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July 07, 2008
Things are looking better
Here's a summary of what has happened in our lives:
The fire was on May 6th. Our landlord, Friedman Management, did not do any repairs to our apartment for almost 8 weeks. We paid both May and June rent in good faith. These are pics as of June 30th:
If you embiggen, you can see directly into our neighbor's apartment. Like us, they couldn't actually live in the room. Even more criminally, it is a toddler's room. Nothing like cracked and peeling paint to add a little lead to your diet.
Here's the molding wall. The air in the apartment was noxious.
This is smoke and water damage in the living room.
Please notice the lack of any furniture, as even though we haven't been living in the apartment, we were attempting to get Friedman Management to fix the apartment. Most of my neighbors were hunkered down in truncated sections of their apartments, fighting to get livable conditions some time in the future. For readers from out of NYC, this is not insane. We were paying 1300 a month for our 2 bedroom apartment, and most comparable apartments run for around 1600 in our neighborhood.
We moved all of our stuff out of the apartment, placed it into a storage unit. The move itself was nightmarishly expensive and long, but after 12 hours of packing things up, I locked the apartment, and stepped away. Kudos to Manhattan Mini Storage for having professional staff. The next day, Derrick turned in the keys and termination to the landlord, which was a rather unpleasant experience for him.
My emotional state has been bad, mainly because we moved out before I had a replacement home. This was not for lack of trying- I've been spending most of my free time looking at apartments, which is one of the more soul-sucking experiences. The ugliest, most vile people in NYC seem drawn to being real estate brokers (not all, but a huge chunk of them). I finally found a good broker in Harlem named Keith Hayes with CityHabitats, who really made a great effort on my behalf.
And now things are looking up. Finally. Thanks to all the people who encouraged us to get out of our toxic situation, thanks to Jay & Kate for putting us up all this time, thanks to Dave and Erin for their advice and support, and for all the positive comments on the blog.
Here's a short video of our new apartment.
Trust me, the ugly yellow will be gone over the next few weeks, as I'll be doing some construction/improvements, repainting, that sort of stuff. I'll be removing the glass on the French doors, installing some custom shelving with my router, and making it our home.
One last thing: if you don't have renters insurance, get it. We've had such a great experience with Nationwide Insurance. I'm careful with my money, but my rainy day fund would have been absolutely wiped out many times over because of an idiot kid with a candle in the apartment above us. The insurance is only about $200 a year, and it covered cleaning, my brokers fees, the storage unit, everything. My insurance guy has been great, they've been fast and understanding, and I'm now making everyone get insurance. No pressure, but in an apartment somewhere above you, the family with the candles is now living.
How do I know things are on the upswing? It's not just that I have some free days out of school. It's not just that I have an apartment we can afford, and can look forward to construction. It's not just that I now have the recipe for toasted marshmallow shakes.
It's also that there is one less Bozo clown, even though I was horrified to learn that he trained hundreds more. It's like an army of clowns, and one of my earliest memories was this weird episode of Happy Days where they are trying to photograph him without the makeup. They take the photo, and he rips them apart and feeds on their blood. Or something like that.
Posted by G at July 7, 2008 09:11 AM
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Comments
Oh my God. I had to use a broker to find my last apartment in New York, but I had a good experience. He actually lived in the building -- and still lived there 11 years later, when I moved out. Umm, the super for most of those years was criminally irresponsible (and criminally other things, too...) and his replacement was only a modest improvement, but overall it was a great place to live. I miss my beautiful hardwood floors, sunken living room and archways. But, now I pay $200/month less and I have a fireplace, a patio, a lawn, a dishwasher, a washer & dryer, a fitness center and a pool. And no cockroaches! Still, I miss those floors. I hate carpet.
Posted by: Andy at July 7, 2008 02:30 PM
likewise, i had a GREAT experience with renter's insurance from Allstate. The premium was really inexpensive (i remember when the girl quoted me, i was like, "for real?") and when my house was robbed, they literally cut me a check a day later. AND some of the items i got more than the depreciated value for (like my ibook...woo hoo!) of course, it sucked the ibook was stolen, but the blow was less because the new one was 100% paid for.
now i just need to teach the dog how to BITE the guys who break in. he probably LICKED them and wagged his tail. eh. at least they didn't hurt him. i won't complain!
Posted by: chuck at July 7, 2008 07:58 PM
Hooray! So glad you found a place, and it looks really great. How did you get the shake recipe?
Posted by: Erin at July 7, 2008 09:11 PM
i finally just got around to watching the youtube. and then rereading that you were living in that other apartment for EIGHT WEEKS without any repairs. damn, i could see how your emotional state would be bad! hang in there and good luck with the new apt! those frickin' high ceilings are CRAZY! ah...you nyc dwellers. what a crazy bunch you are!
Posted by: chuck at July 8, 2008 12:59 AM
Did you get the money back for the rent you paid for an unlivable apartment?
Posted by: homer at July 8, 2008 06:28 PM
Poor you and Derrick! It definitely has been a nightmare. And not all landlords in NYC are bad (my father owned a few buildings in Manhattan for many years. I would've put you in contact with him but he sold all of them years ago and the 'rents retired to Florida 5 years ago now)
I commented on the video over on YouTube already. It looks like a nifty apt!
Posted by: Lee at July 9, 2008 03:02 AM
Hey, the new apt. looks really cute. I hope you guys are having a turn in luck, and feel free to come see me anytime in Chicago.... Miss ya, Love ya... Wish you would call...
Ciao Bello,
Tye
Posted by: Tye at July 10, 2008 01:20 AM
Yay! Congrats! I'm happy this ordeal is almost over for the both of you.
If you want help painting, let me know. I will require a really cool full-body painting onesy, though.
Posted by: Stephen J. Xanthos at July 10, 2008 10:10 AM
Glad to read you finally found a place to call home again.
Posted by: RG at July 11, 2008 05:44 AM
Congrats! The place is huge! I'm glad you guys have things resolved, though I am very sorry you had to go through such and ordeal. Can't wait to hear the updates on how the new living situation works out.
Posted by: Tony at July 11, 2008 07:21 AM
I'm glad to see that things are stabilizing. Home, I can tell from you my personal experience, is a thing that touches base instincts.
Posted by: Randy McDonald at July 11, 2008 10:19 PM
Just watched your video. Sorry to hear about the events that caused you to find a new apartment. Welcome to the neighborhood! We're on 158th and St. Nicholas. We are winding down major renovations to our place, so if you need any tools or any help, please drop me a line.
Posted by: Steve Corsello at July 21, 2008 01:39 PM
Nice seeing you at USGM this past weekend, if a bit unexpected.
Glad to see you're doing well and in a new place.
xo
Posted by: Stash at July 23, 2008 12:55 PM
i can't believe that as of the end of june the apartment hadn't been fixed. that's amazing
good news on the new place tho'
Posted by: kyle at July 24, 2008 07:04 PM