ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the single-room occupancy (SRO) community and the units or "stations" that are to be found within its boundaries. At the entrance of each station, however, a gatekeeper is located to control the flow of human traffic. The chapter illustrates the New York City to note that one quarter of the city's SRO buildings contain more than one hundred units, while one half have from ten to ninety-nine units. The average building on Manhattan's West Side is larger than the citywide pattern, and contains relatively more SRO units per structure. SRO hotels are unlike skid row flop houses in which one typically has to climb a flight of stairs to reach the lobby, which is located on the second floor. The SRO building is considerably less neutral than its higher class counterpart since there is very seldom any effort made at standardizing or removing smells. Often the smell of an entire corridor is dominated by a single tenant.
