Patriotic Pop
Walking into Thomas Kleinert and Ken Neil Hailey’s apartment feels like a fantastical dream. Coated in
bright, bold colors, the entire space is playful and exudes whimsical fun. The sign on the front door reads
“Bourbon Street” of New Orleans fame, alerting those who enter of what lies ahead.
42 AUGUST 2 0 1 8
BY ESTELLE PYPER
@ESTIEPYPER
@ESTIE_PYPER
Kleinert has lived in the same space
for 26 years, and Hailey for 25. They
share the apartment with “the biggest
beagle in Astoria,” Annushka,
and two cats: Katherine Hepburn
and “possibly the oldest cat in Astoria,”
23-year-old Spencer Tracy.
Together, the duo has transformed what
was once a black-and-white den into the
cozy space it is today. The apartment has
character that only a well-lived-in apartment
can: filled with memories and mementos
from the past.
“Our apartment has changed, the neighborhood
has changed,” said Kleinert, who works at
NYU’s Steinhardt school in admissions.
“It was gray in here,” noted Hailey of the
living room. “A very not-happy gray. You
just came in and sat and got bored.”
Hailey is a theater director in the city
and recently opened Savannah Repertory
Theatre in Georgia. The two have also
INTERIOR DESIGN