Tough Choices in Brooklyn as Families of Means Squeeze Together
The Gilmores, a family of five, all sleep together in one bed in their one-bedroom apartment in South Slope. It’s a queen-size bunk bed — two kids on top, two adults and a baby on the bottom — and they had it custom made. A block party on Macdonough Street in Bed Stuy. Photo by…
The Gilmores, a family of five, all sleep together in one bed in their one-bedroom apartment in South Slope. It’s a queen-size bunk bed — two kids on top, two adults and a baby on the bottom — and they had it custom made.
A block party on Macdonough Street in Bed Stuy. Photo by Cate Corcoran
It’s not that they couldn’t afford to live in a bigger apartment, according to The New York Times. But they opted to stay put because of close social ties in the area — including being part of a preschool co-op.
Except for the custom furniture, this is nothing new in New York City, where immigrants have been squeezing big families into small spaces for 200 years. Sunset Park and Bushwick are full of illegal SROs where families — or more than one family — share a room.
The difference, according to the Times, is now families of means are doing this by choice.
Exhibit B: The Furgusons, a family of four, who actually purchased an entire townhouse in Clinton Hill, then never moved from their 1,000-square-foot apartment near Barclays Center — which they also own — because they couldn’t bear to tear their two children away from their friends.
Several other examples concern families in Manhattan. Is this a real trend? Or just more evidence of the limited real estate choices in a very expensive city?
[Source: NYT]
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Families visiting Brooklyn Bridge Park. Photo by Barbara Eldredge
Macdonough Street. Photo by Cate Corcoran
These people are just so greedy. Move to the suburbs so the rats you decided you NEEDED can be raised in a better environment. Christ.
This is so not healthy in so many ways, why is this being written about as if it is OK?
If it was a different cultural group, would it be reported in the same manner?
Yep, they’re glamorizing it. with glossy pics of kids playing in the hallways and mom sitting on the floor surrounded my kids against a chalk wall. So many people of lesser means live like this (without the chalk wall)
“Especially in the winter, the children hang out in the 12-by-15-foot landing outside the elevator. They ride their scooters down the hallway and kick around a ball.”
I have a 5yr old and I have NEVER nor will I ever let him play in the hallway in our building. It’s called respect for my neighbors.
It’s not a real trend, these people are just weird. All they’ve done is made their own yuppie commune.
or families with 2 kids of the different sex and just 2 bedrooms. what do they do? This article’s example is just extreme.
I know what you meant, hence the smiley.
But I totally agree. So sick of people. Tired of encountering rude, obnoxious, entitled people in NYC.
-signed a life long NYer
You also know me bad english
You met me kid, you really think he’s the worst? 🙂