Good Bones, Deteriorating Slowly
Pros
The building was clearly at one time nice and you can still tell in some of the older features. The ceilings are high and there are a lot of windows. My unit had old fashioned glass doorknobs (on some doors). The units are relatively affordable and roomy. It's close to both the Astoria Blvd and 30th Ave subway stops. I love the neighborhood. From talking with neighbors, I'd say most were attracted to the apartment by the building. Most of our conversations went something like, "x and y is annoying, but I love the building!"
Cons
The building is extremely poorly maintained. When something breaks, it is either not fixed or fixed in the cheapest way possible. Owner is nice but very slow to resolve problems. There are many cockroaches in the building in the summertime and the exterminator was called infrequently. There is a package thief who must live in the building (their work continued even after the locks were changed). There are a lot of things that are just a little annoying and will never be fixed. Would I recommend it to a friend? That depends - I think it offers good value for the price range. If that outweighs the occasional roach (1-2 per month in summer) and other bugs, gross communal spaces, and recurrent package theft, go for it. Honestly, to me it's worth it, but if I could afford somewhere better, I would move somewhere better.
Advice to the owners
Put some money back into the building, please!
Pre-war, rent stabilized but concerns abt mold
Pros
Big bedroom, was cheap at the time I lived there. Owner landlord passed away right before I moved out so not sure how it's run now
Cons
Everything was very old. There was a major water leak from the unit above me (i was a firat floor unit) caused by the old landlord trying to fix a plumbing issue in the 2nd floor apartment. Water came pouring in from bathroom ceiling and along the adjacent bedroom wall. Not sure it was repaired properly that would prevent mold from growing (especially considering something started growing in the walls before I left) and the repairs were basically just pain over the water stained walls.
Advice to the owners
Do proper repairs and dont try to fix stuff yourself to save money, because it might- like in this case- make stuff worse.
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