>>106300957 (OP)
In 1999?
An average studio in NYC back then was $800-900 a month. Seeing as this is his apartment
>>106301321, it could be closer to $600 or less. So probably $1200 all in.
But considering he was employed as a programmer a few years before the height of the dotcom bubble, he wouldn't have had to do any side gigs at all. Even today that sort of lifestyle is more than affordable for the average programmer in NYC.