Hunting for an apartment takes leg work
 For Many New Yorkers, Vanessa Hall's story may hit close to home. Hers is the story of triumph over housing tragedy.
Hall, 30, is an aspiring actress and moved to New York at the beginning of the year from Atlanta to pursue theater more seriously.
Like many young émigrés to the city she had a limited budget (not one dollar more than $1,000) and serious requirements (her own place). She turned to an online housing board and found what seemed to be a good deal — the groundfloor apartment of a brownstone in Crown Heights.
But the deal began to quickly deteriorate. An illegal apartment with an overly-friendly landlady, little natural light and flooding into the subterranean space drove Hall out and back on the hunt for a new place after six months of living there.
Help from Friends, Family
Originally from Mount Vernon, N.Y. Hall took refuge with family while she searched for another place. Finally, after a friend persuaded her to try the rental agency Rent-Direct.com, she found her current onebedroom apartment in Fort George in the northern tip of Manhattan.
As a burned renter, however, Hall took baby steps to making the commitment—she even walked around the neighborhood alone at 2 a.m. to see if she felt safe. "I wanted to make absolutely sure I felt comfortable here," she says.
Now, almost three weeks after moving in, Hall is getting to know her new neighborhood, which is predominantly Dominican.
"I better brush up on my
Spanish," she says with a
laugh about her first impression of living in Fort George.
And she has taken care of
her first order of business — setting up the kitchen,
as she loves to cook.
After nearly a year in
housing flux, Hall is ready
to just relax and set up
house.
"Home is my foundation," she says.
CATHERINE NEW
Metro Editor
|
