City is pushing for even smaller apartments

Last month, the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) unveiled a scheme to construct what the city is calling micro-units, apartments designed to be 300 square feet or less.

HPD has launched a design competition called adAPT NYC, asking developers to submit proposals to create these miniscule living spaces. The winning bidder will be able to build on a city-owned site in Kips Bay; at least 75 percent of the units in the building, which will be at 335 E. 27th St., will be micro-units, between 275 and 300 square feet (half the size of a subway car), and will be reserved for one- or two-person households.

The city will have to waive current zoning regulations that require new apartments to be at least 400 square feet in order to build the apartments, but the mayor is hoping not only that it will work but can serve as a model for new buildings around the city. The units will be designed with efficiency in mind and will be situated for maximum exposure to light and air. They will also be kept at below-market rates, which for a studio in Manhattan is currently about $2,000.

“Everyone is excited to see the response to the RPF [request for proposals] and what sort of creative designs and financial solutions are presented,” said Mark Thompson, chair of Community Board 6, where the new building will be constructed. “There’s been a lot of interest generated about the possibility of creating units that are below market rent.”

Thompson said that while the project could be welcome in such a densely populated neighborhood with few vacant apartments, it will also depend very much on the price point of the units. If they’re designed for people just starting out who can’t otherwise afford their own apartment, close to $2,000 isn’t going to cut it, he said.

There are, of course, the lucky few who rent apartments in Manhattan for well below market rent. Felicia McCoy lives in a cozy studio on West 104th Street. While she always thought she might one day move to a more spacious pad, the stabilized rent—currently $889—has kept her happily in place for 22 years.

“I’m trying to be a minimalist,” said McCoy of not having a lot of space. “I’m also not home a lot, so I really don’t care.”

For McCoy, the tradeoffs of living in a small space—no place to put a proper table, stray papers quickly piling up in the middle of the room, a tight squeeze with visitors—are primarily worth it because of the price and location. Paying close to $2,000 for a potentially smaller space in Manhattan, even if it was a design and amenities upgrade, just doesn’t appeal to her.

“I would move to the Bronx, like a friend of mine did,” she said, before she’d pay more for a studio.

But real estate agents swear there will be people clamoring to get into the micro-units if they are priced even slightly below normal market rents.

“Prices are so high now; if [renters] want to live and work in Manhattan, they have no other alternatives,” said Jason Haber, CEO of Rubicon Properties. He was standing with one of his agents, Eric Mendelsohn, in a tiny Upper West Side one-bedroom that rents for $1,975 a month. Haber and Mendelsohn said that the apartment, which is less than 500 square feet, would probably be snapped up soon because the lack of direct sunlight was offset by a dishwasher, an anomaly in a prewar building.

They both insisted that demand for micro-unit apartments in Manhattan will be high. The housing shortage practically guarantees that anything under $2,000 will be easy to rent, Haber said.

Mendelsohn said he works with a lot of recent college graduates who want to live in Manhattan, but their options are shrinking.
“There’s a real housing shortage and there’s not enough inventory,” Mendelsohn said. “Many managing agents aren’t allowing pressurized walls anymore,” which young people commonly use to turn an out-of-their-price-range one-bedroom into a divided two-bedroom apartment they can share with a roommate, he explained. The micro-units would be perfect for many of his clients, he said.
Lower East Side resident Lisa Travnik was among the young professionals scouring Manhattan for an affordable place two years ago, and she snapped up a studio for less than $1,500, with a big sacrifice on space. Travnik lives in a 275-square-foot apartment; she is living proof of how people might exist in the forthcoming micro-units.

“My kitchen is a decent size, my bathroom is a normal size and it has fairly high ceilings,” said Travnik. “Those are the things that make it livable.”

Travnik’s apartment, which she described as a “cozy cave” that doesn’t get too much direct sunlight or cell signal, has its charms. The exposed brick and new kitchen appliances are bonuses, she said, as is the prime location in her neighborhood of choice. Her queen-sized bed—something she insisted on having, since she spends much of her time sitting on it—takes up most of her living space, but she has it strategically lifted to fit baskets underneath. Still, it’s a challenge to keep it clutter-free, and it’s not necessarily a bargain-basement price.

“Sometimes it seems like [a lot to pay] for how small it is. But I know that rents are going up. When I first got it, it felt like more,” Travnik said. “For the area, it’s pretty low.”

Travnik hopes to stay at least another year in her place and thinks she’s set it up to maximize the little room she has. She’s become a de facto expert on storage, learning how to “store up” and utilize her vertical space and how to choose furniture pieces carefully to fit in exact spaces. She loves her apartment but can’t imagine sharing it with another person. She did say, however, that in a more mindfully designed space, it could very well work.

Sally Augustin, an environmental psychologist who studies how people’s surroundings affect their mental well-being, agreed that design is a key factor in whether two people, or even just one, could thrive in a micro-unit. But more important than that, she said, is the element of choice.

“We need to feel like we’re in control of our lives, including our physical world, and if people really get to choose to live in these apartments, they will feel better about the whole experience,” she said. “If it turns out that everybody getting a certain kind of aid from the city is forced to live in these spaces, there will be some real unhappiness.”

The city is positing that the micro-units can accommodate couples as well as singles, aiming to give more options to the 1.8 million one- and two-person households in New York. But can two people really co-exist in a space that small? Augustin said it truly depends on good design, as well as personality.

“All human beings need to be able to be alone to order their thoughts from time to time,” Augustin said. “You can be alone in different ways. Two people can be alone in 300 square feet, if they can sit in ways that they don’t see each other.”

She said that something as simple as having two chairs back to back can facilitate the kind of privacy that most people think only comes from having a larger apartment with multiple rooms. But it also depends on the personalities of the people living there—the cramped space is probably not great for an introverted person to share with an extroverted one, for example.

Perception is also a key factor, she said.

“Someone comes from Hong Kong to the United States, [it’s] not as dramatic [a change] as for someone who grew up in a great home in Chappaqua, a kid who grew up in that type of large home,” Augustin said.

She suggested that painting the walls light colors, eliminating clutter and using vertical storage can all help make a simple small room into a welcoming home.

“When we have more clutter, our eyes catch on more stuff, it’s quite difficult to survey our environment,” she said.

All of these prescriptions for small living could be the way of the future, especially if the city continues to grow in population with a mind for environmentally conscious development. For some, any move toward providing more middle-range rental housing is urgently welcomed, even if the space is minimal.

“There is simply too much demand and not enough supply,” said Haber. “And this is in a sluggish economy. Imagine if the economy picked up.”

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Remember Geico’s reality show spoof commercial “Tiny House”? It may be turning into even more of a reality for solitary New Yorkers who could find themselves living a little more like Alice in Wonderland after imbibing the growing potion. Or, the City could simply be updating itself to resemble living situations in comparable cities worldwide.

(by Alissa Fleck)

Mayor Bloomberg announced today a contest to design a small apartment layout—like 300 square feet small, reports Gothamist. The goal is to meet changing housing and demographic needs and put an end to rampant illegally subdivided apartments in the City.

“Developing housing that matches how New Yorkers live today is critical to the City’s continued growth, future competitiveness and long-term economic success,” said Bloomberg in a statement. 76% of New Yorkers currently live in 1-2 person households, according to Gothamist. 

The competition is called adAPT NYC and the aim is to develop a model building in the Kip’s Bay neighborhood consisting of “micro-units,” or residences smaller than what is allowed under current regulations. The statement okays designs as small as 275 square feet. According to Bloomberg, NYC housing has thus far not evolved to meet the City’s shifting demographics.

Bloomberg said the benefits and stability of affordable housing in the City outweigh the sacrifices for space. The City will temporarily waive zoning regulations for the units in the pilot program while their viability is ascertained. Rental price cannot be determined at this time, but will likely be lower than typical studio rental.

Hopefully this will simply create more options, as Bloomberg promises, rather than merely lower living standards for New Yorkers.

Their selfishness literally seeps through the vents into our apartments.

Oh, sure, I believe people have a legal right to smoke in their homes—if they keep their smoke within the confines of their apartments.

That rarely happens. So let’s think about a great big new in-the-apartment smoking ban. At least in my building.

Granted, I’m cranky. My clothes smell like I’ve been clubbing in the 1980s. Is there a vent in my closet that I don’t know about? Beyond my space, I noticed a few minutes ago while in the laundry room that the odor there shifts from that Tide smell to the building workers’ cigarettes.

There will be no cessation in the smoking debate in this town. Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently unveiled the latest front in what amounts to his administrative war. He wants city apartment buildings officially to go on record as to whether smoking is permitted in all indoor and outdoor locations, including—here’s the fun part—inside apartments.

Some smokers are horrified their mayor is reaching into their apartments. Not me. I’m thrilled that rude behavior hostile to my health is finally up for debate. These days, I like the idea of a building where nobody is smoking, not even the scuzzy-looking people by the front door. Those folks always seem like they walked out of The Grapes of Wrath. These untouchables seem so displaced that I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.

Mostly, these days, I feel sorry for me. Cause I cannot even figure out where the smoke is coming from. Granted, I’m not alone. The building management sent out an announcement last month about the issue. “Many neighbors have voiced concerns over the smoke that comes through the vents, doorways and windows of neighbors who smoke cigarettes,” the flier said. “Secondhand smoke is extremely dangerous for asthmatics, the elderly and especially young children.”

Oh, asthma. Did I mention I was diagnosed with asthma after a couple of years in my building? Anyway, the building flier had three tips for residents: Smoke outside of the building; use a “smokeless ashtray,” something I’m skeptical about, especially since the jerks in my building are not buying them; or “quit—that’s the healthiest option for everyone.”

Critics, citing Bloomberg’s no-smoking policy in restaurants and bars and now parks, say he’s creating a nanny state. All I know is that I like breathing again. The mayor deserves credit for being largely ahead of his time on these issues. It only takes a visit to a city without these policies for a non-smoker to appreciate Nanny Bloomberg anew.

I get that there is another side to this issue, but there’s so much smoke in my apartment that I cannot see it clearly.

Oh, and not to sound old-fashioned, I’m not thrilled with the marijuana smoke, either. Or, more specifically, the incense on my floor that’s doing a lame-ass job of covering up the marijuana smoke.

Sorry, smokers, but at least I admit to the ugly stuff in the recesses of my mind. Earlier today I was walking on West 38th Street. Strolling behind a smoker in an ugly jacket (he evidently spends his dough on cigs and not clothes) as the awful smell wafted back toward my nostrils and lungs, I actually began to wonder whether even that awful little moment should be legal. Why should this dude be able to smoke on a busy sidewalk? I want fresh air, or the nearest possible approximation offered in this big town.

This is real life, not an episode of Mad Men.

Christopher Moore is a writer living in Manhattan. He’s available by email at ccmnj@aol.com and also on Twitter
(@cmoorenyc).

Ah, the warm air of spring. New Yorkers celebrate by opening their windows wide—and veterinary hospitals brace for an influx of severely injured felines.
In New York, a city of few mosquitoes and an abundance of rental apartments, many dwellings lack window screens. Unfortunately, a misconception exists that cats’ instincts will protect them from falling from high-rise windows. Nothing could be further from the truth, and “curiosity killed the cat” is far more accurate. Cats focusing on the sights and sounds of the city often jump or tumble from sills, suffering devastating injuries or even death.
Yes, cats are skilled at righting themselves mid air, and some survive a fall that would have been fatal for another species. However, they do so at a price: multiple bone fractures, ruptured lungs and head trauma are often seen. These injuries can be crippling, and may require long periods of intensive hospitalization as well as complex surgical repair. Similar injuries are seen in cats that have fallen from fire escapes or balconies.
And, of course, kitties that fall and find themselves on the streets of the city often become lost and may not be recovered. Any home with a cat should have screens in all open windows. Adjustable screens are inexpensive, easy to use, and can be purchased at most hardware and home supply stores.
Another myth is that cats who have fallen once have learned their lesson—any New York City vet can tell you of cats who have fallen two or three times, and finally met their demise. And yes, dogs fall too. Pooch owners need window screens as well!

Louise Murray, DVM, DACVIM, of ASPCA Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital, is the author of Vet Confidential: An Insider’s Guide to Protecting Your Pet’s Health.

Erlich, with 18 years in the real estate industry, now sees a different environment for renters.

“Business is here if the owners are willing to give the right price,” said Erlich, who started Rachel Realty NYC five years ago, exclusively working with Upper West Side properties. “There are always deals to be done.”

New reports on the state of Manhattan’s real estate market show that overall rents dipped toward the end of 2009, when compared with the final quarter of 2008. On the West Side, the situation was slightly more nuanced. In that neighborhood, the average rent price shot up 4.5 percent since the final quarter of 2008, but the rental price per square foot decreased by 4.1 percent. There was a 3.9 percent decline in the number of West Side rentals during that time as well.

“There are too many apartments available,” Erlich said. “Studios, I haven’t seen so low [priced] in a long time.”

With a 2.17 percent vacancy rate on the West Side—one of the highest in Manhattan, according to a recent report by broker CitiHabitats—renters are gaining the upper hand in negotiations.

“Today, the owners are listening if a client likes the apartment,” Erlich said. “If they don’t like a couple of old things in the apartment, [the landlord] will change it.”

With owners making concessions and offering perks, such as footing the broker’s cost or offering a month’s rent free, average rent prices are actually lower than the reports say, according to Jonathan Miller, CEO of real estate appraiser Miller Samuel Inc.

“The rental indicators that we’re presenting are arguably conservative,” Miller said. “What has happened over the year is that concessions have been a bigger part of the process… If we factored that in, we’d see more rent falling more significantly than they are now.”

The best season for renters was the summer, because of an increase in inventory from the Upper West Side’s development boom. The new competition drove down prices and owners were willing to make deep concessions.

“You’re seeing less and less of that available in the winter,” said Stephen Kotler, executive vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman. “As inventory has been absorbed the incentives have been more limited.”

Miller, the real estate appraiser, said the reports showed that prices in Manhattan are moving “sideways.” There won’t be an uptick in prices unless unemployment decreases and credit is eased, he argued.

“Best case scenario is moving sideways for the next two years—perhaps more—and some continuing price erosion,” Miller said. “However, I think that the worst is behind us.”

This furnished one-bedroom at 200 West End Avenue (between 69th and 70th streets) has a washer and dryer. The landlord is asking $4,500 a month.

Many renters use brokers to find landlords, and vice-versa, so if you go the broker route, Chris Randolph, a real estate salesperson at JC DeNiro, suggested going through referrals whenever possible.
“If you’re new to town or have never looked for your own apartment, ask for the manager of a real estate office and explain your situation, then request an experienced agent,” he said. “Putting the manager on the spot is a good thing, he or she will be more aware of your situation.”
Building a relationship with a broker or manager can help negotiate a rate that’s lower than an apartment’s listed price—a concession that’s becoming pretty standard in this economy, according to Randolph. He also recommends working with smaller brokers, as the tenant is more likely to receive good “hands-on” treatment. (Randolph, coincidentally, works for one such small broker.) However, one trade off with these companies is the smaller scope that the firm has in such a large city.
Right now, finishing a deal quickly is also very attractive to brokers, who saw very slow business over the holiday season and are facing a lull before the market gets hot in June, when college grads and summer interns descend on the city. Renters who are willing to sign as soon as possible will receive more attention and get better concessions in closing a deal. “An old Brooklyn adage,” said Randolph, who grew up in Carroll Gardens, “is that fast nickel is better than a slow dime.”

Of course, nowadays many people bypass realtors altogether and rely on the Internet wonderland of Craigslist postings. By far the most up-to-date and convenient listing tool available (newspaper classifieds are quickly outdated and are often realtor-heavy), Craiglist searches are not an exact science, since scams and bogus listings must be filtered out (try selecting the Manhattan tab and searching “Upper West Side” in any fields available). Still, searches of neighborhood apartments with no broker fees or sales by owner often produce more than 1,000 listings. Searching for rentals with brokers and fees is also possible, further broadening your scope. At the very least, Craigslist is a useful gauge of what to expect when it comes to pricing.

An 1,800-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath pre-war apartment at 327 Central Park West (and 93rd) overlooks the park and reservoir. Halstead has the unit priced at $10,500 per month.

Big firms like Citi Habitats often do not allow brokers to speak with the press, but my friend Andrew Gordon recently left the company to work independently and was willing to speak candidly. He covers many areas of Manhattan, including the Upper West Side, and was one of many to point out that renters should start by negotiating the broker’s fee, with the goal of not having to pay one at all.
“More likely than not, a landlord will agree to pay the broker fee to get their apartment rented,” he said. “They may also be willing to throw in a month’s free rent.”
For cheaper rents, the area between Columbus Avenue and Broadway has always provided better deals regardless of the economy, as well as the mid-rise pre-war buildings along Amsterdam Avenue, according to Gordon. The high rises on Central Park West and on Riverside Drive remain at higher and steadier prices, as they are still desirable to a certain echelon of renters.
“The walkups without doorman services are typically less expensive—now you can find a one bedroom for as low as $1,700, whereas a high rise on Central Park West will still pick up $2,500,” Gordon said. “Those buildings with studios and one-bedrooms are more likely to give better deals.”
Just last year, these $1,700 apartments were renting for as much as $2,200 a month, according to Gordon.
Adina Azarian, who owns Adina Equities, says $1,700 is the new pricing standard, having just rented some one-bedroom spaces for that much on West 79th Street. She says that many owners are also now offering substantial renovations or amenities that were unheard of a year ago. Landlords are willing to install dishwashers and new blinds for new tenants, or even paint an apartment before the move-in date. Before the change in the economy, none of these offers would have been made.
In smaller brownstone buildings, renters can find all kinds of quirky concessions, like free iPods or paid gym memberships. Some landlords even offer free months rent—but usually at the end of a lease, thus extending a year to 13 months.
Azarian finds the gimmicky offers unhelpful and the 13-month lease to be more or less a sham. The “free month” is usually at the end of a lease, and so one ends up paying for a full year anyway, with no up-front savings. Additionally, moving to a new apartment, retrieving a security deposit or signing a new lease may be complicated by the extra month’s commitment, so Azarian recommends focusing on more important and substantial agreements.
“Move-in dates are negotiable, which was never the case before,” she said. “Now if you’re working on a deal and you don’t want to move in until March 15, a landlord is much more likely to eat up the extra weeks so as to sign someone definite.”
She also suggested negotiating the brokers’ costs, such as waiving the typical $100 application fee and the cost of the credit check. Brokers are in the same boat as landlords in terms of attracting clients.
Ipods and gym memberships aside, pricing on the Upper West Side has not changed unilaterally, as the prime areas seem relatively less affected by fluctuations in the housing market. Luxury housing is still popular among those who can afford it. Gary Jacob, an owner of luxury rental manager Glenwood, points out that his prestigious Upper West Side property, the Grand Tier, on Broadway and West 65th Street, has not lost much business.
Stephen Kotler, an executive vice president with Prudential Douglas Elliman, echoes the view that the higher-end apartments are not losing much value. A building with studios and one-bedrooms has to market much more aggressively than those offering family rentals with three or four bedrooms, which are still in high demand (there are about 10 to 15 percent more one-bedrooms available than a year ago, according to Kotler). Smaller apartments are also often individually owned, unlike larger and more luxurious properties often owned by investors.
But even some investor properties and developments have opened up. Riverside Boulevard, which stretches along the Hudson River from West 66th to 71st streets, for example, has a lot of vacant investor-owned units.
“These properties are competing with each other for tenants,” Kotler said.
A quick search showed a disparity in prices for Riverside Boulevard one-bedrooms, ranging from $4,200 a month to as low as $2,400. While these are still luxury prices, the latest listings promise “no fees” and all sorts of amenities—hardwood floors, granite countertops, fitness centers and free parking are usually standard.
Kotler also points to the Upper West Side “pockets” where renters are most likely to find vacancies. The area south of West 72nd Street is likely yield good choices, as is the mid- and upper-90s. In between, the market is much tougher, as there are fewer rental apartments available.
Despite the economy, Prudential Douglas Elliman is moving forward with plans to open two new high-end, residential rental buildings in the Park West Village area near Columbus Avenue and West 97th Street. One of these will be above the new Whole Foods supermarket. These luxury doorman buildings will arrive in March, and create even more space in what seems to be a fairly open market.
While some feel that the high-end rental market has been relatively immune to price drops when compared with smaller spaces in brownstones, Louise Phillips Forbes, an executive vice president at Halstead Properties, sees things differently. People who would normally buy an apartment are waiting for prices to drop further and have decided to continue renting a seven-bedroom apartment on West End Avenue, for example. But instead of paying $15,000 a month, “nobody will go above twelve,” Forbes said, which represents a significant drop.
She explains that potential buyers—of investment properties that will be rented out, and of homes—are waiting for the market to hit bottom, forcing current owners to rent their luxury units at reduced rates.
Translated, this steady supply of vacant rental apartments should keep rents low (by luxury standards), either because owners waiting to sell are collecting rental income until the market tips in their favor, or because investors with newly purchased apartments are looking for a return. Either way, the renters win.
“Everything is backed up and the entire rental market is on a pause,” Forbes said. “It is a buyer’s and renter’s market.”