The New York Times recently reported on the latest trend sweeping the area in these cash-strapped times, “rent parties!”

The paper interviewed various people who started throwing parties at their apartments, (advertising them on facebook, myspace, twitter, etc) to try and literally pay the rent that month. Hosts have a “cover charge” (approximately $6-$12) and depending on how lucky you get, it’s sometimes bottom of the barrel spirits being served, such as Georgi vodka, or if they are really broke it’s BYOB.

As the recession shows no signs of stopping, more people are looking to the past to see how the previous generation dealt with hard times.

During the 1920s residents in Harlem lived in packed tenements with high rents and needed to come up with a way to make ends meet every month. Someone came up with the idea that a party would cost people less than a night out, it would be fun, and guests would be helping their neighbors and/or friends out, thus the Harlem rent parties became a neighborhood staple for many years.

I would totally do this but I have a 330 square foot studio apartment…so I don’t think I can fit more than 10 people in here.

-By Bridget Sweeney, Guest Blogger and Writer of Pink Slips Are The New Black