Stay-at-home pros seek more space during quarantine
Between all the shushing, and the accidental, but frequent, appearances in each other’s Zoom meetings, it became apparent to Alejandro Perez and his wife that the only way to survive working from home during the coronavirus crisis was to get a bigger place.
Things were fine for the first couple of months, but when the new office furniture began to take over the living room in their one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment, Perez knew something had to give.
“In my videos, you regularly see my wife walk by to go to the kitchen and get a coffee,” said Perez, a finance manager who lives in Williamsburg.
In several days, the couple will move to a bigger apartment in the same building, one with a second bedroom and an extra bathroom. Perez estimates they will pay another 20 % in rent, which he says is worth the peace of mind.
“We’re probably going to be home for another six months,” Perez said. “At least our living room can be a neutral safe space.”
What began as a temporary inconvenience has slowly become a way of life for families across the city and the nation. With work encroaching on spaces that used to be reserved for home, families still quarantined over coronavirus have sought solace by increasing their square footage.
It’s a dicey gamble. The pandemic has already wiped out millions of jobs across the country. And those fortunate enough to still be employed don’t need the added expense of higher rent. But working from home makes tiny apartments feel even smaller.
“It was our first place together, which was really nice, but we needed more room,” said Alex Reynolds, 25, a private equity associate from Brooklyn. “The desks took up more space than I anticipated.”
Reynolds and his fiancée Elaine MacDonald, 25, moved into a larger apartment last month, and he cannot get over the upgrade in his quality of life.
Not only was he able to move his laptop off the kitchen counter, where it almost fell in the sink, but now he is able to make dinner without having to clear his work space first.
“It’s just a huge difference to be able to sit down at a proper desk and focus,” Reynolds said. “It’s just a night and day difference.”
Reynolds and MacDonald were paying close to $3,900 for about 650 square feet in their one-bedroom Williamsburg apartment. Now they’re paying just under $5,000 for 950 square feet and an extra half bedroom.
“It was a tough call,” Reynolds said. “It’s definitely an added expense. There’s no way around it.”
Real estate executive Joshua Young said more and more tenants in the buildings he runs for development firm Clinton Management have requested larger apartments to accommodate working from home.
“No matter how much space you have it’s never enough,” Young said. “No matter where in the house I go to work my 2-year-old finds me.”
While the catastrophic COVID-19 economy has left Young with more vacancies, he has tried to turn them into opportunities to accommodate cramped couples and their kids.
“That has allowed us to be more flexible,” Young said.
Several of the buildings Young manages also have amenities like outdoor courtyards and rooftop gardens to help families cope.
Reynolds said he and MacDonald, who are also planning a wedding from home, would have been looking for a bigger place soon, anyway.
“We both feel a little more relaxed,” Reynolds said. “We feel more at home.”