The Market

Kelly Cutrone's $600/month first apartment was "terrifying"

By Virginia K. Smith  | April 30, 2015 - 3:59PM
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Periodically, we like to dig through the archives from Brick's early days, and we recently came across this interview with People's Revolution head honcho (and author, and America's Next Top Model judge) Kelly Cutrone. The notoriously no-BS PR powerhouse dishes on her "terrifying" first apartment in Alphabet City, why she's over Soho (but loves her loft), and what it's like to have your home and your office in the same building. Below, a few highlights:

On the upside to raising kids in the city:

"New York is a city where people will always have more or less than you.  It’s interactive and highly stimulating.  Children are exposed to so much at such an early age.  They become instant citizens of the world.  [...]  In a way, I feel like living in the city is safer for children than residing in the suburbs or country because in the city they are always with an adult." 

On the fallacy of the "location, location, location" cliche:

"You could have a great space in a dangerous neighborhood or a quaint space in a great neighborhood.  You have to stop convincing yourself it’s one or the other.  Both are equally important."

On life in the converted Soho industrial space that doubles as her office:

"To be honest, I am not so crazy about living in Soho; it’s too touristy and industrial. I like the old-school feeling of a neighborhood, whereas Soho is more predictable. But I do love loft living." 

On moving to Alphabet City in the '80s:

"My first apartment was a 500-square-foot sixth-floor walk-up on Avenue C between 10th and 11th Streets, which was so small I had to have a loft bed in order to have ample floor space. I found the apartment through Ken Rosenblume, the cousin of my college friend Leslie Sloan, now a well-known publicist.  I took the apartment sight unseen.  It was $600 a month and required two months security deposit upfront. The area was terrifying; it was full of pit bulls and M-80s, and crack and heroin dealers."

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