३ डिसेंबर, २०२२

"In 2014, Mr. Clever was living in a tiny apartment in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, with no furniture aside from a rented Steinway grand."

"At night, he would curl up on a twin mattress beneath the piano, relying on it to block the sun. By day, he would have gatherings with fellow New York University students. At one of them, Ms. Chen — a native of Zhejiang, China, who had recently arrived to study creative writing — played the piano alongside him. The two fell in love."

I love these NYT hunt-for-real estate columns but have never before felt inclined to blog one. But that paragraph was just so great, right down to the name Clever (Henry M. Clever).

The article is "Bidding on a Brooklyn Brownstone, With a Baby on the Way. Which One Did They Buy?/He had his eye on architectural details and rental revenue. She wanted a close-knit community and a space with room for the grand piano that started their relationship. Here’s what they found."

Clever, it turns out, is not a professional pianist. The man who slept under a grand piano is a robotics engineer.

१९ टिप्पण्या:

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

that's sweet

thanks Althouse

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

At night, he would curl up on a twin mattress beneath the piano, relying on it to block the sun.

Why did he need to block the sun at night?

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Maybe it's clever clickbait. If so, it worked, but they don't tell you why the sun was beating down on Clever's piano at night.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

This started with the weddings page. The NYT has become Facebook or Instagram for its readers -- or that long report on family activities that people like that stick into their holiday cards

Kate म्हणाले...

Reminds me of the scene from American in Paris when Gene Kelly dances in the door frame while Oscar Levant plays on a piano that fills the tiny apartment. Two immensely talented people working with a genius set design.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

China has 12% more boys than girls in the 20’s age range. Too bad the good ones are going to school in the US and getting married to wyepepo. The Chinese boys should be pissed.

Temujin म्हणाले...

I love people who find squalor living in New York to be romantic.

gspencer म्हणाले...

"At night, he would curl up on a twin mattress beneath the piano, relying on it to block the sun."

Huh?

Remember the old joke. When the [Italians, Poles, Arabians, choose your own] were planning on sending a rocket to the Sun. "But it'll burn up as you near the Sun." "No problem, we're gonna do it at night."

gspencer म्हणाले...

"At night, he would curl up on a twin mattress beneath the piano, relying on it to block the sun."

Huh?

Remember the old joke. When the [Italians, Poles, Arabians, choose your own] were planning on sending a rocket to the Sun. "But it'll burn up as you near the Sun." "No problem, we're gonna do it at night."

Rocketeer म्हणाले...

Bob Boyd - my question too!

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

I love that column.

I love the way it legitimates my financial life choices while exposing the Times' pained, pinched, faux anti-gentrification virtue-signalling.

Plus, those pre-war park penthouses. If only they came with 100 acres between neighbors.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright —
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night…”

CStanley म्हणाले...

I have photos of the brownstone where my mom grew up. It was in a then-Polish neighborhood in Greenpoint, but looks just like those places. Of course, according to the 1940 census there were 37 other people living in the building with her, and I’m pretty sure there was no grand piano.

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

Once we built buildings of stone, and everyone could afford them.

Now we build them of glass, and no-one can afford them.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

If you let the sun beat down on your rented Steinway you're doing it wrong...

typingtalker म्हणाले...

The man who slept under a grand piano is also half a bubble off -- not that that's a bad thing.

Lem Vibe Bandit म्हणाले...

He was still sleeping when the sun came up in the morning. Not an early riser like some people.

Wince म्हणाले...

Mr. and Mrs. Clever?

Where's Eddie Haskell when you need him?

boatbuilder म्हणाले...

Not clever enough to tack a blanket over the window?