Manhattanites at any cost: What some will do to stay on the island

They suck up to repulsive landlords and superintendents, stay married to people they hate and employed at jobs they abhor, lower their standards and abandon their scruples — all for the privilege of residing in Manhattan, a place where, by one estimate, the average one-bedroom sans doorman rents for $2,792.

“People sacrifice a lot to live here,” said Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats, including giving up beloved pets to gain approval from notoriously persnickety Manhattan co-op boards. The most onerous sacrifices are required below 96th Street, said Malin. Why? “Professionally, personally, they think it has a cachet.”

Manhattan has the highest rents in the nation, according to a 2009 report by the Center for an Urban Future. A 2009 report by U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens/Brooklyn) found that one in four Manhattanites pays 50 percent or more of their income for the privilege of living in the bustling borough.

So it’s no surprise that stories of what people will do to stay in Manhattan have become the stuff of books.

Staying in Manhattan meant so much to Corie Russell, 27, that she commuted 2 and a half hours each way to her job in Edison, N.J., rather than leave the Upper East Side.

Sure, she had to share her apartment — a one-room walkup with a toilet down the hall and a leaky shower in the “kitchen” — in order to afford the $1,100 rent, but she was in glamorous Manhattan.

“Manhattan is like an abusive boyfriend you can’t leave,” Russell said. “It steals all your money and treats you like crap, but you still love it and keep running back.”

She is now moving to Brooklyn and “a really nice apartment” with a boyfriend who treats her much better.

Administrative assistant Denise DeSanto, who washes all her clothes by hand in the tub to save money, is considering building a loft in her one-bedroom Upper West Side apartment to accommodate a roommate.

“I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights” trying to figure out how to remain in her beloved neighborhood, she admitted.

“I could move to Queens or Brooklyn,” sighed DeSanto, “but I’m not sure how much cheaper it would really be.”