The NY Times recently published an article discussing some reasons why apartments in brownstones sell at a discount relative to apartments in big doorman buildings. Listed among the factors was the fact that in a brownstone you don't have a concierge, or elevator (usually), and it is such a pain to carry your luggage and groceries up and down the stairs. Boo hoo.
Lately I've discovered one more factor to add to the list - the health hazard caused by construction going on in the building next door. You see, most brownstones are old. Old buildings have lots of holes in them. They are not hermetically sealed like some of today's buildings. They are drafty, they are not level, they don't heat or cool well and they make weird noises.
And when the demo crew is next door pounding on the walls so hard that it sounds like the world is ending, you are bound to end up with a layer of dust on everything you own. This has been happening to us every day for the past few weeks. We go to work, leaving behind a clean apartment, and come home to an apartment with a fine layer of dirt on everything. We wipe down all the furniture, the counters, and whatever else we can before we pass out from exhaustion. The next day, we do it all again.
We've spoken to the foreman in charge of the work and he is perplexed. He claims that they have the building sealed up tighter than a drum. That may be, but this old house has got some leaks; and unfortunately those leaks are springing clouds of dust into my apartment. If you'll excuse me, I must be off to start round 12 of my month of dusting...
