Apartment Hunt - First Day in Manhattan - Upper East Side

I left work after the usual Friday half-day, taking the subway all the way home, at about 12:30pm.  I took the 4 express from the office to Atlantic Avenue - Pacific Street, then changed to an R to my apartment.  I wanted a quick bite pretty badly before going to the Upper East Side to meet the broker…

I was in the apartment for about half an hour, forty minutes, time to relieve myself and take a quick, hot shower, shovel some sliced lunch meat into my maw, get dressed and head out…

I took the R train from near my apartment in Brooklyn to Atlantic Avenue - Pacific Street, where I took a 4 express train to Manhattan.  The express train made really good time, cruising up Manhattan under Lexington Avenue.

I got off it at 59th Street, shortly after 2pm.  I'd arranged to meet A., the broker, at 3pm at the corner of 73rd Street & 3rd Avenue, so I had a little bit of a walk to get there, but for me 14 blocks is a "walk in the park", and I was really early anyway.  The Upper East Side there is a fantastic neighborhood.  Those parts aren't the fantastically wealthy parts, but are very respectable.  I walked past the street where the fictional Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City lives, in the same neighborhood…

I arrived at the corner where we arranged to meet about half an hour early, so I called A., to let him know I was there and I knew I was early.  He said to meet him near his company's office at 78th Street & York Avenue (York is one block east of 1st Avenue, and doesn't run the full length of Manhattan) and we'd start a bit early.

So, I did that.  I thought I was going into his office so I was walking all over looking for an office with his company's name, and didn't see it.  Then I overheard some guy standing on the street, holding a bunch of papers, talking into a cell phone about "I'll get the keys, but first I'm meeting a client to look at an apartment," so I turned towards him, got his attention and he noticed me, and seemed to guess the same thing.  I asked "are you A.?" and he said he was, so we shook hands and introduced ourselves…

He said he wanted to show me four apartments, and we'd start with a nearby one, and we started walking up two streets and then turned left…  We were looking for the 220 street address, and after we saw 222, there was another building with construction going on, so he asked if that was 220, but none of the workers seemed to know.  He was sure it didn't look like what he was planning to show me…

Then he realized we were on the wrong street, we were on 80th Street, and he wanted to show me one on 78th Street…  Okay, strike one for this guy, we met at a corner of the same street where he wanted to show me an apartment, he named the street on the phone as to where to meet and then took us the wrong way…

We walked a couple of blocks and found 220 78th Street.  He struggled with the key to open the outer door of the building and it wouldn't open.  He kind of gave up when I said "the outer door should be open" and I pushed it and it opened.  Then we were in the lobby between the doors, and his key wouldn't open that one, though we both tried numerous times.  The tag on the key said 220-230 78th Street, so we also tried it at 230, but that didn't work at all…

He was a bit upset, and said we'd have to go back to the office at 78th Street & York Avenue.  He needed to exchange that for the right keys. But he said first he had to meet another client he'd already arranged to meet and show her a 1 bedroom apartment.

So we did that, he dropped off the key and picked up a key to another apartment and then we met Stephanie on the corner of 79th Street & York Avenue.  The apartment he wanted to show where was on 79th Street, near the east end of the block, not far from the East River.   We went there, the key opened the outer door of the building and we went into the big courtyard, then found the right corner for the P apartments…

We climbed up four flights of stars, found the apartment and his key wouldn't open it.  He tried calling the office but there was no signal in the stairwell.  He left me and Stephanie outside the door of the apartment and ran back to the office.  Stephanie and I just sort of looked at each other, shaking our heads…  A. came back around ten or fifteen minutes later with another set of keys, and this one wouldn't open the door, either.

Stephanie was getting impatient, saying she only had a two hour break for this apartment search, and A. was getting really frustrated as well…  He went downstairs again and came back about ten minutes later with the building superintendent, who opened the door, and changed the lock, since it seemed that the problems was the lock in the door was the wrong lock.

I wasn't sure if I should go in or stay outside.  I decided that staying outside might make Stephanie think I was impatient and I didn't want to rush her in her decision, so I went inside, but didn't really wander around the apartment.  She did and then told A. that she liked it and she'd take it.  He suggested she look at the kitchen but she said "Oh, I don't cook at all."

From there we had to go back to the office for him to get her started on the paperwork, and to get keys to show me an apartment, since the office only lets him take one set of keys at a time.  Stephanie started filling out the forms and paid in cash for the credit check, and A. got a set of keys for us.

He took me around the block to the building next door to the one he showed Stephanie, and we had no problems getting in.  This was similar in that the main door opened onto a big courtyard inside with stairwells at each corner.  We found the L series and went there.  I kind of liked this apartment.  It was two bedrooms, not very big, but not bad.  It had a great view off the east of the East River and Queens across it, very nice, and a minor view between buildings.

The only problem was there was no hookup for the washing machine.  He said he didn't know of many buildings, especially not in my price range, with washing machine hookups, but said the best thing would just be to get some hoses and if necessary, hire a plumber to run them in the kitchen from under the sink.  This one had space in the kitchen for the machine, though it'd be a little cramped….

I wrote the address on a page in my notepad, photographed it and then took photos of the apartment.

When I was done with that we went back to the office.  Stephanie was still filling out forms and the office was very crowded with other brokers and their clients.  Brokers were talking on cell phones, and with each other.  They all asked each other "so, which one is your client?" and then the other would point to the client…

And A. got the keys for that 220 building again, so we walked there again.  This time we came on 230 first, and the key said 230 on it, so we went in, found the right apartment and he rang the bell.  No one answered so he started trying the key in the lock and fiddling it it.  Then a young woman opened the door, "what the fuck do you want?".  A. was "um, this apartment isn't for rent, is it?" and the woman, probably thinking we were trying to break in or something just said "fuck off assholes!" and slammed the door…

I told A., "um, I think we want 220, not 230, they probably aren't separate entrances to the same building…"

So, we left there and went next door to 220.  This time it was the right one, and the key opened it.  We went up four or five flights of stairs to the right apartment, but I didn't really like it.  It was two bedrooms, but they had windows that only faced north, so they wouldn't get much sunlight (sort of like my current apartment) and it seemed dark and "closed" inside…  I did the photo thing again and told A. want I didn't like about it.

He took us upstairs another couple of flights of steps to see another apartment.  This one was actually the biggest of all the he showed me, and the cheapest.  The reason is that it wasn't really two bedrooms.  It was one bedroom and one random, not-bedroom room.  Because the the two were connected it couldn't be rented as a two bedroom apartment.  But this was nice, all the rooms were connected by wide glass doors, giving it a big, wide open feel.  It was high up so there was a good view of the sky from the windows, though, they also faced the adjacent building pretty close, too…  The kitchen was a bit small, and it was six or seven floors up with no elevator…  I did the photograph thing again…

We walked back to his office to drop off the keys.  Stephanie was still there, with paperwork.  She said she texted her current landlord about a landlord reference and got a nasty reply back about why was she moving?  She said her reasons for moving are that her landlord is trying to sell the apartment, so she wants to start the process now instead of when the landlord finds a buyer, just so she does it at her own pace.  But the landlord doesn't want to lose a rent paying tenant until the last minute…

Then one of the guys who worked at the office walked up to her and said, loudly for all of us to hear, "I'm sorry, your credit check failed, we can't accept you as a client.  You have an outstanding collections action, but if you pay that off we'll be glad to take you again."  So, that was the end of that for her…  Then the guy took A. aside into another room to talk to him about it, and he was disappointed because that was the end of that commission for him…

All three of us left again at the same time, though Stephanie split off at the next intersection to go her own way.  A. had one more apartment to show me, up on 95th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues.  He got a taxi for us instead of walking twelve blocks, as it was getting late and we were both tired and he was complaining of being hungry.  Next to the apartment we went into a small laundry shop where he got the key from the building's superintendent and we went in.

This apartment was interesting…  It was decent sized, with much of it being very irregularly shaped, but the kitchen was tiny.  It had a south-facing view, so it would get the most sunlight of the four.  But there was no room at all for the washing machine anywhere near plumbing.

I told him after the last one that there was nothing he showed me that was like "wow, I gotta have it!" and nothing I was quite prepared to actually commit to yet, none to put money down on, but a couple to think about.  He said he understood.

We stood in the kitchen here and had a talk about what I liked, what I didn't like, what my "real budget" is, and what sort of realistic trade-offs have to be made to live in a good neighborhood on that budget.  For the most part, to live in good Manhattan neighborhoods, he said I'll have to compromise on the size of the apartment.  He said mostly genuine two bedroom apartments are expensive because the bulk of the renters are roommates who will split the rent between two working people, not married couples.  But like the third apartment, something with a not-bedroom room would probably work for me and Leena, as a married couple, not roommates living separate lives.

He said bigger apartments are available in that budget in some neighborhoods that are less safe, but I'd prefer not to compromise on that aspect...

So, after that we walked up to the subway station on Lexington.  Both of us were heading in the downtown direction.  I'll let him know after thinking further, and he'll look for more apartments matching my criteria and budget and let me know.

I got off the train at 14th Street - Union Square and walked over to the High Line.  I went up there and wrote in my diary for a little bit.  I know a guy was photographing me while I sat there and wrote, since I saw the flash from his camera…

Then I headed back to Union Square and caught a Q train to Brooklyn, where I transferred to an R train to my neighborhood…

Now I'm eating some of the beef stew and drinking a cream soda after not eating or drinking almost all day…  I really need the meal…

Kitchen in the first apartment

View of the East River and Roosevelt
Island from the first apartment.

The nicest floor of them all,
in the second apartment.

Really great floor in the second apt.

Kitchen in the second apartment.

Floor covered from painting work
in the third apartment.

Glass doors between rooms in the third apt.

Less than stellar view from the third apt...

Small kitchen in third apt.

Looking out the window of the third apt...

View from the bedroom window of
fourth apt.

Kitchen in the fourth apartment...

Exposed brick in the fourth apartment,
this is the entrance and living room

A. in the fourth apt, with, is that a gas
meter? in the living room?

Something in the living room of the fourth apartment,
I don't know what, but I kind of like the little
raised area to sit or read or whatever...