The New York Times Magazine - USA (2022-06-05)

From left: David Rivas, Joshuah Dominique Simpson and Ian Ritter.

David Rivas, Joshuah Dominique

Simpson and Ian Ritter share a fi ve-

bedroom apartment in Washington

Heights and each pay $600

to $700 a month. Because the

apartment has no living room, they

use one of the bedrooms as a

living room and another as an o‚ ce.

8

Joshuah Dominique moved to

New York in March 2018, after

a friend o ered them half a room in

East Harlem. ‘‘I have a space for

you here in my apartment, in my very

tiny room for us to split, and it will

be the New York dream,’’ Joshuah

Dominique, who goes by JD

and uses they/she pronouns, recalls

their friend saying. After two years

there, they set out to fi nd a more

spacious place.

‘‘I, essentially, was trying to

somehow scam my way into staying

in Manhattan while paying what

I would call Philly prices,’’ JD says.

First, they o ered David, who moved

in this April, a spot in the apartment

after the two of them worked on a

play together. ‘‘They said, ‘I’m trying

to pay it forward,’ ’’ David recalled.

‘‘And I said, ‘Well, yeah, this is

how the queer community gets by.’ ’’

JD made a similar o er to Ian,

whom they met at the University of

the Arts in Philadelphia, in mid-May.

Though David didn’t know Ian

before they began living together

— ‘‘I don’t talk to that many straight

people; I try not to,’’ David says

with a laugh — they’ve been getting

along so far. After living with three

sets of roommates during college,

Ian says his rules are simple: If

there’s an issue, let me know, he

says. ‘‘Another big thing is the

toilet-paper roll,’’ he adds. ‘‘Don’t

set me up for failure.’’

↑ The New York Times Magazine P. 39