I found an ad online about a real estate agent renting an apartment in Washington Heights, on 165th street. I was going to break down and move to the Bronx—-139th Street, right across the Harlem bridge—-I worked at a school/non-profit on 125th Street. I’d been on 146th Street in Harlem, a 4th floor walk up—-but it was two medium sized rooms, a bedroom and the other room was a living room/kitchen, with the bathroom/front door in-between them. The apartment in the Bronx though had exposed brick walls, a 2nd floor walk up and it was ONE train stop from Manhattan—-so I could imagine it wasn’t the Bronx.
The only issue was the landlord/owner had redone the whole place and needed to get a COI—-so there was at least a 2 month wait. Which is how I went to see the short term sublet on 165th. When I got there—-it was a 6th floor walk up, a 2 bedroom. BUT someone else had already come to see it and the real estate agent, let’s call her Janet—-Janet says that in order to get the semi-furnished apartment speedily rented, she’s offering to rent each bedroom. So if I’m willing to share the 2 bedroom with him—-I can have it for $800 a month. The rent on the apartment I was waiting for was $1200, so it was a deal. I had the majority of my stuff in storage at about $200 a month so it budgeted out.
Two months later—-the other roommate had cooked and nearly burned down the kitchen, so he’d been cast out. It was then offered to me what if I moved in/stayed for $1000 a month?
I went back to the Bronx apartment and he still hadn’t gotten his COI. My issue was the storage room—-like 90% of my stuff in storage all the time, back and forth, and potentially looking at two moves to the Bronx—and again, I have a pathological disinterest in visiting, much less living in the Bronx—-I was really changing all of my mentality for that great apartment. But time was dragging on.
Though it was a sixth floor walk up, I agreed to it just as a coworker was moving—-so I went to go help him move with my students and actually dislocated my knee—-luckily the students were able to help carry the sofa up and I discovered Fresh Direct, perfect food delivery. I took a few days off of work and hobbled up and down the stairs.
Welfare, Poor People, The Scam
It turned out it was a primarily a senior citizens building—-the real estate agent, Janet—-was lying—-she was actually a Welfare recipient illegally renting out her apartment. I regularly mailed my rent to Maryland—-her new address—-she claimed she was the property manager too. I was there for three years and I discovered it was a scam when she stopped paying the maintenance/rent on the apartment—-so the arrears were $2400—-as the rent was $200—-and the fool couldn’t pay it on time AND still get $800 from me. Which goes to teach that poverty-Welfare as a mindset goes into impulse control and financial mis-management. I was literally the perfect set up.
Through the ensuing court struggle with the NYCHA Co-Op Board of the building we worked out I would pay the list price—-$400 a month for the last 3 months of the fake 2 year lease after having paid a 1 year lease. Yes, Janet was on Welfare and still getting the Welfare monies for her and her kids and Food Stamps—-because she still had the Manhattan address. PLUS my $1000.
Fresh Direct delivered groceries every 6 weeks plus light carried groceries were my biggest issue after having the movers bring my stuff there. When I moved—-I’ve had the same mover for over 10 years—-Andrew and his team—-he’d taught me how to pack—-140 smaller banker boxes of books plus furniture and they did like a relay system to get everything out in like an hour.
Once a nurse’s aide with an old man had gotten him to the 3rd floor landing but he couldn’t go another farther so I was helping him walk up the stairs—-and finally it was easier to just pick him up and carry him to the 6th floor. It made no sense to be an elderly building and not install the elevator that older buildings have for $10 to 25k—-the building full of the elderly.
It was a safe quiet building, I liked it. I moved to a bigger place in Washington Heights, but I’ve stayed in the neighborhood because other than the apartment court drama, I never had any problems and just took my time with all the stairs.
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