509 West 155 Street,

Manhattan, NY 10032

I was only here for a short term (summer sublease), but the apartment was more than generously sized with a fully remodeled kitchen and bathroom while retaining a lot of the old charms (glass panel french doors, crown and wall moldings, etc) and, if I could have stayed, I would have! Close to the 157th 1 train and the 155th A/C and right around the corner from Broadway Avenue with plenty of restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops, etc. Although I would sometimes see dead roaches in the stairwells or halls of the building, I never actually saw one in the unit. The building is also in-between two churches and right across the street from another church and a graveyard, so it's fairly peaceful. Because I was here as a short-term sublet, I never dealt directly with the management company themselves, so I can't really speak to that.

The laundry is located in the basement which wouldn't be an issue expect for two things; 1) The basement can only be accessed via the elevator and, 2) The basement is locked between the hours of 9:30p and 6a because the super's daughter (a single mother) lives in the basement apartment and he doesn't want people down there at night with her. With a regular work schedule, this made trying to get laundry done a bit difficult, especially since it's such a large building with so many people competing for the machines. The super himself was also very, very creepy. He's an older married man, but would often make kissing sounds at me (I'm a male), wink, grab his crotch, and make suggestive comments under his breath as I'd pass by. At first I thought it was a joke and brushed it off, but as time went on he got more brave and direct in his comment and I quickly realized he was actually trying to get something from me. He was always hanging out in front of the building, so there was always a sense of dread coming in and out of the building that I'd have to pass by him. The only other con would be the level of noise from traffic. Both of the bedrooms faced out onto 155th, which was used regularly by semi-trucks passing from Jersey to the Bronx, and the sounds of their "jake braking" down 155th would startle me awake several times a night.

Nice location, close to the water

The super is a monster
The building is impossible to contact

Hire a new super

Close to transit, between two churches

Loud radiator, loud elevator, high price

Lower the rent

clean, well managed, very responsive on-site super

elevator is often out of order. trash and laundry centers are located in the basement and only accessible by said elevator. an apartment on first floor frequently plays obscenely loud music.