Move Over 320 Sq. Ft. House — This Is the 78 Sq. Ft. NYC Apartment
- Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:32am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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(Montage via Gothamist.com)
In June, we brought you news of the 320 sq. ft. house — which was home to a family of three — down South. Many of you couldn’t believe a family could live in such a confined space. So maybe you’ll be even more surprised to meet Luke Clark Tyler, who lives in a 78 sq. ft. apartment in Midtown Manhattan.
Yes, 78 sq. ft.
Tyler jokingly calls it his “Midtown mansion,” perhaps a way to use humor to deal with the absurdity of the size while explaining it to others. For the most part, it looks like a glorified hallway. It has a window with an air conditioner, a desk, and a tiny refrigerator, and a custom-built couch (that he fashioned) that also turns into a bed. It doesn‘t have it’s own bathroom (he shares one with three other people) or a kitchen (but Gothamist says he’s a vegetarian and gets by on microwaved eggs).
But don’t feel bad for Tyler. He’s used to small apartments and actually seems to prefer them to paying higher rent. The Manhattan freelance architect — who also uses the tiny space as an office — lived in a 96 sq. ft. apartment before his latest minimansion.
The rent, however, isn’t what you might think. Tyler told the site Faircompanies.com that he’s paying $750/month for the space, but in the video says he pays $800/month. Either way, the price doesn’t seem to fit the square footage. Still, it is Midtown Manhattan, and rent is unpredictable there.
“Having lived in both the largest shelter in the Southeast as well as the largest slum in East Africa, I don’t think living small is a challenge,” he said. “So we can call it anything; a room, a hallway, a live-in-closet, but to me it’s just home.”
You can take a “tour” of the abode below with Tyler, courtesy of the Faircompanies.com video:
You can see more pictures of the apartment over at apartmenttheraphy.com. You can also view pictures of other tiny apartments and homes from apartmenttherapy.com as part of its Small/Cool 2011 contest, which looks at the smallest and coolest homes and apartments across the country.
Editor’s note: Is a jail cell more plush than this apartment? Read Meredith’s thoughts over on the blog.
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Comments (156)
Tanner Smith
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:34amMeanwhile Woody Allen and others are living in huge rent controlled apartments way lower then they are worth and paying so much less they should be paying.
Report Post »piper60
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 9:30amFirst of all, I agree. Secondly, given where he lives, I admire him for having found an apartment he likes without going into rent controlled stuff. Being an architect, he probably wants to live close in to where he works.
Report Post »12 gauge
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 9:53amI would like to stick oBamma and Moochelle in there, lock the door and throw away the key
Report Post »Jamesjim
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 11:23amSo what! Take it from Woody? Change the rent control laws? Okay, then what? Everybody has to pay high rents anyway.
Report Post »Think about your motives before you blather what ever ill-informed nonsense clutters your brain.
Jealousy is ill-conceived and nonconstructive.
Bluebonnet
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 11:51amAt the end of WW11 after my mom was beaten one time too many, she left our dad and we actually lived in a 2nd floor closed in wide hallway w/shared bath. Yep, when the Democrats cause this nation to fold, I’ll remember what I am capable of doing to survive because I went through it as a child.
I can afford to have more, but I can’t allow myself to be so extravagant because I remember how it was as a child, and this could happen again someday. Well folks, I‘m beginning to think that day is approaching quickly and I’ll be ready because I’ve had the tough training.
Funny, we really didn’t know we were that poor because we always had almost enough. My mom would work several jobs to get by. As times got better, she put us in a dance studio that we could go to when school was out. She made all our clothes, we wore same pair of shoes until worn out.
Actually, those were good times for us as we had each other and loved each other. That was family! Those are the good times I remember because nothing was given to us to spoil us, thinking the Government was supposed to support us. We did it ourselves, thanks to our Mom who could make a purse out of a sow’s ear, and we assumed everyone lived like us.
Report Post »My life’s motto has always been, waste not, want not. Believe in God and all his Glory because that’s all that really matters in the end. Stop spoiling your kids.
dukielouie
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 12:21pmUn Agenda 21/Sustainable communties ICLEI proposes living in tiny apartments,tiny cars, and ride bikes so we can save the PLANET!!!The Wildlands take the land and give it back to the animals and move the people into the sustainable urban boundary.www.freedomadvocates.org
Report Post »Roberto G. Vasquez
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 1:02pmAnybody who wants to live anywhere in NYC is stuck on stupid. Anyone who pays $750 a month to live in a hallway in NYC is beyond stupid! Thank God for TEXAS where brand new 3/2 brick homes with 10′ ceilings, central ac/heat and all tile floors cost $110k !!!!!
Report Post »S_Malc13
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 3:07pmGood, Texans will need a place to stay when their properties are stolen via eminent domain for the Trans Texas Corridor. As is already mentioned, see Agenda 21. Good luck.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:34amLooks like European socialism to me.
Report Post »Enuff Zenuff
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 10:28am.
Report Post »Coming soon to a city near you…!
The Catbird
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 7:37amFunny, I was thinking the very thing… Welcome to Hope and Change Manor, where misery is an entitlement and comfort a memory.
Report Post »Marsh626
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:30amWhen I went to a JROTC Air Force Academy in highschool (Randolph-Macon Academy), our rooms were about this size.
It wasn’t that bad at all. Perfectly livable. We even had TWO people living in each room.
We had 2 large desks in there, a bunk bed, 2 closets and a sink – with room to spare.
We lived there for 9 months a year and never complained about lack of space.
*shrug*
It’s not as crazy as everyone thinks.
Report Post »UlyssesP
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:59amAnd the whole time you were there, it was to improve your life, to move on to bigger and better things. I am guessing you’ve left out the part where you exercised patience with such small quarters and limited privacy in knowing the situation was not the best you would ever achieve, that you being there was just a stage in a trajectory of life that would include better living accommodations sometime in the future.
Report Post »Furious
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 9:21amKey word, high school. You were in high school!
Report Post »Ajohn
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 9:36amCome on Marsh, anyone that has military experience knows that yes personal space is small, but there is no cooking, entertainment, bathing or restrooms in that space. You have the mess, the dayrooms, the public restrooms and showers and a ton of mandated outside time. Your comparison is not realistic and patiently absurd.
Report Post »maynarkj
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 10:19amSeems like a realistic comparison to me. I also lived in tiny rooms when I was in the military (not high school). I had no TV, no phone, had to share a bathroom (like him); I did have a dayroom, but who wants to hang out in there. As far as mess halls; they suck! He has all the cuisine of Manhattan to choose from which is very reasonbly priced despite the location. He can go outside as much as he wants, and I‘m sure he’s not planning on living there forever. He also probably sees a day when he’ll make more money and be able to afford a bigger place. He says he doesn’t mind living there, so what’s the big deal? No one’s forcing him to live there. Personally, I’m a little jealous. I’ve always wanted to live in Manhattan. It’s an awesome place.
Report Post »RabidPatriot
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 4:11pmI lived in the barracks and just like you it did not cost me one penny to live there. My meals were free and I could put every cent I earned in the bank. Now my dog has better living quarters than this egg eating vegetarian.
Report Post »Magyar
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 9:56pmFine dude–enjoy peeing 2 feet from your roomate! However, I worked and paid for my 2,300 sq. ft. condo under air and I ain‘t sharin’ with anyone I don’t choose to. If any government operative believes they will alter that conviction–they’re DEAD wrong It will be over my dead body!
Report Post »Ironmaan
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:30amThis is how our state planners like Cass Sunstein and Obama would like everyone to live. Look at all the energy we would save! http://guerillatics.com
Report Post »kentuckypatriot
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:55amSHHH…Don’t give them any ideas!!
Report Post »Carol Ingian
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:30amWhat a waste of money!
Report Post »But on the positive side, it wouldn’t take much time to clean.
jmbogstad
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:28amHate to break it to you folks, but this is nothing. As an over-the-road truck driver I lived in a space smaller than this for weeks at a time, I would only go home once a month for a day or two. I had a microwave, a toaster oven a laptop and a small refridgerator/freezer. All OTR truck drivers live this way, and there are millions of us.
Report Post »Ironmaan
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:32amYou were being paid to do it. This dummy pays $800/mo for the priviledge.
Report Post »auntmoxie.com
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:26amAt least he’ll feel right at home when China takes us over.
Report Post »gmoneytx
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 9:35ambravo!
Report Post »J-Law
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 11:13amI think you might be thinking of Japan.
Report Post »8jrts
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 12:11pm@J-Law
Report Post »Auntmoxie has it right….China holds our most of our debt and if they want it, land will be the only way we could pay it right now…could you pay off your mortgage if China came calling? I couldn’t, they‘d have my land and I’d probably end up in a closet too. Not a pleasant thought at all….
Shiroi Raion
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:22amACK! How could anyone live in that? My bedroom is bigger than that! That’s not much bigger than my bathroom! $750 a month! What a rip off!
Report Post »termitebill
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:30amNothing is a rip off if one is willing to pay the price without complaint, unlike the taxes we pay for a lotof BS and waste we don’t want.
Report Post »dthomps6
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 10:06am$750 per month where I live buys a 1500 sq ft townhouse.
But, yeah, the first thing I noticed was no bathroom. No kitchen either. Man, that would suck.
Why anyone would live in NYC on purpose is beyond me.
Report Post »WhatWasIThinking?
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:21ammy closet is bigger. Im not bragging, Im poor, but my closet is bigger.
Report Post »SREGN
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:17amIn Tokyo this would be a presidential suite. And the price would be triple.
Report Post »lketchum
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:13amthis is a diseased closet
Report Post »det45
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:11amThe liberals would love to have all of us living like this! All they have to do is pass laws confiscating our cars and homes, then force us in small cubicles and on to mass transit. What more do you need to control the masses?! Think I’m a nut job for saying this? Think again, that’s exactly what they did in the old soviet bloc.
Report Post »maharickie
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:06amThe title is wrong. The previous article was for a 320 sq ft house. 720 sq ft is a mansion.
Report Post »Tomfang
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:02am$800 a month for a closet ! No wonder city dwellers think they need the gov. to help take care of them. His choice, though. If he works from home, he could have a nice place in the country for that much money.
Report Post »NealPatrick
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:59amStraight from the Simpsons when Homer and Marge rent an apartment exactly like this so Bart and Lisa can be in a better school district.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 8:05amThis looks like the future of American housing and urban sprawl when Obama finishes the land with part of the UN Agenda 21 and his other insane progressive-socialist methodology.
Report Post »let us prey
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:58amLoks like a communist utopia.
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:58amIt‘s the tea party’s fault. And Bush. Reganomics…
Report Post »BlackAce41
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:51amThis is not that bad their are Sailors on board U.S. Ships that dont have room to stand in the Quarters.
Report Post »BlackAce41
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:50amhey what ever works for him. Their are Sailors on board ships who have a bunk to the name and that is it.
Report Post »uncleskull
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 6:44pmDon’t they SHARE bunks on subs?
Report Post »bkfirvine
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:49amPresident Obama’s Housing Czar will be sure to promote this as “sustainable housing”.
Report Post »uncleskull
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 6:48pmI dunno. That a/c unit looks like an energy waster to me. Think big Al would prefer to see a fan in there instead.
Report Post »Lamarr01
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 1:01amThe guy is a freelance architect. He should have to live in what he designs. He is wasting a lot of space by not going to two levels. He should put his bed on the upper level. The Japanese rent microhotels which are about the size of a large coffin.
The new FEMA rooms are 4 x 4 x 8.
Report Post »briten821
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:48amThis place is HUGe compared to some of the swill holes I saw when I lived in the former Soviet Union!
Report Post »briten821
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:59amOf course the rent in the Soviet days was free. And today the rent on an apartment like that is about $100/month there. But, there’s no such thing as air conditioning- you don’t even get to control the thermostat. The heat somes on when they turn it on and stays at the temp that they set it at.
Report Post »hubbywan
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:46amIt looks like a prison cell without a commode.
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:42amOMG, my kids’ bedroom is larger than that.
Report Post »Thatsitivehadenough
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:42amNew York supports so many communists, this is only another example of how brainwashed the residents are. I remember when families in Russia lived crowded into 2 rooms and Americans felt sorry for those living behind the ‘iron curtain’. Communists pulled it off. Through stealth, indoctrination, mis-information, and plain lying, they’ve convinced too many Americans (liberals) into thinking communism is great.
Report Post »Plutos_Pal
Posted on August 8, 2011 at 7:41amNo kitchen? No bath? This isn’t an apartment. It is a room.
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