High rents are a menace to society, and a market that caters to only very high-earners threatens to impede New York's recovery and the entire well-being of the city — see San Francisco. For those of you trying to find a place in Manhattan or Brooklyn right now, we feel your pain. Rents have shot up faster and higher than anyone could have predicted at the start of the year, yet the pandemic isn't even over. According to our rental listings, the number of availabilities in Manhattan in mid-October plunged to a little more than 4,000 listings with an eye-watering monthly median asking rent of $4,085 (includes condo and co-op rentals).
One reason for the rapid "recovery" may be the large number of people moving to the city from other parts of the country. According to the moving booking website, HireAHelper, nationally, more people moved to New York City than left in the first seven months of 2021. This is the first time this has happened in years the company reports, and during the first half of 2021, 51% more people moved in, than moved out. This explains your crazy rent.
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Credit: HireAHelper
The company is unsure if this exceptional stat is a blip due to return-to-office plans or a lasting trend. Perhaps, after more than a year of sitting at home, Americans grew more attracted to the city's unique qualities such as its walkability, cultural establishments, and its melting pot of industries and people. So perhaps Eric Adams' debate-stage statement, "You will be bored in Florida, you'll never be bored in New York," is right on the money. Below are a few hundred apartments that had their asking prices reduced in the past week. Many are either very pricey, crappy, tiny, or all of the above. Welcome to New York.
Earlier this week, Manhattan’s first Alamo Drafthouse movie theater opened in the Financial District. In addition to the combination of blockbusters and indies seen at Alamo Drafthouses all over the country, this location will show Lights of New York, a curated series of movies about and set in New York from every decade from the 1920s to the 2020s. This location is also home to The Press Room, which the chain describes as “a museum, a letterpress print shop, a bar, and a private event space all-in-one.”
Diane Arbus statue
Unveiled October 19 | Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park
Unveiled October 19 | Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park
Image via The Public Art Fund
Diane Arbus took some of her most famous photographs in Central Park, so it’s only fitting that a life-sized sculpture by Gillian Wearing should go on display at Doris C. Freedman Plaza, near 60th Street and Fifth Avenue. Gothamist notes that the statue coincides with Gillian Wearing: Wearing Masks, a retrospective at the Guggenheim.
Image via Barkandswagger.com
After last year’s virtual parade, the Halloween Dog Parade returns to the Lower East Side this year to the delight of dog lovers and cosplay enthusiasts alike. Celebrities have served as judges for the event, where some owners dress to complement their dogs’ costumes, which can be quite creative - as Time magazine asks, “Where else can you see a corgi dressed as French fries and a bulldog triceratops strut down the runway?”
Image via Alexa Hoyer
After last year’s unwanted hiatus, the Harvest Festival returns to Brooklyn Bridge Park this Saturday. Hudson Horns kicks off the festival with a New Orleans-style procession, setting the tone for a day of music, performances, and readings. Pumpkin and puppet decoration stations will be open, and a touch tank and live animals will be highlights of the event.
Pumpkin Point via Julienne Schaer
If you haven’t already brought home a Halloween pumpkin, Governor’s Island’s annual Pumpkin Point is the ideal place to find one: For a small suggested donation, visitors can stroll through the pumpkin patch in Nolan Park and choose their jack-o-lantern from there. Pumpkin Point will also feature seasonally inspired arts and crafts activities, storytelling, food, beverages, and live music.
Image via McKittrick Hotel
One year after winning the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Play, ghost story The Woman in Black returns to New York with a full cast from London’s West End, where it has played for 25 years. The show was originally staged in an English pub, and its limited New York engagement will take place in the McKittrick Hotel’s Club Car.
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