Happy New Year everyone!

2008 was a tough one for many New Yorkers so lets hope 2009 brings better fortunes!

To make life a little easier we are beginning to put together a list of websites that offer useful services to NYC apartment hunters and New Yorkers generally. We will link them through from our resources page over the coming months. So if you are aware of any services that you think would be useful the other NYRentClub users please let us know by emailing info@nyrentclub.com.

Here are a few to get the ball rolling:

www.theboxbutler.com
The Box Butler is the white glove approach to storage in NYC. The Box Butler will come to your apartment with your choice of various sized portable closets, help you pack them and then take them away. If you change your mind and need something back in a hurry with 18 - 36 hours notice The Box Butler will bring the box back so you can retrieve whatever you need. A great service for NYC renters with space limitations.

www.123movers.com
NYRentClub has partnered up with 123movers to offer our users free, no obligation moving quotes from pre-screened licensed and insured moving companies. The NYC moving industry is similar to the NYC rental broker industry, in that there are bad apples ruining it for the honest folk who strive to provide great service. Just click here to go to our Moving Page to find honest, reputable moving companies and get free quotes.

www.seamlessweb.com
SeamlessWeb is the leading provider of online food ordering services for businesses and individuals. They have been linking New Yorkers to restaurants since 1999 making ordering food easy and reliable. I like Seamless Web because like NYRentClub, customers can make an informed purchasing decision by reading the user-generated content at both the restaurant and item-level. It is also a very easy-to-use interface.

www.directbuy.com
Get wholesale pricing on thousands of brand-name items for your home.

www.chelseaflower.net
Here is one for our building management readers. Chelsea Flower & Plant Design offers a full suite of services to NYC management companies including lobby arrangements, plant layout and maintenance as well as event design and holiday floral decorations.

Manhattan is a big place. Many of its neighborhoods are larger than whole cities in other parts of the country. For those new to the city, it can often seem a daunting cityscape. This quick guide will provide a quick reference point for you as start to figure out what part of the island you would like find a New York apartment in.

Chelsea: A relatively expensive area to live, there are large numbers of clubs that people from across the city flock to. There is also a strong GLBT community here.
This is the toughest part of town to find an apartment. Vacancy rates were just 0.53% during the third quarter of 2007.

East Village: Home to Alphabet City, once considered one of the rougher parts of the city, the East Village today is populated by more and more twenty-somethings, and boasts a solid nightlife filled with a good number of quintessentially New York bars. NYU has a strong presence in this part of the city. At 0.93%, vacancy rates are just slightly above Manhattan averages

Gramercy/Flatiron: Last year, Grammercy was home to the single largest real estate deal ever, in terms of dollar value. In a move that is sure to change the face of the area, the city sold a large public housing complex for many billions of dollars. Outside of the public housing, this is the third most expensive part of Manhattan to rent an apartment in.

Harlem: Long one of the most notorious urban areas in the country, Harlem today is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. The Clinton Foundation houses its offices here, and a number of urban renewal projects are taking place here. Rents remain relatively low. During the third quarter, it cost just $2,179 on average for a 3-bedroom apartment.

Upper West Side: Fans of Seinfeld will recognize much of this area. Scenes from the show almost always took place in this part of New York. Vacancy rates are 0.87%, which is just about the average for the island.

Upper East Side: One of the wealthiest parts of the city, it is considerably easier to find a single or flat here than it is a three bedroom apartment.

Soho/Tribeca: The single most expensive part of the city to rent an apartment in, the area boasts a number of warehouses converted into large flats. It is home to the famous Tribeca Film Festival. The vacancy rate is 0.93%; a single will cost you a hefty $3,555 on average.

Midtown: Just south of the park, midtown east and midtown west are home to some of the most famous parts of the city. Madison Square Garden is here, as is Penn Station.

West Village: Perhaps the most European feeling part of the city, the West Village is home to a large number of British style pubs. Apartments are expensive here: A single costs an average of $3,082. A 3-bedroom is an average of $6,438.

Article Source: [link to source]

Link to Article

NYC Renters are pretty good at decifering the origins of a NYC neighborhood name. We all know where SoHo, TriBeCa and NoLIta came from. Most of us are now familiar with SpaHa and SoHa and SoBro (South Bronx) is making a comeback.

So you won’t be surprised to hear a new NYC name has been developed. This time it is not for a NYC neighborhood, but for a NYC park - CaVaLa Park. Pretty obvious isn't it? No? The park is bounded by Canal, Varick and Laight Streets!

[link to source]

Many of the renters reading this blog right now have come to NYRentClub because they are tired of dealing with all the shadiness out there in the NYC rental market. Well apparently in some other US markets it's not the shadiness you need to worry about - it is whether the broker likes to wear any clothes!

Jackie Youngblood, a Realtor in Florida caters to nudist buyers and sellers. Her slogan... "skip the outfit, wear the lifestyle,"

Youngblood and her husband have been nudists since 1983. After she retired she set up her real estate practice in Land O' Lakes region in Florida, where there are a number of nudist real estate developments. This niche must be pretty Florida specific, with their warm winters. You've got to think nudist business must get slow in the colder months!

Apparently this type of niche marketing by real estate brokers around the US is becoming more common.

Jamie Adams & Associates set up shop in the stadium complex that houses the Texas Rangers. Adams also founded MVP Agent which is a national referral network that services the real estate needs of professional athletes.

Like Adams, Valerie Fitzgerald, who owns Valerie Fitzgerald and Associates Beverley Hills, exclusively targets high-profile entertainment types like Winona Ryder and Babyface.

The moral of the story I think it a good one. Find a Niche! NYRentClub targets a niche of NYC renters that appreciate the value of a good broker, but demand top service at a fair rate. What is your niche?

Check out the full story here:
[link to source]

We have all had issues with our Landlord at one time or another. But most us just get cranky and call a friend to vent, thinking there isn`t much we can really do except wait for the super to show up and fix the sink for the 100th time!

Well some NYC tenants in a Pinnacle Group building on Riverside Drive and 144th Street have gone a few steps further. They are suing their landlord, claiming that the six-story rental building is in need of extensive repairs.

Pinnacle is planning to convert the building into condos, but the tenants are claiming that `mold, constantly leaking pipes, rotting wood, fallen ceilings, and dangerous electrical environments` must be fixed before the conversion can begin.

It is going to be a classic David vs. Goliath given the Pinnacle Group managing an estimated $1 billion in real estate and controlling over 21,000 rent-regulated apartments!

[link to source]

For those of you in the area, here are a few dates for up and coming Neighborhood Festivals

Saturday August 23rd
Gramercy Park Neighborhood Festival
(on 3rd Avenue from 14th - 23rd Street)

Sunday August 24th
Third Avenue Merchandise Fair
(on 3rd Avenue from 23rd - 34th Street)

Singing protester at the NYC Rent Guidelines Board Meeting.
Rents went up by 9.5%

What do you think about the increase? Have you say in the comments below...

If you are an Apple fan like me I am sure you will agree that while we love our Macs there are not enough Mac Stores on NYC. Well for all you Financial District Mac fans that might be about to change.

The New York Post reports that Apple is seriously negotiating for the entire 12,500-foot building at 23 Wall St, nicknames The Corner. 

It has a massive window space, so residents can look forward to a giant illuminated Apple logo in it pretty soon!

[link to source]