Cheap and mostly quiet
Pros
Lived here for 20 years since i first moved to America at 3 years old. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s cheap rent on a quiet street. The rent has been stabilized for my family, but new tenants don’t pay too much either. For the most part the buildings flaws will not affect you, though there are plenty. At the start of the pandemic, our landlord asked how we were doing financially and said we could work something out if we were unable to make rent. Luckily none of us lost our income, but that says a lot. Repairs and building upgrades might be slow, but the landlord is a good person. The building was built in the 60s and sometimes that shows. However there are much older buildings in New York. There is no official superintendent, just a guy the landlord trusts to do repairs. He does a good job, but it can be a challenge to get in touch.
Cons
Pests. We’ve had bed bugs that we swiftly exterminated on multiple occasions. Roaches are super prevalent. Make sure you keep your apartment clean. Once your neighbors get rid of their roaches, they become your own. I’ve also seen mice and have had to close numerous holes in the wall. I think someone in this building has an absolutely filthy apartment, but wouldn’t know who. Would not ask the superintendent to do this. The heat does not come on until mid to late October, and it often gets cold enough for heat well before that. Once the heat does come on, it is often unbearably hot on a 40 or 50 degree day. It does not get adjusted properly with the outside temperature. Hot water is rarely an issue, but over 20 years we’ve of course briefly gone without it. Neighbors will often put plants on the fire escape and despite complaints to the landlord will not remove them, even though this is a fire hazard. There are units in the basement that I’m not sure were legally converted. These tenants are the sole users of the backyard space which is not supposed to be used by anyone. In the summer they regularly threw extremely loud parties in the backyard, which is not a public space. Again, the landlord did nothing about this despite complaints. People have stolen packages and were briefly deterred by a fake camera. Now a real camera has been installed.
Advice to the owners
Fix the boiler and heat regulation. Get proper extermination services. Please force neighbors to remove fire escape plants.