Cozy and self-sustaining
Pros
It’s on a beautiful block, close to Union Square and Washington square, and I’ve never seen any mice or anything like that. I’ve only met kind neighbors. Cleaning is on the honors system and while the lobby and stairs have probably never been scrubbed or sanitized, there’s never garbage left around or anything that would attract pests. In general, I do love the building. The super is helpful, but now always around.
Cons
Everything is loud. The stairwell goes all the way to the top and echoes, so you can hear basically anything going on in the stairs in any floor at any time. Walls are sort of thin too, I can hear my next door and upstairs neighbors a bit. It doesn’t take away from my experience very much, unless you’re a very light sleeper. It’s also a walk up, so not accessible to wheelchair users or anyone with a mobility problem. I’ve also seen some things online about a building employee associated with the owner beating up an elderly woman in order to evict her. That sucked to hear. But I’ve never interacted with the owner before.
Advice to the owners
Bring a cleaning crew to scrub and sanitize the stairs, hallways, and entry.