The Housing Issue

THE HOUSING ISSUE

Illustration by Easton Self

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 02/25/2016

Welcome to the 2015 housing guide. We crafted this with the intent that you’ll be able to start looking for your next place to live with the reassurance that you’re making the right choice. Home is where the heart is, so you’ll want to make sure that you love your home!

Inside this issue, you’ll find nearly everything you need to know about the on and off-campus housing options that NYU has to offer.

Each dorm has been carefully researched to give you the real facts — not just the spiel you’ll hear on an admissions tour.

CARLYLE COU

SENIOR HOUSE

In addition to profiles of each dorm, we’ve included tips and tricks on how to make your room feel more like home, the lowdown on the gender-neutral housing option and even how to navigate searching for your first apartment. These are all in here with the idea that whatever you do end up choosing, you’ll never be completely on your own.

College can be intimidating and stressful.

You already have enough to worry about between going to class, handling your extracurriculars, navigating social groups and trying to sleep between it all. At the end of the day, all you’ll want is a place to come back to where you can rest your head and feel at ease. Hopefully, this guide will take a bit of the weight off your shoulders and make the seemingly endless possibilities easier to digest.

GREENWICH HALL

Whether you’re a senior who’s moving off campus for the first time or a freshman who doesn’t even know where to begin with the dorms, we want to nudge you in the right direction, whatever that direction might be. We hope that this guide will open the door to all that New York City has to offer you. All of life is, after all, simply coming home. This guide is your key to finding it.

Alex Bazeley EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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LAFAYETTE HALL

Illustration by Easton Self

GRAMERCY GREEN

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PALLADIUM

CORAL TOWER ALUMNI HALL

GREEN HOUSE SECOND STREET

BROOME STREET

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UPPERCLASSMEN

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GRAMERCY GREEN

CARLYLE COURT

GREENWICH HALL SECOND STREET

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CORAL TOWER

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SENIOR HOUSE

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PALLADIUM ALUMNI HALL GREEN HOUSE

BROOME STREET LAFAYETTE HALL BROOKLYN CLARK STREET

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OFF-CAMPUS OTHMER HALL

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WASHINGTON SQUARE VILLAGE

STUYVESANT TOWN

TIPS & TRICKS

LOOKING FOR YOUR FIRST APARTMENT

SPICE UP THOSE DORM DECORATIONS!

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THE GENDER-NEUTRAL HOUSING OPTION

design by EASTON SELF WENXUAN NI

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GRAMERCY GREEN $15,884-$18,494 4

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It’s common knowledge that this dorm has some of the nicest amenities on campus. With hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances and laundry on every other floor, Gramercy feels more like the luxury apartment building it was originally built to be than college housing.

But that doesn’t mean that life at 310 3rd. Ave. is all roses, as Gram is a solid 25-minute walk from campus. While the NYU

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shuttles do stop at the dorm, they can get so packed during the morning commute that you might not make it on the first bus.

The dorm’s few elevators also get crowded, so plan an extra five minutes to your travel time if you live on a higher floor.

If you do want to live in Gramercy, make sure you choose your room wisely.

More than 95 percent of the spaces are shared, so don’t count on getting

one of the few private rooms. The best rooms are the corners, since they have the floor-toceiling windows that make for those famous Gramercy views.

If you don’t want to use your amazing kitchen, the area around Gram has a few good options. Shake Shack fans will enjoy the short walk to the chain’s Madison Square Park location, or you can get great Indian food in the nearby Murray Hill neighborhood.

Kendall Levison STAFF PHOTO BY HANNAH SHULMAN

CARLYLE COURT $15,884-$18,494 10

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Carlyle Court — a unit of three towers housing about 750 mostly sophomore students — is conveniently across the street from Union Square.

Tower One contains a spacious study lounge, Tower Two has an entertainment lounge with a flat-screen TV and pool table and Tower Three houses a practice room with a ballet bar and pianos. Each tower has washers and dryers in their basements, and each room includes a kitchen and private bathroom.

The towers mostly contain two-bedroom rooms with three or four people with a few one-bedrooms for two on each floor. In the

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quads, the “B” room tends to be more desirable because it has a door. Those in the “A” room — which is basically a living room connected to the kitchen and common area — often put up a curtain pretty quickly after the semester starts to avoid being looked at as soon as someone walk in.

The walk to Washington Square Park and the surrounding area is about 10 minutes, but Carlyle’s location in the heart of Union Square is extremely desirable for most students — nearby retail shops include American Eagle, Forever 21, DSW and Nordstrom Rack. Trader Joe’s and

Whole Foods are a few blocks down 14th St. while the Union Square Greenmarket sets up shop across the street four days a week.

The biggest disadvantage of Carlyle is the walk to a dining hall — even the closest are at least five minutes away. It is especially frustrating when it gets freezing in the winter. Additionally, the best available dining hall, Palladium, is not open in the afternoon for lunch. However, the addition of a Starbucks right next door to Tower Three has can provide students with the boost and warmth they need to get to the dining hall and, more importantly, class.

Jessica Martinez STAFF PHOTO BY TATIANA PEREZ

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CORAL TOWER

SENIOR HOUSE

$13,048-$18,494

$13,048-$15,884

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Coral Towers has a lot of amenities to offer, such as spacious rooms, study lounges, dance practice rooms and an on-site laundry facility. If you’re one of the luckier students, you’ll also get a stunning view of Union Square. Coral is directly above a Duane Reade, which sometimes causes confusion over the location of the entrance, although after the first few visits,

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it is easy to find.

While there are a variety of rooming options in Coral, the majority of the rooms are quad suites with a common area, kitchen and bathroom. Meanwhile, the basement provides study space and a lounge, as well as a dance room.

Coral is a bit of a walk from campus, but the tradeoff means you’re in a prime loca-

15 tion for just about everything else. Located on East 14th Street between Union Square and Second Ave, things won’t be too awfully noisy, but never fear — you’re incredibly close to a very lively environment, including an abundant selection of restaurants and cafes. Because when all else fails, Joe’s Pizza is right across the street for all those late nights.

Joseph Myers PHOTO BY JUSTIN LANIER

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The Senior House at West 13th Street is the only dorm at NYU whose residency is completely comprised of undergraduate seniors.

Consequently, the Senior House does not feel so much like a dorm as it does a cozy Greenwich apartment complex where all 180 residents are racing towards commencement.

The Senior House is divided into North and South towers. North Tower residents must traverse an underground tunnel every time they wish to leave the building, which can be inconvenient. However, North Tower does have the bigger loft of the two towers, complete

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with a kitchen, m length windows.

Don’t be fooled dustrially lit, om bedrooms are br though commo All rooms, sha suite or studio floors, a dishwa sized closets.

Once outside, c of West Village Square chaos. down Fifth Avenu directly to Washi Subway stations in one to two-blo

ALUMNI HALL $21,112 10

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Alumni Hall is perfect for students who are looking for a little more independence than the traditional dorm might offer. Around 450 single rooms make up the building, which houses upperclassmen as well as graduate students.

Residents share a kitchen, bathroom and common space with one to three other people, but every individual room can be locked.

The building boasts a television lounge, study lounge and study spaces

6 on select floors (2-6, 1315), and it also comes with a laundry room in the basement. While it has two modern elevators to serve the 14 floors of tenants, the elevators move rather slowly.

Located at the cusp of the East Village and St. Mark’s Place, Alumni Hall has many nearby restaurants, grocery stores and transportation options.

Located at the northeast corner of Third Avenue and 9th Street, Alumni Hall is one of the upperclassmen

dorms closest to campus: it is 10 minutes by foot to Washington Square Park, a less than five-minute stroll from the 6, N and R trains and an approximately 10-minute walk to Union Square. The NYU bus has a stop just two blocks away from Alumni, at 13th street and Third Avenue.

Although Alumni is perfect for those who want to return to a private space after a long day of classes, it offers no low-cost housing options and costs over $10,500 per semester.

Diamond Naga Siu PHOTO BY LUMCHEUNG CHENG

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PALLADIUM 5

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d by the dorm’s inminous hallways — bright and spacious, on spaces aren’t. ared or efficiency, o, have hardwood asher and decently-

city life is a mixture charm and Union A 10-minute walk ue will take students ington Square Park. s surround the dorm ock radiuses. But it

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mini-library and full-

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doesn’t always take a subway ride for residents to find fun: the Rubin Museum is four blocks away and provides free admission with NYU ID — a perk which will soon expire for graduating seniors. Additionally, foodies can graduate happy thanks to the proximity of Murray’s Bagels, Umami Burger and Hu Kitchen. And if Bobst is ever too crowded, students have access to study in the New School building next door.

Senior House provides a transitory space for seniors, where residents can enjoy the amenities of dorm life while being treated like adults before finally leaving NYU’s dorms.

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Palladium is often considered one of, if not the, best dorms on campus. It’s been renovated fairly recently and contains one of the best dining halls, a gym, multiple study lounges and an exceptionally large laundry room. The convenience of having high quality food and exercise commodities in one building makes Palladium feel less like a dorm and more like a hotel. If Palladium dining becomes tiring, the dorm is conveniently located next to a Trader Joe’s,

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the food options at University Hall — including a Dunkin’ Donuts that accepts meal swipes — and is within a short walking distance from a Walgreens and other food and shopping stores. In terms of distance from campus, it’s about a 15-minute walk to Washington Square Park and has a bus a stop on the Shuttle Route. Being located right by Union Square is helpful as well, given its centrality with subway lines and frequent markets, particularly the one dur-

ing Christmas time. Rooms are smaller, comprised of two twoperson bedrooms connected by a common area, though there’s plenty of space and large enough closets to accommodate four people comfortably. Kitchens are quite small, and there is limited storage space for appliances.

Floor life will differ, though given the large size of the building and numerous rooms on each floor there isn’t much of a community.

No low cost housing is available.

ETHAN SAPIENZA PHOTO BY LUMCHEUNG CHENG

Audrey Deng PHOTO BY LUMCHEUNG CHENG

GREEN HOUSE $15,884-$18,494 10

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The Green House at 7th Street is an apartment-style upperclassmen dorm which houses around 90 students who are all — hopefully — passionate about sustainability and being green.

This tight-knit community-oriented dorm is housed between Second and Third Avenues and is aimed at fostering a more eco-friendly community at NYU. As the smallest dorm on campus, the Green House is focused on creating community, whether it’s through communal dinners, community service

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or communal living. The rooms themselves are mostly quad suites, with a shared and spacious common area, kitchen and bathroom. If you don’t feel like cooking, your closest dining hall is at Third North, a brisk five block walk away.

If you are interested in Green House, be prepared to lean into the green aspect — it touts itself as a paperless dorm, and there are no elevators or air conditioning. There are three lounges: a study lounge, a game room and a TV lounge, the latter of

which has a communal kitchen. There is a storage room for your bike on the first floor if you’re already toting an ecofriendly set of wheels.

It’s certainly hard to beat the location of Green House, as it’s located in the heart of the East Village. It’s a short walk from campus and Tompkins Square Park is located just a few blocks in the opposite direction.

There’s no shortage of non-dorm food around either — as long as you’re at least willing to spend a little green here and there.

Alex Bazeley PHOTO BY KELSEY LEDGERWOOD

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GREENWICH HALL $13,048-$18,494 ¢

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Formerly known as Greenwich Hotel, the hall is known to most students as “G-Ho.” Located in the West Village, less than a minute away from the Hudson River, the dorm boasts many amenities that are sure to pique the interests of those who wish to move off campus, but have yet to do so.

Some of the dorm’s amenities include a study room, pool table, laundry room, bike rack and practice rooms for dance and musical performances.

The rooms are apartmentstyled, so while it is a dorm

with all the conveniences of dorm life, it feels closer to living in your own apartment. If you’re lucky, you’ll only have two other roommates to fight over bathroom time with. If you have less luck, you’ll likely end up with seven other roommates, all of whom you’ll have to brawl it out with for time in one of the two bathrooms. May the odds be ever in your favor.

The dorm is surrounded by many options for shopping and dining, all ranging in prices. So although you may be far away from

the dining halls, there are many locations within the West Village that are both appetizing and affordable.

By far the most appealing aspect of G-Ho is the weekly maid services that are provided. Once a week the dorm room’s common area, kitchen and bathrooms are swept, mopped and wiped down. This service, plus the full-sized kitchen, make up for the dorm’s distance from the main NYU campus and dining halls. Also, having the Hudson River Park in your backyard is nice too.

Dejrelle Gaines STAFF PHOTO BY POLINA BUCHAK

SECOND STREET $10,454-$20,902 10

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Second Street is a small upperclassmen residence hall located in the East village on 2nd Street and Bowery. Only housing around 300 residents, the dorm’s student population is relatively small. In terms of facilities, there is a large communal lounge, several music practice rooms, a computer lab and a game room equipped with a pool table and TV. Each Second street room includes a decently sized bath-

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room and a kitchenette with a stove, oven, and mini fridge.

Since Second Street is situated near Chinatown, Little Italy and Soho, the available food options are plentiful and diverse. Though it’s far from most dining halls, it is only a short walk away from a Whole Foods, 7-eleven and Think Coffee. Walking to class is also convenient, especially in the cold winter months, since Second Street is

only a 10-minute walk away from Washington Square Park.

Try to avoid shared studios if you a spacious room is your priority. These studios are the typical size of what would be a single in another dorm, but are expected to house two or three students. There is just enough room for two beds and the closet is very small. Some rooms are eccentrically shaped and difficult to arrange furniture in.

Christine Wang PHOTO BY DAVID LIN

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BROOME STREET $13,048-$18,494 15

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Tucked away between Little Italy and Chinatown, Broome Street provides a unique location for upperclass Residential College students.

For those who don’t know, NYU’s Residential College offers a smaller community where students can live and learn together. Students can take courses in their dorm and participate in “streams,” or activity groups that are centered on a specific interest like performance, urban adventure, or writing.

Goddard Hall is the Residential College experience

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for freshmen, and those who wish to continue often move to Broome Street. However, if you did not participate in Residential College as a freshman, you can still apply to live in Broome.

Broome Street has a wide variety of rooms from the standard singles, doubles and efficiency rooms, to more oddly shaped rooms that house six or seven people. Most of the rooms are larger than the average NYU dorm, featuring wooden floors, a kitchen and a common area. Many rooms also have large windows with

views that range from the Freedom Tower to the living room across the street.

Although the location can be inconvenient for its distance, Broome does provide a small silent study lounge for these situations.

The dorm also has a larger lounge, laundry rooms on every floor and a 24-hourdeli beneath the building.

The surrounding neighborhood also has a lot to offer. Whether it’s an art gallery in Soho or dumplings in Chinatown, there are no shortage of activities around Broome.

Talia Milavetz STAFF PHOTO BY HANNAH SHULMAN

LAFAYETTE HALL $11,052-$18,494 25

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Lafayette Hall, commonly referred to as Laf, is one of the most feared landing spots for many second-year NYU students. Fortunately, those who are dealt an apparently unrecoverable blow by being housed over a mile from Washington Square Park can take comfort in the building’s modernity, resources and active staff.

Located just south of Canal Street, Laf — NYU’s largest residence hall — is just a block from the heart of Chinatown. Over 1,000 students call the building home.

For better or for worse, the surrounding area feels much more like a genuine New York City neighborhood than in any other university housing. For those without a meal

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plan, there is a wide variety of cuisine in the area and usually for a stellar price. If you’re not fond of making the daily trek up to campus on your own two feet, a number of subway stops are close by, and Lafayette has its own personal bus stop, as NYU’s shuttle bus picks up and drops up directly in front of the building.

“80 Laf” makes up for its shortcomings with spacious rooms, sporting high ceilings, hardwood floors and modern appliances. There is an impressive array of room options, from efficiency rooms for three people all the way up to the excessively expensive rooms for one, which come with a nearly $20,000 price tag. Approximately 44

¢ percent of Lafayette’s rooms are low-cost, but suites come in all shapes and sizes.

The building is home to a bustling community that holds a number of NYU’s fraternities and sororities. Lafayette’s hall council, SOLID, has the largest budget of any at NYU and uses it to host and promote a variety of shows and programs from sports to politics and drama. The building houses a laundry room on almost every floor in addition to a lounge, computer room and study room.

Initially coming to terms with living so far away from the main campus may be difficult, but with an open mind, Lafayette Hall could eventually be your preferred residence junior year.

Michael Thompson STAFF PHOTO ABRAHAM GROSS

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CLARK STREET $11,056-$18,452 15

Walk to Tandon

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Subway to Manhattan

St. George Clark Hall is one of two Brooklyn housing options, located in Brooklyn Heights. It’s a convenient 15 minute walk to Tandon’s campus, and only one stop away from Manhattan on the 2 and 3 line. Clark Hall offers a wide variety of options, including private studios and low cost triple rooms. All of the rooms in Clark are apartment style with a full refrigerator, a microwave and a TV. However, there are no individual kitch-

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ens. Instead, the building’s residents share a communal kitchen on the ground floor.

The building is newly renovated, so students will be able to enjoy amenities such as the 8,300 square foot student community center. The community center houses the community kitchen, a screening room, study areas, a pool table and a flat screen TV. Students who live in Clark Hall are also eligible for a complimentary membership to

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the Eastern Athletic Club, which is just next door.

St. George Clark Hall is a reasonable housing option for those wanting a little distance from the Tandon campus and an unconventional NYU residential experience.

Just don’t plan on bringing too many guests, as Clark’s guest policy is slightly more strict than other residence halls.

And don’t lose your key card, which is necessary for accessing the building and room.

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OTHMER HALL $9,190-$16,912 1

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If you’re an engineering student looking for a cozy place to stay, Othmer residence hall is for you.

Othmer houses more than 400 NYU Tandon students in downtown Brooklyn.

The dorm is conveniently located one block away from the Metro Tech and Borough Hall subway stations. In addition, shuttle service is available to transport students to main campus.

Housing is offered to first year, upperclassmen and graduate students.

Residents have the option of selecting either a 2-bedroom traditional style suite or a 2-bed-

Subway to Manhattan room apartment. Both traditional and apartment style rooms are spacious and house four students with one shared bathroom. However, apartment style rooms also offer a kitchen complete with stainless steel appliances and a fullsized refridgerator.

Othmer’s 18 stories houses 13 student lounges — each of which comes with a flatscreen TV — that are ideal spots for hanging out with friends or getting a study group together. The building also includes its own laundry facility. In addition, Othmer is located

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just across the street from the Jasper Kane Dining Center. But if you’re not in the mood for bland cafeteria food, take a quick walk through the courtyard to Chipotle, Pios Bagels or Shake Shack.

Leave the honking taxis and countless sirens back in Manhattan. Othmer’s prime location gives its residents the peace and quiet college students crave during hectic weeks and late night study sessions. But if you’re looking for some adventure, Othmer is just a quick subway ride away from the Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Bridge.

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WASHINGTON SQUARE VILLAGE $15,884-$27,160 5

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Located just behind Bobst Library and five minutes away from Washington Square Park, Washington Square Village is ideal for graduate students looking to avoid the hassle of commuting. Not only is the residence hall situated in a prime location, but convenient subway access for A, C, E, F, M, N, R and 6 trains makes WSV a popular choice among graduate students.

As one of the residence halls known as the “Grad Halls” and the largest of NYU’s rental properties, WSV consists of four separate buildings made up of spa-

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cious shared studio apartments. Each fully furnished apartment features not only a kitchen and a full bathroom, but also a balcony with a view of the garden courtyard below with large windows for natural light and fresh air. Despite the shared studio arrangement, the apartments are roomy enough to comfortably accommodate two students.

WSV makes sure to integrate graduate students with the NYU community by hosting group outings and posting events at the Resource Center. Next to the Resource Center, on the ground floor in

Building #2 is a study lounge equipped with computers and study spaces as well as a communal kitchen. Laundry facilities can be conveniently found in the basement of each building.

WSV’s location along a smaller street ensures that noise is remains at a minimal level. Even better, the plethora of nearby stores and restaurants makes it easier to enjoy the city. Easy access to popular neighborhoods such as SoHo and East Village makes WSV not only an appealing but also practical housing pick.

Nina Jang PHOTO BY CICEK EREL

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If you’re looking to get away from the dorm life, you might want to consider checking out Stuyvesant Town. Affectionately known as “Stuy Town,” this residential apartment complex houses nearly 9,000 residents, most of whom are not NYU students. The sprawling mini-village is boxed in by 14th and 20th Streets between First Avenue and Avenue C. Stuy Town is about a 10 minute walk from Union Square, and is in a prime

location for the hustle and bustle of New York City life. The downside is that it’s about a 20 minute walk from campus, but it might be worth it if you’re tired of walking outside to what seems like a million students running around.

Certainly if you want to feel more like an adult, this is likely the spot for you — you’ll be living among families young and old, so try to be respectful of the community if you do decide to house yourself here. Sur-

rounding the courtyard at the center of the complex is a cafe, study lounge and gym, so you’ll still have access to many of the amenities you’d have if you were living in a dorm.

The whole complex is right on the East River, so a nice view is just a couple minutes walk away. Just be warned — once you move off campus, that meal plan goes out the door, so make sure to buy a cookbook or two if you do decide to live here.

Alex Bazeley PHOTO BY WENDI LIU

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LO FOR FIRST APAR WORK WITH YOUR ROOMMATE

Before looking for an apartment, make sure to have a conversation with your future roomies to plan a strategy. Looking for an apartment can be stressful, but having clear goals going in about when you would like to sign a lease, what each of your budgets are and how you’ll be moving your stuff will ensure everyone is on the same page. Because of all the factors that go into picking an apartment, it is also helpful to rank different qualities by priority. For example, one of you might value the size of the kitchen more than the size of each bedroom, but both of you might find the overall location the most important. Having clear expectations of what features you’re looking for in the apartment before you begin looking will help make the process as smooth as possible.

PICK A NEIGHBORHOOD

When you’re preparing to move off-campus, the neighborhood you choose can determine what types of apartments are available, what subway line is nearby and how far it is from campus. You may find that your work schedule means that you’ll only need to be on campus a few days a week and a longer commute time is worth it. However, depending on your class schedules and on-campus commitments, it may be important to you to live a walkable distance from campus. Determining which neighborhoods meet the needs of you and your roommates will ensure that you’re happy with your living situation.

FIND THE APARTMENT

Actually finding the apartment can be the most stressful part of the process. Using a broker can be the most time efficient, but will also come with an additional broker fee. Craigslist, Facebook groups and a variety of other apps and websites can help you find an apartment without a broker, but it can take more time and energy on your part. If you choose to go with a broker, try and find one that someone you know has used. That will help avoid anyone too costly, while also knowing they’re reliable. A broker can help negotiate the cost of the rent as well as the lease start-date. Overall, a broker can certainly help expedite the process. However, going through Craigslist or other lists can be a way to find hidden gems without the extra costs that come with a broker.

Make sure that when you go to visit apartments, look for any potential flaws in the apartment itself. If the apartment has furniture in it, try and envision what it could look like re-arranged. Determine what you could fix or move to make it more appealing, and what unchangeable features are deal breakers.

For example, sharing a bathroom with a roommate might not be a problem, but when that bathroom is only accessible through one of the bedrooms, it could cause problems later on. Also look around the building entrances and lobbies. If the building has bugs, the odds of them entering your apartment are high. If the building seems to be in disrepair in the hallways or stairs, think twice about how responsive maintenance will be to repair requests.

Be prepared to act quickly once you find “the one.” The only thing that’s harder than finding the apartment is actually securing it. You may need to submit an application for approval, or at the very least you’ll need to provide a security deposit or bank statements. Because you’re most likely a fulltime student and don’t have a high-enough paying job, you’ll need one or more parents of the soon-to-be tenants to “guarantee” the lease, i.e. provide evidence that the rent will always be covered. Each building and management company has different requirements and rules about paperwork and guarantors. It’s important to ask about these things before signing any papers.

SHOP FOR FURNITURE

One of the luxuries of living in a dorm was the furniture that came with the room. Before moving into your first apartment, you’ll need to invest in furniture. Make sure you factor in the cost of buying things like a bed, mattress and kitchen table into any cost calculations. Don’t forget to measure all the spaces you’re looking to fill with furniture — there’s nothing worse than lugging items up flights of stairs to realize it doesn’t fit against the wall you thought it would.

Craigslist and Facebook groups like “NYU Free and For Sale” can be an excellent starting point for inexpensive furniture. Ikea and the Container Store are great options for good quality items that are designed to fit into small spaces. Discuss with your roommates about how to split up the costs of purchasing furniture for common spaces.

This may also be your first college living space with a full kitchen. Check out places like Kmart, Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond for inexpensive dishware and cooking supplies. Just buy the basics at first — you can always buy a specific cooking tool like a sifter or crock pot if you need one. Also check your storage space in the kitchen area before you start purchasing bulkier items.

In terms of decorations, now is a great time to elevate your freshman year dorm decorations you still have. Determine if you can drill into the walls (or exposed brick) and figure out the best way to hang photographs and posters. Pinterest and websites like ApartmentTherapy.com are a great source of ideas, but don’t be afraid to add to your decorations as you settle into the space. Unlike a dorm, you’ll be occupying your new home for the next full year and maybe beyond that.

SET UP UTILITIES/INTERNET/LOCKS

Another perk of staying in the dorms was not having to worry about utilities, internet and rent payments. Fortunately, many buildings and management companies now accept rent payments online. Your landlord or management company should help you transfer utility payments to you and your roommates’ names. Many buildings will not have air conditioning installed in each unit, however, depending on the building, you may be able to buy and install an external unit for a fee. Your building will already have an internet service provider, but it will be up to you to contact them, select a plan and set it up. Make sure to keep track of when these payments are due and to automate them if you can. Also keep in the mind the approximate costs of utilities and internet when setting your apartment budget.

Some buildings will require that you purchase and install a top lock in addition to the bottom lock and the chain. Make sure to drop off copies of any new keys with your super or management company. It’s also a good idea to duplicate apartment keys and leave them with a trustworthy friend or family member in the city in case of an emergency.

OOKING R YOUR RTMENT Emily Bell EDITOR-AT-LARGE

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SPICE UP THOSE DORM DECORATIONS!

THE GENDER-NEUTRAL HOUSING OPTION

Grace Halio

Dejarelle Gaines

ABROAD EDITOR

COPY CHIEF

Though living on campus at NYU means we’re fortunate enough to have a swanky downtown address, it doesn’t mean that the dorms behind closed doors match that address.

Upon move-in, dorms can feel pretty gray and nondescript. Though christmas lights are a classic, there are a few other easy elements that you can add to your dorm to make it more homey.

Work from the bottom up: invest in a carpet. K-Mart and Ikea have fun colored, costfriendly options and one shag rug will make all the difference. Having a fuzzy area rug is inviting — the less linoleum tile you can see, the better. Don’t forget to pay your Resource Center a visit and borrow their vaccuum, though, because there is actually nothing worse than a carpet full of hair and dust.

Pillows: full body pillows, throw pillows, you name it — they’re all comfortable. Line them along the side of your bed that is adjacent to the wall so your bed can double as a couch when you have company. Also a good accent on couches, if you’re fortunate enough to have one.

But, before you decide to put those pillows on the couch, cover it. We’re not talking about a fancy slipcover or anything though. If you are so lucky that NYU provides you with one of those pine frame, itchy upholstered couches, buy a twin or queen size sheet to cover it. Pick a solid color, or if you’re feeling ambitious tye-dye one.

Tye-dye works not only for couch covers, but also makes for great wall art. Tye-dye a bedsheet for a custom tapestry, or purchase your own to hang up. The key to covering up those plaster walls is fabric. Flags are also a good way to remind everyone of your cultural or sport allegiances while taking up a ton of wall space.

The concept of hanging up photos in your dorm is certainly not a new one. Investing in a pack of photo paper, though, will make printing out pictures of your family and friends a breeze. You can even go wild and print out old concert posters, artwork, whatever you can think of, and it will look classy because the paper is glossy.

Decorate for the holidays. Decorate for the sake of decorating. Print out screencaps from your favorite shows, memes and remember that you can find a holiday for every month.

Don’t be afraid to get in the celebrating spirit.

If you find that you have a long stretch of wall space, take a full length mirror and turn it landscape. Mount it at shoulder height with command strips and hang some command hooks underneath for a convenient place to check your hair on your way out or hang your keys, hat, etc. on your way in.

Other fun extras: glow in the dark stars — if you can get them to stick to your popcorn ceiling — plants, if you have the natural light to keep them alive, dish towels — if you have a kitchen, they really class up your act and make you look like an adult — whiteboards (you can never have too many places to write a note to self).

Coming to NYU for the first time is an experience that is both exciting, yet frightening.

New people, new locations, but most importantly, new living situations. For those who are hesitant about change, having the option of gender-neutral housing with a complete stranger can be a bit jarring. Males and females sharing a single room for a semester sounds like most parents’ nightmare, but the situation isn’t as daunting as it seems.

Living with someone of the opposite sex does not have to be a big deal. If you’re worried about how your parents will react to the news, don’t be. After their initial response, and likely a story about how in their day the sexes were separated when it came to living situations, they’ll get over it. It is up to you to quell your parents’ fears and inform them that living in the same room as the opposite sex does not mean that they should automatically jump to the worst-case scenario. There is a healthy middle ground that parents will likely fail to imagine.

You might actually come to prefer living with a person of the opposite sex. Excluding the possibility that you’re attracted to your roommate — which is a whole different ball game — we’ll stick to the strictly platonic situation.

Having two different sexes in the same room can make for a great living situation.

Girls and boys have enough innate differences that it evens out the atmosphere in the room. Not too much estrogen, not too much testosterone, but instead a healthy mix of the two that is just right.

This obviously won’t apply to every gender neutral housing situation. There are some instances where extraneous factors can cause the situation to be anything but ideal, but this is a risk that we take when signing up for any random housing assignment. It’s a game of russian roulette. Most of the time the housing situation will be great, where you meet awesome people that you probably wouldn’t have met had you not been put in a room together for a year. However, there is also that small possibility that you will be in a situation where you and your roommate will be at each other’s necks.

Whatever option that you end up choosing on your housing application, just remember, don’t knock the gender neutral option until you try it.

Email Dejarelle Gaines at dgaines@nyunews.com.

Email Grace Halio at ghalio@nyunews.com.

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