$1,800 a Month and You Can't Even Walk on the Floor

The water main break at the Kennedy-Warren building yesterday hit close to home. I resided in that august building between moving to the city last summer and this past January. (Photographic evidence above, taken in the living room looking out at the zoo, where nightly, the zebra brayed like a donkey. It was awesome. Also, there was a cocktail lounge in the lobby straight out of The Shining. Doubly awesome.) Anyway, while I bemoan the potential damage of any historic building and the hours of untold suffering for the 25 residents forced to hightail it to Starbucks for the afternoon, I have to say that karmically, the place had it coming.

When I was considering the building I was told they welcome pets under 40 pounds. Perfect, as I own a Siberian Husky who keeps her figure to a trim 35 pounds. So imagine my surprise when trotting her through the lobby on the first day for a bathroom break, to find myself accosted by the doorman. Long story short: the Kennedy-Warren welcomes dogs under 40 pounds (and the $1,500 non-refundable pet deposit that comes with them) but they are not permitted to walk on the plush, historic carpeting in the lobby or any public space, including the hallways and elevator. In fact the only place that their paws are permitted to grace the floor is inside one's apartment. So for months I hefted a clawing, cranky, sometimes muddy dog in and out of the building three times daily. And for months after that we both suffered the indignity of a pet stroller, which prior to this experience I only had seen used by women in Boca Raton.

Karma. Kar-ma.