Journal Topic #3: Describe a place from your past.

310 Hart St, Brooklyn, NY (2005-2006)

Jeff and I were so blessed to find a fantastic apartment when we moved to NYC. Before describing the actual apartment, I must briefly describe how we came to find it. We had decided that we wanted to move to NYC. We had both dreamed of living there one day, and we decided that since we didn’t have kids yet, the time to move was now. When I told my employer at the time that we were moving out there and we had no jobs, didn’t know anyone, and didn’t have a place to live, they offered me a position managing a bookstore on the Upper Westside. We were so blessed that I was able to move out there with a job, which helped greatly with the moving costs!

We began looking for apartments right away. We really wanted to stay in Manhattan, preferably close to where I would be working. We could find NOTHING! Nearly every lead Jeff pursued was shot down when the landlord found out we were married. No one would rent a studio or 1-bedroom apartment (the only sizes in our budget) to a married couple. We were shocked. We had been staying in a hotel, but our time was quickly come to an end there, so we needed to find something…fast! Much to our dismay, we decided we needed to look outside of Manhattan.

At 6am one morning, we began looking in the other boroughs. Jeff started with Brooklyn. He found something on Craig’slist that seemed perfect. He called on it. The landlord, again, seemed hesitant—thinking it would be much too small for a married couple. Jeff went out to look at it. It was perfect! I went back with him the next day. I loved it, too! We got it because we were the first ones to respond to the ad, come see the prop, fill out an application, and pay a deposit. Renting an apartment in NYC is unique—competition is fierce, you must come cash-in-hand.

Turns out the Lord really wanted us there, in that neighborhood (or at least in that branch’s boundaries), because shortly after we moved, Jeff was called to be the branch Clerk, and I was called to be the branch Relief Society president. What blessings we received from those callings.

But I digress…now to the description of the apartment. It was a brand new brownstone in the Bedford- Stuyvesant neighborhood, I think. It was on the border of several neighborhoods. Anyway, some would say it was scary neighborhood, but we always felt very comfortable there—even when we had to occasionally walk at night. Around the corner was a deli/bodega whose owner/manager really took care of us. Once we went in late at night for some sandwiches. He walked us out and then stood at the door, watching us until we went around the corner. That may seem creepy to some, but it was actually very comforting to know that someone was watching our backs.

Our new brownstone was in the midst of a long line of brand new developments. On the other side of the street were older, somewhat run-down brownstones, but these new ones really cleaned up the neighborhood.

Our apartment was a second floor walk-up. The door into our apartment opened into a hallway. If you went to the left, the bathroom was at the end of the hall. If you went to the right, there was a small entryway that led into the kitchen. The kitchen wasn’t exactly big, but it was open. No one had ever lived in this apartment before us, so everything was shiny and new. There was actually a good deal of cupboard space. The countertops were marble (or looked marble anyway).

The kitchen opened up into the living room. At the other end, there were pop-out bay windows overlooking the street. The living room had hardwood floors and was nearly as big as our tiny 1-bedroom apartment in Minneapolis! We filled this room with a small dining room table set, computer desk, and 2 click-clack sofas. It was the perfect size!

Off the side of the living room was the bedroom. The bedroom was carpeted and bigger than a standard room. It could have easily fit a queen-size bed (possibly king-size), dresser, oversized chair, small desk. We didn’t really do much with this room when we lived there—just an air mattress where the bed would’ve gone. J I don’t really remember, but I think the closet must have been a walk-in. I can’t visualize where else we would have unpacked our clothes.

I wanted to post some fun pictures of the apartment to complement this post, but they were lost when our hard drive crashed a year or so ago. We lost practically everything from our time in NYC. I just remembered that I had some pictures of our apartment in Brooklyn on another blog. Click here for a quick glimpse.