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"New York is a fabulous city, and it's impossibly expensive. But if you have to be here for your work or your psyche, you have to find a way to afford it. New York real estate is the best investment?it keeps increasing in value, even when the market falls." ?Ilene Kristen, 40s, actress.

Ilene Kristen says her West 70s coop provides her with a much-needed sense of stability. It's the ironclad underpinning to a career which, like that of most actors, has its roller-coaster highs and lows. Kristen was a familiar face on the West Side long before Sept. 10, 2001, when she began starring as Roxy on ABC's One Life to Live. Way back in 1977 she rented the two-bedroom brownstone parlor floor apartment she now owns?"because it had 13-foot high ceilings and a dishwasher."

"The rent was $550, which at the time seemed extraordinarily extravagant," she says. "But I loved the space and layout. Even while I was renting, I dreamed of redoing some of the decor?replacing typically tacky 1960s garish green bathroom tiles and 'golden harvest' kitchen appliances."

With those alterations in mind and an eye to investing for security, Kirsten welcomed landlord Chris Russell's 1984 decision to coop his building. "The conversion came when I was between jobs. My part on Ryan's Hope was over. I was working off-Broadway, but it doesn't pay well? I really wanted to buy."

The price was $150,000, plus another $5,000 for a basement storage space. Kristen borrowed the $13,000 down payment from her father. "Fortunately, Chris was a great guy. I'd become friends with him and his family, and they personally gave me a mortgage. I was extremely lucky, because at that time I couldn't have qualified for a commercial loan."

Russell's generosity helped her keep the apartment through hard times when she wasn't working and could barely cover interest payments, let alone pay off principal. "I rented my second bedroom to a series of roommates to help pay my bills. My apartment was like an ongoing sitcom, with a few soap opera moments. Luckily Chris, who still lived in the building, and other coop members were understanding about my situation."

With One Life paychecks, Kristen qualified for a bank mortgage and refinanced at lower interest rates. She's also renovated to her liking: The bathroom has dark green marble tiles and the kitchen has ultra-modern appliances and blond wood cabinets. With the improvements, Kristen figures the apartment is currently worth roughly $700,000.

"It's amazing how expensive this city is and how prices keep rising. I can't imagine how middle-class families, young people just starting out and most artists manage to make ends meet," she says. "I pay about $1800 monthly for mortgage and maintenance. That's comfortable for me, especially while I'm working. But If I were renting, I'd be paying around $4000 a month?and that's a terrifying thought. As it is, my maintenance is going up because we're facing higher taxes?thanks to Mayor Bloomberg. We're also talking about getting terrorism insurance, but I think we shouldn't have to do that. Our regular insurance should cover us. I think we're being shafted! It makes me feel insecure about the future."

Kristen is the only original coop member still in the building, and she plans to stay. "Sometimes I crave a view of Central Park or the River. I could probably sell this place and step up to the view and more space. But this apartment has history for me?I've fought so hard to keep it! I've seen this street transformed from the unsavory, high crime, junkie-inhabited Wild West into a quiet, peaceful, well-groomed, relatively safe block lined with lovely homes occupied by well-heeled families with kids and pets. Sometimes it seems almost too tame. But where else in the city can you get the convenience of this particular location?between two parks, midway between Zabar's and Fairway, and with a corner diner and Duane Reade open 24-7?"