单身独居者多 纽约微型公寓受捧

 　　The apartments in a new Manhattan building boast little balconies, tall ceilings, dishwashers and storage space. All in 360 square feet or less.

　　这是一栋位于曼哈顿的新建公寓楼，号称阳台小巧、垂直空间大，洗碗机、储藏室一应俱全。不过其中面积最大的公寓也只有360平方英尺（约合33平方米）。

　　It's micro-living in the nation's biggest city, and New Yorkers could be seeing more of it. Planning officials are proposing to end a limit on how small apartments can be, opening the door for more "micro-apartments" that advocates see as affordable² adaptations to a growing population of single people.

　　纽约这座全美最大的城市已悄然掀起“微居”风，并有愈演愈烈的趋势。市政官员打算为小户型“开绿灯”，鼓励开发商兴建“微型公寓”，为越来越多的单身人士提供社会活动家所谓的平价住房。

　　单身独居者多 纽约微型公寓受捧.jpg

　　At Carmel Place, the Manhattan building that marks the city's first experiment in decades with building super-small dwellings³, the pitch is that little can be just enough.

　　地处曼哈顿的卡梅尔公寓算是纽约近几十年来的首座“超小型住宅”，打的就是“麻雀虽小、五脏俱全”的招牌。

　　"An efficiently⁴ designed micro-unit," says developer Tobias Oriwol, "is just a nice apartment."

　　开发商托拜厄斯·奥里沃称：“只要室内设计充分利用空间，住客一样会感到舒适温馨。”

　　Due to open early next year, Carmel Place features 55 apartments ranging from 265 to 360 square feet. By comparison, a typical one-car garage can be about 200 square feet.

　　卡梅尔公寓将于明年开始招租，共55间公寓，面积在265至360平方英尺之间（约合24至33平方米）。试想，一个普通的车库就可达200平方英尺（约合19平方米）。

　　As an experimental project, Carmel Place got city land and a waiver from New York's 400-square-foot minimum on new apartments, set in 1987. A proposed elimination⁵ of that minimum would allow smaller studios in buildings with a mix of apartment sizes, but entire micro-unit buildings would continue to need waivers.

　　纽约市在1987年就明文规定：“新建公寓的面积不得小于400平方英尺（约合37平方米）”，而作为一个试运营项目，卡梅尔公寓不仅得到了政府的“破例”，还获批了城市用地。已有人提议全面放开户型面积限制，这样房产商在开发正常面积的公寓楼时便可纳入小型单间，不过兴建超小户型住宅楼仍需政府特批。

　　"For us, it was really important to demonstrate how small space could be an enhancement to quality of life," said Christopher Bledsoe of Stage 3 Properties, which designed the interiors and amenities⁶ at Carmel Place.

　　负责卡梅尔公寓室内设计与设施维护的是三阶物业公司，其主管克里斯托弗·布莱索表示：“我们工作的重心，就是在有限的空间内，提升住户的生活品质。”

　　Forty percent of the units have rents set by affordable-housing programs topping out at around $1,500 a month, but market-rate ones rent for $2,650 to $3,150, roughly on par¹ with many studios in the nearby Murray Hill neighborhood. About 20 people have applied⁷ and hundreds requested information for eight market-rate units so far, while over 60,000 have entered a lottery⁸ for the affordable ones.

　　卡梅尔公寓中有四成公寓为平价房，月租不超过1500美元（约合9728人民币），余下的则以市场价出租，月租在2650美元（约合17186人民币）至3150美元（约合20428人民币）之间，与周边默里山街区（译者注：曼哈顿高档小区）的单身公寓租金不相上下。截至目前，其中的8套市价单间，已收到了数百人的询价，20人已递交申请。而加入平价单间摇号申请的则有6万多人。

　　Mayor Bill de Blasio's housing plan says Carmel Place and other projects show "developers can build compact units that are livable, safe, healthy" options for small households.

　　纽约市长比尔·白思豪在住房规划中称，从卡梅尔公寓等住宅项目可以看出，开发商能为小型家庭“提供舒适、安全、宜居的紧凑型住房”。

1 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

2 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

3 dwellings   

n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
• The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

5 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

6 amenities   

n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快

参考例句：

• The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。
• Parks and a theatre are just some of the town's local amenities. 公园和戏院只是市镇娱乐设施的一部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。