Living in a shoe box

Remember the story about the old lady who lived in a shoe, who had so many children she didn’t know what to do? Well, the kids are all grown now, so the old lady may soon move her empty-nest shoe house to New York City, courtesy of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg recently announced a contest seeking a developer to build small — really small — apartments at a city-owned parking lot. How small? Think shoebox with running water. The 10- by 30-foot “micro units” will be larger than a cell at New York’s Rikers Island jail but just half the size of one of the city’s subway cars, according to the Daily News.

Bloomberg said the teeny apartments are aimed less at empty-nesters and moreso at young singles. They are part of a pilot program to find housing in the city for people who live alone or with only a partner.

“We want people to come here — to start out, start their careers here, start their families here,” Bloomberg said, according to The New York Post. “And if you don’t have the kind of housing that they need, they can’t do that.”

The apartments will be closetlike, just 275 to 300 square feet, but they won’t be Spartan. Each unit must have windows, a kitchen area and a separate bathroom with the usual necessities — tub, sink, toilet.

The apartments will be relatively cheap, at least by New York standards. City officials said each unit will likely rent for less than the city’s market rate of about $2,000 per month.

Developers have until Sept. 14 to submit ideas for the micro units, with construction to begin in 2014. Officials say the mini apartments will provide a much-needed housing alternative in New York. But Bloomberg cautions prospective tenants: Don’t plan on doing much entertaining.