Kelly Kreth
Contributing writer Kelly Kreth has been a freelance journalist, essayist, and columnist for more than two decades. Her real estate articles have appeared in The Real Deal, Luxury Listings, Our Town, and amNewYork. A long-time New York City renter who loves a good deal, Kreth currently lives in a coveted rent-stabilized apartment in a luxury building on the Upper East Side.
Posts by Kelly Kreth:
Sure those white-gloved doormen buildings are luxurious, but who wants to make small talk every time you walk into your building? Not to mention the fact that you may need to have your feet firmly planted in the 1 percent to afford holiday tips for a fleet of doormen.
Can you tell we're trying to make our doormanless-self feel better here? It's easier than you might think, actually, because in the last couple of years, a plethora of products and services have sprung up that make the unattended life easier (and safer, too).
Here are five to add to your personal survival kit:
In my previous column, I gave some tips for surviving in a tenement-sized apartment. This time, I thought I’d focus on something else I know quite a bit about: Surviving in a walk-up.
When I first moved to Manhattan I lived on the sixth floor of a walk-up tenement. I was young and so excited to finally be living in NYC in an apartment I could afford alone, the stairs didn’t seem daunting at all…at first.
Now that the micro-apartments are nearly here, I thought I'd try my hand at giving some service-y advice on making life work in a small space.
As a long-time renter of relatively small walk-up apartments, and someone who has a lot of belongings, there are a few guiding principles that have helped me stay organized and uncluttered.
A recent article in The Village Voice confirmed what I already knew firsthand from living in Hell’s Kitchen: I am going to be single forever.
According to the Voice's Michael Musto, the neighborhood of Clinton, a.k.a. "Hellsea," has the highest number of gay bars in NYC—13 to Chelsea's 7. As a single straight woman--the unwanted meat in many a gay sandwich--this is not exactly a promising statistic for my social life.
I recently celebrated the joys of living in a crappy tenement (most notably, less tipping and more interesting neighbors). But now that the feel-good holiday season is over, I'll go back to my complaining.
A compulsive contest enterer and oftentimes winner, last month I won a $300 black Perlina leather purse via Lucky Magazine (Yay!). I considered it my holiday gift from the Universe.
