172 Lafayette Avenue,

Brooklyn, NY 11238

The building has great bones. This might be the single best part of the apartment. The apartments have N/S facing windows so they get plenty of natural light. The bathrooms are insanely large for nyc, also featuring an oversized window. Depending on which floor you're on, you may have tall ceilings. The water pressure is great...pretty nice hardwood floors & an open floor plan that maximizes the available space. The location is amazing, being a block away from the G at Clinton-Washington and a 5 min walk away from the C at Lafayette. The neighborhood is sublime featuring some of the best restaurants in brooklyn/NYC and a long list of A+ grocery/wine stores, bookstores, shops, etc. Ft Greene park is right around the corner and prospect park is ~1mi. away. In-building neighbors are cordial.

First off - this building is expensive! Fort Greene has become an extremely popular neighborhood to live in, so apartment supply is at an all time low. The property managers are aware of this and charge rent accordingly. Every year I lived here they increased the rent. This behavior is not necessarily the norm for landlords in the neighborhood. Friends of mine who live nearby have also had their rent increased year over year, but not nearly as much as I have. They also do not take care of the building! The foyer is not maintained. I've never seen anyone cleaning it. The building stairs are loud! You will hear the building tenants coming up and down them. I used to enjoy guessing which of my neighbors just arrived at the building by how their ascent sounded. The front door doesn't close unless you pull it closed & the broken spring that once did this for you is still attached to the door frame. The floors and ceilings are very thin, so you will hear your neighbors moving around. I'm a deep sleeper and have been woken up by my neighbors and/or my roommate. It's comical how squeaky the hardwood floors are. I've seen rodents, cockroaches, and seasonal ants in the apartment, but the property managers are generally quick to send exterminators. The pests never stay away for long though. The bedrooms are all on Lafayette Ave which is pretty loud compared to other streets in the neighborhood. The windows do not do a good job of keeping the noise out. Also - the Masonic Temple next door throws INSANE parties on Fridays/Saturdays that let out at 2/3am. During this time you will not be able to sleep due to the honking/people yelling. The electricity situation is also strange. There aren't that many outlets in the apartment, and the grid is easily overloaded...two AC units running at the same time will cause the power to shut off & you will have to reset the breaker.
This is NOT a quiet apartment! This is NOT a cheap apartment! This is NOT a clean building! But it's in a great location & has fantastic bones. Also - despite all of these Cons, I lived here for years and for the most part loved it. I just wish I had known these things before moving in myself…

Given the rent I would expect the building to be better maintained. Rent increased every year I lived here but no improvements were ever made to the building.The stairs should be fixed up/carpeted and the front door should be replaced with one that closed automatically…

For what I'm paying the spot itself is great! Big windows let sun, bathroom is very nice, building remains clean, neighbors are respectful. Landlord's very responsive and helpful in getting things fixed.

Noise outside at night can be very loud, heat not the best, and water is quite low.