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Wintering in the tropics…in Manhattan

Writer's picture: Felice CohenFelice Cohen

What’s crazier than snow in October? How about air conditioning in October.

The day before the snowstorm my building finally turned on the heat. Full force. And it’s the kind of heating system you can’t control, which makes my place like so many other New York City apartments: tropical. And while I’d rather be hot than cold (as I remember too well my various apartments in Amherst, Massachusetts where I wore layers to bed under layers of blankets), unfortunately this makes my loft bed almost unbearable since – as we all learned in seventh grade science class – heat rises. I put a small fan in the window at an angle to draw in the cold air and send it up, but this trick that used to work, no longer does. The heat is too high. What to do, aside from drinking copious amounts of ice water?

Put on the AC and let them duke it out.

I agree it seems ridiculous, not to mention wasteful, but I’ve no other choice. I’ve been leaving the apartment door open and this helps draw in cooler air, however I’m not sure my neighbors are so into seeing me in a tank top and boxer shorts. But hey, this is New York.

And while this is only a mere drawback, one other small issue to my wonderfully cozy 90 square foot pied-a-terre is storage. When most people switch their summer and winter clothing it’s from the top of the closet to the bottom or, if they’re lucky, to another closet, attic or basement. However, in 90 square feet, I’m forced to keep my bulky winter clothing at my folks’ house on Cape Cod. In all these years it hasn’t been an issue. In fact, it’s been part of my Thanksgiving ritual – turkey, stuffing and schelpping bags up and down stairs. I consider it a bonus to burning off the large meal.

Unfortunately, this early blast of snow caught me off guard and left me with – quite literally – cold feet, as my winter boots were four states away. Luckily The Big Apple got mostly rain, but still, it was a small reminder that sometimes you may have to weather a little discomfort if you want to live in a small space.

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