Pros:
The building has a great location as it has immediate access to all the nearby restaurants, bars and supermarket. Great location if you like dining out or if you’re a Fordham student/professional. Close to a city hospital, pharmacies and close to the Bronx Zoo & Botanical garden space.
Cons:
Slavic owner is charging Manhattan prices for a really dirty experience in the Bronx. The building was poorly maintained - filth, seldom ever mobbed the common areas. Many of the doorbells were broken, I went around the building and most were broken (city violation btw).
The building was also infested with mice & cockroaches, my unit had them too (another violation). I did make friends with some of the neighbors & sadly, they have been experiencing this filth & negligence for years. They just don’t leave because they can’t afford somewhere else. 1 time I saw a black hairy rat on the 1st floor, it’s normal to see rats outside, but inside is a different story.
One thing is being frugal, another thing is being a greedy landlord that is not even smart with his decisions. I had a plumber (sent by the owner) come fix my sink because the pipe was oxidized, ok he fixed it right... a couple of days later the freaking thing starts leaking again so I report the problem & the plumber comes a day later. I asked him, why it broke so fast? And that’s when he told me that the cheapskate gave him a spared used pipe because he didn’t want to buy a new one. And that’s when he told me about how cheap he is with the plumbing, if he doesn’t find something used, he just has him buy the cheapest material. Always has him do the bare minimum work to safe a penny.
In the winter when I told him about the mice, he gave me some freaking mouse traps & when I told him to have someone get rid of them because it was his responsibility, he got angry, I left him his nasty traps. I should have called the city to come deal with him, but I had 3 months left on my lease, so I didn’t want to get dragged down with all the back & forth. I moved out as soon as I could.
If you decide to rent at this location, just keep in mind, that this landlord is a greedy cheapskate with a terrible personality. Any fridge, stove, grill or whatever is NOT new, it’s something he likely dug out of the trash.
Almost forgot, he had a little deli outside, next to the entrance of the building - he used to hang outside all week being a creep with nothing better to do, just loitering & seeing who enters and leaves the building. And no dogs allowed either. But don’t take my word for it, talk to the tenants & tour the entire building, I bet it’s still the same.
Advice to owner:
You are one of the worst landlords I’ve had, I feel sorry for your tenants. Hopefully the NYC HPD inspectors hold you responsible for your negligence.