Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photos: Compass
Listen, it’s not as though getting an apartment in New York has ever been easy. But one could probably argue it has never been harder than it is right now. The most god-awful studios are regularly renting for thousands and thousands of dollars with lines of interested tenants out the door. Here, we’ll find the actually worth-looking-ats, the actually worth-the-costs, and the surprisingly affordable-for-those-parquet-floors from around the internet.
The theme this week (other than cyclosporiasis, Legionella, wildfires, and the World Cup): teens! Much as I love a theme, I didn’t venture too off course to accommodate the youth. Instead, I made stops in the West Village, Bushwick, and Two Bridges. Inventory feels sparse across the boroughs and prices remain aggressively high, so if you’re hoping to keep the rent manageable, maybe channel your 19-year-old self and gather some roommates.
$14,500, 4-bedroom: A duplex that’s a half-block walk from the West Side Highway. The garden is leafy and special, and you’ll never run out of milk (as the house sits on a bodega). You’ll also be neighbors with the Biebers. And if you’re a well-financed collection of NYU undergrads who are over dorm life, it’s $3,625 a person!
512 Hudson Street
Photo: Compass
$3,795, studio: A studio in the covetable 70 Barrow Street building. The façade is the showpiece, but those oversize windows don’t hurt.
$4,995, studio: Very special hobbit-style attic studio with a special garden for your favorite trust-fund baby.
$12,000, 1-bedroom: Wait, just kidding — the above is for your friend, who, compared to your other friend who lives in this perfect carriage house, looks very, very poor.
61 Perry Street
Photo: Compass
$3,550, studio: Good hardwoods, pretty windows that are maybe leaded.
$6,650, 3-bedroom: Lots to love here — original moldings, hardwood inlays. Great preservation of prewar charm and slick updates in this brownstone duplex.
380 Herkimer Street
Photo: Compass
$3,600, 2-bedroom: I remain certain that no photos means great promise. The $100 price increase only enhances its mystery.
$3,500, 2-bedroom: This floor-through brownstone apartment boasts (the Realtor language has been embedded in my brain) some overly varnished parquets but a (very impressive) deck situation that’s the size of the primary bedroom.
217 Hancock Street
Photo: FIND Real Estate
$2,995, 1-bedroom: Glass-block alert.
$4,150, 3-bedroom: Not terrible apartment for Bushwick! Sorry, let me try that again: not terrible apartment for Bushwick that also has a terrible stained-glass window in one of the bedrooms.
249 Melrose Street
Photo: MySpaceNYC
$3,700, 1-bedroom: New build in Bushwick that would typically send me running, but I sort of like the commitment to concrete and industry here. Plus if creepy doesn’t bother you, there are creepy co-working spaces and a creepy storage space and a creepy garage!
$4,595, 3-bedroom: Cutie prewar that’s perfect for you and three of your friends starting at Columbia in the fall. Plus a claw-foot tub. Go, class of 2030!
$4,700, 4-bedroom: Bright and enormous.
575 West 183rd Street
Photo: Link NY Realty
$2,450, 1-bedroom: More of that prewar good good.
$4,250, 3-bedroom: Feels enormous but is just a regular apartment! With a lovely little garden path outside.
930 Saint Nicholas Avenue
Photo: Compass
$4,700, 1-bedroom: Wide floorboards, tasteful stained glass, a deck, and a terrace — heaven.
441 Union Street
Photo: Compass
$8,995, 2-bedroom: A confusing lack of bedrooms, but otherwise gorgeous duplex with cellar storage.
$6,000, 3-bedroom: Guy renovated, converted three-bedroom with some nice custom built-ins, a dishwasher, and a washer-dryer. Unfortunately, there are also sliding barn doors and a lot of refurbished wood — which gives me an itchy, allergic feeling.
141 Attorney Street
Photo: Compass
