justiNYC

This is what $750 per month will get you in NYC, if you are lucky

This is what $750 per month will get you in NYC...with no lease, illegal basement conversion (that's below ground), damp and flood prone, 10 minute walk to train and 4 months up front.  In Greenpoint Brooklyn, no less- a place that only 2 years ago was "too far from the Bedford L train" for most people looking to move to Brooklyn.  So for all of you starry eyed, "under $1000" folks out there, don't get your hopes up!  This one rented 5 months ago in about 30 minutes.  The landlord was an asshole and I barely got to snap off these shots.  That's all I wanted really....was to capture all of the greatness that can be had in a 385sf illegal basement converted studio.  Sorry for the stitching job, but i already helped this picture out waaay too much by making it somehow seem bigger than it is- not that I was trying.  You can't shine a turd and call it gold- although many of my fellow realtors would like to believe the converse.

I just wanted you guys to know, so you can maybe get real about your apartment search.  The only reason i was able to even see this one is because i live down the block.  Times are tough in NYC real estate.  And its getting cold.  LoftNinja refused to even go take a look.  As it turns out, he's afraid of water.


Technorati Tags: apartments, real estate

Are you paying out the ass for your rent?

Probably.  But this tool will tell you if you are paying to much...or rather, more than others in your hood. Rentometer gives you a visual representation of your rent versus the regional median.  How snazzy is that?  Well...justiNYC predicts that it could be a pretty useful tool in NYC, if they made it work in about 30 different languages and steered clear of information taken from brokers.
[Link via Lifehacker]


Technorati Tags: rentometer, tool, rent, NYC, real estate

"Trendy Micro-Ass Nabe Names" and Google Maps Has them

Thanks to Curbed for pointing out that Google Maps now has NYC neighborhood names indicated when you zoom out a little bit.  Apparently there are a few who are none too excited for this technological development.  Maybe we should just make Brooklyn a neighborhood and Manhattan a neighborhood and call the whole thing good...right?  I suppose next someone will try to tell me that Greenwick isn't micro-trendy. Nonsense!  Its just not trendy.


Technorati Tags: google maps, neighborhood names, Greenwick

Pissr Tells you where its cool to Pee

If you're like me and you like to Pee, check out Pissr (yet another witty Web2.0 spin off of the Flickr phenomenon- Coolzor has a huge Listr of them). It stands for People In Search of Safe Restrooms and it tells you all of the wonderfully cool places out there to pee . Personally, its the Poopr issue that complicates the cool...but then again, I could be wrong.  I'm just a boy with a blog.

Listr 2.0 [via Coolzor Blog]



Technorati Tags: restrooms, pissr, public, tips

A NYNY Explanation

An interesting analysis, indeed.  Curbed thought so today.  Its only missing one thing- Art.  But i guess these days, art only counts as a "filler." Nevertheless,  a total breakthrough, this one.  Thank Hugh MacLeod

New York Explained [Curbed]

· NYNY Explained [Gaping Void]


Technorati Tags: NYC, diagram

Apartment Hunting Pointers for Brooklynites- No you do not need to speak Yiddish (but it might help)

I rolled out a post yesterday (published today) for the Record (Brooklyn Record, that is) about  places to begin searching for space in Brooklyn.  I just wanted to clarify something incase it came across muddy (as it seems to have for our friend the EvilDiscussor). No, you do not need to speak Polish or Yiddish to find a place in Brooklyn.  However, it might help your chances if you do.  So, here are a few resources that I have found useful:

Polish to English Translator [Poltran]

English-Yiddish Online Dictionary. Free online English-Yiddish translation

-Yiddish Dictionary ייִדיש װערטערבוך

You know....just in case somebody's talkin about cha'!

Apartment Hunting Pointers [Brooklyn Record]


Technorati Tags: brooklyn record, apartment hunting, tips, Yiddish, Polish, translation

Technorati Tags: brooklyn record, apartment hunting, tips, Yiddish, Polish, translation

Technorati Tags: brooklyn record, apartment hunting, tips, Yiddish, Polish, translation

Pre-layout your tiny NYC crib with this Room Planner

Remember a while back justiNYC tipped you off to how to make templates for your furniture when moving? Sure you do.  Well, lets take it a step further and skip all the cut and shape.  A site called HGTV.com gives you this handy dandy online tool for planning the layout of your crib.  So now in your free time, you can dream about all that extra space you don't have in your little East Village joint! Hooray!!!   I wonder if it can tell you the best place to store your toothbrush in the kitchen.

if a normal room looks like this, your joint in NYC will be more like this

Its the price you pay to live in the city, but it always pays to plan ahead.

Layout your home with the Room Planner [Lifehacker]

Technorati Tags: moving tips, planning, apartment layouts, NYC, tips

Take care of that East Village rodent problem in style with a new Laser Slingshot

laser sling shot, originally uploaded by jUSTINYC.

This handy (pun intended) little newbie will eliminate your having to get up off the couch to smash that roach across the room -(though if you live in the east village, can't be too much smaller than the couch and couldn't be too awfully far from the couch. hmmmm) Its the first ever, laser guilded sling shot!!!

Now with laser precision, you can take them out (or anything else not welded down) from distances up to 60 feet with this Laser Slingshot.  Its got a laser and that little arm stabilizer brace thingy, which makes it pretty much one of the most kick ass toys i've seen in a while dangerous.  For $50  [checkout UnCrate], how could you go wrong?  You probably spent more than that on the shoes you ruined last week kickin rats down Canal Street-ewww

Is NYC ready for Car Lofts?

car loft, originally uploaded by jUSTINYC.

an interesting idea that would probably never work in most parts of NYC. However, it might do ok in Brooklyn, where people don't seem to mind sleeping with their cars- or at least in an old garage.  [found via swissmiss][link]

Made for NYers: Suitcase + Walker = Caddy

Caddy, originally uploaded by jUSTINYC.

A nifty new idea out of London (spotted on CoolHunting), the "Caddy" ain't for golfers. Its a combination of walker and suitcase that justiNYC predicts will become the new dufflebag for NYers.  Judging from the looks of it, DJs who still spin vinyl will fall in love with this thing.  Don't even get me started with senior citizens...

technorati tags: cool, new, thing, NYer, tip, travel

Something every New Yorker needs: A Helmet megaphone

Found this over at Adverlab (MIT's blog on the future of advertising) and just couldn't resist.  Apparently, you can pick yours up on Ebay, or what the hell- just make one!  Wanna make some money with it?  Here are a few ways that justiNYC proposes that you could do just that:
1) Sing through it on the train with a cup or one of those little paper bag makeshift change purses and hope you don't get your ass beat.
2) Get someone to pay you to sell comedy show tickets on 34th Street or passes to some shitty spa. Again, hope you don't get your ass beat
3) Finally, maybe you could go help out those African-centric holy men (you know the ones that love their interpretation of the bible and hate white people-yeah them) standing out on the street near Penn Station.  They could cetainly use some help.  But unless you are black, chances are you'll get your ass beat.

There are all sorts of ways to make money in NY-but if you have none, it ususally involves standing on the street or in the train.  Be creative...and loud!

technorati tags: newyorker, make, helmet, nyc

Walking across the East River could become the new alternative to the L train

It seems that a very smart Chinese girl (found via good ole swissmiss) has inventing something that may serve as a terrific alternative to the L train (G_d knows we need it!).  For the past four years, she has been developing water shoes that will allow anyone to play Jesus (kinda). Apparently Christ wasn't her inspiration, as she sites "ducks" as her model.  This made justiNYC think of the Duck Tours in Boston, which if you think about it, might make a great alternative to the repeatedly shut down and nonreliable-assed L train.

*UPDATE: according to one commenter, the Chinese girl wasn't the first to invent it, however she does look cooler than the other guys in the pictures here.

And take a look at this cool blog called TranportTrends