Stallworth says that he wants to help people who owe back rent as a result of pandemic hardship - and the landlords who are owed that rent - by serving as a WeWork–like middleman for apartments. They say they’re not just in it for the money, though. And for their effort, Stallworth and Lennox could be taking in up to $18,000 a month in revenue per building. The brownstones would become, for lack of a better term, upscale flophouses, or maybe permanent-residency youth hostels. Rent would be between $400 and $600 per person a month, plus utilities. Each room would be fitted with one to four two-person “pods” - that’s two to eight people per room, depending on square footage. Their big idea is to rent and convert single-family brownstones into homes for up to 30 residents. (They took the ads down from Craigslist last week, moving the information over to Brownstone’s own Website.) They live in Los Angeles, and Lennox already owns and rents out some California property, although Stallworth adds that he’s a “big fan of the New York area” and usually visits once or twice a year. Brownstone Shared Housing was founded by James Stallworth (Stanford ’17) and his romantic partner Christina Lennox, who met while working as state auditors. Turns out that even in the turbulent COVID economy, Stanford grads have their startup ideas ready to go. We just sent you an email with more info about Brownstone.” In fact the valuable ore is theirs, in the form of your newly harvested email address. The post directs you to a website that promises “early access to our places.” Sign up and you get a response casting you as an urban forty-niner: “Heads up pioneer! You’ve found yourself in a goldmine. They evoke extra-comfy mortuary drawers or a DIY version of Japan’s capsule hotels. The photo doesn’t show you anything resembling a room instead, there’s a large boxy structure sectioned into four cubbies, each furnished with a thin mattress, a small bedside shelf, and a light source.

A curious listing beckons from the Craigslist apartments-for-rent page: $600 per month in Brooklyn Heights? It turns out to be in the prettiest part of the neighborhood, near the intersection of Cranberry and Henry Streets. You’d like to stay in Brooklyn, but mostly the room just needs to be affordable.

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