Average Pre-War Rental Building
Pros
The super is friendly and communicates well, not just through phone calls. Repairs could be done better - might be time for him to retire. Part time doorman is wonderful. Hallways are kept clean and trash/recycling is cleaned daily from compactor rooms (dirty tenants sometimes make it seem like this isn't happening). Laundry room is well kept, probably the best public laundry room I've had in my 10 years in NYC. Hot water has been good. I moved in right at the end of heat season, so it's hard to tell if heat is the same.
Cons
Big roach issue in the basement. Pest control doesn't seem to be doing much. Sure, there are two compactor rooms which brings lots of potential for pests, but they could really improve. Very simple repairs take forever to get done. One hour of work was stretched out, and I even had to repaint the area myself because it was done so poorly. Paint work on my apartment was not great upon move in. Management is in over their heads. No email, and phone calls to their office are often unanswered.
Advice to the owners
Modernize communication and invest in pest control.
Clean, well-maintained building (but hard to get repairs in apartments)
Pros
The super is very kind and responsible. He keeps the common areas clean and in great shape. Monthly pest control. Lots of neighbors who have lived in the building for a long time.
Cons
The management company is a horror. They remove apartments from rent stabilization illegally. They also do the shady thing where they put a wall up in a studio and rent it as a 1-bedroom, on close up the living room in a 1-bedroom and call it a 2-bedroom, though there's no living room anymore. They are as cheap as possible and put off serious repairs forever. I've been trying to get broken tiles in my shower replaced for years. The bathroom has mold and it will be a hundred years before I get the super to repaint it (he is decent, just severely overworked, and the property owners take the money out of his salary if he spends the money to make repairs properly). The kitchen floor linoleum was cracking and breaking and I got tired of trying to get them to replace it and did it myself. The apartment was beautiful when I moved in, but has fallen apart over time, and I lack the energy to make them fix it. For years the heat was inadequate, though the boiler was replaced recently and that helped.
%2F-73.84768%2C40.724877%2C14%2F640x640%402x%3Faccess_token%3Dpk.eyJ1Ijoib3BlbmlnbG9vIiwiYSI6ImNsYjNmMjVwdzBjeHgzd21wYmJmZDB0eGYifQ.XZvZCOh51yXuDBE-I3Bg0A&w=1920&q=70)
%2F-73.974068%2C40.638967%2C14%2F640x640%402x%3Faccess_token%3Dpk.eyJ1Ijoib3BlbmlnbG9vIiwiYSI6ImNsYjNmMjVwdzBjeHgzd21wYmJmZDB0eGYifQ.XZvZCOh51yXuDBE-I3Bg0A&w=1920&q=70)