Ryan and Moira Goepfert were elated when they were selected for student housing at Columbia University. The move would put them in a renovated doorman building across from campus, and it would save them $600 a month in rent. But after Mr. Goepfert visited the quiet hallways of the university building, the couple turned down the offer. “Almost 100 percent of the reason was our daughter, Grace, and the relationships she’s built on our floor,” said Mr. Goepfert, 34, who is pursuing a degree at Columbia’s School of General Studies. The Goepferts live in a one-bedroom rental on West 119th Street in Harlem . Their floor has six children between the ages of 4 months and 7 years and the family next door has a baby on the way. Especially in the winter, the children hang out in the 12-by-15-foot landing outside the elevator. They ride their scooters down the hallway and kick around a ball. While their children are playing, the families keep their doors unlocked. “As the kids have come ...
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