Be Brave Project: Day Eight. Down, Down, Down: Or, Does this Look like the Kitchen of a $2400 per month Apartment?

I wouldn't say that my current abode is my favorite apartment ever, but I can say that I've worked like hell to make it a decent place to live. Despite the uselessness of Nick, the Not-So-Super, the egregious grasping nature of the management company (Dermott Realty), the low level of light and the complete lack of a lock on the building's front door.

Because who worries about security in New York City??

But, knowing that they were shysters and completely indifferent to their tenants and their own reputation, I still wasn't expecting the lease renewal 'offer' I received yesterday. A $450 per month increase, backdated, so I have only one week to decide if I agree to it.

I am still reeling. Their feeling is that this apartment would now be over $2000 a month, and therefore they can ask anything (there are very complicated sets of codes from long ago re. how the rules change when an apartment hits 2 grand a month). My feeling is that with Wall Street in the crapper and units in this building empty--plus the hight turnover rate-- it might be smart to not attempt to financially rape your tenants.

No. Apparently not.

So now I have to spend the next few weeks/months in debate with these people. I will have to Be Brave for this, and in addition will have to double up on the BBP, because now I have housing negotiations to deal with on top of starting a big writing project within the next few weeks.

But the Brave Thing I did yesterday was financial: I looked up what Wall Street had done with my small, small amount of money. Answer: Lost a lot of it. I am still interested in the possibility of moving upstate next year, though now there are huge concerns in the county about corporations drilling the area for natural gas, leaving behind God knows what chaos and chemicals.

Welcome to Bush's America. Be proud you don't live in it.

Be Brave Project today? Calling the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, and requesting the forms for an Administrative Determination--once and for all we shall see if this apartment is/should be rent stabilized. I also read that I can retro-actively get rent back for the non-locking building door; I shall check that out, too.

I will also keep my eye on the prize health care wise--I don't want this administration mining my corpse for calcium deposits--and fill in the forms for the application. It must go out by the 20th, to have me insured by September 1. I hope.

In addition, to add to my lovely lovely day yesterday, I came home to a mouse corpse on the ($2400 per month??) kitchen floor. Gigi Colette was being very "Who, Me?" about it all. If only I could shrink down the employees of the Dermott Realty Company and set them scurrying all over my apartment. . .

Final brave thing--one gets in the habit of all of this--is that I just printed up the essay I submitted to Modern Love at the Sunday New York Times, and will be re-submitting it. I'm going for the women's magazines: Self, Marie Claire, and then Tango.

I could sure use some Conde Nast money right now.

Cos I'm feeling Kinda Nasty.

And not in the good way.