Our broker Greg showed Pat and I more apartments yesterday, and we were dazzled by two of them.
The first was in Brooklyn Heights, on Willow Place. It is the English basement of a house renovated by an architect after it was vacant and fallen to ruins for 40 years. It has a cool two-pronged layout, with a large living/dining/kitchen area going back to two small bedrooms, each of which has a door onto a tiny yet appealing patio. The apartment has the original (operational) fireplace, and while the kitchen is small, it is very modern and slick. There is a washer and dryer.
The second was totally different, in the Financial District. It is the corner unit on the second floor of a 235-unit, 23-floor building at Broadway and Reston. It has unbelievable ceilings, with molded beams way, way up. "High ceilings" is an understatement. There are accompanying soaring windows with views up Broadway and onto the old cemetary where Alexander Hamilton is buried. There is a stone eagle outside one of the windows. The place is big (another 2-bedroom, with 2 bathrooms) with parquet floors and modern, though uninteresting kitchen. There is laundry in the building and a gym and very swell roof deck.
The Brooklyn Heights place is within what we imagined as our budget (really a great value for the money, in my opinion). The Financial District place is slightly over that budget, but we know we can afford it.
The Brooklyn Heights place is up to 15 minutes' walk from the subway, on a quiet street. There are lots of trees in Brooklyn Heights. The Financial District place is steps from myriad subway stops and lines, and an eleven-minute walk from Pat's office.
We are heavily leaning toward this second option, though it is not easy to picture giving up what I see as the comfortableness of the first option. The Brooklyn Heights place reminded us a little of Capitol Hill. In Washington, I would have loved to live on Capitol Hill. But now we're in New York! Can we resist the thrill of Manhattan? Can we ever forgive ourselves if we don't make the bold move?
These are questions we pondered as we ate at the Corner Shop Cafe, in the Washington Square/NoHo neighborhood. We were quite impressed with this place. I took the plunge and reacquainted myself with vegetables after a long hiatus, having a spinach salad and a little tub of the most marvelous, buttery Gorgonzola mashed potatoes. I also had a nice Cotes du Rhone to go with it. Pat had an ear of corn, a tub of truffle mac and cheese, and an apple cobbler dessert. All the food was great and we liked the atmosphere.
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