The Cheapest NYC Apartment Ever? After Living in Downtown Manhattan, Woman Pays $350 a Month for Her Studio

After living in the same NYC building her whole life, a native New Yorker pays $350 a month for her big studio apartment.

Caleb Simpson, who calls his series “this generation’s MTV Cribs,” filmed in Akasha’s rent-controlled apartment.

“I have seen over 200 apartments in New York City, and we have officially identified the cheapest one,” he said at the beginning of the video. Downtown Manhattan costs $350 a month.

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Early 1990s. “We moved across the hall, and my aunt lived here for two decades,” she said.

She took over their flat after they left

The stainless steel racks over the sink and stove give the kitchen a restaurant atmosphere.
She stacks her plates and cups on shelves and hangs her pots and pans since there are few cupboards and little counter space.

When she moved in, ivory drapes concealed the refrigerator’s extra storage areas.
“Much of this was inherited,” she claimed. Having folks who worked here for a long period of time helps me. They solved it.

Pink-tiled bathroom, Big for a NYC flat

“We used to joke when I was a youngster, since I’ve lived in this building my whole life, that my bathroom was larger than other people’s flats,” she added.

Her big floor-to-ceiling closet with two garment racks on top holds most of her stuff. Her “book corner” bookcase is beside the closet.

Akasha has a sofa between her kitchen and bed and a small table with stackable tables below for visitors.

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A large desk/TV stand is opposite the bed. Her storage ottoman adds room and seating.
Akasha, a New York University graduate, said this apartment complex was her “safe refuge” as a child.

Over the years, she has seen “massive” gentrification, but the culture is still creative and gritty.

Punk always returns. She said drugs never disappear. “Like all of those things, they’re still very much present here, but sometimes frillier and more costly.”

Akasha’s mother, a Caleb admirer, invited him to see her very cheap rental.

Due to the apartment’s low price, she won’t leave.

“They’ll pull my body out,” she added.