123-11 Rockaway Beach Boulevard,

Queens, NY 11694

I've noticed the building has received a few less than positive reviews and thought I would take the time to place a very unbiased review, for good people that are looking for a nice, clean, secure building, thats close to the train, ferry and expressway. So I resided at 12311 Rockaway Beach Blvd, for several years. What did I like? First off, the building manager is a guy named Scott. Scott was a very approachable guy. Scott was always willing to stop and see how your day was doing and always asked me for my opinion on how I thought life in the building was. I always responded, it's super clean, safe, well secured, the neighbors are all working class and friendly people (except for maybe 2-3 people who resided in the bldg, but for NYC, that is a very acceptable balance), its one short block from the beach, at night you can run, walk, or ride your bike for miles and miles and see very few cars (meaning you don't have to worry about getting run over), how do you think I like it, I love it! Cleanliness: Whether I would come in during the day or at night, many times I would find Scott cleaning the building, checking wiring for safety, cleaning the laundry room, sweeping, etc. Look, when I say clean, the building always had a fresh smell as if someone had recently just did some sort of cleaning. There were no pests! NO ROACHES, not one! nothing, it was amazing! No mice, not one bug! Scott always made sure the exterminator did a great job. I remember one time I saw Scott cleaning up quite a bit of sand that was tracked into the building. I thought the person that did that was inconsiderate and would have handled it quite differently than Scott did. He checked the cameras, and politely mentioned the sand to the tenant. They apologized and corrected the issue. Did I mention the building is VERY CLEAN? Safety: Scott had cameras all over the building. As a safety conscious person, I actually thought Scott could have had one or two cameras. But he had every entry/exit covered and all of the elevator areas covered. With all the crime in NYC, one would think that a person could appreciate a building manager that has a camera safety system, that he monitors just about 24 hours a day (Scott works late hours, so he also monitors the cameras late, when most buildings are just recording on a feed). Scott also has a great reputation with the police in the area, so they tend to keep an eye on the building. Not many places in NYC that can say that. I remember one day someone complaining about the cameras, thought it was an invasion of privacy. I would like to say this, if you don't appreciate safety, please live somewhere else. The cameras are in public areas and if you're worried about someone watching you, what exactly are you doing? When my wife enters the building, I like the idea that the building manger may be getting an alert and checking to see who it is! If someone ever followed or forced her in the building, I would pray that Scott saw what was going on so he could assist her. Building Location: In the summer, you'll hear kids riding around on their bikes, walking, and just having a good time. Sometimes it would be midnight, 1am, or later. I loved the idea that kids could walk around or ride their bikes without worry. People often say the draw to Rockaway, is that you live in the city, but it feels like you don't. The building is just about in the middle of the best Rockaway has to offer. Overall Location: If you like to go into the city, you have several options. The expressway, the streets, the train or the ferry. Sometimes I would jump on the ferry, hook my bike up, and then go ride along the river by the West Side Hwy. Then I would hop on the scenic ferry ride back to Rockaway. You just can't beat that. Views: If you're into views, Scott has several apartments with views of the water, the city skyline, the skyline and the water, and some with just a higher view of the buildings in Rockaway. Its really a cool and relaxing place to live! Kind of like being on vacation when you're not. Listen, people see things differently. Where someone might appreciate something, someone else doesn't see it in such a positive light. In the several years I lived here, I've seen a bad apple here and there in the building, it happens, no building can prevent that. They complained about the security to me, I had someone also complain that Scott was way too annoying when it came to cleanliness in the building...really??? So what I'm saying, is don't let some negative reviews build a negative outlook of the building. I want great neighbors that are likeminded. Neighbors that are clean, considerate, and safety conscious. I remember each time renewing my lease, asking Scott if he was going to be around for the next year or at least the majority of it. He was literally the best building manager I've ever seen, anywhere I've lived or anywhere my friends and family have lived. If he was going to leave, I was contemplating doing the same.
Cons:
Parking in the summer can be tough! Outside of the summer months, it's a breeze, very easy but in the summer, the streets on that side have no parking at all from Sat midnight (Friday night), until Monday midnight (Sunday night). Scott actually offered me some suggestions on how to navigate that issue and I was fine.
Advice to owner:
Make sure you keep your property manager happy! He's the life and soul of that building. Without him, the quality of life in the building will most likely diminish, as will the quality of the tenants. I know Scott does a strict rental and financial history check on all future tenants and thats important in maintaining the best building possible.

- Parking could be tough in the summer, but thats a neighborhood thing and not a building issue.

- Once in a while there can be a difficult tenant that may not respect the hard work of the guy that cleans the building, or is not respectful on how they dump bulk trash. That being said, it's more of an inconvenience to the building manager, as he usually cleans up the mess himself, or just has the cleaning person come back for an additional fee. Thanks for keeping the building spotless no matter what.

Keep up the great work managing the building.

The elevator and laundry room are very convenient. Plenty of nice size windows that almost reach the high ceilings. The building has a nice atmosphere, other tenants are quiet and friendly, owner and management are on top of things and are quick and responsive, they really care about their tenants

Only street parking

It would be very exiting to have storage or gym downstairs

Everything here has been excellent. The owner and management are responsive and truly care about the building. This is more of a big family then an apartment building- I love it here. 

Parking can be rough in the summer months but there is a new parking lot next-door separately owned and I will be renting a spot from them. 

Keep up the great work and it would be great to someday have some more amenities here as well.