Johnson said he used to own a trucking business but lost his license to operate and had to shut down in the 1980s. “But that ain’t going to happen,” he said. He said his dream would be a waterfront cottage in Florida. “I went all over City Island and I tried to buy a number of cottages, but I couldn’t find anything, anywhere worth spending on. Johnson said it’s far from an ideal location, but it is what he could afford and where he has come to feel comfortable. It’s all tucked away on a creek, down a series of slick gangways, between an industrial business zone and a highway Shell station. There are tendrils of philodendron dangling from wooden ceiling beams, a telescope pointing to the northeast sky and all around, boats: Models of famous vessels, like the Atlantic, once the world’s fastest schooner, and Zaca, a yacht owned by Errol Flynn that Johnson said he once tried to buy a gorgeous image of billowing sails by famed yacht photographer Morris Rosenfeld illustrations by City Island’s resident artist Mark Whitcombe bookshelves lined with novels about life on the seas and a folder filled with photos of Johnson and friends sailing on Long Island Sound. ![]() Two elegant, wood-burning fireplaces remain in place in case of a winter emergency. Yet here he is, loading up the firewood and heating fuel, preparing to chop ice with a crowbar and hunkering down for a 41st winter on the houseboat he purchased in 1982 and turned into one of New York City’s coziest abodes.Ĭlassical music fills the living room and a fuel-powered radiator pumps warm air through the home as rain pummels the bobbing deck. The other three months, you’d give anything to be anywhere else.” “The boat is very nice nine months of the year. And they might agree on this too: “Anyone who lives on a boat in the winter needs his head examined,” Johnson said as he sat inside his living room on a frigid Thursday afternoon in December. Whatever their opinions, all six would probably agree on one thing: Johnson, 86, knows boats. “And the funny thing is, they’re not all wrong.” “You can put six people with some serious sailing experience together and you get six different opinions on how to sail a boat,” he says. Robert Johnson has a favorite saying he returns to whenever he’s describing the salty stubbornness, the creativity or the eccentric intelligence of sailors. NYC’s coziest home-for nine months of the yearĪdi TalwarRobert Johnson, 86, standing by the houseboat on which he has lived for 41 years. The third opted to give up his place to pour his money and energy into his business. While one man lives in relative comfort, another is effectively homeless. It’s a sentiment most New Yorkers can relate to.īut their situations diverge from there. All three said they could not afford the kinds of homes they truly wanted, whether it’s an oceanside cottage or a simple studio apartment. ![]() ![]() Blame rising rents, out-of-control home sale prices and the limited availability fueling the city’s housing crisis.įor the past few months, City Limits has sought out New Yorkers in unique living arrangements to find out why they live where they live. We homed in on three people, all Bronx residents, with three very different accommodations: an old RV, a two-story houseboat and a room in a spartan warehouse. ![]() New Yorkers are often forced to get creative when it comes to housing. And cash-strapped creators continue to turn to warehouses and studios for cheap accommodations. Vans and motorhomes dot our industrial streets. We homed in on three people, all Bronx residents, with three very different accommodations: an old RV, a two-story houseboat and a room in a spartan warehouse.Īdi TalwarEgiberto Adames in July sitting next to his RV with his dog Arewin on Gerard Avenue in the Bronx. For the past few months, City Limits has sought out New Yorkers in unique living arrangements to find out why they live where they live.
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