Clean and quirky building, unresponsive staff
Pros
Location is great, very quiet street with easy access to restaurants and nightlife. Common areas of the building are kept clean. The trash bins are emptied regularly and rarely overflow. The digital “butterfly Mx” front door system is very convenient and works well for letting in guests, deliveries, and even yourself if you don’t have your front door key handy. The unit was clean upon move in and all the the faucets and outlets are functional. The appliances in my unit are updated and functional (other than a missing stove knob and some flickering lights).
Cons
From the start, my biggest issue with this apartment has been the lack of owner responsiveness and administrative organization. There have been multiple occasions where my emails go unanswered, they do not pick up the phone, and they do not respond to voicemails. I have had issues submitting my rent every time because they do not seem to be able to organize their acceptance of physical checks (they will email saying they haven’t received the rent, I email to tell them I mailed/directly gave them a check, they never respond to that email) They are unfriendly about maintenance requests and I guess pick and choose which emails are important enough for them to respond to. Oh and by the way all the emails and calls go to one person, so I guess it’s Alexandra Martinez, the property manager, in particular who doesn’t know how to read her email, answer the phone, or check the mail! She and the staff are often short and rude about answering questions, which is frustrating as a first-time renter in nyc! I don’t even know who my building super/porter is; it’s all very impersonal. Other than that, there is a persistent roach problem despite monthly optional visits by the exterminator (no notice, he just knocks on the door and if you happen to be at home in the middle of the day he’ll put a few dots of some liquid poison around). The walls are very thin. I can hear conversations and footsteps from the stairwell and hallway loud and clear, as well as conversations from my next door neighbor on the occasion that they talk loudly in their apartment. From the third floor I can hear when the front door of the building opens. The stairwells are steep and hallways are very narrow, so do keep that in mind if you have larger furniture. And there is no secure area for packages.
Advice to the owners
Have a better system in place for contacting the building manager, and be more personable!
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