TrailerPark
By Aaron Short
For many Williamsburg hipsters, the point of moving to Brooklyn was to leave their homes in more rural parts of America behind for the promise of better opportunities and the bustle of the big city.
While the employment part may not have worked itself out (the city’s unemployment rate hovers at about 10 percent), an affordable housing option that doesn’t include a five-month NYCHA waiting list has become available for residents looking to settle in Williamsburg.
The catch? It’s a trailer park.
For rents of $550 a month and up, individuals can rent their very own trailer in a compound housed in a 6,500-square-foot warehouse with 16-foot high ceilings in Williamsburg at 304 Meserole St. Once the weather gets better, trailer renters can pull their rigs into a nearby parking lot, where stray chickens and other livestock could soon roam.
According to Hayden Cummings, 27, who came up with the idea, the backyard will hold about 25 trailers with artists living here. Tenants will share facilities like a dark room, studio and a bathroom, but they will not be using propane gas instead relying on oil-filled space heaters for warmth and hot plates for cooking. The park is expected to be open by spring 2010.
“This is not for everybody,” said Cummings in an interview with the New York Post. “But a lot of people are fired up about it. The people who like it and who want to come aboard know they’re living in a camper. We’re looking for folks who believe in the vision.”
