What's the harm in keeping it in your house with weekly waterings over the winter? it's natural habitat can see 70-80 degree days in winter months. It probably won't grow much or bloom in your house, but it will just plug along until you can put it back out in the spring.

I overwinter my olives and pomegranates in my unheated garage to protect them from killing temps and get them the cooler weather they expect.

The creme brulee should be hearty to zone 5, and NYC is zone 7, so you should be able to leave it outside. You should keep it from getting to 0 degrees and below.

I can't help but ask a personal question--does the name Bartleby hurt you during job interviews? "I would prefer not to" is a great line, though.

Thanks for all the terrific advice. Guess I will take a chance and leave it outside to overwinter. And I'm glad to see some gardenweb folks are literate and recognized my screen name. When it comes to some gardening chores, I definitely would prefer not to!