Beautiful Building Suffers From Landlord Neglect
Pros
Honestly, there's a lot to love about the apartments themselves. They are pet-friendly, well laid out (if you have an original floor plan), loads of natural light, and a nice community of longtime residents. The building itself has a lot of pre-war charm including the original (from 1925) tile work in the lobby and stairwells, hewn marble, etc.
Cons
The common areas are poorly maintained (though the super tries), and it's clear that landlord isn't remotely interested in tending to the building because there are so many rent controlled and rent stabilized tenants that aren't profitable to them. Unless you've been around long enough, it's entirely unclear who to contact regarding necessary repairs, and the only time you ever hear from the landlord directly is when they email you (in ALL CAPS) to remind you to pay the rent or accuse you of being late in paying the rent. Many of the older tenants fear reprisal from the landlord for raising critical issues, which often results in chronic issues for their units and those surrounding it. And if you do manage to get something fixed, it's largely a bandaid solution (e.g., tiling and plastering over water damage, patching floor boards, etc.).
Advice to the owners
Invest in the building! If you want to keep increasing the rent, then actually tend to the space and put some money into some light restoration.
Landlord MIA
Pros
Sunny apartment in a neighborhood I loved.
Cons
If you need to reach the landlord, you’re out of luck. Eventually I showed up at their office (which I had found through some extensive investigative Googling) and they were extremely rude. They eventually gave me an email address for a property manager and when I wrote him with my question I never heard back. Also had an issue with a downstairs neighbor who used to pound on her ceiling and scream profanities at me when I was doing things like reading on my sofa or sleeping. Tried to talk with her and explain the noise wasn’t from me/try to find the source, but she would just scream.
Advice to the owners
No advice. They treat tenants poorly > tenants can’t get in touch to complain > tenants move out > they jack up the rent... I’m sure they’re happy with the system the way it is. But I’d tell prospective tenants to look elsewhere.
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