From a 10.14 story by N.Y. Times reporter Marc Santora: “The average rental price for a Manhattan apartment in September was $3,331, according to data compiled for The New York Times by Citi Habitats. Last year at the same time it was $3,131, and in 2009 it was $3,013.

“In the past year the increase has been especially sharp. In TriBeCa, for example, a one-bedroom in a doorman building averages $4,635, compared with $3,937 last September, and a similar apartment in Harlem is now $2,398, up from $1,786 last year, Citi Habitats found.

“The average rent for a two-bedroom in a nondoorman building is now $4,137, up from $3,560 last September, according to the MNS survey. In doorman buildings, the average rent for a two-bedroom is $5,857, compared with $5,321 a year ago.”

I pay $850 for a reasonably okay place in a great neighborhood that smells of healthy lawn plants and flowers and moist grass at night. The street is tidy and rubble-free and lined with beautiful trees, and the general atmosphere is beyond quiet — it’s serene. Lots of dogs and cats, and no kids to speak of. Manhattan can go eff itself.