like finding an apartment in almost any other city. In Buffalo, Rochester, Munich, Istanbul, etc. you would go to the local newspaper and look in either the real estate section or the classified ads. In New York, that is a waste of time. The most you can expect from that activity is to find a real estate agent. These guys and gals place ads for apartments that do not exist. Their hope is to get you to call so they can sign you up.
Renters in New York pay the real estate agent up to 15 percent of the annual rent of an apartment in order to have the agent put you together with the landlord. The only other way to find a livable apartment in this city is to know somebody who already lives in the building. They can then put in a "good word" with the super. That is my current situation.
My current apartment that is about as large as my office at work. Well, that's an exaggeration. Still, having moved from a three-bedroom home, with a dinning area and finished basement, into this place has been a shock. For example, when moving the furniture, the movers were unable to get the sofa through the door. This was ok, because the living room is not large enough for a sofa. I gave the sofa to the mover. (It had been a scratching post for the cats for a decade. It wasn't much of a loss). I was thinking of buying a second chair for the living room, but decided against it. It won't fit.
Think I'm still exaggerating? I have had company. Ask Bonnie, Kathy, Jennifer or Jim.
When I moved here I needed to find a place to live quickly. It was important that I start work on February 1. In hindsight, I should have lived at a cheap motel for a while so that I could search for a real apartment.
My first mistake when looking for an apartment was thinking I HAD to live in the city. That was an expensive mistake. I forgot they have a separate income tax for people who live in New York City.
My second mistake was thinking it would be cool to live above a deli. I forgot that a deli closes at 12:30 in the morning. This wouldn't be a problem except that when the deli closes, Mohammed pulls down the heavy metal doors that cover the windows. I'm a heavy sleeper, but even I can't sleep through that.
In addition to the noise, it isn't a great idea for me to live above a place that sells Ben and Jerry's ice cream in pints.
My third mistake was not realizing that apartments in NYC are measured in square footage, not number of rooms. As my apartment clearly indicates, you can make a two-bedroom apartment out of a closet. All you need is sheet rock and imagination.
So now I'm looking for a new place to live. I think I have found it. It is in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
The attitude of the average New Yorker is that New Jersey is another country altogether. It is beneath contempt. It is ugly, dirty, smelly and populated by undesirable people. To these people I ask only "have you been to Queens?"
The apartment into which I'm hoping to move has twice the square footage. It is on the 11th floor, which means it has a view. Ok, it is a view of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Still, you can see the lights of two bridges from the apartment. In addition, you can see the incoming planes lined up for landing at Newark International Airport. (You can see them, but you can't hear them. The pattern doesn't go over the building. I checked.). All of this, for the same amount of rent I'm currently paying.
I have been asked often "what about your current lease?” Well, I started out with the position that my landlord, Frank, is a nice guy. I don't want to put him in a bad position. However, my position on that issue has shifted. Yesterday I received a notice from Con-Ed, the electric company that the power for the common areas of the building would be turned off in July. This is for non-payment of $118.00 in electric charges. From what I can see, the common areas of the building use three light bulbs. You would have to not have paid the bill for a period of 10 years to run up $118.00 in electric costs, even in New York City.
This comes on the heals of a period of three days where I had no hot water. That was in April. I assumed the water heater had malfunctioned, so I wasn't overly concerned. It turns out that Frank hadn't paid the gas bill, so the gas company turned off the service. I wouldn't know this except that I mentioned it later to Frank, who told me this story. I'm surprised. If I were Frank, I would have lied and said the water heater was broken.
In March the heat in the building was not working. The furnace is over 40 years old and a part needed to be replaced. I don't know a lot of about furnace repair, but I'm guessing that parts for a furnace that is over 40 years old are not found at Home Depot.
I already told you about the mouse. Actually, the cats like the problem with the mouse.
So, I'm planning to move. To sunny New Jersey. Where I can park my vehicle in my own reserved spot in a fenced parking lot. New Jersey, where I can go to a grocery store that actually has carts, which you can push up and down the isles. Currently, in Queens, I have to turn sideways to go down a grocery store isle. New Jersey, where I can ride a bus to work without standing and be to work in half the time. New Jersey, where the junior U.S. Senator is about to be indicted for accepting illegal campaign contributions.
As we age we grow. We learn. We decide what is important to us. For me, I've learned that I don't like standing for 40 minutes on the F train every morning and every evening.
True, "the beautiful people" will turn their noses up at me when I tell them I live in New Jersey. However, I haven't had many deep, interesting conversations with "the beautiful people" in the five months I've lived here, so I suspect that really isn't the big issue I thought it would be. Besides, if you don't live in Manhattan, you don't live in New York City according to "the beautiful people".
I will take solace in the fact that I work in mid-town Manhattan. I will get a daily fix of "The Big City". However, when I go home at the end of the day I will be going to a place that more closely resembles my previous life. Will people still want to visit me? I'll find out. For now, I can't move soon enough. I am waiting for a call from my potential new landlord, Benito.
I still love this city. I just need to have fewer challenges in my day to day living.
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