Room for Improvement

Room For Improvement: A little less Christmas cheer and a second bathroom would be much appreciated this holiday season

By Mayra David  | December 20, 2013 - 1:23PM
image

'Tis the season to be jolly? Well, in New York it seems the consensus is too much holiday cheer, too many holiday visitors, and even a gifted apartment is too much to handle. Five New Yorkers share their gripes.

  • All I (really) want for Christmas I really, really wish we had a second bathroom. It's the holidays and people come to experience "New York at Christmastime!" Everybody and their mother is asking if they can come stay and see the tree at Rockefeller. All I want for Christmas is a second bathroom to make their visits less intrusive. - Robert, Upper West Side
  • Bah, humbug I wish my neighbors would turn off those damn lights in their windows. They have curtains up that have the twinkling lights built in! They also have electric candles, and huge, red, plastic ribbons that light up. What a waste of energy it is, too. -Rosalie, Harlem
  • The cronut of NYC apartments I love the idea of a cloffice! I'm seeing all these closets converted to offices but my closet is at the most depressing end of the hall. And I need it desperately for storage. -Leanne, Bronx
  • A higher floor--and less heat  I hate living on the ground floor and being woken up by people throwing things into the trash can or our incompetent super “sorting” through the trash. Thank goodness it no longer smells like it does in the summer. Also, I wish they’d turn the heat down!!! - Mel, Inwood
  • What doesn’t need improving? I’d love to gut renovate this whole place. I shouldn’t be complaining about inheriting an apartment, but there is just so much work to be done and I can't afford any of it! The kitchen needs a new floor as the vinyl tiles have completely worn away. I need a new fridge and stove and sink. The bathroom is a mess of cracked, yellowing tiles, an icky--though beautiful--old tub and the toilet definitely has to go. And new light fixtures and a new paint job. Is that enough for starters? - Sheila, Harlem

See all Room for Improvement

Related posts:

The 7 worst places to live in a building

How to buy a NYC apartment

10 first time renovation mistakes even New Yorkers make 

Moving to NYC? Here's a crash course in finding an apartment here

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics: