Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Are microapartments a solution to the homeless crisis?

From NY1:

When Dario Luciano first opened this door, he said the feeling was amazing.

"It felt phenomenal," Luciano said.

Phenomenal because until earlier this year, Luciano was living in a Bronx shelter for veterans.

Now home is Carmel Place, the city's first micro-apartment house, which officially opened last week.

The apartments range from 260 to 360 square feet. Some come with furniture, like pull-down beds, to conserve space.

These teeny tiny apartments are barely half the size of an average Manhattan studio.

But for Luciano, who is single, it's just the right size.

"It's perfect for one person," he said. "It's completely perfect. I mean, I know where everything is and know that nothing is out of place, and I can walk around freely.

Carrmel Place is on — appropriately— a tiny side street in the East 20s.

There are 55 micro apartments. Thirty-two are market rate renting for the not-so-small price of $2,500 to $3,200 per month.

The rest are set aside for low- and middle-income New Yorkers and for formerly homeless veterans, like Luciano, who pays $537 a month.

17 comments:

JQ LLC said...

Disgraceful. And I am talking about this segment on AT&T/NY1. It doesn't mention that these glorified SRO's are renting at the fabricated overvalued market rate that frivolous spending hipshits are stupefyingly paying for.

Not to be persnickety, but any citizen should not have to take down his bed from a wall to go to sleep. If anything, it should be a basic right to have a bed ready to lay down on.

The only thing that's noteworthy about this segment, is that it mentions all the shady legal manipulations to get this hideous mud grey (color of choice for these lazy rapacious dicks) turd monolith built. So in essence, it's an illegal dwelling.

(sarc) said...

They will be destroyed in a month or two...

Joe Moretti said...

Thirty-two are market rate renting for the not-so-small price of $2,500 to $3,200 per month.

WOW, a NYC sucker born every second.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the future of NYC. Everyone but the chosen few will be squeezed into these cages like lab rats. Makes me glad I'm getting old but I feel sorry for the coming generations, they won't know better.

Anonymous said...

For that price I can get a three bedroom apartment on the Maspeth Plateau. Have a queen size bed in all.

kapimap said...

Dont give any ideas to the mcmansion and overdevelopers. If these types of dwellings become popular, how can the city hold so many people?

Imagine how many apartments one can build on a 20x100 lot...40 micro apartments? This should not be ok!

Whats next, cubicles stacked up 3 high, in a 350 sqft space?

Anonymous said...

I think these are great. People should live with less; less resources, less space and closer to their job.

If you are single what else do you need? You can cook, sleep, and have just enough space for necessities.

Anonymous said...

55 micro apartments aren't going to do much. We need hundreds of thousands in Manhattan alone.

Of course, it's more profitable to build million dollar penthouses for international billionaires.

Anonymous said...

The wave of the future.
Accommodate the thousands of immigrants who will be working for below standard wages.
Really, more like a step back into the 19th century

Anonymous said...

"I think these are great. People should live with less; less resources, less space and closer to their job."...We tried that, it was called the Great Depression.

Anonymous said...

It's certainly the solution for the problem for developers on How to squeeze more money out of renters...

Anonymous said...

Who said that they lived in an apartment that was so small that they had to go outside to change their mind?

JQ LLC said...

Maybe this will bring out another Jacob Riis. How the other half lives II: The Dope and Banks Plan

This was one of these buildings where you had to play the affordable lottery to qualify, well win to get. This must be such a thrill for those who applied. And a bigger one for all those millenial hipshit imbeciles, who probably step over and shun these people sleeping on the streets or reclining on the linknyc booths.

Can't help but notice this comes on the heels of AT&T/NY1's recent programming decision to have Mayor Big Slow in predetermined interview segments. That formerly homeless man sounds like he is reading developer p.r. copy. I hope Errol Lewis has not been bought.

Anonymous said...

Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel

Anonymous said...


That's not a good comparison. Many families were living in a single unit with no water and electricity.

This is a single person living in a small place.


"...We tried that, it was called the Great Depression."

Anonymous said...

It is already happening. What is a hotel room? A room with a few beds in it and a bathroom. No kitchen or living room.

Anonymous said...

We are in the Second Great Depression. Carter just changed the way we measure unemployment. Trump is right, unemployment is 20%

Post a Comment