A

Avalonbay Communities, Inc

Agent

6 Properties

1574 Units

Evictions: 44
Litigation History: Yes
Review Summary for Avalonbay Communities, Inc
Summarized from anonymous rental reviews on openigloo.
Recent tenant reviews indicate that buildings managed by AVALONBAY COMMUNITIES, INC have a mix of positive and negative aspects. Tenants appreciate the cleanliness, good staff, and amenities available in the buildings. However, there are concerns about elevator maintenance, pest issues, noisy neighbors, and occasionally unresponsive management. Suggestions include improving elevator reliability, addressing noise disturbances, and better maintenance of building amenities. Despite these drawbacks, the overall consensus is positive for those seeking well-maintained properties with responsive management in vibrant neighborhoods like Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Open Violations
Only open violations from the last 10 years.
Data last updated 4 months ago.
BUILDING AVERAGE:
Less than 0.01 violations per unit
NEW YORK CITY AVERAGE:
0.81 violation per unit
flag
Non-hazardous
1
class A
i.e. no peephole on a door, or no street # on the building, unlawful keeping of animals
MOST RECENT:
Sep 15, 2024: § 27-2005 adm code properly repair with similar material the broken or defective wooden back panel at cabinet at sink in the kitchen located at apt 304, 2nd story, 2nd apartment from east at south
Show all
flag
Hazardous
3
class B
i.e. smoke detector issues, inadequate lighting, no lighting for stairways
MOST RECENT:
Sep 18, 2024: § 27-2005 adm code repair the broken or defective plastered surfaces and paint in a uniform color ceiling and all walls in the 1st room from east located at apt 7a, 7th story, 1st apartment from west at north
Show all
flag
Immediately hazardous
0
class C
i.e. rodents, pest, mold, inadequate heat or hot water, defective building parts
MOST RECENT:
No violation found...
Show all
flag
Missing information/filings
0
class I
Missing or non-compliant with administrative information orders or filings
MOST RECENT:
No violation found...
Show all
All Properties Associated with Avalonbay Communities, Inc
Downtown Brooklyn
343 Gold Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Top Rated 631 Units 42 Floors
4.5(34)
Hunters Point
4-75 48 Avenue, Queens, NY 11109
578 Units 39 Floors
3.8(20)
Hell's Kitchen
515w West 52 Street, Manhattan, NY 10019
Top Rated 345 Units 25 Floors
4.3(11)
Hunters Point
4-83 48 Avenue, Queens, NY 11109
8 Units 5 Floors
0(0)

Building Ratings

Cleanliness
Garbage Management
Heat
Neighbors
Noise Levels
Owner Responsiveness
Pest Control
Water Pressure

Renter Recommendations

--% of renters recommend this building

--% of renters approve of this owner

Rents and Deposits

-- of renters received their security deposits back
It HAS NOT been reported if this building accepts electronic rent payments.

Reviews (66)

14 hours ago
Alright but not great
Former Tenant
Pros:
The front desk team is super nice
Cons:
The management sucks and the elevators are constantly broken
It feels like they’re trying to drive old tenets out to charge new ones more
1 month ago
Average Building - Pay for Location
Former Tenant
Pros:
Great location, apartment size
Cons:
Pay extra for building amenities
Building is poorly maintained, specifically the elevators. At least 1 is out almost every day (at times up to 3 out of 5 are out)
Management is unresponsive when it comes to community concerns
2 months ago
Expensive but worth it
Former Tenant
Pros:
Great views, good staff nice size apts, close to every subway line and Trader Joe’s.
Cons:
elevators break down constantly which can be a hassle in such a large buildings. Ambulance noise is an issue. Sometimes there’s 10 or 15 passing through all the avenues in 1 hr
3 months ago
I lived here for a few years. One of the better management companies
Former Tenant
Pros:
Clean
Convenient location
Good layouts
Friendly concierge
Cons:
Finishes are dated
Had pest control issues for a few months
Currently overpriced
Advice to owner:
Update the finishes
3 months ago
Great building overall, good management, street noise is rough
Former Tenant
Pros:
Full-service building, good staff, well-maintained, management is often responsive to issues. Great units.
Cons:
- Elevators are often not working
- There was a large roach infestation once that took longer to manage than it should have
- Windows are not very soundproof, and it's a loud intersection
4 months ago
Decent enough high rise
Former Tenant
Pros:
Clean, functional apartment with great views of Fort Greene.
Cons:
No friendliness among neighbors. Lots of awkward elevator rides. In general people were pretty cold and didn't seem interested in talking to each other.

Flatbush avenue isn't pleasant to live on around there, it's basically a big stroad to the Manhatten bridge.

Package room was disorganized.

Very debatable whether the building is in Fort Greene, I'd consider it solidly in Downtown Brooklyn.
6 months ago
Very reliable as far as Downtown Brooklyn Luxury buildings go
Former Tenant
Pros:
Staff is very friendly and approachable, mailroom and deliveries always stored safely, and maintenance requests are always quickly addressed (including a baby roach infestation from a few years back). The apartments themselves are generally larger than similar luxury buildings in the area. Staff has regularly building community events and things too, which is appreciated!
Cons:
The elevators are down VERY often, so expect some long wait times if you live in the high-rise apartments. The gym should be included in rent given the price of the rent here, but that's an added amenity fee on top of rent (and can't be signed up for month to month.) It's also frustrating that unless it's a letter or a big oversize package, mail goes to the Amazon hub lockers. That's fine for most people, but if you don't have an Amazon account that makes getting mail a headache.
Advice to owner:
Please get a new elevator vendor, and please consider including the gym in rent. More people would use it!
7 months ago
Livable, but Various Issues That Could be Fixed Quickly if Management Prioritize
Former Tenant
Pros:
Vast majority of staff is excellent - extremely prompt, effective, and polite. Building interiors are kept clean, service requests are handled swiftly, units themselves are functional and neat if not the most modern.

Amenities are also reliably available and clean.
Cons:
Staff seems to have more leeway than typical - almost always used to better serve tenants but often see odd, sometimes even punitive, behavior. In particular, a very expensive book shipped to me by a client was supposedly returned to sender because the building requires that the listed recipient is a leaseholder. In this case, I was the leaseholder and package recipient; the concierge on duty confused billing address and shipping address. Plus, there was no record of the return shipment, so I was out thousands of dollars and had my work interrupted. In the very rare cases this happened before or since, other staff have kept the packages (ie looked out for the interest of the tenant...) but reminded me of the policy given.

Additionally, the areas near and approaching the entrances are often crowded with groups smoking, playing very loud music on large speakers, blocking paths with their electric scooters / bikes / mopeds / etc, and generally being disruptive. These groups range from local kids mostly minding their business to clearly unstable looking individuals that antagonize and intimidate passersby. Family and friends that visit, especially my sister, mother, any women, have complained to me that they catcall and much more, making them feel unsafe.
Advice to owner:
Please reign in your staff just a tad, especially on reckless decisions around shipments
7 months ago
Terrible management company
Former Tenant
Pros:
The building had beautiful views and OK amenities.
Cons:
Where to start... The management company was absolutely horrible. There hasn't been a single interaction with them where they were rude and/or dismissive of issues we've had. The AC in out unit never cools down the place, during hot summer days, it gets down to 80 degrees at its lowest. I did the research on the AC unit, and it's rated for an apartment 60% of its size. The management team refused to do anything about it, and based on the size of other units in the building, and talking to other residents, probably about half the units do not cool down. The AC units are also not energy efficient, so to get the temperature of the apartment to 80 degrees, we've received a $1,000 (in a month) energy bill.

My advice: Don't rent a unit over 800 sq. ft., and if you do, then just make sure to add $1,000 to the rent for the summer months as part of your cost of renting if you want to live at a semi-comfortable temperature.
Advice to owner:
Get better AC units, sell to an owner who actually cares about managing the property and not just sucking money out of your tenants.
8 months ago
Older building but all the goodies are there
Former Tenant
Pros:
close to all the train lines and the higher apartments has great views of manhattan
Cons:
Older building with cracks on the wall. Constant broken elevators
9 months ago
Nice but not worth the price
Former Tenant
Pros:
Very responsive maintenance, good security, newish appliances
Cons:
Had a lot of problems with kitchen sink backing up (big issue on lower floors), whole building had a roach problem for a bit but I think it’s resolved now
10 months ago
Lively lobby and convenient building - overall great stay
Former Tenant
Pros:
In general the units are super quiet/quite large for the neighborhood, having a split elevator bank is nice, maintenance and concierge staff are amazing. Amenities are updated, and packages are well-kept. Management has been great with hosting community events every month.
Cons:
The garbage disposals aren't the best-maintained, and we had roach issues all summer despite us being super careful (although this is the first year we've had pests).
10 months ago
Perfect if nothing goes wrong
Former Tenant
Pros:
Good location and building and most amenities, and the maintenance and front desk workers are wonderful.
Cons:
Had to sue the company for the flooding damage they caused. Leasing office and legality of the lease is horrible. Made it impossible to even find out what our mandatory renters insurance COMPANY was let alone talk to anyone. They let issues with the building get INSANELY bad and wait for people to leave in large quantities before they deal with it. A million lawsuit-worthy issues were constantly popping up. Mostly people just didn't want to bother and left but they are definitely in many disputes.
Over 1 year ago
Loved living here
Former Tenant
Pros:
Clean facilities, helpful staff, responsive management
Cons:
Could hear neighbor’s music through walls
Over 1 year ago
Good place to live
Former Tenant
Pros:
Concierge and maintenance team are amazing. Great location.
Cons:
Elevators are always broken. Got stuck in an elevator once and it took 15 mins to get out.
Advice to owner:
Fix the elevators
Over 1 year ago
Excellent but expensive
Former Tenant
Pros:
- Great location
- Quiet neighbourhood
- Good appliances in unit
- Good amenities
Cons:
- Monthly pet fee, even for a cat
- Expensive
Over 1 year ago
Nice Building, Horrible Management
Former Tenant
Pros:
The concierge team is amazing, never saw any pests. Heat and hot water are fine.
Cons:
The management team drags their feet and cuts corners in every possible way, your already overpriced rent for a basic apartment will skyrocket when you go to renew, and the leasing office is impossible to reach and even harder to get any answers or help from. In the year we lived there, there were MAYBE four months where all 5 elevators were working (in a 40 story building with over 600 units) because they kept failing due to being so neglected and outdated. At the end of our lease, our unit flooded due to the lack of preventative maintenance to the roof terrace drain. Then they refused to reimburse us for the expenses of hotel and food when we had to vacate while they were repairing the damage. Good thing there are a ton of extra fees for various amenities built into the lease so the actual amount you pay each month, even before utilities, is significantly higher than the actual price of the rent. This building is overpriced but fine for a year or two if you can afford it and you don't ever have to deal with the management office.
Advice to owner:
Do more preventative maintenance on the elevators and amenities, let people actually renew their lease without jacking up the rent a huge amount each year, and let your leasing team actually be allowed to negotiate and make concessions when people are displaced.
Over 1 year ago
Good apartment, good price for initial lease
Former Tenant
Pros:
View, maintenance responsive, large 1 bedroom
Cons:
2 elevators were out for over 6 months
Advice to owner:
Fix elevators
Over 1 year ago
Amazing place to live
Former Tenant
Pros:
Friendly responsive staff, clean
Cons:
Elevators down a lot
Advice to owner:
None
Over 1 year ago
The worst managed building of all time
Former Tenant
Pros:
The views, that’s it.
Cons:
Everything you can imagine. The management is a disgrace. Elevators never work. Currently have 2/5 working. The other 3 have been broken for 6 months
Advice to owner:
Quit