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:
While I often lament the fact that I have no laundry room in my building, no elevator and no doorman, after my latest post about how unaffected my building was by the hurricane, I got to thinking about the other benefits of low-rent living.
About a week before Hurricane Sandy, I had what I can now only think of as a foreshadowing event.
I arrived home exhausted from a surgical procedure in the hospital. It left my arm bandaged, and I was sent home with a warning: Whatever you do, don’t get it wet.
I meticulously wrapped my arm in a substandard cling-wrap product and duct tape (it was raining and I couldn’t risk getting it wet so I had to make do with what was available at the downstairs bodega) which took about 20 minutes.
The last two apartments I’ve lived in have had washing machine access. The first in the basement and the latter in the apartment because I smuggled one in.
When I moved here I could have easily brought the contraband machine with me—there is enough space---but wanted a clean (pun intended) start. You see my beloved ventless Malber wd1000 was much like the men I seem to date, dreamy but complicated and really more trouble than it was worth.
I am no stranger to living by a loud annoying bar/club. So when I noticed a bar next to my new apartment building I didn’t balk. However, it would seem that dealing loud, trashy bars is my karma.
