Is LIC Right for The Rexrodes?

To say apartment hunting in New York City is daunting would be an understatement. It doesn't help that there's supposedly an apartment shortage right now which I assume will only drive prices higher. As the end of our lease in our first City apartment quickly approaches, I find myself wondering if LIC is the right neighborhood for the Rexrodes. It has certainly served us well in the past, but it lacks many of the attributes we look for in a neighborhood. And judging by the direction it's moving, it may soon become even less "us."

Some of the good: For one, the location could not have been better for us over the past few years. It was so close to the college I attended (but not anymore because I graduated!) that I could bike there in eight minutes. Also, being one stop from Manhattan by way of three different (subway) train lines that are within walking distance is something very few 'hoods can claim. We have great restaurants, a beautiful East River-front park, an amazing skyline view, and it's an overall safe place to live.

Some of the bad: There are no good grocery stores. This is a big deal if you prefer not to eat out or order in most nights. One option is to shop at Food Cellar where, while listening to the best of Sinatra, you can expect to pay $10 for a carton of organic, cage-free eggs with the picture, birth date, and favorite color of the hen that laid them. No thanks. A second option for groceries in the 'hood is Key Foods. The "new management" of this fine establishment hasn't done much in terms of the subtle mold/cat pee smell, crowded aisles, or registers that magically only ring up sale prices when sternly requested. You get the point. Moving on. There is no shopping and no public gyms, another big one for us.

When we moved here I was told by a very snotty broker that we would never find a one bedroom in our price range. Well we obviously did, but the sad thing is I don't think it would be possible in LIC today. The average price for a one bedroom seems to be quickly approaching $2500 a month, with some paying much more on the water. At some point we have to ask ourselves if it's even ethical. Would Jesus sign this lease?

And, the ugly:
Our apartment is no beauty, but at least we don't pay a "luxury" price for ugly. LIC has many uninspiring new residential buildings, most resembling giant stainless steel refrigerators, but a few reach new lows in the looks department. This neighborhood gem, L Haus is so ugly that people think that its yellow/green surface is insulation that hasn't been covered. The building recently sold out (I don't understand how) and I read that in response to the news someone asked, "How could it be sold out, it's not even finished yet?" Lol. Oh, but it is, and at 30% markup from last year.

Luxury comes at a price, no matter how it looks I guess. The cost of a first class ticket on the Titanic was about $70,000 (in today's equivalent) and we all know how that turned out...

P.S. This was written in a fury and my editor is asleep (in my bed! :O) so I apologize if it's messy.

Astoria Day

Happy birthday George Washington! Fun fact: Did you know that, as a farmer, Washington grew marijuana and promoted its growth? In the 1790s, the crop was grown mainly for its hemp and for soil stabilization. It was many years later that the recreational and illegal use of marijuana became popular.

When the weather is so winter-like, these long weekends almost feel wasted. It takes so much effort just to get bundled up to take Pup out, not to mention spend a day in the City, that we don't do much. Admittedly, we have spent much of the last few weekends lounging around in our pjs but have found we can only tolerate inactivity for a few hours. We watch a movie, read or study a bit, and then begin to lose our minds.

This Saturday we slept in, moved about 25 ft from the bed to the couch, and had some breakfast. We could already feel the anxiety setting in and knew we couldn't handle three days of lazy.
There was a solution to our ailment - exercise! It would get us out of the apartment and get the endorphins flowing to make us happy. I grabbed the computer and looked up directions to a $5 yoga studio that friends had been saying good things about. "Hey, it's not too far from here," I thought. After calculating the exact distance on Google Maps I looked over at Jen with a smile. "You can run two miles right?" I asked. "I think so, yes," Jen replied reluctantly, probably wondering what she was about to be dragged into. "Perfect, we have just enough time to run to a small-donation yoga class in Astoria." The weather was a bit warmer on Saturday so the run wasn't bad. The Nike running jacket our friend Jeff gave me for helping them move provides just enough warmth. He's not a fan of running and got it for free at work. Anyway, Jen ran the whole way there, no problem. We were all warmed up and ready to stretch.

The yoga class tends to get a little crowded, probably because of the great price. Sensing this, Jen quickly grabbed the ideal spot in the class - a secluded corner towards the back by the drafty doors where she could stay cool. Smart. The windows soon fogged up and it began to feel like a steam room by the end of the class. An hour later we took the train home feeling worked out and refreshed.

Later that evening we ended up going right back to Astoria to have dinner with friends Jeff (yup, same one) and Ashli in their great new apartment. They pay as much as we do for an updated two bedroom. Just saying... it's something to consider. After having three different kinds of desserts, I was happy we had worked so hard earlier that day.

Nemo Found Us

I’m writing today from of our warm bedroom with a view of a very wet, snowy, grey NYC landscape. Today is a “flex Friday” off from work for Jen and I certainly have plenty of studying to do so we’re spending the day defying the weather by staying indoors. From what we’re hearing the weather will soon be getting even more wintery. Nemo, as it’s being called, is about to take a big white number two on the North East.

We honestly don’t know what we can expect to see in the next 24 hours. Newscasters themselves have been jokingly giving predictions of “2-30 inches.” We both got very alarming emergency alerts on our phones yesterday requesting that we prepare for the storm and limit travel. The mayor’s office has seemed to over-prepare for every snow storm since the record breaking blizzard that caught them off guard two years ago. That was a mess! The city has 250,000 tons of salt being spread. It’s a good thing, considering I just read on Twitter that we have 6,300 street miles to plow if the snow fall is heavy enough. It’s equivalent to plowing from NY to L.A., twice! Jen and I don’t typically get too hyped up and tend to side with the more conservative weathermen that are predicting less than six inches. There’s also the fact that this storm shares its name with a talking, crippled clownfish from a Disney/Pixar movie that makes it hard to take seriously. We found NEMO! You can’t always judge a storm by its name though. My Aunt Sandy is a lovely person, but Hurricane (Super Storm!) Sandy was a b*tch.

Weather permitting, we’ll go to White Plains tomorrow for Jen’s Grandma’s 83^rd birthday luncheon. It’s been a while since we’ve eaten at The Cheesecake Factory, one of our all time favs, so we’re hoping it’s a go.

No matter what this storm entails, one thing you can be sure of in this city is stupidity. Someone will decide to go for a drive through the snow with their kids, get stuck, and blame the city when they almost freeze to death. There will be people scraping the bare sidewalks with their shovels at the first sign of flurries and calling it plowing. And someone will give their gasoline powered generator a precautionary test run…indoors

P.S. Something about a commercial I saw recently filmed entirely in the city, inspired me. I might be getting the Sony Handycam out again to do some filming and play with some more effects in my video editor. So look for that, hopefully next week!

Financial District Photog

It's been a while since I met Jen downtown for lunch. There's no better time than now while I'm taking time off, so we made it happen today. Jen thinks I've been hitting the books a little too hard lately. I study at least a few hours a day, meet with my study group about twice a week but, admittedly, find it hard to know when to close the books. Today, though, I forced myself to do just that.

I brought my Canon along and took some pictures downtown after our lunch date. I had not yet experimented with the monochrome setting on my camera and thought that the awesome architecture of the old financial district was perfect material. I'm really happy with how they turned out! Many of the pics, taken on some of the first streets developed in the city, look more like an old European town than and American city. Not to brag, but a few of these are frame-worthy. Enjoy!