37-05 30 Street,

Queens, NY 11101

brand new apartments

rent prices and utilities were high

- shiny new apartments
- staff and super are the best
- management is responsive
- no issues
- close to the subway

- neighborhood is going through a lot of new construction

The main building staff (the folks who work at the front desk and the super) are all incredible and kind. I'm really grateful for them.

The gym in the basement is great, open 24/7 and has a squat rack.

Because of construction and management issues, other tenants and I faced significant cold drafts during the winter, probably poor insulation, and exceptionally high heating bills. No tenant should deal with these issues, but it's particularly surprising because this is a new building with not-inexpensive rent.

If you're considering signing a lease here (especially without a rent concession), hopefully you find this detail (and the building's Google Reviews) helpful.

[1. Early Issues / Postal Service]

I was one of the building's first tenants in June 2022. There were issues early on -- The building wasn't registered with the post office, so instead of making deliveries to our mailboxes, the U.S. Postal Service kept all of our mail and packages at the post office in LIC. You'd have to go down to the post office on certain days to retrieve your mail. This was a nightmare especially if you didn't work from home or had time sensitive mail (e.g., bills, prescriptions).

Even after the problem was identified, management didn't resolve it until two months later.

[2. Drafty Windows]

Overview: Probably because of construction issues, several other tenants and I faced extremely drafty windows that weren't fixed for two months. We ended up with very high heating bills. I have not received reimbursements from the building management.

In early December 2022, my apartment was very cold, and I noticed a strong draft around my living room window / patio door. I spent the next two months chasing down the window repair techs, who first told me that there was no draft, then acknowledged the draft but said they didn't have the parts to fix the window, and eventually didn't show up for scheduled repairs. I complained to management, who promised that a new repair company would fix the issue. The window wasn't fixed until February, over 2 (cold winter) months later.

[2.A. Widespread Window Installation / Insulation Issues]

Around this time, I learned that about 9 other units in the building had identical window draft issues, and that this was a widespread problem resulting from poor construction / supervision. I spoke to other tenants who were also dealing with strong drafts, repair delays, and unhelpful building management.

I also learned that the floors are likely not insulated properly. Using a thermometer gun, I discovered that my floors were often about 15 degrees colder than my thermostat setting.

The super--who is very kind--offered to seal my window with plastic insulation tarp. As you can see in the photos, the tarp billowed (highlighting the draft) and helped stop some of the cold air. But it wasn't great to look at, blocked access to the patio, and didn't completely fix the draft issue.

[2.B. High Utility Bills & Energy / Heating Inefficiency]

Though I kept my thermostat at 70 degrees, my apartment was still very cold, and my heating bills were about $150. More importantly, ConEd has repeatedly informed me that I use almost 100% more energy than comparable homes (see photo). (I'm pretty sure the heating inefficiency drove the spike because I used less than comparable homes before the winter.) Another tenant informed me that his heating bill was **over $700** because of the drafty window and poor insulation.

[2.C. No Reimbursements from Management]

After I bought rugs to insulate the floors in December, I asked the building management for concessions or subsidies to help cover the costs of carpets, the heating bills, the loss of use of my patio, and the general crappiness of being in a very cold apartment, but they repeatedly denied my requests.