A Couple Explore the Towers of Long Island City. Which of These Apartments Would You Choose? – The New York Times

Rea and Yafes Barkat moved into a Hells Kitchen rental shortly before their wedding three years ago, then relocated a bit closer to Central Park.

The area was congested, with no good place to walk their chihuahua, Monkey. We had Central Park, but no dog park, Mrs. Barkat said. I had to keep him on a tight leash. It was cars, tourists, pedestrians. There was always construction happening.

The couple, who are both 30 and met in high school in New Jersey, were interested in buying a home in a less frenetic area. A friend lived in CityLights, the first residential high-rise in Long Island City, Queens, a co-op known for its low sale prices and high maintenance fees.

The Barkats werent keen on spending so much on monthly maintenance and thought an apartment there would be hard to resell something they figured they would want to do in a few years, as they planned to move back to New Jersey. But they loved Long Island City, with all of its new condominium high-rises.

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A lot of people are, like, I dont want to live in Queens, but I feel Long Island City is New Yorks greatest-kept secret, said Mrs. Barkat, who works as head of sales at Luminary NYC, a tech company that promotes womens careers. (Mr. Barkat works at a hedge fund, and both are currently working from home.)

The couple, helped by their agent, Shan Chowdhury, an associate broker then at Halstead Property and now at Compass, sought a sunny one- or two-bedroom with an open floor plan in an amenity-filled doorman building, preferably for $800,000 to $1.2 million.

They knew they would get a washer-dryer, a dishwasher and the many conveniences common in new high-rises. In every place, however, something or the other was not fitting for me, Mrs. Barkat said, whether it was location, view or floor plan.

Among their options:

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A Couple Explore the Towers of Long Island City. Which of These Apartments Would You Choose? - The New York Times