This past weekend I went up to NYC (Manhattan in particular), a city that I haven't been in for about a year or so. I've discovered that I have an interesting combination of feelings when I'm in the city.

OK, on the one hand, New York City embodies for me many aspects of the way I think cities SHOULD be in the United States. I love that there's so much human diversity and as a result a very natural open-mindedness. I feel quite comfortable walking many streets at most hours (throughout Midtown, Chelsea and Greenwich Village at most hours). I love that there are an eye-popping number of restaurants, music venues of all varieties, grocery (love the fresh produce) /clothing/ record/anything stores...there's always something to do. (Here it may be hard deciding WHAT to do!) All you need is your feet to get you there (helped by the occasional cab fare and bus pass). I went to a 2-floor spacious, packed Gay bar (Splash) chosen randomly for a beer in Chelsea with Broadway entertainment on expensive video screens (in several rooms) on a MONDAY night. Where else but in New York City? The city where many people suck every ounce out of life.

On the other hand, I wonder if NYC is not the city that eats people up and spits them out. My aunt moved into her rent control Manhattan apartment (6% increase each year) 26 years ago and now the complex is using every ploy possible to renege on the original agreement and change the complex to luxury apts. and triple the monthly rental price. In order to by a house, my cousin who lives in Brooklyn and her fiancé (two high middle-income earners) have little choice but to move into a house with two friends. I bemoan/worry that New York City may soon be only the domain of the über-wealthy, losing character and become a land of unbridled superficiality.

Anyhow, I had a great visit, and enjoyed an Indian restaurant called Baluchi's on 1st Ave. around 63rd St. This area near Cornell Medical School and Rockefeller University quite impressed me with the diverse selection of restaurants (1st Ave.), a gorgeous Hungarian church on 68th or 69th St, and a park with playground where friends/families ate lunch and students studied.

It's hard for me to write an insightful travelogue about NY since I feel that there's so much in NYC that no one resident (maybe not even 10 residents combined) will ever really know all the dynamic corners of the city.

Daniel-

Okay, nice but why write that here if you dont have a question to ask or anything. Splash is my one of my favorite bars to.

Chris, Splash is one of your favorite bars to what? Please finish your statement.

Hello, Chris, ever heard of a trip report? Thanks Daniel, as a relatively recent (coming up on six years) transplant to NYC, I do share some of your feelings.

Hi

True Chris, I realize that the travelogue ended up having a bit of "rant" quality to it. My intention was to voice some of my impressions on the city as a visiting traveler (up from Baltimore). In my defence, I DID include some useful information for prospective visitors about Splash and the Rockefeller University/ Cornell Medical School area of Midtown.

Cheers! DAN

As a New Yorker of 5 years, I must agree with what you wrote. It is the best city ever! But at the same time, I'm making a very nice salary and live in a box with a window overlooking a lovely brick wall. Cute little stores are being replaced by Gaps and Old Navys. Soon there will be no culture left and it will be a shopping mall like everywhere else. Blame it on our Mayor? Maybe. The weird thing is I'll never leave.

I was shocked to discover a K-Mart last time I was in Manhattan.

And I know this is happening in every city across America, but it seems like there's a retched Starbucks every 2 blocks!

Hold on to your hat, Jim: there are *two* Kmarts in Manhattan, and it appears they're quite popular. And you're right about the colonization by Starbucks (as everywhere in the world, apparently). Just stick to the local cafes...

It's sad but true. The monolithic chains, unfortunately, are sometimes the only tenants who can pay rent in most of these neighborhoods. I'm thinking of opening a store and have checked out rents in various neighborhoods around the city. One landlord is asking $45,000 a month for a 1500-square-foot spot on Spring near West Broadway... Putamayo is getting kicked out, undoubtedly for some chain.

The thing is, this is an ongoing complaint in NYC. My father lived here thirty years ago and says people were worried about the same things...

Like it or not, K-Mart fills a distinct need in the NYC retail sector. Not sure if it's true but I'm taold that the K-Mart in Penn plaza is one of the busiest locations they have anywhere. As for Starbucks... its ubiquity is disturbing. If I walk from 46th Street to 34th on 8th Avenue (which I do regularly) and include the Starbucks inside the food court lobby on W 42nd (and the one in the lobby of One Penn Plaza) there are SIX of them in a 12 block stretch. It's happening all over America but the density makes it more noticeable here. I have to agree about the sad fact of loong time residents being forced out by high rents. NYC is far from the only place where this is happening but it's getting rather extreme here. All a landlord has to do is make enough basic improvements on an apartment to get the rent over $2,000 per month (not tough to do in NYC) and that apartment is no longer subject to rent control. The current economic conditions may prompt a slowdown in rent increases but demand seems to continue unabated. I think there is a certain cachet to living "in Manhattan" that holds strong appeal for many people. I recognize the convenience of being immediately adjacent to so many activities and cultural offerings but I'm hard pressed to find the value when one must live on some remote reaches of Manhattan in order to keep that Manhattan address. I live in a quiet neighborhood with tree-lined streets in north Jersey - an easy 30 minute commute by public transport to midtown and at night I can make it home in 15-20 minutes if I'm driving. I have a pleasant and reasonably spacious apartment at a ridiculously cheap rent but even market price in my little town is only about $950-1,000 for a nice one bedroom. Would I ever live in Manhattan? Only if I had extrememly deep pockets and could do it comfortably without compromising my standard of living. That said... I spend as much time in the city as I can!

Daniel, you're right that no one can know the whole city. The best you can do is know your neighborhood.

Owen, a little knowledge can be deadly. It is very tough for a landlord to raise the rents to 2,000 on a stabilized apartment. If the apartment rents for $1,200 a landlord would have to put in $32,000 of improvements to bring the rent up to $2,000, and even then it would still be subject to rent controls if the current occupant makes less than $175,000 a year. The whole rent regulated system in New York is absurd imho.

Re the rent regulation system in NYC: do landlords hate it? Yes, of course--it's impossible for them to profit from a rent-regulated building. Does it discourage them from being good landlords (i.e., keeping up with necessary repairs, etc.)? Absolutely. Is it unfair to newcomers who will never have the opportunity to rent fairly-priced apartments? Yes. Are many regulated rents skewed ridiculously low given the New York economy? Yes. Is a rent-regulation system necessxary? IMO, yes, absolutely. Without it, NYC, and Manhattan in particular, would severely diminish in one of its most attractive aspects: its ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity. Regulated rents allow many working- and middle-class people to live here. I simply don't buy the argument (promulgated by the landlords' lobbying organizations) that without it, market-rate rents would equalize. There is too much demand among people who can afford to pay high rents for them to go down much, and many people would be forced out of Manhattan or the city as a whole, leaving it for the wealthy and the very poor who receive housing subsidies and live in the projects. BTW, I pay market-rate rent, so I don't have a personal stake in rent regulation.

Dan, I must say your original message sure did take off. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed your time here. You sparked quite an interest with the rent issue.