Not too bad
Pros
I’ve lived in east Harlem for about 10years now, lived in this building for a year. I had a studio on the 12th floor, it was the perfect size for me, beautiful view on the balcony, water pressure was perfect, heat and AC worked fine, no pest problems.
Cons
Laundry: 3 times out of 5 when I put clothes to wash I would come back and find the machine open bc some inconsiderate neighbors opened and didn’t close the machine. Noise: I could hear everything happening in the hallway Landlord: the handyman/landlord was EXTREMELY rude and condescending with me. I don’t know if it was because he thought I looked too young or what, but nearly every interaction with him was unpleasant. This was in 2015-2016, hopefully they got rid of him. Water damage: towards the end of my lease I started noticing water damage on the ceiling, probably a leak from the roof. I heard other neighbors on the top floor also had that problem. Hopefully they fixed it since. Security deposit: I had to threaten to take them to court before they sent my security deposit back.
Advice to the owners
Hopefully you have a new, more polite handyman.carpet in the hallways would help.
It was great, till it wasn't
Pros
The building is self-maintained. No outside group that will add extra cost. It is also rent-stabilized. They have a part-time doorman, package room, and laundry in the building. They keep everything clean and the outdoor spaces (balconies and rooftop) are very nice and well maintained. There are two great grocery stores on the next block (one 24 hours), a bodega downstairs for quick needs, and decent proximity to transportation.
Cons
Most units have some floor to ceiling windows that are not well insulated. This makes heating and cooling costs expensive in extreme weather months. The vetting of tenants has normally been beyond reproach but as of late there have been some unruly tenants let into the building. The gym in the basement is not that. There are a coupe of cardio machines, one cable machine, and a bunch of mix-matched weights that look like they were found on the street. Not really worth using much less advertising (subject to change down the line). The pipes in the '01 and '02 line bathrooms tend to make this weird noise when you open the valves. Can be annoying.
Advice to the owners
1. Fix the pipes for good. and make sure you dont hire the plumber who installed them. 2. Either invest in better more up-to-date gym equipment or just get rid of it entirely and turn the room into bike storage. That would be more of a selling point than the current situation. 3. Vet incoming tenants better. Not sure how to do this but the recent incidents in the building are too bad to be overlooked as a fluke.
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