Woman shares $3K/month NYC apartment with her pet possum

Despite living in this apartment, the possum occupant does not contribute to the rent. 

New York can be home to a whole number of funny characters — and here’s someone to add to it. A proud pet mother of a possum, itself an unusual pet to have in general, has opened the doors to her apartment for an intimate tour. 

Hell’s Kitchen resident Willow Avalon loves her $3,000-a-month Manhattan abode so much, she swears she’ll never move. 

“Ya, never, I’d sell a kidney” first, Avalon told creator Caleb Simpson in a recent installment of his viral house tour series, which he calls the “MTV Cribs” of his generation. 

Simpson has visited a laundromat, an ambulance, an 80-square-foot unit, a “Shark Tank” investor’s penthouse, a rent-controlled studio and more unusual borough homes over the course of the ongoing series. But Avalon’s unit stands out for its spaciousness, its pre-war charm and, of course, its unique critter tenant 

Nugget, as the possum is named, even has his own wardrobe of tiny outfits on tiny hangers. “I figured since I had so many wardrobes it was only fair,” added Avalon.

And indeed, Avalon — an artist — has a great deal of wardrobes: There’s an entire hallway lined with them. There’s also a private roof deck of sorts — a slab of outdoor space accessed through a window — two bathrooms, high ceilings galore, plenty of original-looking millwork, and a dainty floral light fixture Avalon said she “lost half a finger putting in.” 

As for her favorite thing in the whole apartment, it’s not a part of the real estate but a possession — her Stainer violin with a rattlesnake tail inside. “It’s wild,” she said, shaking the item. She also has a collection of 1940s medical encyclopedias (she knows the basics of how to perform a tracheotomy), a room dedicated to being a “library slash music room” and a vintage typewriter. “I write my songs on it,” she explained.

Most of the items are second-hand. “All this is thrifted,” she said, gesturing at her belongings. “Mostly all just old dead people sh–.”