'Sex and The City' Apartment Owner Snaps at Tourists: 'It's Not Carrie's, It's Mine'

The owner of the famous New York City apartment featured in Sex and the City lost his patience with tourists, as seen in a viral video.

A video clip uploaded earlier this month showed an unidentified man confronting tourists at the doorstep of the West Village brownstone, which was featured as Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment in the hit HBO series that ran from 1998 to 2004.

“You can’t just take over the street,” he shouted to a small group of individuals on the street. “This happens all the time.”

He continued, “I try not to do this but sometimes people cross the line. Thank you so much for understanding, have a great day. And remember—this is not empty, it’s a private home; and it’s not Carrie’s, it’s mine.”

According to @nightyourNYCguide, who originally uploaded the video to their Instagram,the homeowners purchased the property in 1984 for $197,000, and never anticipated Sex and the City would turn it into a global landmark. 

“Back then, navigating Greenwich Village was tricky due to streets having multiple names and no street numbers like uptown or midtown, making it easy to get lost,” the account explained in a comment. “But now, with smartphones and Google Maps, finding Carrie’s brownstone has become incredibly easy. Unfortunately, this constant flow of fans has worn out the residents, who are exhausted by the crowds."

A user named @pamwiz, who claims to know the apartment's owners, came to their defense and called the man in the viral video “incredibly kind” and patient.

"They have to interject when their boundaries are crossed (people not respecting the signage that says to not sit on the steps or fence/gate),” the user wrote. “You can’t imagine the number of repairs they’ve had to endure as a result of people disrespecting their requests.They are also aware of the needs of their neighbors and the residents of the street who are also affected by this.”

She continued, “I’ve read such callous comments saying that they 'brought this on themselves' or 'they are rich so we don’t have to feel bad for them.' Wake up people - this is their home and they deserve to live peacefully and with the same rights as any other New Yorker who pays property taxes to keep their place intact and safe."

Other folks in the comments section made their thoughts known.

According to the New York Times, the couple’s application to install a steel and cast-iron gate to the front of their brownstone was approved by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in January.

“My home is now a global tourist destination,” wrote the brownstone’s co-owner Barbara Lorber in her application. “The show is in endless reruns in 34 different languages, increasing an already massive fan base to my stoop from throughout the US and around the world.”

She continued, “At any given hour of the day or night, there are groups of visitors in front of the house taking flash photos, engaging in loud chatter, posting on social media, making TikTok videos, or just celebrating the moment.”

Unfortunately for the owners, the show’s enduring popularity and its spin off series, And Just Like That, led them to the ultimatum.

Lorber’s application concluded, “After 20 plus years of hoping the fascination with my stoop would die away and fans would find a new object for their devotion, I have acknowledged we need something more substantial. In order to regain a reasonable quality of life for our tenants and ourselves: we need to install a proper gate.”