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The number of court cases filed by landlords over nonpayment of rent jumped about 19 percent in the first two months of 2009 from the same period last year, to 42,257 from 35,588. And lawyers, judges, and tenant advocates tell the Times that more and more middle-class renters are finding themselves in the unexpected position of facing eviction. The spectrum of "middle-class" includes a former Merrill Lynch employee thrown out of his $5,700/month Tribeca apartment (he owed $20,000 in back rent) as well as the single mom of three fighting to keep her $1,750/month apartment after losing her bookkeeping job (previously, she lost her house to foreclosure when she lost her job as a legal recruiter). Then there's Kevin Brewster-Streeks and his partner Greg Armstrong, both in their 20s and both buried in debt since Brewster-Streeks lost his $36,450 job as a records clerk at a law firm. After two bouts in housing court, they moved out of their $1,650/month Bronx apartment in February, owing nearly $7,000 in back rent. Brewster-Streeks says, "It’s kind of dehumanizing. They see you as a certain kind of person. We’ve never been that certain kind of person."
More Middle-Class Renters Facing Eviction
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Typical Times article. It's based on anecdotes, rather than statistics, and even points out that there are no statistics.
but these are people who the esteemed reporters know! that's gotta count for something.
desperate people will do desperate things.
only matter of time, no stats needed for that.
the writings on the wall a long time ago.
thankfully I stocked up when I had a job.
on Pb?
hellz ya, and other essentials.
seems like It's one of the only right decisions I've made.
prices are going up on everything, you can see for yourself. go to the Valley Forge show.
keep your powder dry, dude.
Oh sweet Jesus, it's Pearl.
GIVE ME MY MONEY!
Can I have four beers?
that's why it's all good in the hood. my rent is cheapo, allowing a nice % of savings to weather the hard times.
don't overextend yourself to live trendy, in ain't worth it when you get evicted and end up couch-surfing.
why would anyone pay $1650 a month to live in the Bronx?
I can't stand the "that kind of person" remarks. Yeah, the kind of person who gets behind on their rent because they have a streak of bad luck on the job front or a medical problem or a series of other issues that eats through your savings and maxes out your credit cards. Sucks, doesn't it.
Maybe next time you talk about "those people" you'll remember to bite your tongue.
Before I hear the usual pushback, yes, I'm well aware of the kind of scumbags who live in NYC and also go through the housing courts. I still have a roach problem from the former filthmongers upstairs who left a 2' deep layer of rubbish in their apartment when the landlord finally managed to evict them.
who exactly are you ranting to?
the author? another commenter? satan? angela lansbury?
People are middle-class if they can afford $5700 a month in rent? I guess me paying $600 a month makes me one of the poors!
I feel terrible for the woman whose son had cancer and passed away. Those kinds of things you just cannot plan for.
I have little sympathy for that Merrill dude or the woman who needed to dip into savings after her husband lost his job only 3 months ago. If you can afford to pay 3-6K for an apartment, maybe you should rent a 2K place and so you can save some money in case things go tits up.
Hopefully this will smack some people into reality that in order to live like the rich, you need to have enough F.U. money to not care about having a job.
if you're not born rich, you'll always be "that kind of person". the american dream is still a dream for many.
don't be bamboozled.
when the SHTF I would like to have an RV camper or small boat. worse come to worse a van, I already have 2 portable toilets I just need to get more 5 gal water jugs.
hot water by a coil of black rubber garden hose on the roof.