180 Bainbridge Street
Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photos: Compass

Listen, it’s not as though getting an apartment in New York has ever been easy. But one could probably argue it has never been harder than it is right now. The most god-awful studios are regularly renting for thousands and thousands of dollars with lines of interested tenants out the door. Here, we’ll find the actually worth-looking-ats, the actually worth-the-costs, and the surprisingly affordable-for-those-parquet-floors from around the internet. 

Guys, I tried to do something I seldom do here: take a more serious look at new-build apartments instead of immediately dismissing them in favor of my preferred prewars. While the latter will always hold the key to my heart (and you’ll see a lot of them listed), some of the amenities I saw this week in more recent developments were appealing. Maybe we’ll blame the heat for that? On the neighborhood crawl this time around: Crown Heights, Park Slope, Bed-Stuy, Chelsea, and Cobble Hill. Hold on to your wallets (or let the concept of money go?), because the market is …

$2,500, 1-bedroom: Sturdy, dependable prewar with just the faintest whisper of a kitchen issue — you’d maybe need to jettison the fridge or embrace a “fridge in the bedroom” lifestyle. Isn’t that what the skin-care girlies are into? The price is right, but I’m sensing interior facing based on the listing images. You’ve been warned.

$3,200, 2-bedroom: Tons of space and windows, which eclipses the bad kitchen and bathroom renovations.

1082 Saint Johns Place
Photo: B. Belinda Realty LLC.

$2,900, 1-bedroom: Cute but micro apartment in a brownstone building with south-facing windows. Good tiling and parquets.

$2,900, studio: They just don’t make them like they used to, do they? Would happily be left for dead on the floor of the baby-blue ceramic-tiled bathroom.

526 9th Street
Photo: Compass

$11,900, 4-bedroom: Giant brownstone that’s sort of clumsily renovated, but it’s also an entire brownstone, so one should not complain too much.

$13,950, 4-bedroom: Nothing clumsy about this nicely appointed triplex with highlights that include Moroccan-style tiling on the primary bathtub and fireplace, a balcony for outdoor dining, and proximity to the park.

387 3rd Street
Photo: Compass

$3,667, 1-bedroom: A new build that, somewhat miraculously, doesn’t read as totally tasteless to me. You’d definitely want to gauge it in person, but if the windows are as good as they seem in the photos, I’m intrigued.

216 Pulaski Street
Photo: Brown Harris Stevens

$3,995, 1-bedroom: Recent price drop at the polarizing 180 Bainbridge, which feels sort of like a hotel and has hotel-like amenities that include a cedar sauna, gym, lounge and library. They could have made more of an effort with the Astroturf-lined roof, however.

180 Bainbridge Street
Photo: Compass

$6,300, 3-bedroom: A deeply historic brownstone with a mantel and attached mirror so ornate that it could have the power to transport you to another time. So … watch out for that.

$3,700, studio: Chic studio in one of my favorite, most glamorous prewar buildings in Chelsea, mere steps from the Chelsea Hotel.

208 West 23rd Street
Photo: Brodsky

$7,000, studio: A random, concrete-forward, fully furnished loft. On the very hot day I’m writing this, it’s appealing to me from an imagined temperature perspective.

$7,995, 1-bedroom: Another loft that’s not for the exposed-brick averse. Would recommend bringing some raw canvas to drape over it.

$10,000, 1-bedroom: Would kill a close friend to live in this completely impractical carriage house with the most perfect fireplace tiling.

461 West 18th Street
Photo: Mark O’Brien Development LLC

$12,000, 2-bedroom: Try to imagine this loft without the cloying turquoise everywhere, and it could be pretty unique.

$7,000, 1-bedroom: Upper duplex with particularly high ceilings and something else.

312 DeGraw Street
Photo: D’Andrea Craig Realty

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