What do you think of NYU's revised plans for the 2031 expansion project?
Steve Stanzak has been evicted from Bobst Library.
After nearly eight months of secretly living in the building's underground A-level, Stanzak, a College of Arts and Science sophomore, was relocated by NYU officials Tuesday when they discovered his LiveJournal weblog, which details his subterranean life.
NYU has provided him with free housing at Lafayette Street residence hall for the rest of the semester but has not guaranteed anything for the future.
Stanzak, who does not receive financial assistance from his parents, works four jobs but can only secure enough in loans to barely cover tuition.
Through his weblog, he gained a faithful following that even attracted late-night visitors, curious about the self-proclaimed Bobst Boy.
Bobst Boy is born
After convincing a relative to co-sign on a loan, Stanzak lived at University residence hall his freshman year.
But last summer he wasn't as lucky. Stanzak couldn't foot the $1,000 housing deposit and lost his family's support.
'My loans weren't approved with housing included,' he said. 'But when I dropped $15,000 in housing out of it, it worked.'
The result: Stanzak could finance his education but was left without a place to hang his hat.
He then had an epiphany that would reshape his NYU experience.
'I heard a myth that somebody used to live in the library,' he said. 'Then I got to thinking, 'Why couldn't you do it?''
Stanzak then moved his belongings into a West Village storage container, packing his necessities in a duffle bag: school supplies, a laptop computer, toiletries and a modest wardrobe.
Friends suggested he attend a cheaper school, but Stanzak refused to settle.
'I love NYU,' he said emphatically. 'The academics here are amazing. You get what you pay for.'
With the school year rapidly approaching, the decision had been made. Stanzak was preparing to be...
Homeless at NYU
'Socks,' Stanzak said. 'The worst thing about being homeless is not having clean socks.'
But a dearth of fresh laundry was not the only hardship he endured.
Sleeping on a makeshift bed of three chairs pushed together, he also experienced the fear of a nighttime eviction.
'There used to be crazy fear,' he said. 'Every time I heard footsteps at night, I thought it was a guard coming to wake me up.'
Normally, Stanzak washed in the library's public bathrooms, another inconvenience.
'It's embarrassing,' he said. 'But you kind of get used to it.'
Although he enjoyed the occasional shower at friends' dorms, he called showering 'overrated.'
Rowdy scholars also disturbed Stanzak at night.
'The premeds are the worst,' he said. 'They go to the library and abuse it. They treat it like their own personal space.'
Ironically, the man who resided in the school's prime studying locale could not focus there.
'I can't concentrate in Bobst because I've become so comfortable there,' he said. 'If I have a lot of studying to do, I'll go to McDonald's.'
Bobst Boy, wired up
Stanzak found a 'stress release' in an unlikely place: He began a LiveJournal weblog at homelessatnyu.com/home.php, referring to himself as Bobst Boy.
Initially intended to keep in touch with a small group of friends, his online sanctum quickly 'blew up,' Stanzak said, attracting a profusion of fans and friends.
'Through the Web page I've met a lot of new people, and that's something I love,' he said, estimating that he's made more than 20 friends at NYU and 100 nationwide.
'Next year's incoming freshmen are my biggest fan base,' he said.
He also has profiles on the popular Web sites Friendster.com and TheFacebook.com, where he made no bones about living in the library.
But his very public Web presence eventually relegated him to private housing last week when, according to university spokesman John Beckman, an NYU administrator stumbled upon the weblog.
After receiving a note beckoning him to Silver Center's ninth floor Tuesday, Stanzak learned that his time at Bobst was up.
The end of an era
Stanzak met with CAS associate deans Richard Kalb and Willie Long, who, Stanzak said, described his Web site as 'cute.'
'They were concerned about me,' Stanzak said. 'But they obviously wouldn't let me stay in the library.'
Rather than reprimanding him, they gave him free housing for the rest of the semester.
After spending last Tuesday through Thursday in the Greenwich Hotel residence hall, Stanzak moved to a more permanent residence at Lafayette, where he got a 15th-floor double, part of a four-person suite.
'I was surprised,' said Stanzak's new suitemate, CAS sophomore John D. Carrion. 'I had actually heard of [Stanzak] earlier in the week from one of my friends.'
Carrion added that Stanzak looked grateful for the accomodations.
'He's gone through so much, the least NYU can do is give him free housing,' he said.
Stanzak paced proudly across his spacious new flat.
'I have showered three days in a row, and it's been really amazing,' he said. 'And being able to walk around barefoot is such a relief.'
Although generally pleased in the dorm, Stanzak wistfully reminisced about life before the move.
'I kind of miss the library,' he said. 'I've gone from something completely fucked up to something completely normal, and I'm still coping with that.
'You live anywhere for eight months and you'll get an attachment to it,' he said.
The future of Bobst Boy
Right now, Stanzak is awaiting his new financial aid package, nursing the hope that NYU will be able to assist him with housing next year.
'[Long and Kalb] weren't guaranteeing anything,' Stanzak said. 'But they said they would try to help me.'
Although Long declined comment, university spokesman Beckman said NYU is happy to go the extra mile to aid down-and-out students.
'When students who have needs and concerns get in touch with the university, we have ways to help,' Beckman said. 'The last thing students should do is assume nothing can be done.'
Stanzak said he remains optimistic. 'I'm confident about what NYU says,' he said. 'But I guess we won't really know until May or June.'
