2 Cooper, luxury 2BR apartment, East Village

2 Cooper, luxury 2BR apartment, East Village
Brendan Francis, 39, CEO; Melissa Muir, 27, volunteer
Rent: $7,250, including heat and hot water
Broker: None
Deposit: One month’s rent
Moved in: March 2012

THE SEARCH: “We [looked on] the Internet for buildings with an outdoor pool and came across the 2 Cooper website [2cooper.com],” says Francis. “As soon as we saw that, we knew we had to live here. It’s pet-friendly, and the size of the apartment [approximately 930 square feet] works for us, especially with four double-door wardrobes in the apartment and locked storage units downstairs.” By contacting apartment management companies, Francis was able to skip the middleman. “Not [paying] a broker fee was very appealing,” he says.

THE BUILDING: “The main appeal are the facilities: the gym, club lounge, cinema room, rooftop entertaining area and the outdoor pool,” says Francis. “The staff are amazing. The team helped us coordinate our move into the building and some extra furniture deliveries.”

THE SPACE: “The window in the lounge has a great view of uptown, going straight up the Bowery [and] over the West Side,” says Francis. “It’s like having a second TV!”

THE NEIGHBORHOOD: “Coming from the Meatpacking District, the East Village is more neighborhoody, with smaller restaurants. We have a lot of options for dining, and they’re not always the most expensive restaurants either—there are some really good neighborhood restaurants,” says Francis. “You don’t have to spend a fortune every time you go out to eat.” Francis’s favorite spots include “Café Gitane [242 Mott St at Prince St; 212-334-9552, cafegitanenyc.com] for breakfast, Saxon + Parole [316 Bowery at Bleecker St; 212-254-0350, saxonandparole.com], or Beauty & Essex [146 Essex St between Rivington and Stanton Sts; 212-614-0146, beautyandessex.com] for drinks. We also didn’t have much access to transportation on the West Side, so that was definitely an improvement. We can walk to a lot of places.”