Old Tenement Building: No Significant Improvements in Decades
Pros
-Fantastic location -Elevator always works, even if old and slow. -Large fire escape -Door buzzer
Cons
-Single-pane windows: street noise completely unfiltered, and zero insulation means sky-high energy bills. -Gas-powered, through-wall forced-air heating: Dangerous and loud. All units have a painted-over gas pipe running through the bedroom to the window. -Poorly managed trash: exposed trash cans with no enclosure are kept on the sidewalk in front of the building, feeding the rats that live in the abandoned community garden next door. The smell and the fly situation means street-facing units cannot open their windows. -Only drywall between units, zero soundproofing. Doorbells and conversations can be heard between adjacent units, from hallways, as well as through ceilings/floors. Carpets make no noticeable difference. -Shoddy renovations in most units. Tile-over-tile, gaps in grout, peeling/bubbling paint with obvious lap marks, mold in wood that’s been patched or painted over, missing smoke detectors, dead outlets, leaky plumbing. -Rusty orange hot water in showers. -Janitorial staff and property management take great liberties with their key copies, often failing to properly obtain tenants permission when accessing their units. -Constant gas smells in lobby. Property management has asked tenants not to call Con-Ed, saying they’ll “handle it themselves.”
Advice to the owners
Please make an effort to at least bring the building up to fire code, for the safety of both current and future residents.
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