Billburg Tree House Continues Making Headlines

That tree house on South Fifth Street in Williamsburg that was advertised on Craigslist for $150 keeps making headlines. The Daily News contains an amusing account of a night spent in the al fresco apartment. Some detail:

The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway was to the left, a third-floor living room to the right and the moon straight ahead. But all I could think about was whether the 23-foot-high South Williamsburg tree house I was sleeping in would hold up until morning...Before my retreat, Dougherty [the owner] warned me to watch for a squirrel who also makes its home in the branches, visiting mosquitoes and the brisk air, which seemed colder three stories above Brooklyn. But the biggest challenge was the climb, made all the more harrowing because I had to swing to a second set of rungs halfway around the tree. Dougherty's girlfriend also pointed out a dangerous pair of rungs set so far apart that I practically had to take a leap of faith to get to the next one.

Finally, up top, I noticed how sturdy the 12-foot by 12-foot by 10-foot triangular shelter actually was...my girlfriend and I bided our time by reading newspapers and watching cars whiz by on the expressway. We had a killer view of the third-floor neighbors, but unfortunately they never came to the window.

Sirens and rumbling trains reminded us we were still in New York, no matter how many leaves clouded our view.

After a few hours, we unrolled a sleeping bag Dougherty had loaned us and tried to sleep, a task that came easily despite the wind and cold - and fear of death.

When I awoke, I was covered with mosquito bites, and the resident squirrel sounded like it was only a few inches away. We stared at the moon for a few more minutes before deciding to pack it in, still hours left before sunrise.

Excellent urban color, no?