It Looks Like I Have A New Apartment...

I saw the apartment (it's better than I expected), I met the roommate (nice guy) and all seems well.  I'm moving into a 2-family house in Astoria, Queens - the landlord's daughter and family live downstairs.  My new roommate (he's been there for 3 years) and I have the entire 2nd floor (which is a 3 bedroom apartment), and I'm renting the middle-sized bedroom.  If we get a 3rd roommate, I'll be paying less than half of what I'm paying in rent now in Manhattan.  If he and I don't get a third person, I'll STILL be paying less than I am now.

Most importantly, my new roommate grew up with cats, and has no problems with my little dumplings moving in.

Now I have to finish getting my stuff packed and ready to go.

Happy Hump Day and Apartment Update

I feel like maybe I've gotten "over-the-hump" with my apartment situation.  I spoke to the guy who is moving out of the place in Queens (he's a close friend of my current roommate, but I'm also friendly with him) and finally made arrangements to see the space (tomorrow).  I told him I DEFINITELY want to move into the apartment (I don't care what it looks like), and asked him to inform his roommate not to rent the space out to anyone else.  He assured me that the place was mine if I wanted it.

I'm not doing any celebrating quite yet.  Anything could happen, and I have yet to meet my new roommate, but as of right this moment I feel a little better about what's going on.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Room Wanted

It seems that my plans of moving to Queens might not happen after all.  Therefore I’m putting this out there to all NYC members of the DustBunnyNation: ANYBODY GOT A PLACE FOR ME TO LIVE???

It turns out that my longtime roommate will NOT be moving with me to the apartment in Queens (which I still haven’t seen).  And now I’m worried this entire Queens deal isn’t going to pan out at all.  So I’m putting the word out that I need a place to live – SOON.

Here are my deets:  I work Monday thru Friday, 10 am to 6 pm – but many times have to stay later.  I also oftentimes work on the weekends.  When not working, I’m usually in front of my laptop (the apartment must have internet connection).  I very rarely go out anymore and I PROMISE to work on keeping things neat and organized.

In addition to myself, I have two loving kitties – Oscar, whose interests include 9 Lives Shredded Turkey & Cheese, and Dusty, who enjoys playing fetch and getting petted.  They are sweet and cuddly and are no trouble at all – and I can’t move anywhere without them.

I don’t really care where in NYC I end up, as long as it’s near a subway stop and it's relatively safe.  In addition to splitting the rent, I would obviously pay my share of utilities.

If ANYBODY has ANY leads on a place for me and the kitties to live, please send an email to  daviddust@gmail.com

XOXOXO

Rush Limbaugh's Apartment - Where Silk Damask Goes to Die

Via Gawker - Rush Limbaugh has put his 4 bedroom Fifth Avenue apartment on the market for the low-low-price of $13.95 million.  And JEEBUS, is it ever tacky - aren't your just gagging on all this "glamour" [pronounced "gleh-MORE"]?!?

I would love to be a fly on the wall so I could hear what the rich and jaded potential buyers have to say when they walk through this gaudy mess.  I'm sure the commentary is priceless.

A Tiny Apartment for a Tiny Gay

Eddie Rabon lives in my neighborhood - in a teeny-tiny 55-square-foot apartment which he pays $800 per month for - even in this economy. Welcome to Manhattan!! Hat tip to Joe.My.God.

Top Chef Apartment Building Goes Bankrupt

20 Bayard, the Williamsburg Brooklyn building (above) which housed the Top Chef Season Five Cheftestants, has filed for bankruptcy - according to Gothamist. I guess they could never rid the building of that Leah/Hosea hookup stench...

That STILL grosses me out. Anywhore, you may recall I posted back in January that the actual Top Chef apartment (below) was for rent ... for $12,000 a month! I wonder how that worked out?

If I Had To Live In Brooklyn...

...then this would be the place. From The New York Times:

Despite the tumbling prices for trophy apartments, a striking triplex penthouse apartment in a clock tower overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge and New York Harbor has gone on the market for $25 million, more than double the highest price known to have been paid for a home in Brooklyn.

The main floor of the sleek modern apartment is dominated by four working clocks housed in four 14-foot-high round windows, which provide nearly unobstructed views (except for the clock faces) out to the four points of the compass.

Feds Seize Madoff Apartment

U.S. Marshalls seized Ponzi Scammer Bernie Madoff's Upper East Side "penthouse" this week- leaving his wife Ruth without a place to stay. In fact, Ruth Madoff (below) was recently photographed taking the NYC subway (quel horreur!).

OK, I'm going to give you out-of-towners some insider NYC information (NOTE: I used to work on the same block as the Madoff's). First of all, just because the Bernie and Ruth lived in a "penthouse" on the Upper East Side, it doesn't necessarily make their building a prized living space. The Madoff apartment was/is at the corner of 64th Street and LEXINGTON Avenue. Uber-wealthy and/or upper crusty New Yorkers know that Lexington Avenue is not a desirable address - Fifth and Park Avenues are where most of the "exclusive" buildings are. After all, Eva Gabor didn't say "Darling I love you, but give me LEXINGTON Avenue" on Green Acres now did she?

Furthermore Matt Lauer also lives in the Madoff building - which, believe it or not, illustrates its NON-exclusivity. Celebrities are usually not approved by the co-op boards in big-money buildings - even if they have big money. Madonna, for instance, couldn't get approved on Fifth Avenue, and had to settle on the West Side.

And the fact that the media calls the Madoff apartment a "penthouse" doesn't meat squat - it probably just means they lived on the top floor. Yes, the top floor of any building is the most desirable (for the potential views), but when you live on Lexington there isn't much to look at. Except the back of all the fierce buildings a block away on Park Ave.

Besides, I lived on the top floor of my five-story building for years, but it certainly wasn't the "penthouse". It just meant I had to walk up more steps!

Finally, people with money take the subway all the time. Yes, most would prefer to take a car & driver everywhere they go - but at certain times of the day the subway is the fastest and easiest way to get from point A to point B. The subway is NYC's great equalizer - for $2.25 we all get the exact same service - "VIP's" have to fight for a seat like everyone else.

Top Chef Apartment For Rent

One of the Cheftestant apartments from Top Chef New York is for rent - for the low, low, price of $12,000 per month. Yes folks, even in a recession, and even in BROOKLYN, rents in New York City are friggin' ridiculous.

Source: Craigslist via Blogging Top Chef