It's finally September!!
Ugh my new lease came in the mail today, that always screws me up for a few days.
I am in a big (for NYC) not-fancy-at-all-not-renovated-for-decades 75 year old 1 bedroom rent-stabilized apartment (not to be confused with the old rent control, that's different) and... I hear about others' low rent-stabilized rents and I wonder how the hell people managed to keep that.
(FWIW, for the most part, I REALLY love my apartment.)
Because even after 17 years I'm still pretty close to market value.
A little below, yes, but not as much as you might think.
It's scary and it sucks.
My rent has gone up 47% since I moved into this apartment in 2006.
This is my number one fear and anxiety- the uncontained rising costs of housing.
I know landlords have costs too. The current system isn't beneficial to anyone- neither tenants nor landlords. The city should be offering subsidies and incentives on all rent-stabilized apartments.
But we do not have a government that cares about the general population.
Anyhow, enough on lease renewals and our TERRIBLE HORRIBLE STUPID OMG SELLOUT MAYOR ADAMS! I think the only people who actually like the guy are the corrupt real-estate interests and people making bank on corrupt policies.
A normal average grocery bill- not going out to eat- grocery- is on average $400/month per adult in NYC. The subway is now $2.90, unless you jump the turnstile, then it's free.
Oh well, NYC is such a shitshow but I can't imagine living anywhere else!
I don't know how to live anywhere else!
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So today I had to work until 1pm, then my manager said tae the afternoon off.
Cool! That gave me time to paint before our boathouse volunteer trip to NJ tonight.
I wasn't sure where I should paint so I went down to the boathouse to see if anyone was there.
Bitz was there, and Kedrin showed up a few minutes later.
I decided to just paint on the dock.
I struggled with a little weirdness from --- i don't even know how to say it- looking through and over my reading glasses, it was weird, i'll have to figure out how to adjust for that, it doesn't usually happen... and the light. especially when the building behind the boathouse was reflecting direct sunlight onto me, that wasn't fun, and the dock is wobbly from the water, but here is the painting:
8x10 oil
Pretty much right after I finished it was arrival time for our NJ trip to Surf City in NJ!
What a great trip.
We paddled across the river, ad dinner, and paddled back in the dark. (We put lights on ourselves and the boats.) Great company, great food, and a great paddle!
The city skyline is so beautiful and I never get tired of it.
You live so different than me. I can't imagine worrying about the rent going up too much. It would make me panicy. I am glad you can absorb the change.
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