Time for a Better Apartment

I’m starting to think I have the smallest apartment in Manhattan. I know this can’t possibly be true, but everywhere I look, people have these amazing pads.

First, a comparison:

The Mediocre:

My apartment is a fourth-floor walk-up in the upper west side. The front door opens onto a narrow hallway. The kitchen is immediately to the left upon entry. I use the word “kitchen” loosely. I generally think of a kitchen as a room with four walls, but in New York, that’s not necessarily the case. My kitchen consists of an oven, sink, and a mini-fridge that all stand shoulder to shoulder at attention. This row of kitchen “appliances” (another word I use loosely) is my kitchen. The opposing wall is actually a closet where I keep most of my clothes. Yes, that’s right: I keep my clothes in the kitchen. There’s an additional, smaller linen closet in the hall that’s meant for towels and sheets. I use it for pants.

Our “tour” (loosely) continues past a regular bathroom to the main feature: the living room. My living room is lovely. I’m not trying to brag, but it’s a very nice room. There's a couch, a couple chairs, a desk, a wine rack – it’s extremely comfortable. The problem is that in essence, this room is my entire house. There’s a “sleeping loft” which is technically a loft, but has about 6” of clearance from the ceiling, so no one’s sleeping up there. I don’t even think my 15 lb. dog could sleep up there. So that’s where I keep my winter sweaters and suitcases. Yeah – it’s more of a storage loft than a sleeping loft.

The Good:

I was complaining about the size of my apartment to a friend a couple weeks ago. His response? “Move to Brooklyn.”

He lives in Brooklyn Heights, pays the same rent I do, and has an apartment more than twice my size. “I was walking from my bed to the kitchen the other day and I got so tired I had to rest on my couch.” Ha ha, Carl – you’re hilarious. Point taken, though. While I’ve never been to Carl’s house, it does appear he has quite a few more square feet for the dollar.

The Better:

Another friend has his own home uptown that he purchased 10 years ago with the help of his parents. The three floors (three. floors.) has a real kitchen with four walls, extra bedrooms, and a living room. Three floors! He’s now putting a circular staircase up to his roof (roof access – that’s like four floors!). It's a ton of space for Manhattan and it's impressive. I mean, the last time I was over, he asked if I had some bad sushi because I was turning a subtle shade of green. “No,” I said, “That’s just envy.”

But it leads me to my next point, which is that good real estate in New York takes time. You can trade your own time via your commute and get more space, as is the case in Brooklyn, or you can buy early (like 10 years ago) and hunker down in a spot for a long time. It’s almost like being “grandfathered” into your own apartment.

The Best:

This idea was really brought to life last night at dinner. I was invited over to the house of my step-father's former professor. His apartment, in the mid-sixties and 5th Ave, was a grand old building with a doorman. He and his lovely wife live on the 16th floor. The entire floor. The top floor. The elevator opens to an expansive living room with a huge grand piano, a marble fireplace...the works. The apartment has several bedrooms, a large kitchen, a back-up kitchen, and a full formal dining room. The pièce de résistance is the wrap-around balcony which offers the view of a lifetime. To the left, the flashing, garish lights of Times Square. Further down, the soft, warm, yellow hue of Columbus Circle. Across the back, the smattering of buildings that make up the west side which traverses up to the lower, squatter buildings of Harlem. Directly in front, the rich, lush expanse of Central Park – shockingly dark compared to the rest of the city. The view is so incredible it almost takes your breath away. I had a physical reaction in the pit of my stomach as I realized a limited number of people would ever see a view like this. This apartment was so phenomenal; Richard Geer lived on the 13th floor. Neat. I was on the 16th. Enjoy your “view” Geer, (if you can even call it that). AND this apartment had roof access! The view from the roof was isolated, majestic, causing the city to drop out from below. The entire thing was ridiculous. Ridiculous! How do people live like this? I’ll tell you how: time.

The entire building was purchased from the professor’s father in 1946 after a little war you may have heard of. The building was being liquidated at the time, so they got a good price for the space. The apartment has been passed down for 64 years, but will no doubt stay in this family for generations. Sure, they could sell today for a premium and make a ton of money, but the time it’s taken to acquire this property in this place at this time (plus the view….Good God that view!) is absolutely priceless.


Not like my pad. My pad definitely has a price tag – and it ain’t cheap. I think however, if I take the extra time come February to find a better apartment (more than the three hours I had to find this place), I’ll be more successful. New York real state is pricey, but I’m learning it’s not exclusively a monetary expense. In addition to spending cash on a deposit, rent and a Broker’s fee, to get a bigger, better apartment in New York you have a to spend a little time as well.