420 W. 42nd Street in Hell's Kitchen

Good afternoon my loyal and faithful readers. I hope each of you had a great weekend, I know that I certainly did, but more about that later in another posting.

Today, Tuesday, began as a wet and dreary day and it rained for most of the morning. It is now in mid-afternoon and it is still dark and gloomy but the rain has stopped. More rain is forecast for the remainder of the afternoon and into early evening. So, what better time for me to finally get around to finishing my posting on not only the details of my new apartment building, 420 W. 42nd Street, but also some of my thoughts about my new ‘hood in the Westside, known as Hell’s Kitchen.


420 W. 42nd Street -

This modern high-rise building opened in 2001 and is located between 9th and 10th Avenues, on the south side of 42nd Street. It is actually on the corner of Dyer Avenue, which is an exit road from The Lincoln Tunnel and dead ends on 42nd Street.

The building is 41 stories tall and is composed entirely of rental units, numbering 264. Most floors have 8 units, 2 2-bedroom apts. and 6 1-bedroom apts. The penthouse section on the 41st floor (where Billi Pod lives in PHC) has only 6 apartments, 2 2-BRs and 4 1-BRs. The 2-BRs located on the penthouse floor are awesome with lovely large terraces and rent for a meager $6,500. per month. There are 8 studio apartments located on the lower floors and they rent for $2,300. The 1-BRs start at $2,700 and increase as you move higher up the building. The 2 BRs start at $4,200. Keep in mind that these rents reflect the downturn in the rental market. Take a deep breath and remember we are talking about living in Manhattan.

The amenities in all of the apartments are: heater/AC units in each room; stainless steel appliances, including a microwave and a dishwasher; granite countertops; heat and water included in the rent; “ample” closet space - with walk-in closets in some apts. (not PHC-dammit). The apartments are cleaned, painted and refurbished for each new tenant.

The amenities for the building are: live-in Superintendent; concierge desk in the lobby; 24 hour doorman and security; complimentary fitness center with state of the art equipment; sun deck adjacent to the fitness center; valet services; huge laundry room; bike room (but no extra storage facilities); ATM machine; pet friendly; and Wi-Fi Zone (not free but only $29 per month for up to 3 devices). The valet services available include: apartment cleaning; dry cleaning including wash and fold; and, pet sitting and apartment sitting. The building is managed by The Brodsky Organization, which manages 41 other properties in Manhattan.

My observations and thoughts - I am most impressed with how well maintained the building is, including the apartments. The staff seems to be very friendly and attentive. I discern no attitude whatsoever. The Super, Fred Lumej, in his late 30s, seems to be very competent and in-charge. I was told that there are approximately 530 people in residence and that includes some children. Most of the people I see coming and going are young singles and couples in their mid 20s and early 30s, which is interesting because the one thing that is totally 100% nonnegotiable is the verifiable income requirement of 40 times the monthly rental, meaning for a 1 BR you need a minimum annual income of $108,000. If you need a guarantor (meaning Mommy and Daddy) they are required to have income of 80 times the monthly rental.

The apartment windows are double-paned meaning that when they are closed I hear very little street noise, with the exception of police, fire department or emergency vehicles. I keep the windows open most of the time and thus far I have encountered only one fly, which I quickly dispatched ala BarackO. Since I am so high there is not a dust/pollen problem either. I turned the AC units on for the first time last week when I was expecting out-of-town company.

My apartment has very high ceilings and the windows in the living room are almost floor-to-ceiling. This means the apartment is very very bright, maybe even a bit too bright, especially in the bedroom. I will probably get some shades/blinds for the bedroom but not for the living area. Trust me on this - I will not, repeat NOT, attempt to install them myself or use anyone other than a professional to do the work.

I have gushed before about the views from PHC, which faces North but as a reminder - I look down on the intersection of 42nd Street and 9th Avenue and my Northern views includes the Hudson River, New Jersey in the distance, and Hell’s Kitchen directly North. It is truly fucking awesome!!

As you no doubt can tell - I am very very happy to be in this great apartment. One caveat though - the 2 BR next door is vacant and the occupants of the 1 BR on the other side of PHC are away for the summer, so I have had no interaction. Please God, don’t let the 2-BR be rented by a garage band and/or the 1-BR have a small yappy dog, PLEASE!!

Now - The Neighborhood - Hell’s Kitchen

Background -- “Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City that includes roughly the area between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River.

The neighborhood provides transportation, hospital, and warehouse infrastructure support to the Midtown Manhattan business district. Its gritty reputation—which led to its portentous name—gave it depressed real estate prices relative to much of the rest of Manhattan until the early 1990s.

Throughout its history, Hell's Kitchen has figured prominently in the New York City underworld, especially in Irish American organized crime circles. Gangsters like Owney Madden, bootleggers like Bill Dwyer, and Westies leaders James Coonan and Mickey Featherstone were Hell's Kitchen natives. The rough and tumble days on the West Side figure prominently in Damon Runyon's stories. Various Manhattan ethnic conflicts formed the basis of the musical and film West Side Story.

Once a bastion of poor and working-class Irish Americans, over the last three decades of the 20th century and into the new century, Hell's Kitchen has undergone tremendous gentrification as a result of its proximity to Midtown. The 1969 edition of the Plan for New York City book authored by the City Planning Commission stated that people of modest means were being driven from the area by development pressures due to the Midtown location. Today, a great number of actors reside in the neighborhood thanks to its proximity to the Broadway theaters and Actors Studio training school.” (source: Wikipedia).

My thoughts and observations --

Today Hell’s Kitchen is a bustling area of new restaurants and businesses with at least one of every kind of store that you would ever desire. I have found everything that I need/want to be within easy walking distance of PHC. I have to admit that 42nd Street is a bit grittier than my former Midtown East location on East 51st Street. During the day there is a steady stream of tourists heading to and from the Circle Line Pier located at the end of 42nd Street but I knew about this before I moved. It is offset by my proximity to multiple Broadway and Off Broadway theaters and the transportation hub located in the Port Authority Terminal.

I am still getting acclimated to being a Westsider and living in Hell’s Kitchen. I do kinda miss Midtown East and I guess if I had my druthers I would have preferred this building to be located over there but, it ain’t, so ...

Billi Pod is very very happy in PHC located at 420 W. 42nd Street, in Hell’s Kitchen, in the Greatest City in the World.

Go Yankees and Go Gators!!

Billi Pod
“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”