Out of about 500 downtown units listed for rent for the Republican National Convention, only about 100 of them are rented out. That's according to Howard Hanna realty, which is overseeing rentals for the RNC.
"Everything stays but the clothes, the closets are basically emptied," said Andrew Pucella who is renting his condo at the corner of East Fourth St. and Prospect Avenue for $13,000 for one week.
Pucella said he is handing over his two-bedrrom, two-bath place to two executives from Bloomberg News for seven days.
"I did a lot of cleaning," he added.
Pucella also put TVs in every room and a headboard on one of the beds as requested by the renters. Plus, he purchased renters insurance in case anything gets damaged or goes missing.
"There's some liquor in the cabinets they can have, glassware, I assume it's going to be there when I get back," he said. "But if it's not I can purchase new ones."
Unlike Pucella, Brittany Dipadova, a downtown resident, chose to stay put for the convention.
"I want to see all of the events going on," she said.
She also decided to take off of work for the week.
"That gives me more time just to experience everything here," she added.
Pucella said he is staying with friends and is undecided what he will do with his profits, which won't be the full amount because he said his realtor is taking 18% of it.
