Pros:
I loved its proximity to trains. I loved that I have a private entrance to my apartment.
Cons:
My list of hates may not fit this reply box but I will be as thorough as possible.
1) I have a private entrance that leads directly in the side alley of the building. Next to my front door is a metal security gate that leads to the trash that is placed under my bedroom window. I have lived here for 8 years and never been able to open that window.
2) Tenants in this building are lazy. I often wake up to their trash blocking my apt entrance because they are too lazy to walk 5 additional feet through the security gate that leads to the trash cans. Literally 5ft. I hope I can share pics.
3) I have had over 40 leaks throughout my apt from the ceiling as I live in the only tenant basement apt. My first three months here my bedroom ceiling collapsed because the above tenant had an illegal washing machine that they allowed to drain under their kitchen sink, above my bedroom. Not IN the sink but UNDER through the floor boards.
4) The windowsill in my kitchen is falling aprt due to water damage. I teported that 6 years ago. At the time there was scaffolding on the building. I was assured it would be fixed with that repair. They removed the scaffolding 3 years ago. Still have leaks.
5) Heat is the worst. I have bo control of it. My apartment is always cold. I had to buy space heaters. When the steam is on it leaks in my bathroom with scolding hot water on your head. I found out its not the proper heating, it only the boiler pipes w/out radiators, illegal and a safety hazzard. I was vacated by the city as a result.
6) The insulation and molding is bad around my entire apartment. Weekly I through away sticky mouse traps clutter with large water bugs. I continue to complain and the super/building management does nothsing.
7) The building exterminator comes the 1st Sat/Sun of the month to the building. But my entrance is separate/private from the main entrance. Often they forget to spray in my apt that needs it the most due to my proximity to the trash.
8) The step plate on my apt entrance broke. They replaced it with one too big. So they shaved my front door, now there is a visible gap and I am often greeted with more water bugs and the occasional mice. I have to keep a large blanket there in the winter for the elements not to come in (cold and rain).
9) The walls are so thin here, I can EVERY apartment that surrounds me, and the constant flow of people to the trash area. For which they leave there trash in front of my door.
10) I have gotten so frustrated with the trash bags left in front of my door that I now pick them up and place them in the elevator of the main entrance so everyone in the building can share into my daily experience. They super tries retaliate by sending me videos of the bags I return to elevator. Each time I ask for the video camera place on my entrance of the person we puts it in front of my door, he refuses. He doesnt want to confirm the tenants in the building but he confronts me. The only difference between the super/tenants and me, I am Black and they are Latin.
11) The super and his entire team doesnt speak English. So I have resorted to using Google Translate to get my messages across. Often many of my requests/complaints are lost in translation. So I have been reaching out the management office. They are useless.
12) I have years of complaints to the management office and the City of NY. And little work is performed. So I am in a content battle.
13) The water often goes out in the building and we are given any notices of scheduled nor completed work.
14) The lobby, stairwells, and halls are often hang out spots for teen males to gather and smoke weed. So recently, a security guard was hired and the lobby is often filled with his groupies in the building. The weed as stopped but the lobby is still a hang out spot.
15) When I moved into the building my apt was one of the first renovations. All new renovations had the rent increased. They are all fashioned for stackable washer and dryer. All new tentants got one except for me.
16) Due to the in consist heat, my laminate tiles keep peeling off the floor and off access super to replace them and they are also slow to move.
17) I’ll save the worst for last. Due to thr many leaks, I believe black mold is growing in my walls. At one point, I had to throw away all my items in my bedroom closet because it was cover in green mold. I have made complaints to the city and management. The city is the worst. On several occasions I have asked for a home inspection. I work full-time in BK with a 90 minute commute. 311 will take your request and inform to expect a home visit. But they DONOT provide the date or time. As a result, I have been at work for every visit. I can even schedule time off or have some wait on my behalf because they give scheduled date or time. Since I have been here my health and that of my dog has deteriorated.
You may ask, why did I live there for so long under those conditions. This is NYC, if it was easy to relocate everyone would do it. But in reality it was too expensive. That all changed on Feb 20, 2025. I was vacated from the apartment by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (DHP) due to it being an illegal sub-basement, inadequate emergency escape windows, and illegal heating/ventilation. This was in addition to 10/13 open violations by 311 when they completed my home inspection that resulted in me being vacated. As a result, I am now due abatement of all of my past rent for the 8 years I lived there.
Advice to owner:
You are a slum lord. Any tenant that has faced as many challenges I have and most of which continue to be unresolved, deserves that moniker. You need to step your game up and get things done.