Developers Catering to Families Near the High Line

Welcome to It Happened One Weekend, our weekly roundup of the New York Times real estate section...

1) Rich people. What are they spending millions of dollars on? What are they complaining about? This is What's Up With Rich People?

It used to be that few Manhattanites with kids would dare to stray below Central Park, but now everything is changing and in recent years, West Chelsea has emerged as an acceptable place to raise a family. And with the families comes a demand for larger apartments, which developers like 508 West 24th Street's Cary Tamarkin are more than happy to supply. According to one developer, "The neighborhood is commanding prices of $2,500 to $3,500 a foot over the past several months." ['Home on the High Line'; photo by eb78]

2) Every "The Hunt" column begins with the hunters describing the apartment they want, and ends with them rationalizing whatever they came away with. This is The Hunt: Dreams vs. Reality
The Hunters: An Upper East Side couple expecting twins, looking to move out of their one-bedroom rental into a larger two-bedroom rental.
Price
Dream: up to $3,500/month
Reality: $3,485/month
Neighborhood
Dream: Upper East Side
Reality: Long Island City
Amenities
Dream: lots of space, "not old" building
Reality: enough space, newish building, outdoor swimming pool, washer/dryer, no grocery store in the immediate vicinity
Summary
Things worked well for this couple once they opened their hearts to neighborhoods that weren't the Upper East Side, and there was also this great sort-of-terrified-to-be-a-father quote: "Kids weigh 8 pounds. And yet they have all this stuff. Toys and blocks and princesses. Everything lights up and everything plays a song. You're afraid to touch anything — you don't know what's going to sing to you." ['Long Island City Is Where?']