Photo by Jan Somma-Hammel/Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — After tying the knot in February 2021, Matthew Lesieur and Robert Brooks grew tired of paying high-priced rent in Queens.
“We were living in a fabulous apartment in Astoria, but the rent was outrageous. And we realized we were just giving the landlord money that we would prefer to be spending on on our own equity,” said Brooks.
For this reason, the pair began searching for a New York City dream home. Lesieur and Brooks said they desired a home in a close-knit community, near the water, with easy access to all Manhattan has to offer. They didn’t have much luck finding an affordable house meeting that criteria in the other four Big Apple boroughs. But it’s exactly what they found in Rosebank.
“The housing market in four of the five boroughs was just out of our reach. Homes in decent condition were starting at over $1 million,” said Brooks. “It was definitely the pricing that brought us to Staten Island. The market was reasonable.”