Renting in New York
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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Comments
950 a month and having to share a bathroom!! My home is my castle and my bathroom has my throne!
Last year I had to make a trip to O’hare in Chicago, and I thought to myself, there is no way I could live here, how can people do it. Then I thought, I’m glad they do stick it out there, account of I wouldn’t want them moving down where I live, bringing their liberal ideas and life style with them.
I bet he pees in the sink a lot of the time..
I lived on Long Island in the 1980’s and there were thousands of illegal apartments. My apartment was one bedroom and the bathroom was a converted closet. If you drive down a street you would think they were all single family houses but most had converted their attic and basement into rentals. Back then the typical rent was $800.00 and it was all cash transactions.
I'd much rather live in a van down by the river!
Now see how fortunate we all are.
My nephew lived in a 200 square foot apt in NY for many years while attending school. He built a loft for his bed and put a couch under the loft. It had the smallest bathroom possible in the corner of the room. Cozy and North of 1200 bucks 10 years ago...
I understand how it is necessary to live in a specific place depending on one's employment. But there is no way I could live like that unless I had no other choice..
Too each their own I guess...
Hey, he's got a window! That's worth it right there.
...I would NEVER even consider living in NYC...or any big city for that matter.
...One of my closets is bigger than is entire apartment...
Yep, and my idea of a "big" city starts at 15,000 people .
My sulcata (tortoise) has 96 sq feet of house plus a yard. I wonder if with the new California pig laws it would be legal to raise a pig in only 100 sq feet?
I have seen videos of the small apartments in Japan basic a sleeping space and paper thin walls If me
even here in the big cities its easy to see why even the working poor have moved into tents or there cars
and yet the government spend billions to house ( even build new buildings) and feed and medical for illegals .. while natural born citizen go hungry and live in the streets what a mess this country is in
Wondering how large the rats are in NYC
I think most of them hold public office
Around 175 lbs and they have 2 legs.
When I was a young guy I visited New York. I would have liked to stay and explore it. If I was young again I could easily live in that apartment. No sweat. I couldn't live my life there though.
I would move, out of NY.
This
No intention ever going near that place
I've been to upstate NY, and it's beautiful up there. There is no way in hell I will ever go to NYC, for any reason.
Joe
Upstate NY is nice. Been close to NYC just across the tappen z bridge in Stanford Conn. Driving up there with a truck and enclosed trailer was a mess.
I can cross NYC off of the bucket list without even going there. If I feel the urge, I'll just sleep in a closet for a night and that will cure it! Bob
40 years ago we were in NYC & missed the last bus out. So the girlfriend called her cousin & we stayed in his apt. at a men's athletic club? It might have been 10' x 20' , but had a kitchenette & bathroom. His rent was twice my mortgage, but he was happy & considered himself lucky to have it.
Is he braggin or complainin, it's hard to tell. I don't see how this is even news worthy.
Hong Kong & Shanghai have thousands of smaller "apartments" that look just a little larger than torpedo tubes. Men will come from the poorest parts of China & taken menial jobs that pay the rent, so that they can send enough money home for the rest of the family to survive.
It's better than demonstrating in the streets & getting killed by the large ROC standing army.
Neal
What a dipstick.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain