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I reread the article. It says he was selected "once" (doesn't say the year) for the housing lottery where the rent was $1400. It's possible it was a number of years ago and that at that time, the rent on the Manhattan studio was more like $1000. So perhaps it wasn't actually a $200 difference in the rent. The details are rather lacking in the article. And I wonder how the kids feel about having their cramped quarters put out there for the world to see.
I tried getting an afterschool job when I was 15-16, nobody would hire me because I was too young, the only place I could get a job was through the city's summer youth employment program. Only when I started college, and did not have the restrictions high schoolers had, was I able to get a part-time job. This was in the late 70s.
Today it's better because people that age can get jobs in Craigslist's "gig" section. I remember sneaking into apartment buildings to put restaurant menus under people's doors when I was 13 or so.
I reread the article. It says he was selected "once" (doesn't say the year) for the housing lottery where the rent was $1400. It's possible it was a number of years ago and that at that time, the rent on the Manhattan studio was more like $1000. So perhaps it wasn't actually a $200 difference in the rent. The details are rather lacking in the article. And I wonder how the kids feel about having their cramped quarters put out there for the world to see.
I hate when a writer tortures facts to make a story.
A factois everyone needs for this story is HOW MUCH DOES HE GET IN DISABILITY PAYMENTS.
I'd get the 3bd and sacrifice for the kids. People don't know a good deal when they see it. $1400/mo rent stabalized luxury 3bd on 57th st? Wtf, take it and start figuring out a way to make a few more pennies. You can't even get that in most (any?) cities in America.
If the parents' priority is escaping this hellish situation in order to get their kids some normalcy and privacy then an extra $200 is NOTHING! Thats 3.5 hours a week on any minimum wage job. You could make that on lots of low effort gigs. The guy could PANHANDLE the extra $200 in NO TIME with that cane, hobbling around 34th street. Sorry, no sympathy. I grew up with friends who were a family of 5 in tiny West Village walk up 1 bedrooms. This is worse.
" If she's already earning $2000 she can find a job with slightly higher pay."
Oh, sure, people can just definitely arbitrarily find a job that'll give them a more than ten percent raise with no countervailing drawbacks whenever they want.
You can't look at a family like this and say the problem is their selfishness. The non-disabled adult works in an exhausting job for peanuts and they live within their means as best they can, turning down rents they can't afford. You'd be happy to condemn them if they did otherwise, but even that's not good enough for you. You're just determined to hate poor people no matter what they do, to convince yourself you could never be one of them.Newsflash: you're a few strokes of bad luck from being one of them yourself. Almost all of us are. I will never understand the serf mentality on here, people eager to condemn the poor and kneel down in front of the rich.
(There's clearly more than one "Abbas Chouman" in the tri-state area, if you google.)
I reread the article. It says he was selected "once" (doesn't say the year) for the housing lottery where the rent was $1400. It's possible it was a number of years ago and that at that time, the rent on the Manhattan studio was more like $1000. So perhaps it wasn't actually a $200 difference in the rent. The details are rather lacking in the article. And I wonder how the kids feel about having their cramped quarters put out there for the world to see.
Family has to be living in that RS unit for some time now. Besides the low rent no LL In their right mind would allow an adult and three teenaged children (almost basically young adults) to move into that studio apartment. Am almost certain it is illegal or violates some sort of zoning/occupancy rules to have that many adults in such a small apartment.
City/developers probably took pity on this family seeing the situation (five people living in a studio apartment), but the guy thumbed his nose at offer, so that is that.
Another thing; that building is across the street from where a large apartment complex ends (Penn South?), and buildings on same block are all gentrifying. The remaining townhouses on street are undergoing major restoration work and so forth.
LL could gut renovate that studio and get far more than $1200. Among other things it is only a block away from the whole High Line park area which now includes Hudson Yards.
How is it not normal to live in a studio if you have kids? I don't understand. My friend's home looks like. Her mom also has a roommate.
NYC apartment living is what it is; if you can't afford to move or whatever then have to deal with things (including a spouse and or kid(s) until can do better.
One common arrangement is guy in 5D meets and marries girl (or these days guy) in 5A or even 2B. They both keep their RS apartments and use one for "living" and another for sleeping. Married couples have been also known to keep their RS apartments in separate buildings as well, working out various living arrangements. Recall reading several articles in NYC after gay marriage was made legal in NYS with couples (same sex or whatever) still keeping their separate RS apartments. One of them was a professor (both or only one of the partners) at Brooklyn College. They didn't want to give up either RS apartment to move in together, but did buy a place upstate (Catskills?) to have as a weekend/country house.
And before anyone starts, no the above isn't illegal per se. Nothing requires married couples to live in same apartment. Also long as the RS unit is one's primary address (using very generous laws and court rulings) tenant cannot be kicked out either.
Today it's better because people that age can get jobs in Craigslist's "gig" section. I remember sneaking into apartment buildings to put restaurant menus under people's doors when I was 13 or so.
In our building (and many on block) if caught you'd have a foot up your a$$ and those GD menus thrown out right behind you.
Thank God those menu days seem to be over. Then again many of the Asian restaurants on UES that were worst offenders (including China Fun) are long since closed.
Oh please, my neighbor is an ex convict and who do you think is paying his rent? Apparently bad behavior pays.
Which is why we're paying an arm and a leg for our apartments...
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