666 Park Avenue

Hard to believe it's been ten years, Mr. Hartwell.

Not yet. Please. I need more time.

I'm generous with a lot of things, my friend,

but that is not one of them.

Let me tell you about a violinist I knew.

The hard truth was he just wasn't talented enough.

What do you think he would have given

to be the best?

Anything.

Not anything.

Everything.

I'm begging you.

Please, just another year.

You signed a binding contract.

Now it's time to settle up.

Uhh!

Uhh!

Aah!

Oh, dear God,

I thank you.

Aah!

This is 995.

We're looking for 999 park Avenue.

Oh, there it is.

Oh. It's so beautiful.

Oh, my.

Nice digs. What do you think?

God. I think we couldn't afford to rent a closet in this place.

Oh, my God.

Good afternoon.

Oh, my God. I know this place.

What?

It was in "architectural digest" last spring.

Really? Yeah.

Oh, here we go.

Excuse me. We're here to see Mr. Doran.

Uh, of course. Of course. Uh, sign in, please.

Mr. and Mrs...

Uh, we're not married.

Uh, Jane van been and Henry Martin.

Did my grandma's package arrive yet? Yeah, I'm on the phone.

He's so busy.

Mrs. Doran will see you now in the penthouse.

Great. Thank you.

Hope you get the job.

Higher. Get a bigger ladder.

It needs to go higher.

Oh. Uh, can I help you?

Uh, we have an interview. Henry Martin. Jane van been.

Oh, of course, for the manager position. Yes.

Welcome. I'm Olivia Doran.

Um, can I get you an espresso? Sparkling water?

I-I'm okay. Thank you, though. No, thanks. We're... we're good.

Oh. Let me tell Gavin you're here.

The resident manager handles

the day-to-day running of the Drake apartments...

managing the books, collecting the rent,

general maintenance and upkeep.

It's not full-time. Most managers keep their day jobs.

Where you living now?

Queens. We have a sublet on a 1-bedroom,

but it's... it's short-term, though.

We were looking for a new apartment on craigslist,

actually, when we saw your ad,

and thought, hey, we can do that.

We're responsible and... and hardworking, and...

Handy. Yes.

Well, she is.

I see you work for the mayor.

Henry was handpicked by the mayor's chief of staff

right out of law school.

Is that right?

It wasn't a big deal.

Actually, it kind of was.

How about you, Jane? Are you working?

Presently, no. I mean, I had a job lined up

at an architectural firm here in the city... Nichols & Rourke...

but it kind of fell through at the last minute, so...

Mm. Well, what can I say? This is New York.

Not everybody gets to make it.

Mm. Look, you're not the first people to come to this city

with some grand ambition.

It's the essential truth of who we are.

We all want something.

But to be blunt,

I'm not in the charity business.

I need people who know what they're doing.

Thanks for coming in.

Thank you for having us.

I was wondering,

when did you have the foundation retrofitted?

Retrofitted?

Why would I do that?

Well, the Drake was built in 1923, right?

And the mob controlled concrete back then...

the Morello gang, I believe...

and they cut corners to skim a profit,

like, with steel rebar, for example.

And you know this how?

Well... oh, she has degrees

in architecture and historic preservation.

She's kind of a nut about this stuff.

That's why a lot of New York buildings from that time

now reinforce their foundations, just in case.

You know, if the city was ever hit by an earthquake

or a hurricane or some other nasty act of God,

well, shame on me if I didn't say something.

"Nasty act of God"?

Heaven forbid.

Maybe I dismissed you too quickly.

The Drake's got 12 floors,

with the Dorans' penthouse on the 13th.

203 apartments full up... some renovated, some not.

Total of 388 residents in the house.

I thought every building around here had gone co-op.

Ah. We're the last rental building in the neighborhood.

Mr. Doran likes to approve every tenant himself.

Obviously, whatever you guys said won him over, you know?

I was, uh, sort of lobbying for the job myself, you know.

Oh. Sorry.

What are you saying sorry for?

Mrs. Doran's choice, not yours.

Hey, it's not like, uh, you took the job from me.

So a lot of families live here?

A few. Mostly yuppies like you two,

some, uh, artsy types,

and we got a few working-class folks living under rent control.

The trash chute's clogged again, Tony.

I had to walk three flights.

Oh, I'll get someone right on that, Mr. Leonard.

Our new resident managers Jane and Henry,

meet Brian Leonard, our resident Shakespeare.

Nice to meet you. Hi.

Yeah. Congrats. Uh, we're up on six... me and my wife.

Oh, what do you write? I'm working on a new play.

Oh. Broadway?

It's more off-Broadway.

Uh, yeah, well, let me get rid of this,

but, uh, welcome to the building.

Nice to meet you. All righty. Here we go.

Apartment 3b.

Oh, my God.

What?

Living room, two bedrooms, two full baths,

gas fireplaces

in both the master bedroom and the living room.

Are... are you sure this is our apartment?

Yeah. Yeah, it comes with the job.

Um, what happened to the previous manager?

Yeah, why would anybody ever wanna leave this?

As I understand it, Mr. Hartwell moved someplace warmer.

Arizona, I think.

Anyway, I, uh, I gotta get back to the front desk.

Your keys.

Oh, thank you.

Enjoy the place, all right?

All right.

This place is definitely not futon-friendly.

Welcome home.

Can you believe this?!

The girl seems nice.

I like her spirit. Mm.

And she's beautiful.

She's how we get Henry.

I'm back.

Yeah, the 21 millimeter for the wide shots...

But I'm gonna shoot

of lot of it with the 120.

She's gonna be wearing the marchesa for this.

Yeah. That's it.

Uh, honey, will you get some soy milk

when you go out today and some other things? I made a list.

Yeah, I wasn't planning on going out.

Brian, please. I don't have time.

Uh, yes, the 2400 ringflash.

Yeah. Okay.

Bye.

You know I work, too, right?

I'm sorry, honey. You're right.

It's just... it's... it's a short list.

Fine.

I'll take care of it.

Thank you.

Hey, I met our new managers when I was taking out the trash.

Yeah?

Yeah. A couple, about our age.

Do they have names?

Jane, uh...

And, uh, and s-Steve.

Or... or Harry?

Steve or Harry?

You don't miss much, do you?

Okay. Take the, uh, elevator up and start unloading.

I'll close up.

All right. I'll have a beer waiting.

Aah!

Sorry.

I didn't mean to scare you. I-I live here.

It's okay. Uh, I'm... I'm Jane,

the new resident manager. Hi.