Convenient location, nice unit, management hard to deal with
Pros
- Super close to transit (1 train) - Rent stabilized - My unit was beautiful and had tons of lovely windows that brought in incredible light - Living room was absolutely huge - Pigeons will come to visit you at your window! I've been feeding them for years and get a lot of joy out of it. - Beautiful parks nearby unlike anywhere else in NYC (Fort Tryon, Inwood Hill) - My unit was in good condition, and what wasn't in good condition we advocated for replacements or repairs (e.g., broken dishwasher and fridge) - Other tenants are nice, many are Spanish-speaking families. However, you can tell the owners are jacking up rent by "renovating" some units, and the race and class dynamic of the tenants is changing - This area has not been gentrified. There aren't hip cool cafe's or concert venues around. I didn't mind this, but I do have to travel at least an hour to see 99% of my friends or go to events - This is an area where many people live. There are frequent parties and hangouts in the street with loud music. If you can't handle that, it may not be the best choice for you. I grew accustomed to it and didn't mind it after a while.
Cons
- As typical, managers take a long time to respond to issues. You will need to escalate to the City if it's really bad (as was the case with us, when consistent leaks caused water to spurt from the walls through the paint). The leak continued off and on for months and Ventura would send people to do quick patch jobs though it was obvious to me the problem was much deeper. Sure enough, after I filed with the City, and they sent an inspector, Ventura finally sent a crew to saw into the ceiling and fix the damage that was causing the leak. The leak was also dirty water (it was brown) which really freaked me out and disgusted me. - Roaches are an issue, and we had one mouse visit us who we unfortunately had to kill - Rent is increasing steadily to the point where it's becoming unaffordable ($3K for our 2BR, we moved in at $2700) - The 1 train is so far underground you have to take elevators (there are no stairs) which are frequently out of service, and adds another wait if you commute during busy times of day as there will be a line.
Advice to the owners
Be more responsive to tenants especially for the massive amount of money we give you.
Extremely dirty building, packages stolen, roaches
Pros
This building is closely located to 191 st station which represents quick access to MTA 1 line. But you’ll prefer to walk rather than living there.
Cons
Extremely dirty building Very dark Quite common to have homeless people inside the building stealing packages and doing drugs inside. Ventura land corp took months to change the main door that had problemas and didn’t close properly. Be aware of this before moving to this place. Put extra lockers on your door, as you might see homeless people trying to get inside. Also Ventura don’t care about a single thing, I had to threat with calling to HPD in order to get my door fixed (I received the apartment with a crooked door, windows that didn’t close and so on) Also buy harsh chemicals if you don’t want to have your apartment infested with roaches. I wouldn’t even recommend living here if it’s your only option.