As New Yorkers Get Fatter, NYC Apartments Slim Down

HuffPo notes that during Bloomberg’s tenure as Mayor, “the obesity rate in New York City has climbed a staggering 25 percent among adults.”

Admittedly, we note that their “source” is the NY Post, the same bastion of journalism that can regularly be expected to publish headlines like “Skanky Suicide Bomber Used To Be A Selfie-Taking Party Animal,” but the numbers roughly check out. One in five New Yorkers used to be obese, now the health department says it’s one in four. Yep, that’s a roughly 25 percent increase.

So if trampling trans fats, surveilling soda sizes, and shaming smokers hasn’t helped to curtail the obesity epidemic, even at the cost of some personal freedoms, what’s the next step in the war on fat? This initiative comes down from the mayor’s office, and even involved getting waivers of some normal building rules, but it works wonders.

Clearly, the Bonsai New Yorkers idea that De Blasio came up with was influenced by a certain tongue-in-cheek website. (Put down the torches and pitchforks, folks, that link is 100% Photoshopped!) In a nutshell, the idea is that if you shove New Yorkers into progressively smaller living spaces, eventually they’ll get a clue and lose some weight.

The effort to help New Yorkers lose weight by cramming them into the tiniest possible living space is centered around a building at 335 East 27th Street. New construction is wrapping up in this upscale Kips Bay neighborhood. The location may be ironic, what with being mere steps from a Dunkin Donuts, a Baskin Robbins, and within easy range of alcohol delivery, but the builders are deadly serious about their intentions.

The goal is improving the health of New Yorkers by forcing them to live in as little as two hundred sixty square feet in order to raise their consciousness about their surroundings and how their huge, doughnut-loving, white russian swilling, red-meat gnawing butts impact those surroundings.

OK, folks, that’s it for the satire.  Well, mostly it, at least.  The goal, of course, has nothing to do with health. It has more to do with squeezing every single possible dollar out of the pockets of the people who live there. But you’re not surprised, that’s life in NYC, right?

There are two problems with New York real estate today. The first, of course, is that they’re not making any more of it. That directly leads to the second one, which is how to house single adults who don’t want or need large apartments or roommates.

Some people don’t end up living with a Chandler or a Joey – they end up finding an Eddie, and it turns them off to roommates until the end of time. Some people just like their privacy. Whatever the reason, there are more people than ever who need apartments for one person. That’s what led to this unique use of space.

Fourteen of the units are “affordable,” though that’s relative when you’re talking about real estate in NYC. They’ll start under a grand a month, which really is affordable for a Midtown apartment. The general idea is that single adults don’t really need an apartment that could fit a family.

If you can avoid roommates by living in a smaller space, you not only protect yourself against the risks of a roommate but you also protect your wallet. You also protect yourself against the risks of putting locks on bedroom doors or doing other things to ensure privacy and security when you have roommates. Not to mention things like that don’t meet city codes.

Some people suggest that the lower rent and the smaller size of these units will also protect the landlords against tenant default. While generally tenants pay their rent on Midtown apartments, it’s a very real risk that needs to be considered by property owners and managers. The more affordable the rent is, the more likely people are to, well, pay it.

Some people say that these apartments are perfect for the NYC singles that they’re aimed at. Michael Frontera, a Midtown apartment broker, says “I really believe that these apartments are amazing, and perfect for a single person. Call me crazy, but you would be surprised what you can fit in a 300 sq ft apartment when there’s no unused space. This is perfect for people who are always on the go – they work long hours and tend to focus more on the quality and cleanliness of their home, rather than the size.”

If you meet income restrictions, you can rent one of these tiny abodes for just $950 a month. Of course, that’s if you got in early and were part of the lottery. It’s also if you’re the world’s luckiest person, because the lottery for these fourteen units included about sixty thousand people.

Yes, that’s north of 4,000 people competing for each apartment. You’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do you? Those are not good odds, all considered.

These tiny apartments in Midtown are modular. The good news is, that makes construction cheap – they’re built one apartment at a time at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and then trucked overland and put together like a puzzle on site.

The bad news is, modular construction often means that the interior is laden with chemicals and not necessarily as fire-resistant as alternative building materials are. This has long been a concern in other types of modular housing, and it remains to be seen whether it will be a concern in this type of construction.

On the upside, there is a large common lounge, and other common areas such as a rooftop barbecue area. Ceilings tend towards the nine foot range, to help the interior feel more open. You’ll even have a sliding glass door and a balcony, which helps with the small space concerns, as well.

When fire is a potential concern because of construction materials, what do you do to protect yourself? What do you do to protect your possessions from risks like theft? Even if you live in a tiny apartment, you can get full-size protection with the NYC renters insurance available from Effective Coverage.

Effective Coverage brings to the table years of experience in protecting New Yorkers with the affordable renters insurance they deserve, no matter how small the apartment may be.

Just because it’s small doesn’t mean someone won’t try to take what’s yours. If assembly is botched and a pipe bursts, how are you going to pay for a hotel when your apartment turns into a small, but very expensive fish tank as a result?  Your policy will take care of all of those things.

The best part is that Midtown renters insurance is cheap. You can get a policy that covers $15,000 of personal property and $100,000 or more of liability for less than fifteen dollars a month in many cases.

Effective Coverage works to bring insurance to the people who need it most, and to make sure that coverage is accessible to everyone. Our insurance experts for renters are happy to answer your questions, or you can get an online renters insurance quote in just sixty seconds. Just call (800)892-4308 or click to get covered - whether you need NYC renters insurance quotes online or coverage anywhere else!

Effective Coverage offers the nation's only completely mobile platform to quote and purchase renters insurance right from your phone or tablet in just one minute. Get an online renters insurance quote today and protect your family.

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Photo Credit: Graham Richardson Gullivers WX05FZN CC BY 2.0