By James DeWeese
With the convention slated to kick off Sunday evening, Queens residents from Astoria to Bayside and in between have started placing last-minute advertisements on the popular Internet posting site Craigslist.org, looking to sublet their apartments and houses for the duration of the convention.Laura Inglish, 30, placed an ad Friday, offering up her room in the two-bedroom Astoria apartment she shares near the N and W subway lines for $200 a night. From there, it's a 30-minute ride to the convention site at Madison Square Garden.”That was actually kind of on a whim,” Inglish said. “It didn't even cross my mind until I was talking to a friend of mine.”So far, nobody's called the staunch Democrat who said she isn't sure if she's happy or sad about that.If she does get any takers for the apartment that comes complete with a temporary roommate and “one sweet, old cat, ” Inglish said she likely will bunk with a friend.Doomsday traffic and transit predictions forecast slow going for commuters and convention-goers through the city as 50,000 delegates and an expected 300,000 protesters gather here. Police and transit officials said security will be heightened on subway and commuter rail lines, slowing travel. And street closings around Madison Square Garden and around protest sites were expected to snarl traffic.”Not that I really want the RNC here, but I figured I could capitalize on it,” Inglish said. “If I have to deal with this every frickin' day, I might as well make some money.”Nearby Inglish's apartment an anonymous poster offered a 34th Street studio for the duration of the convention for $816.”Disclosure: You will pay my monthly rent. Thank you. I will use the money to pay overdue doctor bills,” the ad read.Other online apartment sublet listings that have cropped up on Craigslist include three individual rooms in a private Jackson Heights home for between $60 and $100 a night each, a $1,300-a-week one-bedroom apartment in Forest Hills and a $2,000-a-week two-bedroom apartment in Bayside.Femida Chico, who posted the ad about the Jackson Heights bedrooms near the intersection of Junction Boulevard and 34th Avenue, said she gauged the going Internet rate for accommodations and then tried to keep her prices in line.”I kept the prices low and I didn't charge too much,” she said of the rooms that vary in size and amenities including Internet access. But as of Tuesday, Chico still had no takers.When the convention is over, Chico said, two of the rooms in the house she lives in will be rented out on a more permanent basis. The other will continue to be rented short term.The $2,000-a-week Bayside digs offer a “full kitchen, large-screen TV with digital cable, stocked bar and amazing bridge and water view.”Most places ask that the full rent be paid up front, sometimes in cash. And requirements vary. “Children and cats are fine,” said the anonymous poster who advertised the Forest Hills one-bedroom, “as long as accompanied by responsible adults.”Reach reporter James DeWeese by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
