Kendal Fisher has lived in Harlem since he arrived in New York nine years ago, having spent much of that time in a large rental complex in Manhattanville.
Mr. Fisher, 34, stayed there for six years, with his monthly rent rising to around $1,650. “I lived in a studio,” he said. “It was all I could afford, and it was all I needed.”
That changed over time. He often had guests sleeping on the couch, infringing on his privacy. And he adopted Seven, an energetic miniature schnauzer. “I felt the dog needed more space to run around,” he said. “In a studio, she’s running in a circle.”
His salary grew, and last spring he decided to upgrade to a one-bedroom. Mr. Fisher, a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, wanted to move a bit farther south, to shorten his commute to Midtown, where he works as an executive assistant. Most of all, he craved some creature comforts — namely, a washer-dryer and central air-conditioning.
“There were certain things I had on my checklist, and I wasn’t going to move until I had them,” he said.
Mr. Fisher grew up with central air-conditioning in Virginia, and he was surprised to find it was not all that common in New York. His rental included a through-the-wall unit, with gaps in the sleeve where hot air seeped in.
“My apartment wouldn’t be that cool, but my Con Ed bill would be sky-high,” he said. “I figured with central air, the Con Ed bill might be high but I would have air equally spread throughout the room.”
Also, laundry was a hassle, with machines that were often broken. The complex he was living in had overhauled its two crowded laundry rooms, but the new machines “lasted maybe a month before they started to break down,” he said.
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