Rooms for Rent: Maid Service, Hot Meals, No Men
NEW YORK -- When 22-year-old Brigette Abercrombie moved to Manhattan two weeks ago from her rural hometown of Dahlonega, Ga., her father was allowed just a fleeting glimpse of her new third-floor apartment. He saw his daughter and her six suitcases to the room and then, accompanied by a building employee, was escorted back to the lobby.
He couldn't have been more pleased. "When I first heard she was moving to New York City, I wasn't very excited," says Bruce Abercrombie, an electrician. "But when I saw how nice and old-fashioned her place was, I felt much better."
Ms. Abercrombie moved to town to pursue a master's degree in forensic psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, but her new home, the Webster Apartments, just down the street from Macy's, was built for shopgirls. Opened in 1923, the residence is for single, working women only.
Today, its 373 units are filled with aspiring actresses, musicians and models, magazine editorial assistants, young fashion designers, bank trainees, interns and graduate students with part-time jobs, like Ms. Abercrombie. They get a safe, inexpensive place to live, with breakfast promptly at 6:45 and dinner at 5.
Perhaps the most ancient stereotype about New York is that it is a metropolis of easy virtue. But just a block and a half from this week's Republican National Convention, the little-known Webster, a fortress-like apartment building with Doric columns and steel doors, defies the darker side of Gotham so often portrayed in movies, literature and popular music.
Men are received only in the first-floor drawing room, the library or in the doorless, floral-wallpapered "beau parlors." One exception: Fathers are allowed upstairs, but only with an escort.
There used to be a number of such residences in New York, most famously the Barbizon Hotel on the Upper East Side, a white-glove establishment for young women including Grace Kelly and Sylvia Plath. Its denizens were often employed by women's magazines or nearby retailers before they got married and moved out.
"Aside from these residences, living on your own in New York was impossible to afford because even women who were college graduates were limited to low-paying jobs," says Rosalind Rosenberg, a professor of history at New York City's Barnard College. Women's residences provided a needed veil of respectability to the notion of an unmarried woman living independently of her family, she says.
By the end of the 1960s, those considerations had withered in importance. Today, apart from some college dorms and women's residences run by religious organizations, the Webster is one of the last of its breed. "The feminist and sexual revolutions killed them," says Prof. Rosenberg.
The Webster survived these trials in part because it had a powerful benefactor affiliated with one of New York's most venerable institutions. Charles Webster, a cousin of Macy's founder Rowland H. Macy and a senior partner in the department store, left the bulk of his fortune to improve the living conditions of unmarried working women. The Webster was built on 34th Street, three blocks west of the store. It is funded by its endowment and by the rent residents pay.
The residence, Mr. Webster instructed, must provide working women with "wholesome" food and "the opportunity to live in clean, well-ventilated, comfortable and attractive apartments, with good moral surroundings."
A Macy's employee newsletter dated October 1923 described the apartments as having "unusually smart painted furniture, and a closet whose spaciousness would delight any woman's heart." The "most thrilling" beau parlors also won favor from the writer, who said that because of the "suitably shaded lights for the entertainment of those of the opposite sex...we may look for a high engagement rate among Websterites. No man could resist!"
Another reason for the longevity of the Webster is Donald Petrie, 82 years old, the fifth and current president of the Webster. He has held the post since 1973 and fiercely guards the culture. "I don't trust many of the currents in New York City today, and I know people would want to change this place," says the bow-tied Mr. Petrie. "I feel a responsibility to maintain the principles in that will."
One of those principles is affordability. After four months of looking at $2,000-a-month studio apartments, Ms. Abercrombie found at the Webster a furnished 8-by-10 room, 24-hour security, housekeeping, two meals a day, plus full access to outdoor gardens and a roof deck with a view of the Empire State Building -- all for $213 per week.
Maryann Lienhard, the manager, estimates that 2,000 women stay at the residence each year. Most are there for three to six months. Women must apply to live at the Webster and provide proof of employment and pay stubs that show that they earn less than $50,000 a year. If a woman already lives in New York, a personal interview is required, in which Ms. Lienhard makes sure the applicant accepts the house rules. She says she hasn't had a problem with rule violations.
Mr. Webster's will specified that the rooms must be clean. If personal items are left on the bed, the maid may decline to make it. Otherwise, rooms are tidied up five days a week, with fresh linens and towels delivered each week. Every floor of the Webster has a bathroom with private showers and tubs. Laundry rooms are stationed throughout the building.
Gwendolyn Williams, a housekeeper at the Webster for 10 years, says she regularly gets letters from former residents whose rooms she once cleaned. When women on her floor are sick, Ms. Williams sends for a porter to bring meals to the room, even though homesickness seems to be the most common malady, she says. To help introduce new residents to New York, she often invites women to her Harlem church to hear her choir sing on Sundays. "It feels like a big family here," she says.
For five years, former Brooklynite May Yu Whu has lived in a corner room on the 11th floor. The 36-year-old financial analyst tries never to miss the piano concerts held in the drawing room, usually performed by musicians looking for a practice audience before an important performance. She says her New York friends often beg for an invitation to eat with her in the dining room or to spend an afternoon in the flower-filled backyard garden. "At first, men usually laugh at me when I tell them about where I live," says Ms. Whu. "But once they hear I have a chef, a maid and a view, they wish they had place like this, too."
The Webster has its rules, but it isn't a convent. Mr. Webster specified that his apartments were to provide housing to women regardless of their religious beliefs or nationality, and he required that residents must be employed and unmarried. The Webster has no curfew, men may visit until midnight, and there are no restrictions on alcohol. Residents frequently share a bottle of wine on the roof deck, taking in the view of New York's skyline.
When Ms. Abercrombie first visited the Webster, she was nervous. Mr. Webster's large, stern oil portrait looms in the lobby, The huge main floor drawing room and library are formal, and the tour guide's tone was firm. Ms. Abercrombie fretted that she hadn't said anything in her application about her nose piercing.
"Walking through the door here is like stepping back in history, but they didn't even notice it," she says. "I guess in New York something like a nose ring isn't a big deal."
纽约个性公寓：男士莫入
当22岁的布丽吉特?阿伯克比龙(Brigette Abercrombie)两周前从乔治亚州的乡下老家搬到曼哈顿的时候，她的父亲只能匆匆忙忙地在她的新住处扫上一眼。在把女儿和六件行李送到屋里后，他就在一位大楼管理员的陪同下，回到了大楼的门厅。
可他非常高兴。布丽吉特的父亲布鲁斯?阿伯克比龙(Bruce Abercrombie)是一名电工，他说：“起初我听说她要搬到纽约的时候，我心理有些忐忑不安，可是当我看到这里如此舒适而传统的住宿条件时，我的感觉好多了。”
布丽吉特来纽约是为了到John Jay College of Criminal Justice攻读法医心理学的硕士学位，她的新家Webster 公寓与Macy's百货公司相隔很近，原本是为该百货公司女店员修建的。这幢公寓大楼于1923年启用，现在只出租给单身的上班族女性。
今天，这幢拥有373套房间的大楼里住著许多心怀各种梦想的演员、音乐家、模特、杂志编辑助理、年轻的时装设计师、银行受训的员工、实习生以及有兼职工作的研究生，布丽吉特就是其中的一位。这里既安全又便宜，每天上午6:45准时供应早餐，下午5点准时供应晚餐。
也许纽约在许多人的心目中一直是一个放荡不羁的城市。不过，就在离共和党全国大会(Republican National Convention)召开地（麦迪逊广场花园）一个半街区的地方，鲜为人知的Webster公寓大楼像城堡一样伫立著，这个有著多立斯风格的廊柱以及铁门的建筑与电影、小说或流行音乐里经常描写的纽约显得格格不入。
男士们只能在一层的会客大厅、图书室或是一个没有门的、贴著鲜花壁纸的“男友会客厅”里呆著。不过也有例外，父亲们可以上楼，但必须要有一个工作人员陪同。
过去，纽约有许多这样类似的公寓，最为著名的有上东区的Barbizon Hotel，这是一栋很干净的建筑，曾经的住客包括格蕾丝?凯莉(Grace Kelly)和西尔维娅?普拉斯(Sylvia Plath)。这里的租户多数是妇女杂志社或是附近零售店的员工，她们在结婚后就会搬出这个地方。
纽约Barnard College的历史教授罗莎琳德?罗森堡(Rosalind Rosenberg)说：“如果没有这些公寓，单靠自己的收入根本不可能负担在纽约的生活费，因为即使那些有大学学历的女性，她们的工资收入也不高。”她说，对于那些独立生活的单身女性，女子公寓给了她们所需要的尊重。
到上个世纪60年代，对上述因素的考虑逐渐变得不是那么重要。如今，除了一些大学宿舍和由宗教组织经营的女子公寓外，Webster是女子公寓阵地的最后一座堡垒。罗森堡说：“是女权运动和性解放扼杀了它们。”
而Webster得以幸存下来的部分原因是，它有一个有实力的赞助人，而这位赞助人又和纽约其中一个最为古老的机构有著密切的联系。查尔斯?韦伯斯特(Charles Webster)是Macy's百货公司的创始人罗兰?梅西(Rowland H. Macy)的表兄弟，也是这家百货公司的高级合伙人，他留下了大量的财产用于改善未婚女职员的生活条件。Webster就建在第34大街上，与百货公司只隔了3个街区。Webster的资金主要来源于捐赠和住户们缴纳的租金。
按照韦伯斯特的指示，公寓必须要为女职员们提供健康可口的食品，让她们住在一个整洁、通风、舒适又漂亮的地方，有良好的人文环境。
让Webster长盛不衰的另一个重要人物是现年82岁的唐纳德?皮特里(Donald Petrie)，他是Webster第五任、也是现任主管，他从1973年开始担任该职，一直严格捍卫著这里的文化。这位系著蝴蝶结领结的老人说：“我不相信现在纽约流行的许多东西，我知道有人想改变这个地方。我觉得我有责任维护这里的规则。”
其中的一条规则就是让人能住得起。布丽吉特花费了4个月的时间想找到一处月租2,000美元的一居室公寓，之后，她在Webster找到了一间面积为8平方米左右的房间，有家具、24小时保安、清洁工、每天供应两顿饭、并且房间能直通屋外的花园，从楼顶露台还能看到帝国大厦(Empire State Building)，而这里每周的租金仅为213美元。
Webster的经理玛丽安娜?林哈德(Maryann Lienhard)估计，每年有2,000人到Webster租房子，其中多数人的租住时间为3至6个月。租Webster的房子要先提出申请，并提交收入证明，证明其年收入低于50,000美元。如果申请人住在纽约，还必须进行面试，林哈德通过面试来确定申请人是否接受Webster的住宿规定。她说，她还没有碰到违反规定的情况。
韦伯斯特在遗嘱中对房间清洁做出了详细的规定。如果个人物品被扔在了床上，清洁工可以拒绝收拾床铺，另外，清洁工每周5天为租户打扫房间，并更换干净的床单和毛巾。Webster的每一层都有一间浴室，内有私用的淋浴器和浴盆。大楼各处都有洗衣房。
格温德琳?威廉姆斯(Gwendolyn Williams)在Webster干了10年的保洁工作，她说，许多她曾经为其打扫过房间的租户还常常给她写信。如果她负责的楼层有人生病了，她会叫人送饭到病人的房间，不过她说，这里最常见的病还是思乡病。为了向新租户介绍纽约，她常常会邀请她们周日去哈莱姆区的教堂听她在唱诗班唱歌。她说：“这里就像一个大家庭。”
尽管Webster有它自己的一套规则，但它决不是一个女修道院。韦伯斯特曾明确表示，这个公寓向所有的女士们开放，而不论其宗教信仰和种族，他同时要求租户必须要有工作并且是单身。Webster晚上没有关门时间，男士们可以一直呆到半夜。Webster对饮酒也没有限制，租户们常常在屋顶平台一起品尝美酒，欣赏纽约美景。
在第一次到Webster的时候，布丽吉特还感到有些紧张，Webster门厅里挂著一幅韦伯斯特的巨幅油画像，他表情严肃，客厅和图书馆布置得中规中距，大楼导游的腔调也颇为生硬。让布丽吉特有些不安的是，她在申请中没有提到她的鼻环。
她说：“走进Webster好像又回到了过去。但是她们却没有注意到我戴了鼻环，我想可能在纽约戴鼻环算不上什么大不了的事。”
