Perfect location/area/transportation but there are persistent bugs and mice
Pros
The location is perfect. It's a 3-4 minute walk to the subway platform itself. You can get to LIC or Manhattan in like 20-30 minutes. The neighborhood is very nice and pleasant. The street has loads of every kind of shop you can ever want. Top tier food, cafes, Target, Trader Joe's, a movie theater, you can see yourself on google maps, it's wonderful. They're affordable too which makes it a better area vs Brooklyn, Manhattan, and LIC. The neighborhood doesn't feel too loud or busy which is nice. I had a nice view from my window of the city skyline. The super's are decently responsive.
Cons
The mice and bugs!!! The mice were constantly there in the winter even if I kept all the food away and kept everything clean, and even after the exterminator coming. All the exterminator does is put glue traps and poison. But when they eat the poison or get stuck in the glue trap they die and leave an atrocious smell. And disposing of them after that is really disgusting. I've actually had to repress my memory of throwing away the glue traps because it's so repulsive to me. It's easier to just let them live and run away even though they are unsettling. Sometimes the mice come to your apartment because of the exterminator driving them away from another apartment in the building. They were there mainly in the winter and then they went away probably because it was warm. Then in the summer the bugs started to come and they were WAY worse because they are huge and terrifying. I grew up in NYC and I've seen them of course but these are SO MUCH BIGGER than anything I've ever seen in my life its disgusting and terrifying. Like they're 4 inches big. They're outrageously fast so it's hard to even hit them too. It's so gross and terrifying man. The exterminator just offers to spray pesticides and that there's nothing else he could do but I didn't want toxins in my apartment. To be honest the exterminator was really came off as ambivalent, irritated by my questions, and in a rush to just spray poison or leave. It was really obnoxious. So yeah thats the main reason I really have to leave or else I wouldn't mind staying. My neighbor has lived in the building for 40 years and I asked if he had seen any of the bugs or mice and he said of course they're all over the place inside the walls and under the floors. The building is 100 years old so naturally it's not a modern finish. My place got a soft renovation before we moved in, as in repainted, new kitchen cabinets, and other stuff, and the floor was buffed smooth. There's no kitchen counter space, the sink is very small, the fridge is small, the window sills weren't cleaned, it doesn't come with blinds so we had to buy our own. The heat comes from radiator, the amount of heat it gives off is set by the building based on the temperature. It can be very effective and keeps the room warm to the level of being hot and stuffy which is a good thing. We bought ACs for the summer and put them in the window. There is a very low level of sound from the LIRR but it isn't disruptive at any point. If you are looking for a modern build clean finish this is not the place!! It's absolutely great in a lot of ways but really bare bones in terms of the actual living experience. Once the outlet in my bathroom apparently starting releasing smoke and we didn't know where it was from at first or why so we had to call the fire fighters to check and they said we had to change the outlet.
Advice to the owners
Everything needs to be thoroughly sealed so that the bugs and mice can't enter the apartments
It's just Fine.
Pros
Proximity to Austin St is the only benefit of this building.
Cons
The front door is rarely closed and locked, people break in all the time and steal mail, the place is littered with roaches and I've had rodents in my apartment. The supers are not quick to respond. In the winter my radiator was spraying hot water and it took no less than 4 text messages for them to even come and do an initial look. Nothing was fixed obviously, and it resulted in me continually calling them back into my apartment.
Advice to the owners
The building needs to be better taken care of.
/-73.843218,40.719361,14/640x640@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1Ijoib3BlbmlnbG9vIiwiYSI6ImNsYjNmMjVwdzBjeHgzd21wYmJmZDB0eGYifQ.XZvZCOh51yXuDBE-I3Bg0A)
/-73.8429,40.719225,14/640x640@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1Ijoib3BlbmlnbG9vIiwiYSI6ImNsYjNmMjVwdzBjeHgzd21wYmJmZDB0eGYifQ.XZvZCOh51yXuDBE-I3Bg0A)