House Joe Dator and Walter

Hi. I’m Joe Dator. Award-winning cartoonist, author, illustrator, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker for the past 17 years.

Two years ago I was forced out of my studio apartment by a flood. It was a modest space, but affordable for NYC on a cartoonist’s wages, and it allowed me to live and work in comfort and dignity. Not only was I put out of my home, but my friend Walter suffered severe crinkling from the water damage.

Since then I’d been sharing living space with a couple of good friends, but through no fault of anyone’s, those arrangements have come to an end.

Unfortunately, in the past two years, my income has taken a considerable hit due to various factors, while NYC rents have skyrocketed, making the chances of finding even a room for rent, let alone a studio apartment, nearly impossible.

I now find myself effectively homeless and with very limited resources to house myself. I’m writing this, with great difficulty and some embarrassment, to ask for help.

Walter, of course, is far easier to house, as he uses only 2 out of the 3 available dimensions.

While I've put up a donation goal here, I’m not really asking for money, although any contributions will be appreciated. I just need a place where I can live and work in relative comfort, and that I can afford on a cartoonist’s income.

If anyone out there has such a space, or knows of such a space, or knows someone who knows someone who knows of one, please contact me.

You would have not just my eternal gratitude, and the knowledge that you’ve helped an artist keep doing what he does, but also some original New Yorker-published art by me.

I thank you for listening, and Walter thanks you for keeping him stored in a dry, cool place.