Interactive Art with Post-It Notes and Rental Stats

With a recent uptick in gentrification griping in Carroll Gardens, Candy Chang’s interactive art project in the window of a vintage furniture store on Court Street was well-timed. For one week, passersby were invited to share their apartment info and rent costs on Post-it notes. After culling 151 responses, Chang tallied the info and found that:

One resident has lived in a studio in Carroll Gardens for 43 years with a current rent of $146.
Another gloater has occupied a three 3BR loft in Chelsea for 30 years, paying $1,095 a month.
A 1BR in Jersey City can be had for $1000 “with a backyard bitches!”

For graph aficionados, Chang has broken down the info into colorful pie charts on her blog, where she quotes one ebullient Bed Stuy homeowner who put two sons through college on her savvy property investments: “Like they say,” she said, “they’re not making any more of it. Get yourself some real estate!” (But first, get yourself some money for a down payment.)

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By John Del Signore in Arts & Entertainment on July 1, 2008 2:46 PM

Comments [rss]

IvoryJive

That's cool, but it's kind of a rip-off of this project:

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/30/30_30todo.html

Pharmer

It's totally possible. When my parents bought their house in Bensonhurst, an 80 year old woman was living upstairs with $80/month rent.

drewo

Gotta agree with #3

las2381

if you think that is BS, then you won't believe that someone in Brooklyn Heights with a 2 bedroom apartment pays less than $500 a month. That is what happens when you live in a rent controlled apartment... especially when they got passed down from generation to generation.

ejs

Why is the s in parentheses?

JoeyCircles

"One resident has lived in a studio in Carroll Gardens for 43 years with a current rent of $146."

Gotta call bullshit on that one.

SMSchafer

Well, that's art I guess. I'm not sure if that result constitutes backfiring.

WesleySnipesAlot

Neat idea... but it will most likely backfire and cause anonymous classism, uniformed arguments for and against rent control/stabilization, and general shit-stirring on internet message boards.