The rent is too damn high.
Here’s an idea. Throw a Rent party. The New York Times reminded me of this classic.
Rent parties were playing out behind thousands of other closed doors in run-down Harlem buildings. Tenants would use the proceeds to pay their landlord on the first of the month, and then hopefully make it another 30 days before scrimping again.
–
Rent parties like Ms. Pindar’s were bawdy, booze-soaked and offered an escape from the white gaze. Outside, there was prohibition and gawkers from Lower Manhattan. Inside, there was beer and bathtub gin. There was live music, including appearances by Duke Ellington and Fats Waller.
At rent parties, Hughes wrote, he met truckers, seamstresses and shoeshine boys.