For Elaine Peterson, the concept of “home” was always a moving target. Growing up as a military brat, Elaine spent her childhood in constant motion—moving every three to five years as her father’s career in the Air Force took the family from Alaska to Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. While many find the prospect of frequent relocation daunting, for Elaine, it was simply her way of life.
However, when she finally arrived in New York City, she encountered a different kind of instability: the “New York Shuffle.” Driven by skyrocketing rent increases, Elaine found herself moving from apartment to apartment nearly every year.
Humble Beginnings
Elaine’s New York journey began in a 75-square-foot room in Flatbush. “I was very happy with it at the time,” she recalls. “I was like, ‘Wow, I’m moving on my own, I get to live in this itty bitty room where I could hardly open the door because it hit the dresser.”
Despite the small space, Elaine was determined to make it in the city. She worked multiple jobs while putting herself through college, eventually earning a degree in Liberal Studies with concentrations in Psychology, English, and the Performing Arts.
The Road to Paseo on 5th
Having been told by a former boss years ago to “look into the lottery,” Elaine had become a veteran of the city’s housing portal, checking her account weekly and applying to over a hundred buildings.
In August 2025, Elaine submitted her application for the affordable, rent stabilized apartment at Paseo on 5th. At the time, she didn’t know how critical that specific application would become. Shortly after applying, life took an unexpected turn when Elaine was let go from her primary job. Suddenly unable to afford her rent, she had to place her belongings in storage and spend three months couch-surfing with family and friends. “I was living on other people’s couches… that’s when I was like, ‘I really need to find something,’” she recalls. While in the midst of this uncertainty, Elaine checked the housing lottery portal and saw that her log number for Paseo on 5th was remarkably low. That flicker of hope turned into action when she was asked to submit her documents. Working closely with lottery team members from Fifth Avenue Committee, who is the Marketing Agent for the Paseo on 5th owners, Elaine navigated the anxious hurdle of paperwork. By early December, she was invited to see the apartment in person. “I went to see the apartment… and I was like, ‘Wow, this isn’t—this is real,'” she said. “To me, that kind of thing with the housing lottery… it’s like the lottery. No one wins the lottery. It’s very mythical. But I went to see it… and I looked around and I was like, ‘Wow. This could happen.'”
The “Christmas Miracle”
The long journey reached its crescendo on Christmas Eve, when the official email arrived in her inbox. “I got the email officially on… Christmas Eve,” Elaine shared. Having spent years moving every twelve months and the last several months living out of storage, it was the ultimate holiday gift: a confirmation that the apartment was officially hers.
After the high-stress years of “skyrocketing rent increases” and the illegal subletting schemes she had encountered in previous apartments, this transition represented more than just a roof over her head; it was a profound shift in her life. “It’s really—it’s a blessing,” she said. After the long stretch of uncertainty, Elaine finally had the security of a place of her own.
A New Sanctuary
Today, Elaine has settled into her new home on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn, a neighborhood she loves for its energy and accessibility. She has traded in that 75-square-foot room for a space she has carefully made her own, complete with a color scheme of blue, gray, and beige.
“There’s not a single day that I don’t recognize what a great opportunity it is,” Elaine says. “Not only to have somewhere affordable but to be able to stay somewhere for longer than a year.”
As she looks forward to the future, Elaine is finally able to stop looking for her next apartment and start focusing on the life she is building in the city she loves.
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