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Designer-Ad-9373 t1_iqqshxf wrote

Lemme mansplain you real quick. Metal grating over a sidewalk is not a sewer. A sewer is an underground waterway.

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bklyn1977 t1_iqr8ymf wrote

Those grates are for air.

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thefaradayjoker t1_iqro9ai wrote

Air and light

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Waveridr85 t1_iqrqgwr wrote

Actually the grates are there so people can walk there

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popper_wheelie t1_iqrrui1 wrote

Actually the grates are there so people can grate copious amounts of cheese

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malcolm816 t1_iqsv2g6 wrote

And they’re not that grate, actually.

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Horse_Dad t1_iqty29y wrote

You, sir, are an ingrate.

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Kiddjudo t1_iqtjgn8 wrote

I believe you mean GarbagePee Fragrance.

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ehsurfskate t1_iqrfyph wrote

Yup. This is a vault.

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Sea_Sand_3622 t1_iqszwa0 wrote

Actuality what the city calls a “vault” wound be covered with cement with no grate, or possibly unbreakable frosted glass tiles on the sidewalk (you don’t see those around too much these days), Maybe still around soho.

It’s possibly a duplex but more likely rented office space or a janitorial area or building management office.

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ehsurfskate t1_iqt0q42 wrote

That’s not true. These are also called vaults. They can be open like this. I am in the design industry in the city

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Sea_Sand_3622 t1_iqt1i6s wrote

The surveyor below would know best, from what I understand the city does have a special tax for “a vault” area because it is area protruding past the property line towards the street that the landlord is able to use under the street.

by definition “a vault” is an enclosed area , hence a bank vault. There is no grate for air or daylight in a vault.

Maybe I am wrong;)

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SubstantialReturn228 t1_iqs2iyf wrote

My dog likes to piss on the metal grating

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ShermanThruGA t1_iqsae1z wrote

I like to piss on the metal grating

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theranoscoin t1_iqstv58 wrote

I specifically use the metal grating to scrape-clean the bottoms of my shoes whenever I get the opportunity… which is everyday

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dj3po1 t1_iqrhjqr wrote

"Bright, one bedroom with views of the city."

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theskyopenedup t1_iqrn536 wrote

$1700 a month. Utilities not included.

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casicua t1_iqs163a wrote

Lol In this climate, that would sadly be considered a deal.

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jaysharpesquire t1_iqul9t7 wrote

Average rent in manhattan just hit 5 grand. So... Something that cheap. Yeah

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ripper007 t1_iqsymsy wrote

“Nearby public transportation available”

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SexyEdMeese t1_iqs1in7 wrote

Great for upskirt creepers

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Malfunctioned t1_ir9qno0 wrote

Install a fan blower, a street level camera and wait for the Marilyn Monroe moment.

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Zarozien t1_iqt16hi wrote

Who wears skirts these days? All NYC women got hair on their legs.

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El_Gato t1_iqvmj7v wrote

> views of the city

this cracked me up

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nycfoto t1_iqrihyi wrote

That's an areaway with a grate on top. Vaults are underground voids under the sidewalk that are attached to a building. Some sidewalks have them and are hollow. Most sidewalks are solid with earth and concrete. Some of these vaults are used as storage space or habitable rooms. They were once used for Coal Chute manholes to deliver coal to heat up the building.

As a Land Surveyor with the City, I've surveyed hundreds of vaults in NYC.

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[deleted] t1_iqtzfwk wrote

What an adventurous job! Kudos

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nycfoto t1_iqu0z76 wrote

It is :)

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[deleted] t1_iqu28kf wrote

NYC is such a verically layered city, I could only imagine the underground things you have seen. You must have a very different perspective of NYC than most New Yorkers. Respect!

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nycfoto t1_iqu36tr wrote

Thanks. 32+ years Surveying the city and I think I've seen it all. Streets, highways, bridges, hydro graphic water surveys, Rikers Island, etc.

Above ground and below, including responding to the WTC terrorist attacks after September 11, 2001. I worked 4+ months at Ground Zero.

Because of the job, I feel I know my way around the city like the back of my hand.

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[deleted] t1_iqu93m2 wrote

So if and when I want to do bank heists and use the nyc undergrounds to escape,you are the go to guy. Got it lmao

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[deleted] t1_iqu95xf wrote

Oh and much respect and thank for your service in 9/11. Shortly after that, I joined the military lol

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Bertie_Woo t1_iqu86qe wrote

Thanks for the explanation. Any idea why they wouldn't expand the building to fill the vault and add more square footage? Is it expensive?

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nycfoto t1_iqu8jow wrote

The building is built up the property line or behind the property line. A vault extends outside the building line onto city property below the sidewalk.

So you got it the other way around. The building can't expand out above ground. It would be encroaching on public property (sidewalk/street).

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olli_bombastico t1_iquhhm6 wrote

Did the City ever consider using these spaces/buying them off owners as space for the trash storages we are kept being told we don't have space for?

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nycfoto t1_iqvqrfm wrote

No. The only time they would reclaim such a space is with eminent domain, they take over a property legally & at market value for public use

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MuchTimeWastedAgain t1_iquh53v wrote

Are most now converted to living spaces?

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nycfoto t1_iquheui wrote

Some are unused & sealed.......or used for storage.

I saw a few in Downtown Brooklyn where they made them into an extension of a home office/den.

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MuchTimeWastedAgain t1_iquhmn7 wrote

Fascinating. But then again I only learned why there are still wood water tanks on buildings a few years ago. (Not a NY’er)

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Badweightlifter t1_iqujf5u wrote

>Some of these vaults are used as storage space or habitable rooms.

Pretty certain those vaults cannot be used as habitable rooms since it lacks the minimum natural light requirement. Also seems too deep to be considered a habitable room.

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nycfoto t1_iqujybk wrote

Again, I've been in these rooms or voids. I've had to do vault surveys before the NYC DOT planned on ripping up the sidewalk for roadway improvements. They needed to know what areas were hollow, before digging. Hence a vault survey.

You can stand in them and some have been converted to rooms. They are grandfathered in.

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jbjbjb10021 t1_iqr08ci wrote

That is where the people who deliver our grubhub orders live. $150/week for 5 x 8 room with a plastic covered twin mattress.

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The_Question757 t1_iqr5c3x wrote

that's depressingly believable

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Necessary_Appeal_22 t1_iqriszz wrote

Yeah so tip them lol

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The_Question757 t1_iqrky4g wrote

I do bro, especially in crappy ass weather and I do cash so they don't get taxed on it. Still a tough ass job.

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[deleted] t1_iqrmnqq wrote

I think it’s funny how people brag about abetting tax fraud.

I’m not judging you—I do it, too—but it’s funny when you think about it. I would never underreport my income to the IRS, yet I’m happy to help others do it.

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The_Question757 t1_iqrn2nx wrote

> abetting

not bragging I was clarifying that I do tip and spare me the self-righteous bullcrap. the service industry is freaking soul sucking, go after all those jerkoffs who took out covid loans and never needed them or didn't use them on the things they were supposed to.

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[deleted] t1_iqrn5bc wrote

I edited a bit to clarify, because I realized how judgmental it came off originally. No judgment intended. I do it too.

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The_Question757 t1_iqrnf2s wrote

fair enough then, I see people get upset about that crap and it blows my mind about the focus on the cut of a finger vs the gunshot wound scenario.

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[deleted] t1_iqrnxu5 wrote

I’d certainly like to see everyone taxed fairly on their actual income, with zero tax fraud, but caring about servers underreporting a few thousand dollars in tips a year is stupid when billionaires are doing the same thing on a much larger scale.

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decelerationkills t1_iqrxi84 wrote

Not even breh, that looks lowkey nice. The flooded basements where people die every hurricane is where they’re at.

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jbjbjb10021 t1_iqs796g wrote

Sure. Those are the $110 rooms. Damp concrete floor. Walls like a storage unit. The one in this photo might be a $1200 1 bedroom apartment with a living room.

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Canopach t1_iqqs93a wrote

I miss the 'sewer' reference. Isn't that area beneath the grate an air passageway for the subway?

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chengjih t1_iqs79dj wrote

No, it's for the building's basement. Air grates for the subway aren't usually right next to a building.

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Thotalian t1_iqr9vmi wrote

lower half of duplex apartments..

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hammelswye t1_iqs0xq8 wrote

^this. I used to live in a building with duplex apartments like this.

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kbwallace t1_iqqyxjy wrote

The ninja turtles live there

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mklauss t1_iqrnrio wrote

This is the comment I was looking for.

Master Splinter is enjoying brunch while I type this.

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Substantial_Review81 t1_iqqvakg wrote

What happens when it rains hard?

Also I see all manner of dog walkers let their dogs piss and shit through those grates I barely step on them anymore.

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Chewwy987 t1_iqqvnhe wrote

That’s gross, my dog hates all grates absolutely Refuses to walk on them

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aspenfrank30 t1_iqr4h3u wrote

I had a wiener dog growing up and her paw got stuck in one of them. Since then I refuse to let any dog walk on them.

Edit because this got me looking at old pics at my mom's place. RIP Ruth, you were a real good dog. Don't worry folks, she went quietly in her sleep at 19.

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Chewwy987 t1_iqrbg86 wrote

Maybe that’s what happened to my pup as a puppy.but he will pull you across the street if he ebtire street has lots of grates. He knows

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rikbrown t1_iqrfgqw wrote

Same with our wiener mix dog. She’d never seen a grate like that before we moved to NYC but instinctively knows she doesn’t want to walk on them.

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attackplango t1_iqrmeua wrote

It’s also sometimes the way the sound echoes in them that really spook dogs.

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MisterFatt t1_iqr6x5l wrote

Really? I’ve never seen a dog that would walk on that kind of grate. My dogs avoid them like they’re gateways to hell

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JuniferBerries t1_iqtjk3l wrote

>Really? I’ve never seen a dog that would walk on that kind of grate. My dogs avoid them like they’re gateways to hell

Mine pees into the storm drains near my apartment and they look exactly like those grates. He'll run for them every time. He's not the only one. Plus, when it rains, all the dog piss from the streets rains into them. Or when the street cleaners hose the sidewalks.

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ricepalace t1_iqrjck6 wrote

Also not sure why not stepping on them makes any difference? You think the sidewalk is constantly washed or something?

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Waveridr85 t1_iqrqqzt wrote

There’s a flat area probably a foot or so below the window with a drain

Just think of it what a rooftop apartment would be. Sub dog pee for bird poop

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PatrickMaloney1 t1_iqr4o48 wrote

My guess is an MTA substation office or something similar

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Traditional_Way1052 t1_iqs6wmb wrote

It's attached to a building, there's a building directly above it, it's probably just a basement.

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b0xtarts t1_iqr69l2 wrote

probably the supes quarters

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FreedmF1ghter77 t1_iqrtqj6 wrote

Selling for 2000 a month, great view of the city's vision. Fallout shelter included. Free pet rats

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STL_TRPN t1_iqriocc wrote

I try to avoid grates because of my dog, as well as I picture them giving way when it just so happens I'm walking on it.

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ecancil t1_iqs98ut wrote

Not sure you know what a sewer is 🙄

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[deleted] t1_iqtttbb wrote

This person is living in “greatest city in the world”

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ErwinC0215 t1_iqs2pyg wrote

I think that's 218 Mercer St? No idea what happens there, I've always wondered about the basements there everytime I walk by.

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KidAstoria t1_iqs30aa wrote

Thats a grate, not a sewer.

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hudibrastic t1_iqrium6 wrote

It is where the teenage mutant ninja turtles live

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Jaylove2019 t1_iqsgecp wrote

Yes, I know Upper East side area have this 😫😫😫. My friend lives in one of those and she happens to have the luxury of a courtyard as well. She has to come out every time her food delivery is there because she has no designated buzzer.

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Pintexxz t1_iqs4qqs wrote

Gotta love the smell of the sewers with that 4K a month rent + roaches

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urbanlife78 t1_iqskequ wrote

What's the rent?

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whata2021 t1_iqsrq2r wrote

Well given the bars/grates, it’s rent controlled so about $500.

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urbanlife78 t1_iqswzmc wrote

YouTube video: Would you live in an underground apartment for $500? Click here to learn more!

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TheDuke100 t1_iqslhlu wrote

Its has nothing to do with a sewer. It may of been an old transformer vault or just a basement. Now renovated into apartments.

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MikeDamone t1_iqsucql wrote

Manhattan has a ton of these units in old brownstones - and a lot of them are duplexes with a floor above it so it's not like the residents are living like full on mole people.

And lmao you think this is a sewer, really?

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brihamedit t1_iqt49vg wrote

That must be some mta station office/lunch room or something. That's an air vent not a sewer obviously.

I wonder if mta has elaborate rooms and stuff underground. May be they'll allow guided exploration and stuff.

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Bal000ga t1_iqtnasf wrote

One time I was waiting for a train late at night (I can’t remember exactly but I think I was at an NQR stop) and I heard someone playing Super Mario Bros over some kind of speakers like they were in an apartment next door. It was so bizarre…never figured that one out

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Ecurbx t1_iqtzyyn wrote

Old New York

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MinkeNyc t1_iqv8tmr wrote

Wow you’re new to the city I see.

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JAFO4hire t1_iqs7im5 wrote

Ahhh you’ve found where the C. H. U. D. ‘S hide out.

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PurpleCopper t1_iqs94nm wrote

What's the point of a window underground then?

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LBomw t1_iqspr7u wrote

To escape a fire maybe? 🤔

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d4ng3rz0n3 t1_iqsbe9y wrote

It could be a community laundry room, a below grade level of a duplex, etc.

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SoloBurger13 t1_iqsgf3l wrote

This is where the mutants from futurama live

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woofpatrol00 t1_iqt0142 wrote

This is where the Ninja turtles live

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HungryIndependence89 t1_iqt3clm wrote

Is this were those H.U.D. from the movie actually live? We’ll be under water in 50 years so learn how to tread water.

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Nincadalop t1_iqt9fbq wrote

Plant looks green at least

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BenHogan1971 t1_iqt9xmd wrote

Al Capone's private safe. Call Geraldo

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agumelen t1_iqtccwg wrote

Very airy apartment.

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_allycat t1_iqtj5ho wrote

Pennywise's apartment.

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projectoffset t1_iqtl2s7 wrote

I can’t imagine a window more terrifying to look out of and have someone look back at you.

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avengingknight1 t1_iqtnqr8 wrote

There are apartments like this in the lower east side

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jake13122 t1_iqtwmkg wrote

This is absolutely fascinating to me. Are there any blogs or videos showing more details? Incredible

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Lumbers_33 t1_iqtyq0u wrote

That’s were the ninjy turts live man.

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Imaginary_Unit5109 t1_iqu4emu wrote

That not safe. When major storm hit that place would so be fully flooded.

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soyeahiknow t1_iqu6ouk wrote

Probably a duplex. Ive been in one. They made it into a living room. Can't have a bedroom so it only has a 2 piece bathroom (no shower or tub).

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Guy_Fawkes21 t1_iqu8fmi wrote

The amount of radon in that apartment is near nuclear levels.

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Solagnas t1_iqu8sre wrote

Listen, when you're a giant rat with 4 kids you'll settle for anything.

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-analysis_paralysis- t1_iqunthb wrote

If you ever wonder how much people pull out of their ass and have no idea what they talk/post about on the internet look at this thread. These are not sewers.

Still, suckers and dumbfucks will take it word for word.

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Space_Cowboy10859 t1_iqs09zt wrote

Correction : the real sewer is the NYC Transit System. #justsayin

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swankstar7383 t1_iqsgjo8 wrote

How is this legal 😂😂😂

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basedlandchad20 t1_iqsp4u9 wrote

New York is so expensive to build in that its impossibly hard to justify demolishing an old building to make room for a new one. Old buildings which no longer meet modern standards are grandfathered in and allowed to continue to exist.

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FFLNY t1_iqtjn5k wrote

Probably a spot for MTA employees/contractors working to eat/break I doubt it's like the hidden apartment in GrandCentral

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yawn11e1 t1_iqrwihl wrote

Look the Ninja Turtles got an upgrade, okay? I think they're owed.

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