Classic slumlord space
Pros
I am writing about 49 Saint Nicholas Terrace. This is a prewar building; it was built in 1926. The apartments are large and spacious. The space is right across the street from Saint Nicholas park which is green and lush. The people have been kind.
Cons
1. Cockroaches: Dead ones in crevices when we moved in. Since being in the space the largest cockroach I have ever seen in my life crawled up the heating pipe through my dining room, and into the apartment above me while practically waving to me like oh, this is not my subway stop. 2. Flies: I cannot open some of my windows facing the garbage or a swarm of flies immediately charges into my apartment. I am ordering an air filter for our kitchen to capture smoke when we grill meat as we are never ever ever ever opening those windows again. 3. Rats: Every night I witness the rat congressional hearings outside of my window. They practically line up and dole out assignments. I also discovered raccoon tracks in one of my windows when we moved in. 4. Lies: I had a conversation with one of the previous tenants who informed me that there used to be a bedbug infestation (which was not disclosed to me). Additionally, I got a letter from ConEd stating that the building was 3k+ back in their gas bill and asking if I wanted to pay it! 5. Dangerous conditions: My bathroom has a constant dangerous leak from the apartment above. We have had water dripping from the live light fixtures. There were no smoke alarms in the space at all which I think is in violation of NYC code or something + they have locks on the gates which people would need to use to exit the external fire escapes, thus trapping people in a burning building. Unless you are willing to take all of these challenges on, do not move here. You will not be happy. I am not exaggerating any of this. Update: 06/24/2022 They "repaired" the leak but now it is back and just as bad.
Advice to the owners
Profit is fine, but you already have 90+ violations in place. Put yourself on a 5-year improvement plan. Invest in the space or I assure you it will start to affect your bottom line as people organize on sites like this one. Fixing a leak is cheaper than going to court against a tenants association. You will get to a place where even college students just flat out say no to moving into your building.