Rent-Stabilized NYC Gem: No Bathroom Sink, but I Won't Leave

The quirks extend to the building itself. In winter, the radiator hisses and clangs so loudly that first-time visitors ask if someone is breaking in. It's also scorching hot to the touch, leaving minor welts when she bumps into it. There's no laundry in the building, and the only sink in the bathroom would be a luxury. Two restaurants sit below, bringing constant chatter and the slamming of doors to the trash chutes.

Still, she says the positives outweigh the negatives. The apartment is a five-minute walk from the Hudson River piers and a 10-minute stroll to several subway lines. A unit above recently rented for more than double her rent, over $4,000 a month. She's friends with the deli owner across the street, who used to hand her a breakfast sandwich and orange juice every morning before school (her dad had set up a weekly payment). A family friend runs a liquor store nearby, and the restaurant below was once owned by her father.

She compares the place to Monica Geller's "Friends" apartment, but smaller, and notes it's a few blocks from the building used for the show's exterior shots. It hasn't been renovated in a long time, which gives it history and character. For her, the apartment is home, with security, community, and memories she wouldn't trade for a bigger place with a bathroom sink.