I lived in the only and previous reviewer's / Dean B.'s 1-bedroom apartment after they left, and I…read morewill (emphasis) sadly (end emphasis) be leaving after 1.75 years. The previous reviewer covered most of it, so this is highly repetitive, but worth repeating:
PEOPLE
- Joyce and Andy were incredible landlords. In a dream world, everyone in New York is able to rent from people like them, and everyone is able to rent directly from the property owners without 3rd parties skimming off a cut. When I was moving in, and though I hit the 40x rent, I was worried they would not take me as a tenant. To my surprise, they worked with me despite my atypical/freelance income.
- Tony is the the best super in New York. When I first moved in, he removed the shades from the three front windows. When I locked myself out of my apartment, all I did was text him and I was in my apartment a few seconds later. When he saw me headed to work on a rainy day without an umbrella, he offered me his!
His attentiveness, care, consideration, friendly demeanor--it was a pleasure to get to know him. He's is one of five of the nicest people I have met in New York.
APARTMENT
- This apartment was like winning the lottery: I could afford it and didn't have to live with any more crazy roommates. Serenity Now! in apartment form.
- During my tenancy, rent went up once by 25; my last rental payment was 1450.
-My apartment had older well kept wood floors, a period mantle (I loved this!), a small bedroom that was perfect for my needs, two full closets/good storage, a full bathroom (only drawback sometimes was the 1/2 sink), a great kitchen with plenty of cabinet space, two ceiling fans (which I am mentioning because I never had to use AC, which is important to me), three giant south-facing windows, nice little details like a ledge on the bedroom window and trim painted off tone.
- The apartment was well-maintained (halls bleached every week, trash collected promptly) kept to code (fire safety).
- The radiators worked really well and I stayed warm (if not hot, which I prefer) during the winter months. I only heard clanking from the radiators 3 times. No hissing.
- I loved the high pressure shower and how it jostled my brain and woke me up every morning. The bathroom also had a great vent that provided deep focus while showering. No mold, which was great for a non-windowed bathroom.
- Only a shifted sprinkler cover required maintenance in the time I lived in the apartment.
- No bugs and no rodents.
- Fellow tenants (a family below, a couple next door, a couple upstairs, one other lady I rarely saw) were courteous and polite. No one was ever rowdy.
- Toward the end of my tenancy, USPS was actually leaving packages instead of leaving peach slips, which was really convenient.
- The apartment is 2 seconds away from the 6 train and M116 was right in front of my door.
- The apartment itself was surprisingly quiet.
I'm glad to have found and lived at the apartment when I did--I witnessed very little gentrification creep.
If you see any openings for any apartments in any one of Jakandy's three 116th buildings (153, 155, 157), stop looking and do whatever you can to live there. Good heavens I'm already missing my apartment--