Funky rent-stabilized early Bushwick development
Pros
Building is rent-stabilized until like 2036 due to cashing in on a tax break during development. The permanent tenants (non-airbnb guests) are a chill and interesting group and there's a pretty active message board group used by the tenants that help make it more of a community than other large apt. buildings I've lived in. The repair and janitorial staff are super kind and truly rockstars for everything they've put into the building. If you remember to use them, the building amenities (gym, game room, theater, work/study spaces, woodshop, rooftop grills) are comparatively impressive for the price of rent and the rooftop views are great (until they finish building the larger nearby development that threatens to block the city skyline view)!
Cons
Building management aren't great and are aligned with the remaining owners (who seem to be the regular slightly crooked greedy NYC type). The three years I lived there, we only had 0-1 working elevators out of 3 at any given time. The building has various rodent and mold issues and maintenance can't keep up. Some residents don't know how to use the trash rooms. It didn't feel safe to keep my bicycle in the dedicated bike storage room bc theft from there was a known issue at the time. Deliveries/packages can only be retrieved late at night (~9pm - 2am) bc that's the only time the front security desk is staffed. Lastly, the rooftop is a locally known party location, so groups of teens sneak into the building to party up there with some regularity... back when I lived here, there was a growing number of apartments permanently Airbnb'd which didn't help, however I think the city of New York is cracking down on that.
Advice to the owners
Invest in regular building-level HVAC maintenance and repairing the roof leaks before the mold problem gets worse. Also, 24-hour security staffing of the front desk is probably something tenants would greatly appreciate, since the building gets targeted a lot both by criminals and teenagers looking for a place to party.
Management scams tenants constantly
Pros
The actual apartment is nice, when it’s not leaking.
Cons
Management will find any chance to scam money from tenants. - they charge gas fees to tenants at random, when there are no gas meters for each apartment. - they try to charge tenants to have provided appliances serviced (AC, fridge, dishwasher). - they charge for screens to be installed (custom window sizes). They employ a broker that walks into apartments unannounced and unplanned, even if tenant isn’t moving out. Advertised as no broker fee, but broker demands a fee in cash at signing. Management won’t wear masks because they openly admit they think COVID is a hoax. Management allowed their friends to have a party of 20+ kids in the theater room during peak COVID. Tenants had to break the party up, when tenants were (still are) locked out of amenities. There’s no access to the package room until after 8:00pm. This time is being pushed later and later (9:30, 10:00pm). The front desk worker that shows up at 8pm is responsible for sorting packages and management doesn’t allow them to let tenants find their own packages. There is no security in the building, period. There is only a front desk worker that starts at 8pm, this causes many issues/incidents: - violent incidents, break ins, and robberies - people throwing outside parties, with over 100 guests in the roof - people sneaking in and sleeping on the roof - packages being stolen that are delivered earlier in the day and are left in the entry way - and many more. There is no one to contact in case of emergencies every Friday evening until Saturday evening due to Shabbat. This is when water goes out or the elevators break. Elevators breakdown constantly. People have dropped floors in them. One of the 3 elevators has been out of service since 2010.
Advice to the owners
Fix the things that tenants have been requesting to have fixed for the last 11 years. The above list of cons have been presented to management year after year.
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