Mid-range 2BR, Astoria
Jennifer Adams, 37, writer
Rent: $2,100, including heat, gas and water
Broker: Maria Hadjidemetriou, Citi Habitats (917-623-2931, mhadjidemetriou@citi-habitats.com; citi-habitats.com)
Broker’s fee: $2,520
Deposit: One month’s rent
Moved in: February 2012
THE SEARCH: “I was sharing an apartment across the street from where I am now and wanted to stay as close as possible because I really love the neighborhood,” says Adams. After an application in her old building fell through when another person submitted their paperwork first, she saw a New York Times [nytimes.com/realestate] listing in her area. “I called the broker, and she got me in the next day. It was exactly what I was looking for. I saw the apartment, put down a deposit on January 20 and signed the lease on the 25th. I had my paperwork ready, because I knew time was critical.”
THE NEIGHBORHOOD: “Astoria is an old Greek neighborhood, and there are also a lot of Italian immigrants, so there are these wonderful delis and bakeries everywhere. It’s just a really warm, European-style neighborhood with not only young professionals, but families, old people.”
THE APARTMENT: “I liked the layout of the apartment I was in before. I live on a street with 28 identical buildings that were built in the 1920s, and they’re quite spacious. It’s on the third floor of a three-story walk-up, which is not too bad. It’s really close to the N and Q subway lines, so it’s very convenient.”
THE SPACE: “The front bedroom has a five-by-five-foot walk-in closet—which is exceedingly rare—and each bedroom also has a six-foot long, normal-depth reach-in closet. Plus, when I moved in, the apartment was completely renovated with new drywall, kitchen and bathroom.”
HER ADVICE: “The best apartments [in Astoria] are not publicly advertised. They’re [available] through brokers because they tend to be owned by smaller landlords who don’t want to deal with the public. That’s the best way to find the largest variety of apartments.”
HER FAVORITE NEIGHBORHOOD SPOTS: “There are two huge fruit markets right at the corner, and I’m a vegetarian so that helps a lot. I get so much of my food at Elliniki Agora [32-12 30th Ave between 32nd and 33rd Sts; 718-726-4501]. We’ve got Manhattan-quality restaurants around here, but they’re cheaper. The best restaurants include Seva [30-07 34th St at 30th Ave, 718-626-4440, sevaindianrestaurant.com], Il Bambino [34-08 31st Ave at 34th St, 718-626-0087, ilbambinonyc.com], Pachanga Patterson [33-17 31st Ave at 34th St, 718-554-0525, pachangapatterson.com] and Sweet Afton [30-09 34th St at 30th Ave, 718-777-2570, sweetaftonbar.com].”