SMALLER NYC LIVING?

Mayor Bloomberg is at it again! In his latest attempt to fit more people into New York City, the Mayor has launched a contest for developers to create these tiny apartments called micro units for young singles willing to cram themselves into a shoebox-sized apartment. Is this guy losing his mind? What happened to "If you can afford it, you can buy it"? Now, he wants to kind of force people who are single to live in a closet. How is that fair? If there is a kid working on Wall Street and making millions, why would he or she want to live in a shoebox, when they can live comfortably? First it was the Big Gulps and now this? He's ruining New York City! Can we get Giuliani back?

The new closet-like flats will measure out to 275 to 300 square feet, which is larger than a jail cell, but smaller than a mobile home and will have special permission to ignore city rules requiring newly built apartments to exceed 400 square feet. According to Bloomberg, the city's demographic has changed where it used to be the average household of a family, a couple of adults and some children. What he meant was the city was filled with larger dwellings leaving one million studios and one bedrooms, which is not nearly enough for the 1.8 million one and two-person households. 

At a news conference on Monday, Bloomberg announced a contest seeking a developer for about 80 micro units at a city-owned parking lot on East 27th Street in Kips Bay. Okay, so since parking is not bad enough in the city, let's make it even more difficult by getting rid of a parking lot! That is brilliant! I have a better idea for you Mayor Doomberg! How about giving up some of your 12,500 square foot townhouse on the Upper East Side? If my calculations are correct, you can develop 42 micro units in your townhouse! You'd be halfway there!

The mini-studios would be just big enough for a bathroom, kitchen and sleeping and dining areas, but Bloomberg went on to say that tenants shouldn't plan on doing much entertaining. This guy is seriously losing his mind! City rules mandating bigger apartments were put in place to combat cramped tenement conditions, but Bloomberg insists that the regulations need to roll with the times. Real estate agents project that young college students would snap up the micro units, but it depends on the price, which city officials are saying could be less than $2,000 per month. The optimism seems like it's there, but why do I feel like its still part of an evil plan on Bloomberg's part? Maybe I just don't trust a guy who can take away the Big Gulp?  Could you live in something like this?