There have been numerous reports, and another fatality lately, concerning faulty balconies in buildings in Manhattan//
You know, I get the feeling that nobody really wants to recognize this much as a probelm-- even though I am always seeing massive baclony renovations being done on buildings from the 60's and 70's all over Manhattan.
Let me see if anyone wants to talk about this on the internet...
Just this, from the Real Estate Company Street Easy....as to why don't people use their balconies in NYC, few cite safety, but some of the answers are VERY funny
Why NO ONE ever uses their terrace/balcony in NYC
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What is the huge missing link that I am woefully overlooking? Is there a law? Is there a sniper problem in NYC? Is it considered ghetto, or "low class" (b/c you're not spending or displaying money, or, worse yet, saving money?) Or is it undesirable b/c you aren't out meeting new people (which is why you're paying $2500/mo to live there)
Stupidly, though, neighbors who befriend me always get invited.
people like their privacy..
i remember moving into my building with no blinds.
blind contractor took 1 month to custom install, leaving me to use random boxes to cover half of my floor to ceiling windows giving the neighbors multiple orgy shows..
awkward yes, but once i got the blinds up i was able to double the number of participants in the gangbang as i was able to utilize all of the freedom brought on by my full privacy.
there is definitely a difference between a terrace and a balcony (most balconies seem to be used mostly as storage space - very rarely see people out on them)
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/520482-condo-245-east-93rd-street-yorkville-new-york
In my current building, we have a roof deck that lots of people use (it's only a 25 unit building, but owners have a key to the roof, which is roughly 13 or 14 units). We even have our board meetings up there in the summer.
When evaluating our place against comparables, the appraiser assigned $15,000 in extra value to the balcony. To me (green thumb), it was worth far more than that; to the previous owner, it was probably worth nothing since the existing planters were filled with nothing but cigarette butts.
Now if we can only annex the 400-500 s.f. of empty roof space above our unit....
Seriously though, my terrace is my sanctuary. The plants, the sun, the quiet, the air. Watching the planes in the sky and the hawks gliding really takes the edge off things. I use the terrace all year long, even in the winter, bundling up for coffee with a smoke.
Anybody else?
Too bad I live in a crappy rental, eh, LICC?
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Move it to Long Island City.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!