Sam Castro

The amenities include a washer/dryer and a dishwasher, which is very convenient. The neighborhood itself is quiet with easy access to Bushwick and the L train.

The landlord owns multiple properties under a "management company" and is completely unresponsive to maintenance requests. The sink faucet has been broken for the entire time we've lived here and there is a leak in the kitchen ceiling that has steadily gotten worse. Multiple maintenance reports have been filed - none of which have been resolved.

The lobby of the building constantly smells like cigarette smoke and mold. It is clear that there have been no attempts to maintain the floors, stairs, walls, or ceilings - this building is falling apart around the residents who live here.

The building is not secure. The basement hatch is consistently left unlocked, allowing anyone to gain access - including access to the main lobby through the unlocked door to the basement staircase. In fact, my bike was stolen because of this.

The residents in 1L who have lived there for almost 60 years are constantly yelling at each other, which is easily heard through the paper-thin walls of the building.

Overall, this place is not one to make a home in. Rent here with the understanding that you will probably only be able to stomach living here for a year, at best.

Heat is always working, sometimes it’s way too hot. Had to use a/c in winter because it was so hot. Water pressure is good but runs out of hot water. Area has some good restaurants that are cheaper than rest of NYC. Washer, dryer, dishwasher.

Neighbors on ground floor are awful. They’ve been there 40+ years, smoke in their apartment (which filters into the hallway and your apartment), have parties every Thursday night, and yell at each other at all day. Cops were called multiple times and several people were arrested. Multiple mice and roaches in apartment. Management slow to respond, rarely got a response back. Hallway is always dirty and has cracked paint. Hallway walls also dirty with cracked paint. The only time the hallway was cleaned and mopped was after we complained. Hallway generally smelled from the cigarette smoke, weed, and general uncleanliness. Ground floor tenants tried to light candles and use other scents to mask the awful smell, but tended to give the hallway a sickly scent more akin to vomit. Basically, avoid this place unless you can verify the ground floor tenants are not long term. They are rent stabilized at around $700 a month so I doubt they are going anywhere. You will be paying their rent and that may be why management can’t afford to make any changes or want to because of how awful those people are. Just avoid the building. But hey, if you can get an apartment here for $2k, then it might be worth it, but I still doubt you’ll last longer than a year. Heard others didn’t get security deposit back but we emailed and complained so much and provided photos that I’m sure they thought twice about withholding security deposit. Got full deposit back within 2 weeks.

Repaint everything. Make the super clean and mop the hallway weekly. Enforce no smoking in apartments. Don’t drown tenants why over heating building. Get a better water heater or a bigger one.