Letters From the Editor

Power of the Internet

Here’s the deal: My fiancée and I are starting to look for a new apartment. The stress, dangers, and complete hell of finding a good broker-free apartment in this city are well documented, and though I know the Craig’s List/Voice/Times method very well, so do thousands of other people.

But thousands of other people do not edit web sites that are read by people in New York. So…

If you are a building owner or current tenant looking for people to move into your apartment, and it fits the criteria described below, please don’t hesitate to contact me (see email address below). We are looking to move for a March 1st lease, but will be willing to move earlier if the apartment’s right. We are both professionally employed, armed with dynamite credit and renting histories, have never been late with the rent, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to call us anal nuts about keeping our residence clean and ship-shape. Fastidious, you could say.

Our current landlord loves us and you will too. I have no idea if this will work, but I figured it can’t hurt. What I’m hoping is that a random reader who also owns a brownstone in the north Slope – say, around 1st & Prospect Park West – is looking for the right tenant, and by reading the site has a good idea my fiancée and I might be good tenants (we are, and will be).

You’ll see that I haven’t listed how much we’re willing to pay. Let’s just say if you’re the right landlord, and we’re the right renters, I’m sure we can figure out something that appeals to the current market.


Apartment Requirements: What We Must Have

– No-fee
– 2+ bedroom, at least 800 square feet total; one bedroom must be able to fit a queen mattress, plus stuff, other bedroom will be used as an office.
– Located in Fort Greene, North Park Slope near the park, or Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill. The building must be located within 10 blocks of a 4/5 or 2/3 station (hence neighborhood choices). The need for this proximity is one of the main reasons we’re moving, and is a necessary condition for us. Can be a walk-up, higher floors (up to 5, let’s say) no problem.
– Recently-renovated, good-sized kitchen and bathroom
– Hardwood floors
– Good closets, light, quiet


Other Things: What We’d Like At Least Two Of

– Floor-through
– Dishwasher
– Washer/Dryer
– Garden access
– Patio
– Storage space
– Already-installed fast Internet
– French doors, built-in bookcases, gym… (I thought: hell, it’s a wish list, right?)

So, if you’re the right owner or current tenant, and we sound like the right people for you, please feel free to write me at and let me know what’s happening.

If this experiment works, I think by beating the New York rental market it will prove the Internet is capable of anything.


Update: Done!

biopic

Rosecrans Baldwin co-founded TMN with publisher Andrew Womack in 1999. His latest book is Everything Now: Lessons From the City-State of Los Angeles. More information can be found at rosecransbaldwin.com. More by Rosecrans Baldwin

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