The Hunt: Going Their Separate Ways, Eight Stories Apart

Visits: 4

For years, Dale and Hannah Laplace lived together, as twins often do.

They grew up on a horse farm in upstate New York and shared a two-bedroom off-campus apartment at Seton Hall University, in South Orange, N.J. After college, they split up for a few years and then reunited to share a two-bedroom, along with Milly the cat, in one of Hoboken’s newer rental buildings, enjoying a postcard view of Manhattan. Both commuted to work in New York on the PATH train.

Preferring a building with more amenities and a neighborhood with fewer rowdy bars, they moved to a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in the towering M2 at Marbella, in Jersey City, which opened in 2016 with some 300 units. They each paid around $2,300 a month, getting another great view from one of the highest floors.

Dale had the master bedroom, with a big closet, and Hannah had the smaller bedroom and the main bathroom, so big “you could do cartwheels in it,” she said. The two raided each other’s closets and ate dinner together when they could.

The twins, who are now 31, planned to move when the lease expired, frustrated by the building’s chronic elevator issues. One memorable night, with none of the elevators working, Hannah hoofed it up to the 35th floor. She had to walk down the next morning. “That is not something I ever wanted to experience again,” she said. “Walking down was almost as bad because I got dizzy.”

(A building spokeswoman responded: “Our average wait time is on par with other apartment towers of similar size. The comfort of our residents is always our top priority, and we will continue to perform routine maintenance to ensure the system is performing optimally.”)

In the winter, the twins began exploring similar two-bedrooms in high-rise developments along the Jersey City waterfront. They hoped for a new building that had the same amenities they were used to — gym, pool, washer-dryer — and was a quick walk to the PATH train. Their price range was up to $5,000.

The twins had been living together in the M2 at Marbella, which opened in 2016, but were frustrated by the building’s elevator issues.CreditRobert Wright for The New York Times

They considered the Ellipse, which opened last year on the Hudson River with around 380 units. Hannah, who works at an architecture and interior design firm, thought the shape of some rooms, with their curved walls, was odd. “It seemed hard to try and fit furniture that is a livable size,” she said.

Dale, who works in real estate public relations, was interested in a bigger gym. The walk to the PATH train was longer than they wanted, too.

At Trump Bay Street, which opened nearly two years ago with around 450 units, they were impressed by the lobby, which had “beautiful furniture and great design, and it smells lovely,” Dale said. They liked the two-bedroom, two-bathroom units, which had big closets and a big kitchen with an island.

They also checked out the newer and taller Urby, right across the street, which has about 760 units and a cafe in the lobby. “They had a great marketing campaign, and it’s branded very well,” Dale said.

But the bedrooms had built-in cabinets beneath the windows, which the twins felt limited their furniture-arranging options, and the kitchens were comparatively small.

The Ellipse, a 380-unit Jersey City rental tower that opened last year, had curved walls that made decorating a challenge. CreditRobert Wright for The New York Times

They decided to sign on for a $4,700 two-bedroom at Trump Bay Street, which — like other buildings they had seen, including the Ellipse and Urby — had smart elevators that appealed to them. “It groups people together, so it gets you there as efficiently as possible,” Dale said.

From the beginning, though, Dale had been contemplating a one-bedroom of her own. “It was about being mid-30s and still living together,” she said. “As twins, you see other twins as adults in their 40s and 50s and still wearing outfits that match, and we are not going to be that.”

When she broached the possibility of splitting up, Hannah was hesitant. The change would be jarring, and it would cost more, too. But the more she considered it, the more Hannah realized it made sense. So the twins shifted their focus to two one-bedrooms at Trump Bay Street.

“They came maybe eight times before they decided to rent in my building,” said the leasing agent, Andy Tungka, of the Marketing Directors. At that point, he said, “We had only one one-bedroom available.”

But when a tenant broke a lease, it freed up a suitable second unit, and the twins ended up eight floors apart — Dale below, Hannah above. They arrived in early summer.

Urby, a newer rental tower, offered enticing amenities, but the kitchens were comparatively small.CreditRobert Wright for The New York Times

For two one-bedrooms, they knew they would have to spend a little more. Dale, who pays $3,795, has views to the east, south and west. Hannah, who pays $3,660, has higher ceilings. She was willing to skip the Manhattan view she had in her old bedroom, which came with unrelenting morning sunlight.

“There is no skyline like the New York City skyline, but I am calmer now that I have southern and western views,” she said. Now she watches planes coming and going at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Each twin received three months free on a 27-month lease, with the $500-a-year amenity fee waived.

The sisters have each other’s keys, and they still share clothes and eat dinner together when their schedules permit. Separate apartments “is something Dale pushed for, and now that we did it I am glad,” Hannah said. “It is nice to have our own space.”

Trump Bay Street had a lobby with “beautiful furniture and great design, and it smells lovely.” Also, “the elevators are super fast.”CreditRobert Wright for The New York Times

They have had a few complaints. Some packages, incoming and outgoing, have gone astray. Hannah has had issues with mold, slow to be fixed. Dale has adequate cellphone service, but Hannah does not. “I feel I am cursed with bad cell reception no matter where I live,” she said.

They share the temperamental cat, Milly. Both apartments are equipped with cat food and litter, and Milly travels between them by elevator, sometimes on a shoulder, but mostly in a carrier. That is safer, in case they encounter a dog, although they rarely see anyone when traveling between floors.

“The elevators are super fast,” Dale said. “Otherwise Milly would not put up with it.”

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