Urban Pirates Living Rent-Free in NYC!

Soon, we'll all be living like pirates. The NY Times jumps into the latest trend of city residents living on boats...actually, they did that earlier this year, but those suckers paid to live on a boat. The newest crop of sea dwellers are l-i-v-i-n for free. The paper describes the 6,000 square-feet of space, which boasts 15-foot ceilings, views of the Manhattan skyline, giant roofdecks and no neighbors (and yes, there's internet). Don't worry, there's a downside (or seven), including no insulation, no mail delivery, no shower, and a few more missing luxuries. What is this real estate find exactly?

This particular residence once served as a 650-passenger ferry shuttling people between Martha’s Vineyard and New Bedford, Mass., for $17 round-trip. Since March 2007, the ship, now moored in a spot about a 10-minute boat ride from Midtown, has become home for a small group of secretive and resourceful people looking for an inexpensive, unorthodox place to stay.

The exact location is a secret, as is the owner of the ship—a 29-year-old real estate investor—due to its "legally murky" status and the fact that the owner doesn't, you know, pay docking fees to anyone. There are currently 400 on a waiting list to get permits in order to do exactly what this crew is doing (but legally). One resident, who pays by helping out, says, “It’s currently like ‘Mad Max’ except we don’t have shotguns.” So how long until the Coast Guard pans out to find this bunch?

Photo of an abandoned houseboat via Aaron Siladi's flickr.

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By Jen Carlson in News on December 26, 2008 5:20 PM

Comments [rss]

kcin122

there are some people that live on boats in the gowanus.

I think the boat is by the carroll st bridge.

Guest

I'm also curious as to why they'd speak to the Times and to allow location photos. They had to figure that some idiot busybody with a Google Map and nothing better to do would out their location on a Gothamist comments board.

loveitmadly

If the photos from the NYTimes article didn't make it so obvious that they were in Newtown Creek, then the reference to the stench of raw sewage would have.

I commend these guys (and lady) for a bold living situation I wouldn't be so keen on tryng, but have to question their reasoning for doing the article. If you want to keep your home secret, don't talk to one of the most well known papers in the world. They're trying to have their cake and eat it too.

rasputinsghost

yeah, it's the boat with triangular ends; the boat below it is a barge, i think

NannyState

At last report, the were friggin' in the rigging.

Reflect

shiver me motherfukin timbers

bagelman

not a bad idea, but to live on the polluted newtown creek, across from the sewage plant?

hubcap

i wonder how long the power-class will allow this. they need your rent-money, you know. still, kudos to these folks!

LilEnosBurdette

@Barbj8: "This is the life".

And this is the lifeboat.

Buck Owens

blablanyc, the Chinese make everything you own and we owe them over 2 trillion dollars. I welcome our Asian overlords.

blablanyc

With bikes becoming a more popular form of transportation and people living on boats in the city, it doesn't mean we're becoming pirates. It means we are becoming Chinese!