Broke-Ass of the Week – Jeremy Sapienza from BushwickBK

Every week we feature a different person from the community shedding a little light on their life of brokeitude.  Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something about the human spirit'probably not.

Wanna be a Broke-Ass of the Week?  Holler at us here and we’ll send you the questionnaire.

From Jeremy: My house is the center of everything that happens in my life — I work here, my friends are always over, and the mural is awesome.

I don’t know what it is about blogging in NYC but most of the bloggers from that city that we’ve had as Broke-Ass of the Week have opted to have photos of things other than themselves.  Just look here, here, and here.  Then again maybe they’re just not as vain as myself (I mean for fucks sake my photo is everywhere on this site).

Anyways, I used to live in Bushwick, right above the Montrose stop on the L train.  At that time the neighborhood was just starting to realize its destiny as Williamsburg junior, and there wasn’t much going on out there besides some loft parties and Goodbye Blue Monday.  It’s a different story now, the neighborhood is growing and changing at a rapid pace.  So that’s part of why I dig BushwickBK; it keeps its finger on the pulse and its ear to the ground.  The other part is simply because it’s a well done blog.

Jeremy Sapienza is the editor over at BushwickBK and seems to be its main driving force.  Let’s see what kind of insights he can give us about his neighborhood and broke-assness.

Name: Jeremy Sapienza

Age: 30

Occupation: Editor at local news site BushwickBK and at foreign-policy news site (of a decided slant) Antiwar.com

What neighborhood do you live in?: Bushwick

What are you listening to these days?: I know it seems weird, but I don’t listen to music or know much about it.

Best money saving tip: Buy meat in bulk and cut it up.

What do you refuse to spend money on?: Clothing and hair cuts. The first one is because my partner works at Gap, Inc. and does all my shopping — which is great because I hate clothes shopping and he loves it. The second one is because I don’t like hair on my head and just shear it off every 3-4 weeks with clippers.

Most expensive thing you’ve ever bought: A house. But you probably mean an item. My desk. Yes.

How’d that feel?: Great, it’s fucking beautiful, but because I hate where my office is in my apartment, I don’t use it much.

Favorite cheap eat: In Bushwick, Taquería El Paisa at Suydam and Irving. Poblano food made me realize I don’t hate “Mexican food,” just the junk from the north/Tex-Mex. El Paisa serves the entire cuisine of Puebla and makes everything fresh — and they are so cheerful there. 4 huge tacos are $10. Second runner-up: La Isla Cuchifritos at Myrtle and Knickerbocker — a plate of lechon and a side of morcilla, hold the veggies. That’s like $4. In NYC, it would have to be Chinese lunch specials. Orange chicken and hot and sour soup for $6 is the best. At a reputable place, I should add. I wouldn’t touch Chinese in Bushwick. I like food.

Favorite dive bar: I don’t know if it’s a dive, but I love hanging out at Tandem on its quieter nights, and The Bodega for grown-up time away from the Bushwick kiddies.

Best deal you’ve ever gotten: Eh, probably some item at a grocery store that was in season and cheap and got me very excited. I can’t name any particular thing because this happens every now and then, mostly in summer.

Favorite free thing to do: Walk aimlessly and observe cities from a (Jane-) Jacobsian perspective.

If you woke up a millionaire, what’s the first thing you’d buy?: My freedom from wage slavery.

Despite not having money, do you still love your life?: Well I do have money, but I loved life even when I didn’t. But yes, money helps. A lot.

Do you own my book?: No.

Best hangover cure: I try not to get them by drinking good liquor and knowing my limits (low, sadly), but the best bet is to ignore all those homey food cures and simply wake up at 6am, take 600mg of ibuprofen with tons of water, and go back to bed. By 10 you’ll be fine.

Are you a hipster?: No. But denying it apparently means I am.