Hip Hip Hooray! I was given permission today to have Vinnie live with us in our new apartment.
Basically I told my realtor that I needed a place that allowed pets and he kind of shrugged it off and said there was a law that states once you have the pet in the apartment they can't make you get rid of it. Since I could tell this guy was a total crackpot I didn't trust him one bit. I ended up reading the rule that states that if your lease doesn't mention pets at all then you have a right to obtain a pet but if it states that you can't, then you can't.
So here I am, signing the lease and there is a section that reads No Pets and this massive clause that comes after it that hints to the fact that you have to have written permission but if it's discovered that you are harboring animals (especially dogs, this lease doesn't like dogs) they have permission to cancel your lease. So of course, I start to panic.
I casually ask about the clause and the leasing agent (who was very nice) says that people in the building do have pets, the clause really exists because they want to keep people from bringing in highly aggressive dogs such as pit bulls and rottweilers. I understand that a pit bull can be a perfectly normal dog, if raised appropriately, but my neighborhood had (still has?) a bad pit bull/dog fighting reputation. So they created the approval clause because they want little old lady dogs in, scary gangsta dogs out.
So I start to really get nervous as moving day approaches because my first experience with the property manager wasn't a very positive one and I'm thinking I'm going to ask him to have a bird and he's going to say no. Just because he can. So we wait and wait and then finally I can't take it anymore and I email him asking if we can have a small, caged bird. Six minutes later he emails me: Yeah, small bird okay. Your welcome. (grammatical error his, not mine)
So, I'm thrilled. Vinnie isn't a barking dog but he's not a mute either. I'd be panicked about a nosy neighbor or a visiting super discovering him and caring enough to report his presence. But, alas, everything is slowly falling into place.
Now all I need is a bed...and a sofa...and a table with chairs...and a bureau. Or two.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Goodbye Benjamins
Wow, it's been a whole month since I last wrote. Which means the few of you who actually stopped by to read have probably given up on checking in and I'm writing to myself.
Well, I don't know where to start. Mark and I finally rented an apartment. I finally got my nice sized kitchen and a view that doesn't consist of a brick wall two inches away from the window. The drawback is I'm on the fifth floor of a walk up and I'm on a not-so-charming street in my 'hood. But apparently I'm supposed to compromise so that's that.
Mark had a grump moment last week when we dropped $217 on a second lock on the door. He was reliving those charming moments in California where you rent an apartment for the rent stated, they give you your keys, and that's that. In NYC it's not like that. Apparently I forgot to mention that to him. Here in NYC you have to drop your deposit and first month like anywhere else but then there is all the spending that is really "New Yorkie".
There's the whole we want to pretend our building is secure so we put a mid-line quality lock in it and now we charge you $40 bucks just to get the key even though when you pay rent that technically means you're paying to get into the building so the key should be included.
But then it's NYC and you don't trust anyone so even though your apartment comes with a lock you need to go put another lock in your door and avoid giving a copy of the key to your super even though your lease states that you have to.
So that's another couple of hundred because I live on a not-so-charming street so I feel the need to get the higher-end key cylinder. But that's not really fair to my new street either because my parents live on one of the "nicer" streets in my 'hood and not only were we robbed once but people have been mugged in our building's vestibule a number of times during our residency here, the last one being only 2 months ago. So take that fancy streets!
But wait...more spending! You've got to buy a ghetto gate to put on your window that has your fire escape. I've noticed a lot of apartments in my current building don't have these gates on their window. It's my non-professional opinion that these are people new to the area, new to city living in general. They don't get why you would put a gate on your window. I agree, it's not aesthetically pleasing. But it's the secure thing to do, regardless of what street you live on. These fire escapes are welcome mats for the sketchy to come and see what you have to offer in your home. For my new apartment I felt it necessary to have a gate because my new home faces the back, therefore not so many eyes watching who's going in and what's coming out.
I did find a whole selection of gates that would be more appealing since they have more of a "decor" thing going but they are crazy-more expensive because they are custom made. I'm a renter, I don't need custom made. I don't want to invest in a gate that's not going to fit my next apartment. So I end up with your run-of-the-mill accordion gate but I'm thinking I'll paint it white and eventually I won't even notice it. I'll be to busy working my ass off trying to make money to pay for everything.
And what's the real kicker about all this spending to move? We signed the lease a week ago and haven't moved a single thing. Ridiculous.
But anyway...I'm watching You've Got Mail on cable. I love this movie. It's also fun just to see how dated it is. The beginning when you watch the two main characters waiting for their AOL to sign on. The sounds of the dial-up, the you've got mail voice, the shop girl who is thinking about having to move because she might lose her job. She's devastated she might have to move to Brooklyn. But nowadays in NYC people like her are clammering to move to Brooklyn...or Astoria.
I wonder what would've had to happen in my life to have moved me to a hip neighborhood in the outerboroughs. I wonder if meeting new friends or getting a good job in the city after college instead of heading out to AmeriCorps would have somehow led me to leave the tip of the A train line. Who am I kidding?! A good job! Apparently those aren't destined for my lifetime. HA!
Well, I don't know where to start. Mark and I finally rented an apartment. I finally got my nice sized kitchen and a view that doesn't consist of a brick wall two inches away from the window. The drawback is I'm on the fifth floor of a walk up and I'm on a not-so-charming street in my 'hood. But apparently I'm supposed to compromise so that's that.
Mark had a grump moment last week when we dropped $217 on a second lock on the door. He was reliving those charming moments in California where you rent an apartment for the rent stated, they give you your keys, and that's that. In NYC it's not like that. Apparently I forgot to mention that to him. Here in NYC you have to drop your deposit and first month like anywhere else but then there is all the spending that is really "New Yorkie".
There's the whole we want to pretend our building is secure so we put a mid-line quality lock in it and now we charge you $40 bucks just to get the key even though when you pay rent that technically means you're paying to get into the building so the key should be included.
But then it's NYC and you don't trust anyone so even though your apartment comes with a lock you need to go put another lock in your door and avoid giving a copy of the key to your super even though your lease states that you have to.
So that's another couple of hundred because I live on a not-so-charming street so I feel the need to get the higher-end key cylinder. But that's not really fair to my new street either because my parents live on one of the "nicer" streets in my 'hood and not only were we robbed once but people have been mugged in our building's vestibule a number of times during our residency here, the last one being only 2 months ago. So take that fancy streets!
But wait...more spending! You've got to buy a ghetto gate to put on your window that has your fire escape. I've noticed a lot of apartments in my current building don't have these gates on their window. It's my non-professional opinion that these are people new to the area, new to city living in general. They don't get why you would put a gate on your window. I agree, it's not aesthetically pleasing. But it's the secure thing to do, regardless of what street you live on. These fire escapes are welcome mats for the sketchy to come and see what you have to offer in your home. For my new apartment I felt it necessary to have a gate because my new home faces the back, therefore not so many eyes watching who's going in and what's coming out.
I did find a whole selection of gates that would be more appealing since they have more of a "decor" thing going but they are crazy-more expensive because they are custom made. I'm a renter, I don't need custom made. I don't want to invest in a gate that's not going to fit my next apartment. So I end up with your run-of-the-mill accordion gate but I'm thinking I'll paint it white and eventually I won't even notice it. I'll be to busy working my ass off trying to make money to pay for everything.
And what's the real kicker about all this spending to move? We signed the lease a week ago and haven't moved a single thing. Ridiculous.
But anyway...I'm watching You've Got Mail on cable. I love this movie. It's also fun just to see how dated it is. The beginning when you watch the two main characters waiting for their AOL to sign on. The sounds of the dial-up, the you've got mail voice, the shop girl who is thinking about having to move because she might lose her job. She's devastated she might have to move to Brooklyn. But nowadays in NYC people like her are clammering to move to Brooklyn...or Astoria.
I wonder what would've had to happen in my life to have moved me to a hip neighborhood in the outerboroughs. I wonder if meeting new friends or getting a good job in the city after college instead of heading out to AmeriCorps would have somehow led me to leave the tip of the A train line. Who am I kidding?! A good job! Apparently those aren't destined for my lifetime. HA!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)