Hey all. I’m in an unusual bind and would appreciate this board’s bluntness. My current lease in an elevator building near Ditmars is up in four months, and I’ve been shown a very solid fourth-floor walkup about six blocks north. The walkup is bigger, has better light, a real kitchen, and it’s noticeably cheaper than what I’m paying now. I’d normally sign immediately.

The catch: my nine-year-old lab mix just had a second knee surgery and, while she’s cleared for short stair sessions, the vet warned me to avoid making her do multiple flights every single day if I can help it.

I’ve lived in walkups before so I know the grocery/moving/package tradeoffs. I’m less worried about my own quads and more about the dog’s recovery. She’s about 55 pounds and not a dog I can comfortably carry up four flights multiple times a day, especially in winter when the stairs get gritty. The building has no elevator, and the super is rarely around.

I’ve looked at elevator buildings with similar rent in Sunnyside and Yorkville, but the units are smaller or the kitchens are tiny. I keep going back to the walkup because the layout would genuinely change my quality of life at home, but I don’t want to be an irresponsible owner.

Has anyone managed a dog with mobility issues in a fourth-floor walkup? Did the rehab plateau? Did you use a help-em-up harness on stair landings? Or is this the kind of thing where you pay the premium and shut up?

Whoa, I’m new at this but we just moved into a fifth-floor place near Dyker and I thought walkups were all the same. The landing size matters SO much. Ours are narrow and turn about halfway up, and I can barely get a laundry bag through without scraping. No dog, but moving a mini fridge made me question everything.

Is the Astoria unit a straight run or does it have landings where you could stop? If it’s straight and wide, maybe a sling system would work? My cousin has an older corgi and they use a Help 'Em Up harness in their house. Following this because we’re already thinking about a dog next year.

DykerNewbie is right about landings—that’s the thing nobody tells you. I’ve lived in prewar walkups in East Harlem for over a decade. Straight flight vs. those tight mid-century turns is night and day. For a 55-pound dog fresh off knee surgery, my take is you don’t do it unless you’ve got a serious sling system and a plan for the bad days. I’ve seen folks carry senior dogs up two flights, but four? That’s a lot.

Also, this is basically the same tradeoff as the earlier galley kitchen thread: Hosting six in a galley kitchen: plated or family style? Hosting six in a galley kitchen: plated or family style? — you can love a space on paper but the physical mechanics sour fast. The walkup will be great until you’re on day six of crate rest, it’s raining, and you’re standing on a wet landing. People always forget the landing door slams when someone else comes down.

If you can afford the elevator building, I’d stay put or find a smaller elevator unit near a park. You don’t save money if you end up paying for dog PT or your own back. Just my two cents.

Good points, especially about the landing door slams and wet stairs — I had been romanticizing the extra bedroom. DykerNewbie, to answer your question: it’s a straight run but with a narrow landing at the top, and the stairwell is surprisingly drafty. The apartment is four flights up, so not the worst I’ve done, but the dog’s post-surgery recovery has been slower than expected. She’s okay on one flight, but after two she starts bunny-hopping.

EastHarlem_E, you called it: I don’t think I’d actually save money if I end up at canine PT twice a week or need a dogwalker to carry her down.

I’m going to price out two elevator buildings that are smaller but within a block of Astoria Park. I’ll also ask the vet about a rigid harness versus a Help 'Em Up and whether a temporary non-slip ramp on a landing could work. Has anyone successfully negotiated with a landlord to put a temporary ramp on a common stair? I’m guessing no, but maybe in a small building with a cooperative super it’s possible? I don’t want to be the tenant who makes the stairs dangerous for everyone else.