At 12:49 PM 7/17/97 -0700, The Brooklyn Museum, Public Information Dept wrote:

>Has anyone who responded actually ever lived in New York?
>
>You don't need to earn $70K to "live comfortably" (what does this mean,
>anyway?).  You don't have to live in Hell's Kitchen (which is not that
>bad an area).  Most people take the subway to work, not only because it's
>affordable but at 8 a.m. you're more likely to get to where you want to
>go more quickly than in a cab.  Not all meals cost $50 per person.
>
>Many many people I know live in Manhattan with incomes under $50K, under
>$30K even.  Anyone who is an actor, musician, artist, etc. lives this
>way.
>
>Where do you people get your information from?
>

OK. I do live in New York City.  No I don't live in Manhattan.  No, I don't
take cabs (trying to get one to go up to the Bronx is too much of an
ordeal).  No, I don't usually eat out.  No, you don't need an income of
$70K to 'live comfortably', but it wouldn't hurt.

The salaries at most institutions are just too low.  I've worked with
people in museums who live in Manhattan, and have had to supplement their
income with what they colorfully termed 'PLO' (Pocket Lining Outside), or
have a spouse/lover/friend/relative that also works (usually in a higher
paying job in the for-profit arena) to help pay the bills.  I actually left
a job that I liked as an Administrative Assistant at the Met for a
higher-paying one on the same level at NYU, and I *still* can't get an
apartment!  And of course, Real Estate agents are pretty loose with what
they term an 'apartment', so something in my price range might not actually
be an apartment fit for living in.

Angela Washington
[log in to unmask]