Frustrated and struggling, New Yorkers contemplate abandoning the city they love

[brooklynite]

Washington Post

NEW YORK — It was laundry that broke Mary Shell. Or rather, the lack of an in-unit washer and dryer in her Brooklyn apartment where Shell, 37, a field producer for reality television, could barely afford her half of the rent before the novel coronavirus pandemic because work had been slow for months. Times are even tougher now that her roommate, also unemployed, has had to move back in with her parents.

Shell was so financially strapped that she began inquiring about various night-life gigs, only to see covid-19 close all the bars and clubs. (“So that’s another job you can’t do in a pandemic.”) Still, her situation might have been bearable if the nearest laundromat wasn’t four blocks away.

“I just want to be able to do laundry without having to drag it up and down a four-story walk-up or pay someone $40 or $50 to do it for me,” said Shell — echoing a gripe of New York City’s apartment-dwellers so timeless that “Seinfeld,” “Friends,” “Living Single” and “Broad City” all have episodes about the indignities of shared laundry facilities. But throw in a pandemic and Shell said the stress has been “exhausting,” noting how she recently showed up to her laundromat to find that someone had handled all the clothes she had just washed.

“Everyone deserves space and basic amenities,” she said, lamenting how, in New York, many landlords deem a washing machine a “luxury” item. “It’s just insulting to come at us and be like, ‘We’re going to charge you an extra thousand dollars a month for this standard appliance that’s been in American households since the 1970s.’ ”

We're not leaving...

[Nature Man]

1. There is no requirement to live in NYC

or anywhere else for that matter.

[brooklynite]

2. Well, yes, but this is the center of the Universe...

[Nature Man]

6. maybe for some

others might call it the sewer of the universe.

Depends on the person and their needs, but I see your point.

[HotTeaBag]

27. I agree.

I live in Jersey now but lived in the City for eight years in Brooklyn and Queens and having lived there I am thrilled to no longer have to - though I still have to work there unfortunately.

Regarding the wining about doing laundry - all she had to do was buy an apartment-sized stacked washer and dryer or one unit that does both. That's what I did and never had to complain again - but complaining about things that are easily fixable rather than actually doing anything about it is a valued and cherished trait amongst the many folks who go to the Big Apple and are shocked (SHOCKED !!!) that life there isn't just like an episode of Friends.

[Throck]

4. I've never understood the attraction of super big cities.

Toronto, NYC, Chicago, Paris, London. There seems to be a critical mass that creates unique problems. Back in 70s I went to school there (NYC) as did my wife. Rent was horrible, local pollution, power outages, stressed infrastructure. We were happy to move to a less dense, smaller city.

[samnsara]

8. im with ya there..i love to visit but wouldnt want to live there unless I had UNLIMITED....

..resources. Im about 90 minutes from Seattle. Close enuff for a day trip but then back to my rural house in my rural town where i hunker down.

[Nature Man]

9. Was done with large cities

after it took me close to 3 hours to get from point A to point B (drive 9 miles).

Pass.

[bamagal62]

20. Every big city is not the same. And, everyone is different.

I wouldn’t live in NYC for anything. (I used to live in Westchester.) I currently live in Chicago and I absolutely love this city. I recently moved here from a small town in PA. You couldn’t pay me enough to move back there.

[stopbush]

3. I enjoyed my time in NYC (1977-90), but I'm glad we moved after the kids came along.

It’s just too exhausting, especially if you’re not at least comfortable financially. Thr debits outweigh the benefits at some point.

[samnsara]

5. i have a friend there who is stuck in an apt with her blind dog. She has health issues as well..

...i do feel a bit guilty that i have lots of land and own my house. Its easy for me to say Stay Inside.

[Hugin]

7. It'd never work...

and they know it.

It would be like taking me out of hickville. I'd still be a hick.

Although, I do clean up pretty well.

[samnsara]

10. about 20 years ago a cpl in my town won the state lottery....6 mil....the bought a large concrete..

...birdbath for their small home then they bought a home on the waterfront in Seattle....well that didn't last long so they moved back to this town and opened a restaurant. Soon the cpl had split up and they guy was busted for writing bad checks. The woman kept the restaurant. She passed, her family sold the restaurant which now is really active in the community as far as getting the Downtown to do curbside delivery etc. No legacy except the name of the restaurant stayed the same and maybe the birdbath is crumbling somewhere.

6 mil doesn't go far if you don't know what you're doing...

[Hugin]

11. Sudden fame and/or wealth has written many tragedies.

A nice house, nice car, nice clothes and then it gets lost. And, apparently, a nice concrete birdbath.

I'm not saying I'd turn down the chance to give it a try, but, you're correct about having a realistic long term plan in place.

[BeyondGeography]

12. I see landlords losing leverage

Residential and, especially, commercial. Major shitstorm on the horizon.

[dalton99a]

15. +1. Non-manufacturing companies don't need a physical office to function

[betsuni]

13. Boo hoo. If this a standard appliance since the 1970s, why don't they have one?

Why does the apartment have to provide one? Doesn't make sense.

[BeyondGeography]

14. Because there's no hook-up and there are rules against it

Duh.

[betsuni]

16. Well, I live in Japan and everyone has to have their own washing machines.

No "hook-ups," You just plug it in. Maybe that'e too high tech for America.

[BeyondGeography]

18. Most buildings don't allow them

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.brickunderground.com/blog/2013/04/how_to_put_a_washer_dryer_in_your_NYC_coop_or_condo%3famp

Congratulations to you, though.

[betsuni]

19. And congratulations to me for drying clothes in the sun.

Nature's dryer. Green New Deal.

[jberryhill]

22. And where do you propose NYC apartment and condo dwellers do that?

[Igel]

25. Let's go with "many".

On the other hand, it doesn't hurt to ask and, if forbidden, to say you've asked.

As for "hook ups", a lot don't require much. 110V and a hose running to the tap.

[BeyondGeography]

26. I signed four different leases over 25 years that expressly forbid them

Never knew anyone with a washing machine either. Dishwashers were forbidden too. True you could run those through the sink, but not in a tenement with antique plumbing.

[jberryhill]

23. No "hook-ups"

I see. And your washing machine draws water from the moisture in the surrounding air, and drains it into a receptacle of some kind? Or your washing machine does not use or drain water?

[SoCalNative]

28. How do you "just plug it in"

when there is no hook up for the water to get into the machine and drain, or a vent for the dryer?

[chowder66]

29. My guess is that it is a portable washing machine. You plug it in

and it has a drain hose that you put in a sink or bathtub. Many have spin dryer. They are around 24 inches wide and about 16 inches deep, 30 inches high or less. They don't take up much space and can get the job done for small loads.

[2naSalit]

17. I would never elect to live there...

I live 40 minutes from the nearest "city" of 10,000 which is the county seat which too many people for me. There's a laundry facility at the general store about five miles away and it costs half as much as the ones in the city with better water. But I have my own transportation too.

[MaryMagdaline]

21. If you must move please come to Florida or other purple states

We need your votes.

[MineralMan]

24. In my youthful past, half a century ago,

I didn't have a washer and dryer in my small rental house in my small town. There was a laundromat about two blocks away, though. It ate quarters like candy, but I put all of my pocket change in a jar for use there.

However, I did not ever leave my clothes unattended at that laundromat. Instead, I took whatever book I was reading and sat in one of the plastic chairs there and read. Either that or I chatted with other patrons of the laundromat. Either way, my laundry was always attended closely, and shifted to a dryer when the washing was complete.

It was a couple of hours spent, once every couple of weeks. I maintained enough clothing to let me go that long, most of it purchased at thrift stores or garage sales. I wasn't stylish, but I was always covered up well enough to prevent charges of lewd behavior, at least.

While still living at that house, I happened on a washer and dryer at a garage sale. The owner had purchased a nice new pair and was eager to be rid of the old appliances, which I purchased for $25 for the pair. The owner said, "They work just fine, but my wife wanted new ones." After doing a little plumbing and installing a new outlet and natural gas pipe in the garage, I entered the modern world, and never returned to the laundromat. The used appliances did, indeed, "work just fine."

However, I never really minded sitting for a couple of hours in a laundromat. I got some reading done and met some of my neighbors there. Laundromats are actually interesting places - or can be.