Ah, the Flophouse—the sink of sin, the graveyard of virtue, the haunt of the degenerate and the roost of the bandit. And also a great way to save money. The Jacob Riis photo at left documents what was called "Five Cent Lodging" on Bayard Street. Try finding something similar in Chinatown now. SRO numbers have been trending downward historically. But we're told that the Single Room Occupancy or Rooming House format—the modern code for flophouse—may have a future yet. more ›