A Report on the NYC Apartment Rental Market; A Shoebox for $2,000 per Month

Anthony Trevisan emails

As I have mentioned previously, the price for rental apartments in NYC are absolutely insane. I moved to NYC in February of 2011 and found a studio in the East Village for $1,550. A year later the landlord and I agreed to a 4 month lease at $1,650. After 4 months I had not found a new place so signed a one year lease with the hope of moving out and subletting. The new amount was for $1,725. I moved out a month later and found a subtenant. Last month I was checking Craigslist and noticed apartments in the East Village similar to mine going for $2,000+ so I asked my landlord if she would be willing to break the lease because she might be able to get more for it. She quickly found a new tenant willing to pay $1,900. Let me again state that this is a studio apartment. The room is 11’x13’ with a kitchen and bathroom attached that combined are 10’x7’. The term ‘shoebox’ would be generous. This is a SMALL apartment that is going for nearly $2,000 dollars! In two years the rent increased by 22%.