Sara Sugihara is always on the move. In her 71 years, she has travelled the world, learned seven languages and danced at Studio 54. But one thing she never got around to doing was actually move: Shortly after arriving in New York in 1972, Ms. Sugihara landed in a rent-stabilized studio on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and stayed there for the next five decades.
“I was the doorman,” she joked. “People would pound on my window and, if I felt like it, I would go out and open the door. For 51 years!”
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Along the way, Ms. Sugihara pieced together an eclectic, bohemian career. She started as a choreographer and instructor of modern dance in the 1970s, creating works for companies including the Rambert dance company in London and the Australian Dance Theatre in Adelaide, Australia. One production, “Window,” was inspired by her dim Manhattan apartment.
Over the years, friends encouraged her to find a new place, but Ms. Sugihara, who lives with her two adopted cats, Sanda and Cilla, was skeptical. “I said, ‘Well, if I buy an apartment, who would I leave it to? Because I don’t have kids and, you know, my cats are very bad at signing wills and whatnot,” she said.
There was also the question of money. Though she works as a professional translator in addition to other freelance gigs, “I haven’t had a straight job for most of my life,” she said.
When Ms. Sugihara’s mother died in 2022, she left some money for her. That, plus a cockroach invasion brought on by renovations in her building, finally convinced her to pack up and go. Thanks to the inheritance, she figured she could make an all-cash offer of up to $600,000 on her first new place since the Nixon administration.
Ms. Sugihara wanted to stay on the Upper West Side so she could be close to friends and have easy access to cultural attractions like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Her budget meant she’d be viewing primarily studio and one-bedroom apartments in co-op buildings.
“She just wanted something with good light, a bit more space for her things — not so much, but just enough that she felt like she could breathe a little,” said her agent, Johnathan Cruz of Weichert Properties.
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