living high and tight in NYC

I was quite happy to discover that The New York Times did a spread about an apartment that I regularly admire.  It stands across from my gym (Equinox, where you get a good view of the rooftop home while hunched over the evil Butt Blaster machine) in the West Village.  The apartment graces the top of a building who’s ground floor is occupied by Tea and Sympathy, a wee little English restaurant and grocery shoppe.

The wall of white paned glass stands proudly above the manic energy of New York life, and it is there that the current tenant finds peace in her 350 sq ft home.

Needless to say, it’s a sad reality that makes it the norm to pay on average $41 per sq ft for a rental apartment in Manhattan.  So, it speaks volumes for the magnetism of the City that millions of smart, ambitious, upwardly mobile people with good taste will happily cram themselves into a cubbyhole and call it home.

Chez Moi | Le Gendarme

I did it for 9 years.  Though we bounced between newer buildings in Chelsea for a few years, it was the former police building in the West Village, Le Gendarme, that welcomed us home for the long haul.  It is said that our apartment was in fact one of the holding cells when the building was an active police station.

I’m not sure what it says about my personality that it is in a cell that I chose to spend some of my best years in NYC, but the space boasted high ceilings and a loft that we loaded full with storage.  I even kept all my pots, pans, tupperware, and shoes up there since these was no room for it all in the actual living space.  Perhaps the best feature of the apartment was the planted outdoor space that we and our 2 dogs shared with 6 humans, 4 cats and a bunny.

Apparently our strange apartment, rich with character, had more admirers than just our friends as Apartment Therapy featured our tiny space on their website.  I still wish I had been able to clean up and stage the place a little before the photo shoot – there’s crap everywhere, but having our curious place documented has already proven to be a fun thing to have for posterity.

Just for sentimental and historic purposes, I dug up another fun article published in 1987 , also by The New York Times, that talks about our police precinct home and the proposed development of the area, the Far West Village.  New York is such an amazing city in that it is constantly evolving and moving forward while holding tightly to its unique history with respect and deserved arrogance.

Early morning scene on the way to my studio|showroom

For me it was also fun to see the Meatpacking District mentioned in this archaic article.  In the late 80’s it was still the neighborhood where meat was in fact butchered and packed.  Today, only two plants still exist and the rest of the neighborhood has been taken over by luxury retail and designer showrooms.  Laura Dahl and Wifebeader even called the Meatpacking District home.

Every morning I would dodge cow carcases dangling by hooks as they were hauled into the packing plant.  Again, I know it may sound strange, but the vision of friendly butchers sporting full mustaches, dressed in their bloodied whites and smelling the scent of flesh mixed with cleaning solution and City dirt is one truly awesome way to begin a day.

No one really knows where the next decade will take the City.  But, it is most fair to say that wherever that is, the people responsible for making its heart beat will be living in tiny apartments, and they will be loving it.

P.S.  Keep an eye out for Apartment Therapy’s follow-up book to their successful Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions where you can catch a glimpse of our Los Angeles home.  I’ve been told its release date is late ‘09, early ‘10 and it will be titled something to the effect of Smart, Small Spaces.