The Hunt - An Apartment for "the Baby Phase" - NYTimes.com WHEN they met, set up by a friend, David Hollander was rooming with friends in Astoria, Queens, and Jaime McCarthy was sharing a seventh-floor walk-up on the Upper East Side. After their engagement nearly seven years ago, "I convinced her we were better off in Astoria spacewise," Mr. Hollander said. So they rented a one-bedroom in an attached house for around $1,450 a month. Back then, Astoria's rents were low, Mrs. Hollander said. From friends who paid even less than they did, they heard they were getting ripped off. But their rent never rose. "It was funny," she said, "because when we were sitting in our one-bedroom, Astoria got expensive all around us. There was never an incentive to leave. It was like a golden handcuffs thing. The couple helped with trash and snow removal. The landlord told them, "If I could give you a 99-year lease, I would," Mr. Hollander said. Last winter, Mrs. Hollander became pregnant. She worried about all the things the baby would accumulate, so the couple began hunting in early summer for a two-bedroom for less than $3,000 a month. This time they were interested in a big building and amenities like a dishwasher and a doorman. A big building would lend "a kind of simplicity" to day-to-day living that was lacking in a small one, Mr. Hollander said. The two, who are in their early 30s, were more than happy to remain in Queens, which offered a lot of space for the price. "Everyone talks Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn," Mr. Hollander said, "but I think Queens has a lot to offer." They took a look at the EastCoast buildings by TF Cornerstone in Long Island City, which had spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline. There, the couple could afford only a one-bedroom. The agent suggested that the baby sleep in a corner. But a one-bedroom there wasn't much bigger than the one they already had. "Babies scream, they cry," Mrs. Hollander said, "so it is nice to have a little more space to move around, and if one of us is sleeping, to be able to take her to the other side of the apartment." And the two-bedrooms were too pricey - as much as $4,000 a month. At Parker Towers in Forest Hills, two-bedroom rents were in the low $2,000s. The three 22-floor towers, dating from the early 1960s, are noteworthy for being among the first high-rises in Forest Hills. The Hollanders scoured online apartment reviews, and found criticism of the Parker Towers elevators as slow and balky. At the leasing office they asked about it, and were told the elevators were being upgraded. The two apartments they saw were perfectly nice, but on their way to see a third, the elevator got stuck. They got out only after the doors had been pried open. "That closed that chapter," Mr. Hollander said. "We know the elevators have been an issue," said Steven Pipes, the president of the Jack Parker Corporation, which owns the complex. Each building was built with four elevators, two heading to odd floors and two to even ones. The updated elevators will open on every floor. At the Contour, a former commercial building in Rego Park, the Hollanders loved the 1,100-square-foot apartments, with large closets and reasonable prices. But construction was still under way. It was unclear when tenants could actually move in. The baby was due in late September, and Mr. Hollander, who teaches history at a public school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, wanted to be settled before the school year started. They needed to arrive "before labor and before Labor Day," quipped Ruth Jadidian, the leasing director for Kings and Queens leasing, which was renting the apartments. So the Hollanders continued hunting. Back in Long Island City, even one-bedrooms at the Avalon Riverview North were too expensive, well into the $3,000s and $4,000s a month. Additional fees included not just an annual amenities fee but a $500 pet deposit and $50 a month in pet rent for Henry, their Boston terrier. The pet costs seemed disproportionate for a 13-pound dog, Mr. Hollander said, adding, "Paying rent and all these little fees on top of it didn't sit well with me." Feeling priced out of Long Island City, they headed back to Astoria, where Mr. Hollander particularly liked the Exo Astoria. Two-bedrooms there hovered around $3,000. But Mrs. Hollander thought the place was too far from the subway. They kept in close touch with Ms. Jadidian at the Contour. "We were the first call she made once they had the certificate of occupancy," Mr. Hollander said. E-mail: thehunt@nytimes.com