For those who don't desire a one year lease or their own apartment: Co-Living

pragmaticguy · September 2015

Nothing like making money off those who don't have much.

ehgee · October 2015

It sounds like the founder will be disappointed if normal people show up, who -say- just want some place to sleep while they look for their own apt.

Maybe. Won't change the market. People new to the city will probably make friends with each other, but not because this guy is magically changing the world or anything.

But boardinghouses serve a useful place in society, even if this guy sounds like a tool.

whynot_31 · October 2015

I think the real question is whether this crowd will be more like the crunchy folks who like Youth Hostels, as opposed to the khaki wearing minions that occupy extended stay hotels.

pragmaticguy · October 2015

Hey, if this doesn't work out he can always turn the place into shelters and rent to the city.

whynot_31 · October 2015

@pragmaticguy -

Like shelters, it seems one can also create dorms without getting special permissions.

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2015/10/lich-controversy-continues-as-fortis-proposes-student-dorms-for-site/

Dorms can be very profitable. ...their parents have money.

mugofmead111 · October 2015

@pragmaticguy -

Like shelters, it seems one can also create dorms without getting special permissions.

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2015/10/lich-controversy-continues-as-fortis-proposes-student-dorms-for-site/

Dorms can be very profitable. ...their parents have money.

If the parents aren't putting up the money, the would-be resident can take out student loans to cover the cost of dorming.

whynot_31 · October 2015

Another plus is that they will pay more to live in settings that don't have RA's and they don't tend to want fancy finishes.

Instead of illegally installing a washer and dryer in their unit, they might install a kegerator.

BTW, the first (?) site of The Common's will be located at 1162 Pacific, but he doesn't look like he is going for the kegerator crowd

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2015/10/co-living-nyc-common-in-crown-heights-brooklyn/

whynot_31 · October 2015

The Real Deal has the math for us: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/10/19/will-commons-co-living-venture-make-sense-to-brooklyn/

suppleknuckles · October 2015

man. i'm not going to go down that "rent is too damn high, blergh!" tangent, but trying to put myself in the shoes of people who will be living here.... even then, with an open mind, this really doesn't seem worth it... i'm sure a lot of these youngsters will be willing to pay a premium to have everything basically taken care of for them (utilities, TP, garbage bags, etc), but this would only be appealing to me if they promised privacy and solitude, which seems to be totally not the case. Pretty much any roommate situation i've ever been to DEMANDED community and togetherness, to the point of it being seriously annoying/a catalyst to living alone. so why would someone pay a premium for that? is it just the premium of being able to have an overwhelming roommate situation (I mean, come on; you essentially have 18 roommates instead of 3 or 4....) in a "hot" neighborhood? what would transplants from out of the city really know about it anyway? couldn't you just as easily rent a cheaper house near BK college and find a handful of other young people you will probably end up hating too, but for less money?

tl;dr, this situation would probably feel more "worth it" if it was more in the $1500 range. which is still a lot for 1 bedroom in the area...but not bad when bills and all that shit is included.

whynot_31 · October 2015

This style of living seems to have worked in other cities with those employed in technology.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=tech+co+living

They tend to be mobile, work from home, not have a lot of possessions and (as a result) lonely.

capt. planet · October 2015

Friends was a big hit series. It seems that folks have a lot of interest in imaginary living situations.

ldarippa · October 2015

Not a fan of this. Just a fancy SRO.

whynot_31 · November 2015

Analysis of the phenomena: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/11/coliving/414531/

whynot_31 · November 2015

As I said in a previous post and the article linked to above states, these building are now becoming boarding houses which are governed by different rules than regular apartments not to mention they are insured differently. I'm wondering if the city will have to issue permits for this kind of use in buildings where the certificate of occupancy does not specifically state these buildings are suitable for SRO.

@pragmaticguy -

the city is asking those same questions

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20151120/REAL_ESTATE/151119831/is-this-crown-heights-rental-building-illegal-city-will-investigate

pragmaticguy · November 2015

This is no different than when Uber and Lyft started out. Their philosophy was "we'll disregard the rules and do what we have to to become legal when someone notices." I suspect this will happen here too. And I think they're digging their own grave when they said they provide housekeeping and other amenities because, it just makes them more like a hotel or rooming house.

ehgee · November 2015

I do think that cities should re-legalize rooming houses.

American society over the past 50 years or so systematically eliminated many of the traditional forms of affordable housing for single people, like small apartments, rooming houses, and SROs— now growing cities are reaping the bounty of a homeless crisis, and families complain about young people splitting up family-sized apartments when that's the majority of the available housing stock in most places and our society has more single people and fewer nuclear families than ever.

People move to the city all the time, and the options now are generally:

-crash on a couch

-pay out the nose for a hotel

-desperately dig through Craigslist for the first people that'll take you as a roommate, hoping they're in a decent building and neighborhood

-(now) AirBNB

But a rooming house or SRO or the like, where one can show up whenever and pay a higher-than-rent price while getting one's footing is a great idea.

They should be legal in the suburbs, too, since that's where there are a lot of big houses and kindly widows. And the suburbs should do their share of housing all segments of society, too.

whynot_31 · December 2015

This model is clearly not for all segments of society.

In fact, that is part of why the tenants seem to find it attractive: https://www.inverse.com/article/9372-this-start-up-commune-is-the-taupe-future-of-new-york-temporary-housing

ehgee · December 2015

"About 70 percent of the Crown Heights residents have never lived in New York before, says Hargreaves"

Oh dear.

whynot_31 · December 2015

It is now possible to safely live in New York without much common sense, so I don't know how much of a problem that poses.

Google maps, along with subway shower curtains, help newbies quickly adapt.

http://www.amazon.com/York-City-Subway-Shower-Curtain/dp/B002V91SZE

ehgee · December 2015

whynot_31 said:

It is now possible to safely live in New York without much common sense, so I don't know how much of a problem that poses.

Google maps, along with subway shower curtains, help newbies quickly adapt.

http://www.amazon.com/York-City-Subway-Shower-Curtain/dp/B002V91SZE

Oh, no, I mean, that figure is the kind of lie that you could only possibly come up with by categorizing only white people as 'Crown Heights Residents'

whynot_31 · December 2015

I assume he (and/or the writer) is referring to 70% of The Commons residents.

I assume the remaining 30% have lived in NYC before, but expect this stay in NYC to be brief.

....or perhaps their move here was on short notice?

whynot_31 · August 2016

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/07/communes-in-the-city/492599/

whynot_31 · March 2017

For those who don't desire a one year lease or their own apartment: Co-Living

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories