Dr. Scott Schubach grew up on Long Island and built a career there. Then, at 67, he decided he wanted to give life in New York City a try for the first time.
He was living in the town of Sea Cliff, in Nassau County, working as a heart surgeon at NYU Langone Hospital Long Island. Dr. Schubach had started his career there in 1991, when it was still Winthrop University Hospital, and served as chair of the cardiac department for 20 years.
But two years ago, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was time for a change. As he reached an age when many hope to pivot toward retirement, Dr. Schubach decided he wanted a new challenge. “I needed to find something else,” he said. “I wasn’t ready to retire. I didn’t want to do less and less. I wanted to keep active and be a part of growth.”
This year, he got an opportunity to do just that. Dr. Schubach was asked to be a part of the leadership team to expand the cardiac program at NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn, in the Sunset Park neighborhood. The expansion would make a range of heart surgeries available at the hospital for the first time.
He knew the job wasn’t just a fresh professional challenge; it was going to reshuffle his life altogether. “I could not commute,” he said. “It was just too far. With all I do, the need to be accessible for patients — I’m at work at 6 in the morning. I couldn’t live on Long Island. That can be an hour and a half commute.”
He knew that taking the job would mean moving into the city. “It was exciting, but I was somewhat apprehensive,” he said. “It’s a change — I’ve been in the same job for 33 years. You get into a routine. I was very successful where I was, but this was an opportunity to keep on learning and keep myself active.”
It was just a few months between when Dr. Schubach was offered the position and when work was to begin, so finding a place to live became an immediate priority.
$5,300 | Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn
Scott Schubach, 67
Occupation: Surgeon
On driving in Brooklyn: While Dr. Schubach is relatively close to the hospital where he works, the drive can still be unpredictable. “I’m three miles from the hospital,” he said, “but of course in Brooklyn that can mean 30 minutes.”
On new neighbors: When Dr. Schubach moved into the building last fall, many of the units hadn’t yet been completed, much less filled. Over the last few months, he’s watched the building become more lively and dynamic as more people move in. “I’m impressed with the diversity of the tenants,” he said. “All ages, families and backgrounds.”
He knew he didn’t want to buy property. “I didn’t want the expense,” he said. “I didn’t want the down payment and mortgage. I didn’t feel like purchasing would be in my financial best interest, especially at my age. The real estate market has climbed really dramatically, and while no one can see the future, I doubt we’re going to see that kind of growth again — at least in my lifetime.”
With just one subway line near the hospital, Dr. Schubach decided he would retain one vestige of his suburban life: a car. The nature and hours of his work made a short drive to the hospital a priority. “One thing I really needed was parking,” he said. “I couldn’t just park on the street. I need to be in and out and have my car accessible.”
He looked at a few buildings in the Gowanus neighborhood, a three-mile drive to the hospital, but nothing felt right. It wasn’t just a building with parking that he was looking for, but also a feeling of stepping into something new — which meant checking out a few active construction sites. “Some buildings were so new I had to wear a hard hat at the showings,” he recalled.
One building he saw before completion was One Park Point in Windsor Terrace. “They were still putting on the finishing touches,” he said. “But still, when I walked into the building, it felt like a fancy hotel. It’s all new — and very nice.”
Dr. Schubach found that fresh-start feeling he was looking for in nearly every aspect of the building, from the gym to the roof deck, and in the apartment itself, with windows overlooking Prospect Park. He said he feels at home in the city and enjoys the people who work in the building, too. “The staff has been so nice,” he said, “just so very accommodating.”
He signed a lease at the beginning of October, and work began a few weeks later. Part of what drives him is knowing that more Brooklynites will be able to get complex heart procedures closer to home. “It’s going very well,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of hiring and we’re going to start operating in January.”
Being a part of growth, feeling the invigoration that comes with it, has defined his experience working and living in Brooklyn, just as Dr. Schubach hoped it would. “It’s exciting to be in the city,” he said. “There’s a lot of young families with kids in the neighborhood.”
His two children are grown now, but neither is far. His 31-year-old daughter, Abigail, lives in Long Island City, Queens, and his 29-year-old son, Charlie, is even closer, in Downtown Brooklyn. And now there’s his girlfriend, too, in Cobble Hill. “The older I get,” he said, “the city life is better than the suburban life.”
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