Derrick Webster Jr., left, and Beckett Zahedi in Beckett’s apartment in Brooklyn, where he lives with his mother and sister. In July, after countless bleary-eyed hours on bedroom computers, the classmates introduced Realer Estate, a website that combines public data with real estate listings, allowing users to search for below-market and rent-stabilized apartments — something the grown-ups who run New York City have never managed to do. — Graham Dickie/The New York Times
When Beckett Zahedi was in the fifth grade, he’d accompany his recently divorced father and younger sister on a grueling New York City ritual: the hunt for an affordable apartment. On weekends, they’d trudge through fruitless viewings in Brooklyn, jostling through crowds and sidestepping cockroaches until the elder Zahedi finally found a place to rent.
“I wanted to make sure that they felt comfortable in the place, and it’s hard to find something, so he had this experience over and over of being rejected,” Caveh Zahedi said of his son.
