Jurgen in his pint-sized art den

Desperate for some peace and quiet, actor/artist Jurgën Jones left a spacious one-bedroom apartment in Inwood for a tiny studio in Hell’s Kitchen.  But the downsize turned out to be a blessing as his new home exhibits the perfect balance of ingenuity and personal style.  Being an artist, Jones had to consider how to safely transport his paintings when he moved.  Choosing the best way to do this was the biggest challenge and surprisingly the least of his expenses.  Interestingly, Jones found his new apartment by word of mouth.  And now that he’s settled in, he likes his new nabe, but wishes there were “more offbeat characters.”

What’s your “nabe” now and from where did you move?
I now live in Hell’s Kitchen; moved from Inwood, on the rise of Isham Park.

How much rent do you pay now in Hell’s Kitchen? Does it include utilities and other fees?
$1,100; doesn’t include utilities; there are no additional fees.

What were your criteria at the outset of the move?
Quiet.  For many years the mantra in my head was the title of a Raymond Carver short story, Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?

Did you use a broker or agent? Did they charge a fee?
No broker or agent; it’s an HDFC or New York City subsidized building. I found the apartment by word of mouth, a godsend friend.

What sold you on this apartment?
The fact that the board of the HDFC is acutely concerned with maintaining a considerate, humane, community. Each applicant is interviewed and asked how amenable they might be to compromises.  For instance, should one neighbor find the next door television too loud, would the other neighbor be willing to move the picture box away from the shared wall or turn down the volume. And because my building and several others on the block are part of the same HDFC, there is always potential for movement within the complex of buildings.

Additional selling points included the apartment’s charm; the ether of it:  that it was built during the Civil War for the men (presumably there were no women construction workers at that time) to live in while they were putting up the apartment buildings along West 50th; the inside courtyard which was an area for horses when part of the street side building was a stable and which now serves as a noise buffer between that building and the one in back wherein I live.

Did you have to make any compromises?
Space.  Moved from a large one bedroom into a shoebox studio.  As a collector of thrown-out street objects—chairs, bookcases, lamps, et al., I’d heretofore always searched out a place to accommodate the stuff.  But now, am absolutely sold on small:  you don’t have to get up to turn off the light or get a glass of water—just reach over from your reading chair.  Ultimately, there was no compromise; the minute size presented an opportunity to identify and pare down my living essentials and a challenge to do so without sacrificing visual style.

How did you achieve the physical move?
Found a low-key, financially reasonable ($20/per hour), attentive-to-my-directions-for-the-move guy on Craigslist to transport my artwork via van; then paid a “friend” one thousand dollars for one day of moving all else, much of which went into one of my parental storage units. Do not recommend involving friends in the move; it may lead to dissolution of the friendship and the requirement of quotation marks around the word “friend” when describing the experience. And if the friend is driving the truck, you run the risk of traffic violations, points on their license—which did occur on this move.  The total cost was $1250, with the emotional toll being somewhat greater.

How does the nabe and the apartment meet your expectations? Anything surprising?
I knew it was a “live” neighborhood when I moved in but did not realize the extent to which it is party central for Broadway chorus boys and self-proclaimed “cool people” until the wee hours almost every night.  I’ve since moved within the building to its top floor and am astounded by its eye of quiet in the center of this storm.  Surprised that in spite of its proximity to this and the nearby corporate bustle, that it feels a world away.  There’s a community garden around the corner and many who live here seem to be lifers.  Was hoping for more off-beat characters, but they appear here and there, fortunately, the women and men “with the fried eggs on their heads,” who bespeak of a 1970′s Hell’s Kitchen.

If you could do anything different/advice for new movers?
Do not play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey to find a moving company in the phone book. Also, find out as much as you can about who lives in the building, what kind of schedules they keep, etc.  And check out the immediate neighborhood; sensibly, you might not want to rent that beautiful apartment just above where a hoppin’ bar is soon to be located.  Oh, and ask if the building has any history of bed bugs, which is also a question for any mover to whom you might hire.

OUR SUMMARY -WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM JURGEN:

1.) You can live in Manhattan for $1,100/month. Find an HDFC apartment for a break on rent.
2.) Figure out what you can compromise on — space, noise-level, neighborhood, etc.
3.) Older apartment buildings are often quieter due to thicker walls or for other strange reasons — former horse stable, anyone?
4.) Be careful when involving friends in your move — moving is stressful.
5.) Hell’s Kitchen isn’t as full of off-beat characters as it used to be!