Don't Do It
Pros
Very few pros, other than the location, and the fact that many apartments are rent-stabilized.
Cons
Everything in the building is falling apart. It's an 11 story building with no working elevators (1 has been out for almost 3 years). Garbarge is constantly piled in the hallways. Ceilings are falling down, windows don't close fully, leaks are constant, drains clog super easily; the building is just a mess. And the landlord is completely absentee. He's listed as one of the worst landlords in New York by the Public Advocates office. To be clear: the building across the street is owned by the same landlord, and is currently vacant due to a fire that took place a year ago. That fire was caused by shotty wiring in the ceiling of one of the apartments. So like I said: do not do it.
Advice to the owners
Be a good person?
don't move here
Pros
The location is good
Cons
Where do I begin? Restricting to building wide issues: The rat problem got so bad last year that USPS stopped delivering ALL MAIL to the building citing safety concerns. Mail was sent to a post office at Central Harlem, 30 minutes away. This went on for over a month. To my knowledge we received no communication from management about this besides a few paper notes stuck to the wall that disappeared before the problem was resolved. One of the elevators has been broken for years. The other one has major safety issues: lurching, skipping stops, doors failing to open fully, malfunctioning call buttons. There are multiple open DOB violations with mounting fines but nothing is done. The super will do next to nothing. Expect to hound him for months to get simple tasks done if you move here, which you shouldn't. Rent has been hiked significantly and the landlords are trying to get units un-rent stabilized, as another tenant stated there is a recent New York Times article about this. Package theft is rampant.
Advice to the owners
Do the maintenance and repairs you are legally responsible for.
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