First up was the bottom floor of this 1920s duplex on a quiet street in Sunnyside Gardens, for $1900 + 1 month's broker's fee. It has 2brs, 1ba, a small patio, and a scary unfinished basement with a washer-dryer.
It comes with a tiny backyard, which is cared for by the upstairs tenant/super (we got the impression she was a mite territorial). A pathway led from the backyard ...
... to the enormous shared courtyard. All of Sunnyside Gardens has these courtyards, but this one is particularly nice.
Unfortunately, the apartment itself? Not so nice. It hasn't been renovated in decades, and would hold many dangers for an inquisitive and mobile TH.
This afternoon we saw a second apartment, this one in a large 1930s elevator building just outside of the Gardens. It's a 3br, 2ba. The rent is $2400, which is at the top of our Queens budget, but there's no fee -- though the lease does start November 1st, a month before we'd like to move.
I cannot convey in pictures just how enormous this place is. At 1700 square feet, it's larger than the suburban houses in which PP and I grew up.
The foyer alone (15' x 12') has 2 walk-in closets and is big enough to use as a formal dining room; the current tenants, who have 2 children, use the area as a stroller depot.
Their daughter's bedroom, at almost 300 square feet, is nearly as big as our apartment. PP couldn't even fit the whole room in the camera frame.
The kitchen is older, but has a dishwasher, a pantry, and room enough for a large table and chairs.
Even the hallway is spacious -- nearly the width of our current bedroom/nursery -- plus it is lined with 3 more walk-in closets.
But the layout is extremely closed-off; we'd never see each other. There's no outdoor space. And any savings on rent would be offset by the huge expense of paint, furniture, new AC units, and the big electric bill in the summertime.
I don't know; I should love it, I should jump right on it and turn in our application, but I just can't bring myself to do so this early in the game. I was stunned by the size, but the apartment didn't feel like home to me. Since it's in a huge, rent-stabilized building, we figure that if we find ourselves still homeless in 6 weeks, we can call up the landlord and check for other units.
It didn't help that right before looking at the apartment this morning, we walked by a building that we will be checking out next Saturday. It's a 2br, 1.5ba corner duplex in a section of Sunnyside Gardens called the Mews. The unit was recently renovated, with a finished basement, a dining room, a laundry room, and a deck (but alas, no dishwasher). I spoke with the landlord yesterday and got a good vibe from her; plus, she'll knock the rent down to $2100 if PP shovels the walk when it snows. The lease would start December 1st, and there is no fee.
From the outside, at least, I'm sold -- even without the dishwasher. We didn't take photos of the building out of respect for the current tenants, but it looks like it's really cute and in good condition. You can see photos of the Mews here and here.
But wait, there's more! The broker who sold our current apartment for us has offered to substantially cut her fee if we use her to find a place in the Upper East Side, our current neighborhood. Since we are already enrolled in daycare here (and we still don't know where we'd send TH in Sunnyside), we agreed. I should be visiting some with her this week.
An UES apartment will be more expensive than living in Queens, and will be far smaller, as well. But since we already have (relatively) affordable daycare here and wouldn't need to buy a car, our fixed costs should remain roughly the same for either neighborhood. While we cannot afford a garden apartment, we think we can find a place close to the local playground.
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