Renting in New York

select-fire · January 20, 2022 15:23

A man says he lives in one of New York City's smallest apartments for $950 a month. Take a look inside the 100-square-foot space.

Armani Syed

Thu, January 20, 2022, 8:13 AM

Ron Ervin and his 100-square-foot Harlem apartment.Ron Ervin

A man says he lives in one of the smallest apartments in New York City at 100 square feet.
Ron Ervin told Insider he found the Harlem room on Craigslist and pays $950 a month.
Ervin says he has a mini-fridge, a twin bed, and a clothes rail but no stovetop or private bathroom.

A man says he lives in one of the smallest apartments in New York City and pays $950 for the 100-square-foot room.

Ron Ervin, a 31-year-old comedian and actor, told Insider he first posted a TikTok video about his home, which has over 2.1 million views at the time of writing, on Friday after seeing a viral 95-square-foot room tour by Axel Webber and suspecting that his might be just as small.

@ronervin #stitch with @axelwebber #nyc #newyork #newyorkcity #nycapartment ♬ original sound - Ron Ervin

In the video, Ervin responds to Webber's apartment tour and jokes: "A challenger has appeared." He added: "This guy has a queen-size mattress in his apartment. If I brought a queen-size mattress into my New York apartment it would crush me to death."

Ervin told Insider he moved to New York over a year ago and was briefly staying with friends when he saw the Harlem apartment listed on Craigslist for $950.

"The price was right. It works for me. So I just went with it and I love it. And I love the neighborhood too," he said of his decision to take the room. He added that the apartment is in a building that has a few other small homes inside it.

A view of Ron Ervin's Harlem apartment with a single bed and green backdrop.Courtesy of Ron Ervin

Inside the space, Ervin said he has a twin bed, a set of drawers that he also uses as a desk, and a clothes rail. He said his kitchen area consists of a mini fridge, a $10 hot plate, and a George Foreman grill, as well as a sink and wall cabinet.

He added that he is supposed to share a bathroom with the resident of one other apartment but that it has been empty for most of his tenancy. He also has a communal backyard that he shares with other people in the building.

The view from the door of Ron Ervin's 100-square-foot apartment in New York City.Courtesy of Ron Ervin

Despite being 6 feet 2 inches tall, Ervin said he doesn't feel claustrophobic in the space because of where he lives: "In New York, you're always out and about so the city is kind of your living room." He added that he tries to stay busy so that he doesn't spend all his time in the room but equally enjoys lazy days in the space.

Ervin said he has always lived with minimal possessions. "Even when I was living in other cities with bigger places, I never had that much stuff so coming here, it really wasn't that much of a difference," he said. "I maybe got rid of one or two smaller things, but it really wasn't much big of a deal. I've got some stuff shoved under the bed and that was really all the storage I needed."

Ron Ervin uses a dresser that doubles as a desk to save space in his tiny apartment.

Ron Ervin uses a dresser that doubles as a desk to save space in his tiny apartment.Courtesy of Ron Ervin

Other space-saving hacks Ervin has for tiny apartments are buying foldable chairs, using a clothes rail rather than a wardrobe, and having a small dresser that can "double as a desk" for your computer or workspace.

The kitchen area in the apartment is also minimal and does not have a stovetop but Ervin said this suits his lifestyle fine. "I went on this big health kick about two years ago. I lost like over a hundred pounds," he said.

Ron Ervin does not have a stovetop in his Harlem apartment.Courtesy of Ron Ervin

"I found that I didn't need a microwave as I was trying to eat good whole foods," he said, adding that the hot plate and grill "work for my diet."

While he loves the space and has very few concerns about his living arrangement, Ervin said he sometimes wishes he could fit a bigger bed inside his home. He joked: "I fit, but it's not the best."

Read the original article on Insider

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Renting in New York

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