Two Empty Nesters Flew to the City With $600,000 for an East Side Studio

2 weeks ago 5

From left, Jay Krishnamoorthy and Vidya Jayaraman with their daughter, Rithika Jayaraman, in Manhattan.

After immigrating from their native India in 1998, Vidya Jayaraman and Jay Krishnamoorthy settled in Connecticut and then New Jersey, visiting New York City as much as possible. Work led them to St. Louis and then to Atlanta, where they lived a suburban life, raising their daughter.

“We are empty nesters — bird launchers, is what they say now,” Ms. Jayaraman said. Though their woodsy Georgia neighborhood was suited to family life, she said, “now that we have launched our bird, we wanted the city life as well. The city has so much to offer.”

Their daughter, Rithika Jayaraman, now attends Stony Brook University, on Long Island. The couple, who both work remotely in tech jobs, visit with her often.

“I don’t want to be too far away from my daughter,” said Ms. Jayaraman, 49. “I want to be in closer proximity to her so I can be a part of her life and she can be a part of my next phase of life.”

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Ms. Jayaraman and Mr. Krishnamoorthy decided to buy a second home in the city, rather than spend money on hotels. Early last year, they began checking out listings with the goal of buying a small place — nothing more than a glorified hotel room — in a doorman building for up to $600,000.

The couple focused on the East Side, convenient to the new Grand Central Madison terminal, where they could catch a train to Stony Brook. They found themselves gravitating toward Midtown East, which seemed more happening at night than some areas of the Upper East Side.

After seeing several one-bedroom co-op units, “I said, Let’s go a step down and see how the studios are,” said Mr. Krishnamoorthy, 53. Studios were almost as big in square footage, they found, but the monthly maintenance was typically less.

“I thought, How can we fit our life into a studio?” he said.

An alcove studio seemed to be the answer, since the alcove could be used as a sleeping nook. But the pair had a tough time navigating the Manhattan market. They encountered high down payments, uncertainty as to whether negotiation was possible, and a dizzying array of co-op rules. And they felt it was important to have a rapport with an agent. That didn’t always happen, assuming the agent even returned their call. So they hunted on their own.

At some point, exhaustion took over. The couple considered settling for a place that wasn’t quite right. They thought about giving up.

Among their options:

No. 1

This 550-square-foot studio in a 1959 building near Lexington Avenue was larger than most the couple saw, with a renovated kitchen, a windowed alcove easily converted into a bedroom, a dressing area leading to the bathroom, and a dining or office nook. The east-facing windows looked directly into other people’s windows. The building had a laundry room and a roof deck. The price was $510,000, with monthly maintenance of around $1,400.

No. 2

This renovated, east-facing alcove studio with 500 square feet had two steps down from the foyer to the living area. There was a small kitchen, nice windows and plenty of storage, including a walk-in closet. The alcove was not a bedroom space but a desk area with even more closets, which seemed impractical. The 1932 building, originally a Park Avenue hotel, had a beautiful lobby, a landscaped roof terrace, a laundry room and storage. The price was $550,000 with monthly maintenance in the $1,200s.

No. 3

This sunny alcove studio had around 450 square feet, with a glimpse of the East River from the south-facing windows. There was a stall shower rather than a tub in the bathroom, a walk-in closet created from two smaller closets, and a small kitchen with little counter space. The 1955 building near the United Nations headquarters came with a common courtyard, a basement laundry room and a package room. The price was $420,000, with maintenance of less than $1,000 a month, including utilities.