153 East 115 Street,

Manhattan, NY 10029

There are no redeeming qualities to this place.

TLDR - RUN, don't walk away from this place. All they care about is collecting a check every month. Your safety is of no concern to them.

I will start with the worst issue: The apartment was infested with roaches, flies, and mice. This was discovered on the first night in the property. We were consistently gaslit by the landlord, who claimed they did not see any of these issues but it then came to light that Orkin (pest control) was completing regular quarterly treatments. The landlord refused to abate the rent or allow us to break the lease. Each time Orkin would arrive, the landlord would come early and clean the area so that the report was clean. We later discovered that Orkin was told explicitly NOT to tell us the extent of the issue, and the landlord repeatedly lied about efforts to remediate the pest issue. Even after months of HPD and DOB violations, we left - having to pay double rent.

Now to explain all of the other issues in the apartment.
1. The front door is below ground level, and therefore collects all of the garbage from the street. You will be buried in garbage on a daily basis.
2. The front gate (which is about 3-4 ft in height and easily climbed) is unlocked, which allows anyone off the street to come into the front area. While we were tenants, one person shat in the corner of the building, another sat in front of our front door to shoot up, and another used the area to store their things. Our complaints fell on deaf ears and we were simply told to call the police, which only addresses the current situation but does not prevent it from happening again.
3. The landlord entered the property while we were away to conduct "boiler inspections." Boiler inspections happen once per year, and was completed by a third party vendor prior to us leaving. The landlord claimed that he needed to conduct monthly maintenance and could not wait until we returned to do so. He let himself in without our permission, which is legal under NY law (as long as notice is given and maintenance is conducted), but entirely unnecessary and a complete invasion of our privacy.
4. Be prepared to hear a metal gate slam shut every time anyone enters or leaves the building, no matter where you are in the apartment.
5. Plan on taking quick showers - the hot water doesn't last very long.
6. There was a leak from the bathroom into the kitchen (which was directly below the bathroom) while we were tenants. The plumber later discovered that the cause of the leak was actually shoddy construction, as the plastic sheet that goes behind the wall of the tub was never installed. As such, when the caulking of the tub wore away, water ran behind the shower and into the ceiling of the kitchen. Their solution? Just caulk it over again - which means there will be another leak for the next tenant.
7. The smells that emanate from the boiler room are atrocious. Occasionally, mice will die in the basement and the smell from the decay will fill the rest of the apartment. When we complained, we were told there was no smell (after more than a week of waiting for someone to come and investigate).

Actually fix the issues in the building instead of claiming they don't exist.