{"id":145822,"date":"2020-12-31T21:21:29","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T18:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/this-octogenarian-has-lived-in-a-nyc-museum-rent-free-for-the-past-30-years\/"},"modified":"2020-12-31T21:21:29","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T18:21:29","slug":"this-octogenarian-has-lived-in-a-nyc-museum-rent-free-for-the-past-30-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-octogenarian-has-lived-in-a-nyc-museum-rent-free-for-the-past-30-years\/","title":{"rendered":"#This octogenarian has lived in a NYC museum rent free for the past 30 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#This octogenarian has lived in a NYC museum rent free for the past 30 years<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

Roy Fox hasn\u2019t paid rent for his New York City apartment in more than 30 years. But he\u2019s not sweating an eviction.<\/p>\n

In a city of 8.4 million people, Fox, 81, is one of just 23 lucky New Yorkers who reside in one of the city\u2019s publicly owned historic sites spread across the five boroughs.<\/p>\n

After working as a radio host in cities from his native Chicago to Detroit and Pittsburgh, Fox, a gregarious rascal brimming with well-worn one-liners, happ<\/a>ened upon an offer he couldn\u2019t refuse: a chance to live rent-free in the King Manor House, an 11-acre historic landmark in Jamaica, Queens.<\/p>\n

The only catch? Serving as its caretaker.<\/p>\n

He never signed a contract or agreed to any concrete terms, but that was more than 30 years ago. Who\u2019s counting?<\/p>\n

\u201c[I just] open and close the place,\u201d Fox said of his 1806-built museum dwelling (sections of which date back to 1700). \u201cWork hardly comes to mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Caretaker
On the house: Caretaker Roy Fox, 81, has called the 22,000-square-foot landmark King Manor in Jamaica, Queens, home for the past 30 years.<\/span>Tamara Beckwith<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While he doesn\u2019t earn a salary, Fox also doesn\u2019t have to pay a dime to live in one of the biggest houses in one of the most expensive cities in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s payment for all the years I\u2019ve done, doing nothing,\u201d Fox joked of his role in the 29-room, 22,000-square-foot historic mansion.<\/p>\n

\"The
Fox lives rent-free in the King Manor House, an 11-acre historic landmark in Jamaica, Queens, where a portrait of John Alsop, eldest son of Rufus King, hangs on one of its walls. <\/figcaption>
Tamara Beckwith<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the late 1980s, Fox\u2019s then-wife had a job restoring the carousel at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Her boss tipped her off that the parks commissioner was looking for someone to live in the King Manor, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such a New York story,\u201d said Fox of the serendipity of finding his beloved home.<\/p>\n

Fox was lucky enough to arrive in 1989 just as the centuries-old manor once owned by Rufus King \u2014 one of the five framers of the US Constitution and a vocal abolitionist, whose sons Charles King and John Alsop King became president of Columbia College and governor of New York, respectively \u2014 was undergoing renovations.<\/p>\n

\"A
The landmark 19th-century home was last renovated in the late 1980s.<\/figcaption>
Tamara Beckwith<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe beginnings of anti-racism were here at King Manor with this family and others like them,\u201d Fox said. \u201cI\u2019m housebound, but what a house to be bound in.\u201d<\/p>\n

His timing gave him the opportunity to advocate for how the old servants\u2019 quarters \u2014 soon to be his own apartment \u2014 were to be redesigned. His two-bedroom home on the third and top floor of the estate is oddly shaped, thanks to a 19th-century renovation that clumsily combined three original buildings on the farm.<\/p>\n

Fox\u2019s apartment includes a combined kitchen and dining room, an office, which sits four steps below the rest of his apartment, one bathroom and two bedrooms. But he frequently abandons his king-size bedroom in favor of a snooze on his spare-bedroom pullout.<\/p>\n

Connected to his office, and separated from the rest of the mansion, is a tiny pink room. It is presumed to have originally acted as a child\u2019s room for warmer seasons, as it doesn\u2019t have a fireplace.<\/p>\n

\"Inside
King Manor is the 1806 home of Rufus King, one of the framers of the US Constitution and an influential abolitionist. <\/figcaption>
Brian Zak\/NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fox stopped the crew from closing off the kitchen, as was in the blueprint, to maintain more open space for dining, though he admittedly doesn\u2019t cook. A sign hangs in his kitchen that reads, \u201cThis kitchen is here because it came with the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

He does, however, make snacks. A popcorn machine stands at the ready, eager to be fed the special yellow kernels Fox picks up at the Union Square Farmers Market.<\/p>\n

Before COVID, he accepted guests \u2014 old friends, King scholars and manor staff \u2014 for popcorn, beer and an animated history lesson.<\/p>\n

But today, he lives almost alone \u2014 his first and then second marriages didn\u2019t stick and he never had children \u2014 save for his beloved feline roommate, Super Cat, a stray who adopted him a year and a half ago.<\/p>\n

\"A
The real king of the manor isn\u2019t a Fox, but a feline \u2014 Super Cat. <\/figcaption>
Tamara Beckwith<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, over the years in his role as caretaker, Fox has accumulated a large ersatz family of museum staff, researchers, community members and friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cFox is the heart of King Manor,\u201d said King Manor executive director Kelsey Brow. \u201cYears pass, and the Fox is still in the house. He always says, \u2018King Manor, like no other museum.\u2019 Well, there\u2019s no other caretaker like our Fox!\u201d<\/p>\n

The center of Fox\u2019s unique home is his office, where he spends the day at a simple wooden desk angled next to the best window, which provides a magnificent view of the green grounds that surround the estate. Turn 180 degrees and another window offers a peek at bustling Jamaica Avenue.<\/p>\n

His space is simply outfitted with the exception of a festive 4-foot-tall spruce tree that a friend gifted him. Fox decorated it with white Christmas lights.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like me, it\u2019s hysterical, not historical,\u201d Fox said of his d\u00e9cor. \u201cI\u2019m not big on furniture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Roy
Roy Fox passes his days surrounded by his collection of 4,000 books in his apartment and office \u2014 the former servants\u2019 quarters \u2014 above the King Manor House in Jamaica, Queens. <\/figcaption>
Tamara Beckwith<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are no antiques or other historic artifacts in his living quarters. He said he likes to keep all the history downstairs in the more public-facing manor. Down there, he loves to admire the oversize US Constitution that rests on a table in the living room below, and the life-size statue of King \u2014 Fox makes a game<\/a> of sneaking objects like books and a paper copy of the US Constitution into the statue\u2019s hands to amuse visitors.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t find a TV in Fox\u2019s den. He hasn\u2019t owned one since 1982, when he gave his away to a homeless guy. But what he doesn\u2019t have in 21st-century entertainment or fancy knickknacks, he makes up for in books.<\/p>\n

\"Roy
Fox hanging with a life-sized statue of Rufus King in the library.<\/span>Tamara Beckwith<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fox owns more than 4,000 pieces of literature, from the historic and significant, to today\u2019s best-sellers (Mary Trump\u2019s \u201cToo Much and Never Enough\u201d is his most poignant read of 2020, he relayed).<\/p>\n

The apartment has so many books that it beats out King\u2019s own collection of 3,200 books, many of which now reside in the Library of Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m surrounded by my friends,\u201d Fox said of his massive book collection.<\/p>\n

Fox reads and writes voraciously, always carrying a pen and piece of paper with him around his apartment and the house, taking notes, capturing quotes and circling passages in his books.<\/p>\n

Fox said he is unbothered by the solitude of shuffling around a giant manor and months of no visitors. (The museum just reopened in September with three tours a day and advance registration is required.) He is content with his books, his cat and the history in the floorboards.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also unperturbed at the thought that the spirits of historic figures may be rattling around in the night when he is on the property alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaunted? The only scary thing in this building is me,\u201d Fox laughed, noting the exception of Super Cat. \u201cFrom the moment I come into the apartment, she\u2019s by my side.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

For forums sites go to Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

If you want to read more News<\/a> articles, you can visit our News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#This octogenarian has lived in a NYC museum rent free for the past 30 years” Roy Fox hasn\u2019t paid rent for his New York City apartment in more than 30 years. But he\u2019s not sweating an eviction. In a city of 8.4 million people, Fox, 81, is one of just 23 lucky New Yorkers who…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/12\/re-king-manor-9.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[88228,75181,76148,83164,71571,11247,74711,75182],"class_list":["post-145822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-12-31-20","tag-dream-homes","tag-historic-buildings","tag-mansions","tag-museums","tag-queens","tag-radio","tag-surreal-estate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}