From Dumbo to Coney Island: We were tired of paying so much rent and wanted a place that made sense

Jodie, Gregg, and their young daughter lived in an amenity-laden building in tony Dumbo. When their rent increased by $1,000 per month, they decided to look elsewhere to save money. The family landed in a new development with even more amenities (two pickleball courts)! They have longer commutes but love the ocean views and walks on the boardwalk. Here’s Jodie’s story as told to Kelly Kreth.

I was raised in Melbourne, Australia. I moved to NYC in 1998 for modeling opportunities with Ford Models.

My husband Gregg and I met like all storybook love stories, on an app. The first time we met in person was at a Starbucks under the Empire State Building. It didn’t go so well but we tried again and the second meeting was life changing. This was over eight years ago. 

Most recently, we were living with our seven-year-old daughter Ocean in Dumbo in a two-bedroom apartment that was under 1,000 square feet. The building amenities were incredible; they included a 24-hour doorman; indoor saltwater pool and steam room, gym, residents’ lounge and co-working space, children’s playroom, 7,000-square-foot roof deck with three separate outdoor kitchens, and an outdoor gym with beautiful views.

[Editor's note: “Transitions” features first-person accounts of what it’s like to move from one NYC neighborhood to another. Have a story to share? Drop us an email. We respect all requests for anonymity.]

We loved the location. It was convenient to our jobs and we could walk our daughter to school, however it’s getting a little overrun by tourists.

I have my own business, Fusion Models BK, which is an immigrant- and woman-owned modeling agency. My husband is a personal trainer and artist.

We went to DUMBO House a lot, ABC Kitchen when it opened, and Time Out Market food mall. We love walking along the water and taking our daughter to parks there. We loved ordering pizza on Friday Nights. We tried different places every few weeks.

Why they decided to move

This April, our landlord wanted to raise our rent by an extreme amount: Over a thousand dollars a month!  It broke the camel’s back. I said to my husband, ‘I'm tired of paying all this rent. I want to save some money.’

I knew our next home had to make sense. The cost of rent in most places in NYC isn't reasonable. We wanted a place that would tick the right boxes: safe, clean, updated, and with some modern conveniences.

Gregg is from a family of Italian immigrants. His father’s family is from Bed Stuy and his mother lived close by. His grandfather worked the Cyclone and met his grandmother there. So we always had a connection to the Coney Island area. We’d go there for the aquarium and to the nearby Rockaways to surf.

We searched for a home in the area and then reached out to Sky Three Residences Club in West Brighton directly after learning about it on Apartments.com. Everyone there has been wonderful. We viewed all the two-bedroom and three-bedroom units available. We were rather annoying to be quite honest: We made five separate appointments. It was a very big decision for us so we wanted to be sure by spending time there.

We chose a three-bedroom, two-bath unit with a balcony facing the city skyline. It is approximately 1,200 square feet. We pay $5,475 a month and have a laundry room in our apartment, which is a very nice luxury indeed. We have a car so use the garage for $350 per month.

What they like about their new place

Everything is brand new and the amenities are the best I've seen in any building in NYC (and I've seen a lot)! The amenities are what really sold us—all 100,000 square feet of them: Heated saltwater junior Olympic pool; spa with sauna and massage room; running track; recording studio; state-of-the-art coworking space including phone booths, full offices and conference rooms; indoor/outdoor basketball court; two pickleball courts; community garden; children’s playroom; outdoor play area; dining room with catering kitchen; pet spa; rooftop with grill; 24/7 concierge; and 839 parking spaces across four levels including 150 EV charging stations.

We can’t believe we now live in Coney Island—I certainly didn’t see that coming but I am so happy about the change.

We love that everything in our home and building is new and that we can see the water from our place. We are excited for our daughter to enjoy summer with her friends here and our long walks on the boardwalk. There is simply nothing we don’t like.

There is one hassle: Even though the subway is close by we now wake at 4:40 am because our commutes are much longer now. It takes me 55 minutes to drive my daughter to school. Gregg starts work at 6 a.m. most days, which is typical in the fitness industry. We like to enjoy a cup of coffee together before we venture into the city that never sleeps.

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