As the city reopens and apartments start to flood the market again, we’ve taken on the job of carefully hunting through various listings sites, newsletters, and Craigslist to find the best deals out there. A good deal on a rental apartment, of course, can mean very different things for different people. So as we sorted through hundreds of listings, we kept an eye out for places that are worth their asking price, whether that’s an under-$2,000 one-bedroom (that really is a one-bedroom) or a $5,000 three-bedroom duplex with crown moldings, a massive backyard, and an in-unit washer-dryer.
We’ve been spotting plenty of handsome apartments at unusually low prices in Williamsburg this week, like a gut-renovated two-bedroom with a marble-covered, skylit bathroom for $2,500, a rent-stabilized corner spot for $2,600, and a place with radiant heat concrete floors for $3,575. As for rental discounts, a bunch appear to be happening uptown and at all sorts of price points, ranging from just a $45 dip at a studio on East 83rd Street to $550 off at a penthouse at the Apthorp.
Our picks are organized by neighborhood in order of ascending price. Didn’t see anything from the neighborhood you’re interested in? We’ll try to include a wide range of locations as new units come up. To keep this list fresh, we’re removing listings that have not been rented after two weeks (and putting an asterisk next to holdovers from the previous week). Check back every week for updated picks.
Astoria
$1,800*: A larger-than-usual bedroom, plus well-lit kitchen and bath, just a 5-minute walk to Astoria Park’s 14 tennis courts.
$2,800*: Three bedrooms and a not-too-cramped eat-in kitchen right on Ditmas Boulevard.
Bed-Stuy
$1,800: Brownstone studio near the Kingston-Throop C train that comes with a ton of period details (like an intricate fireplace mantel, wall moldings, and chandelier), plus a separate (and rather large) kitchen with a red-tile island embedded with appliances.
$1,900*: An unusual amount of character for a studio (exposed brick, fireplace mantel, stained glass, window moldings) and also more kitchen cabinets than you’d expect.
$2,000*: A particularly breezy floor-through unit with two spacious rooms on each end, capped by large windows, just a block-and-a-half walk to the Kingston-Throop C train.
$2,150*: Really intricate woodworking around windows, doorways, and fireplace in the parlor-floor unit of a landmarked brownstone two blocks from the Nostrand A/C stop.
$2,300: One-bedroom-plus-office right above Fulton Street, with a lovely white mantel, moldings, and large windows in the kitchen and pristine-looking, marble-covered bathroom.
$2,400*: Gut-renovated garden two-bedroom with all new appliances (washer-dryer and dishwasher included), leading out to a neatly fenced yard with some natural shade: a great Japanese maple tree.
$2,500: One-bedroom on the second (and top) floor of a brick townhouse owned by an interior designer and landscape architect, which means some nice black-and-white penny tile, sharp globe lights (no boob lights to be found), and access to a shared veggie and herb garden.
$3,000: Three bedrooms and one-and-a-half baths in a brownstone overlooking Herbert Von King Park with high ceilings, tall windows, and a custom (almost floor-to-ceiling) wooden bookshelf.
Boerum Hill/Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill
$2,200: Bright corner one-bedroom with four windows in the open kitchen and living room, exposed brick walls, and a black mantel. (Only a five-minute walk from Carroll Park and its weekend farmers market, which is much calmer than Fort Greene’s.)
$2,800*: One-bedroom plus an office with an open living room and kitchen, and 150-square-foot private deck in a brick townhouse close to Amity and Court streets.
$3,500: A coveted master suite, plus two more similarly sized bedrooms, a second bathroom, and a kitchen with marble countertops and a washer/dryer, zoned for P.S. 38.
Brooklyn Heights
$2,150: One-bedroom just one block from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and Clark Street 2/3 trains, with a real entry hallway, 15-foot ceilings, and extra-large windows overlooking a private garden.
Bushwick
$2,150: Floor-through apartment with a large bedroom on each end (one of which includes an alcove) on a tree- and townhouse-lined street right between the Halsey Street and Gates Avenue stops on the J line.
Chelsea
$3,000 (net effective: $2,500)*: 850 square feet two-bedroom (with a black mantel, exposed brick, and several skylights), a convenient one-minute walk away from the 14th Street A/C/E trains.
Clinton Hill
$1,695: No frills, but it has a genuinely large one-bedroom, laundry in the building, and is well located on a pretty stretch of Clinton Avenue, around the corner from the Clinton–Washington Avenue C train.
$2,350*: 900-square-feet one-bedroom, plus an extremely well-tended to (albeit, shared) garden — an unusual amount of space for both this price and location (an especially lovely bit of Vanderbilt Avenue, literally around the corner from the Clinton-Washington C train).
$2,750: 750-square-foot one-bedroom in a historic brownstone just off Myrtle Avenue that comes fully furnished with mid-century furniture, including an elliptical coffee table and Danish platform bed with integrated nightstands.
$3,400*: One-bedroom with an especially airy kitchen (two corner windows and loads of open shelves), plus a massive back deck, on Gates Avenue just above Fulton Street.
Crown Heights/Prospect Heights
$3,097*: Custom light gray kitchen cabinets and Caesarstone countertops in a renovated two-bedroom, which makes up for its slightly awkward layout with a close-to-everything location on Vanderbilt Avenue right above Grand Army Plaza.
Cypress Hills
$2,950*: 1,100 square feet in a 1920s house near Ridgewood Reservoir and Highland Park (which comes with no-reservation tennis courts), with wall and ceiling moldings, windows on all sides, and a private back staircase with a tiny mudroom-like landing area.
East Village/Little Italy/Lower East Side
$1,865 (net effective: $1,399): A sort of disarmingly well-priced studio right on Chrystie Street with an exposed brick wall and pink-tile bath, offering three months free.
$1,990 (net effective: $1,825)*: Bright Orchard Street apartment with a marbled bath, two large windows in the bedroom, and two more in the living area—which is, admittedly, kind of like a hallway (but can still fit a couch).
$2,290 (net effective: $2,100): Two bedrooms in a corner unit near Clinton and Rivington streets with French doors and lots of windows (including in the kitchen and bath).
$2,295*: Floor-through one-bedroom right across from Tompkins Square Park with French doors and a windowed bath.
$2,700*: An exceptionally long entryway compared to what you’d normally find in the area, leading to rooms with tall windows, including one currently used as a living room but comes with a door (and second-bedroom potential).
$4,500*: Rather indulgent one-bedroom, 1.5-bath maisonette apartment with Urban Archaelogy lighting, a built-in banquette, and an 1,000-square-foot, vigorously vegetated backyard, where there are sizable patio and bricked areas separated by bamboo trees.
$4,699 (net effective: $4,112): Four bedrooms, a large common living area, and private, very well-maintained patio on Mulberry Street.
Greenwich Village/West Village
$2,500*: Rare (rent-controlled) studio near The Strand that spreads over three levels instead of the typical room in a box.
$2,600*: Bright one-bedroom (in a brick prewar building on Waverly Place) that, a year ago, went for $3,300.
$4,750*: 950-square-foot two-bedroom taking over an entire floor of an 1880s townhouse on W. 11th Street, with a large, sculptural skylight in the living room (and wide windows overlooking a garden and carriage house), plus two walk-in closets.
Gramercy Park
$3,534 ($2,945): Renovated two-bedroom, two-bath just above peaceful Stuyvesant Square Park with recessed lights and crown and base moldings throughout, exposed brick, and a washer/dryer.
Greenpoint
$2,495: 800-square-foot two-bedroom with a living room that leads directly out to a big fenced backyard with multiple trees.
$2,500 (net effective: $2,290): Two bright bedrooms a two-minute walk from the G train and six minutes from McCarren Park.
$2,850*: A two-bedroom that seems to have everything — a one-minute walk to the G train, a two-minute walk to McCarren Park, a Juliet balcony and private patio, and windows on all sides plus multiple skylights.
$3,800*: Bright three-bedroom, two-bath unit with a washer/dryer and huge private deck, just a short block away from McCarren Park.
Harlem
$2,200: Rent-stabilized two-bedroom steps from Amy Ruth’s and the 2/3 trains at 116th Street, with a separate kitchen (dishwasher included) and updated, windowed bathroom.
$4,000: Grand two-bedroom in a triangular Washington Heights prewar, steps from the 1 train, featuring a large foyer, equal-sized living room and dining room, a long galley kitchen, 10-foot ceilings, and moldings in every room.
Jackson Heights/Woodside
$1,550: Lovely one-bedroom with wall moldings and shutter doors throughout, near the 61st Street–Woodside 7 train.
$1,950 (net effective: $1,800): 875-square-foot apartment on 35th Avenue in Jackson Heights with arched doorways, eat-in kitchen, sunken living room, and one huge bedroom with three windows.
Park Slope
$1,875: Very cute top-floor studio on Montgomery Place with a mantel, built-in shelves, and a skylit bathroom.
$2,200*: Garden apartment with intricate woodworking around the windows and an extra nook off the bedroom with easy access to the shared backyard, which comes with patio furniture and a grill, right around the corner from the Union Street R train.
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
$2,495: King- and queen-size bedrooms in a renovated apartment with an eat-in kitchen and washer/dryer, just a five-minute walk to Prospect Park.
Soho
$2,350*: A small but perfectly sufficient one-bedroom on a quieter stretch of Prince Street, right next to LA Burdick.
$2,995*: 700 square feet just under Houston with a ton of flexibility (kitchen and bath aside, there are three separate spaces with a closet and window or two that can be used as bedrooms, a living room, or office.)
$3,995*: Classic Soho one-bedroom loft (with big windows and tin ceilings) on West Broadway and Broome.
Upper East Side
$1,850 (net effective: $1,644)*: Studio with a bright red full-height brick fireplace and a surprising amount of kitchen counter and cabinet space, just a five-minute walk to Carl Schurz Park.
$2,089: Brownstone one-bedroom with a spacious living room and separate kitchen, just a block from Q and 4/5/6 trains.
$2,200: Bright two-bedroom with an eat-in kitchen and French doors on the quiet E. 83rd Street.
$2,100*: Rear-facing one-bedroom just off Park Ave with a pretty living room combining a white-brick fireplace and dark wood floors.
$2,250*: Studio with white casement windows on East 61st in the Treadwell Farm Historic District, surrounded by beautiful townhouses on both sides of the street.
$2,294 (net effective: $1,912): Two Queen-size bedrooms on tree-lined East 78th Street, right between an Orwashers Bakery and Xi’an Famous Foods.
Upper West Side
$2,100*: Lovely tall windows and white-and-yellow galley kitchen in a brownstone one-bedroom roughly between the Trader Joe’s and Whole Food on Columbus.
$2,400 (net effective: $2,200): Sparkling brownstone one-bedroom on West 71st Street right by Central Park with huge windows, crown and base moldings, a lovely fireplace mantel, and two entire walls of exposed brick.
$2,970*: Elegant turret windows and decorative fireplace, plus a ladder to an absurd amount of lofted storage space (can also fit a guest bed) on 73rd Street next to Riverside Park.
$2,995*: Penthouse one-bedroom where the private roof terrace is actually larger than the interior space, just around the corner from Barney Greengrass.
$4,500*: A brownstone two-bedroom duplex next to Central Park that feels extra wide (perhaps thanks to the true staircase, not the usual spiral variety!), and whose master bedroom comes with a nook and two terraces.
$4,900: 781 square feet at an almost-Billionaire’s-Row address, with sweeping views of Central Park from the 50th floor.
$4,950*: Penthouse one-bedroom with a private elevator and rooftop terrace at the Apthorp.
Williamsburg
$2,500: Gut-renovated two-bedroom (no one has lived in it yet) on Graham Avenue, a few minutes from the Grand Street L stop, with a particularly fancy bathroom featuring marble tiles all over and a glass shower under a skylight.
$2,600: Rent-stabilized corner two-bedroom near the J/M/Z trains at Marcy Avenue that has a window or two in every room, plus an ever-so-slight breakfast bar.
$2,949: Two bedrooms and a bonus room with a white mantel, moldings throughout, and huge farmhouse sink and hanging pot rack in the windowed kitchen.
$3,295: 1,000-square-foot three-bedroom with ten windows, one particularly large bedroom, plus a relatively spacious living room and airy eat-in kitchen, right under Metropolitan Avenue.
$3,300 (net effective: $2,750)*: Three bedrooms at McKibbin Lofts (choose from units with natural-wood floors or white floors — or level up to a four-bedroom corner unit, or go across the street for 900 square feet of no-walls loft living.)
$3,575: Second-floor two-bedroom near the Bedford L train with acid-stained radiant heat concrete floors instead of the usual hardwood, plus a long private terrace.
$4,700: Two-bed, two-bath in the Soda Factory Lofts (a two-minute walk to McCarren Park) that will come furnished with, among other things, a cozy picnic-style dining set table and curved sofa and ottoman.
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