New York City Apartments Are About to Get Even Smaller

by Kiri Blakeley July 12, 2012 at 10:15 PM

If you live in New York City or know anything about the city, you probably know one thing: New Yorkers tend to have small apartments! Yeah, you hear about the gigantic penthouse apartments overlooking Central Park, but trust me, that is the exception, not the rule. Most of us city dwellers live in closet-sized apartments. And Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who hates big sodas, doesn't like big apartments either. Sure, Bloomie, you're a gazillionaire with plenty of space, what do you care? Current city regulations say that apartments are supposed to be 450-square-feet but the mayor wants to allow builders to go one third smaller with his "microapartment initiative." Just what we need in the city -- smaller apartments. Not!

The pilot project would allow apartments that are 275 to 300 square feet. And they aren't exactly dirt cheap, renting for $1400 a month. Well, at least at that size, you won't see too many New Yorkers on Hoarders.

And color me crazy because there are already apartments in the city that are smaller than the regulations supposedly allow. One couple live in a $1500 a month 240-square foot apartment in Brooklyn. They describe it as "dungeon-esque" and I don't think they mean that in a 50 Shades of Grey way. The woman, Erin Boyle, says she and her fiance, James Casey, only make sure to buy things they "really love." And girlfriend must really love her fiance if she can live with him in 240 square feet.

Another woman, Felice Cohen, lives on the Upper East Side in a 90-square-foot apartment. It's just 12 feet long and 7 feet wide. And she didn't fall down a rabbit hole! She pays $700 a month to live steps from Lincoln Center and Central Park. That's not a bad deal here in the city. Even if Felice did suffer a panic attack the first night sleeping in her shoebox loft bed. She also has no kitchen. But she's got a toaster oven! Lucky for Felice, she happens to be a professional organizer.

While smaller apartments for the city's 1.8 million single people isn't a bad idea, I think the rents should be regulated somehow. Because knowing this city, they'll soon cost as much as a three-bedroom anyway.

Could you live in this apartment?

Image via YouTube/Faircompanies

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Filed Under: home tours, real estate

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kiri Blakeley

is a journalist, author, blogger, and all-around opinionista. Her book, Can't Think Straight: A Memoir of Mixed-Up Love, is available now.

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Comments 12

SaphiraJFire

July 12, 2012 at 11:13 PM

WOW I could not do it. More poer to them who love it and can.

What I dont get is why they cost so much being so small.

$1500 for 240 square feet? insaine.

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fluffball8812

July 13, 2012 at 12:05 AM

i do not see this actually passing

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LucretiaMcEvil

July 13, 2012 at 3:59 AM

You can rent a $200,000 house for cheaper than $1,500/month where I live. Nothing about New York sounds appealing to me.

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Trans

July 13, 2012 at 7:18 AM

I don't understand why the mayor wants to allow builders to go one third smaller with the microapartment initiative when the current city regulations say that apartments are supposed to be 450-square-feet. Are they reducing the cost with the decrease in sizeof the apartments, I don't think so. Then why to decrease the size to such an extent.

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Jespren

July 13, 2012 at 7:55 AM

I'm not sure how I feel. On one hand the proposed regulations are still bigger than say a standard dorm room, and usually have 2 or 3 people living in there, so I can see where there certainly may be people more than willing to put up with a 'microapartment'...but if you allow a new minimum than, logically, one can expect to see an increase in price for the now 'bigger' apartments, which is going to make affordable housing (especially for families) only that much more difficult to obtain and drive people/couples/families into the tiny appartments due to price even though they really *need* more space.

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RhondaVeggie

July 13, 2012 at 8:21 AM

I don't have an issue with it. There are loads of people in New York who are single and eat out all the time so they basically need somewhere to crash at night and keep their clothes. If you don't like it then find somewhere better to live.

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work4mickey

July 13, 2012 at 9:46 AM

Would I like it? No.
Could I do it? Yeah. Even with my husband and two kids. I'd be kinda like camping.
But I live in CA, not NY. It's pretty easy to get out, go to the park or something. I don't know if they have as much green space in NY.

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jharris109

July 13, 2012 at 11:15 AM

If it was just me and I lived someplace awesome like New York I could get on board with a small place. 350 sq ft is not really that small if you aren't trying to raise a family or hoarding a bunch of stuff. I don't think I could handle much smaller than that just because I have claustraphobia but it would really depend on the person. There are really inventive ways to save and create space and if you really want to live somewhere you'll find a way. I do think the rent is a little out of control. I've always been a fan of the amount of space being equal to the rent. Example 450 sq ft. = 450$ for rent, but that's just me.

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