First, it's a very unsafe place to live in. We've had 2 fires in the past 13 months, the last fire was in December 2024, and it was quite a big one. Many rooms were damaged, some completely burnt out. Their old electric wires started to burn, tenants ran outside, there were 6 firetrucks, lots of firefighters, but zero hostel managers (they are rarely around).
Second, their manager COLLIN HOOPER IS EXTREMELY DISRESPECTFUL, RUDE & ABUSIVE. Always stressed & angry, he has no idea what being polite is. He talks disparagingly, gives orders and invents his own prison-like rules (I guess a prison was a part of his background) that make it even more difficult to live here. This person called me names, has been harassing me (and I'm sure other tenants as well) with his crazy rules & orders, I heard from him, "Don't walk away! Go to your room!" The lazy managers are in charge of the cameras, so they feel free to do whatever they want.
Normal management is non-existent, most of the time, they don't even bother to reply, not to mention correcting a problem. The managers actually create problems themselves, by trashing the place, ignoring the complaints, mistreating tenants, etc. I heard & saw another manager BEN ELIAS (BENJAMIN HAJI-ELIAS) screaming and cursing at a tenant. All they care about are not working & getting paid. You'll be on your own dealing with drug-abusing screaming neighbors, beeping smoke alarms, trash & dirty laundry left by managers & tenants in common places, very bad ventilation in your room and in common areas, etc.
Also, the harassment of tenants by managers is supported by business owners.
There's no source of the air in a large area downstairs that include the lobby, dining area, mail area, washing area, kitchen with many trash bins and a bathroom. So, get ready to smell someone's dirty laundry (even if you're in your room) or wake up to the smell from the kitchen in the middle of the night.
The bathrooms (toilets) don't have ventilation except for the tiny windows, and many people don't care about leaving them clean after use.
If you have a problem and let a manager know or made a maintenance request, it will be ignored most of the time.
If someone's smoke alarm sets off & starts beeping every 3 min, NO ONE will fix it, unless you complain to the business owners. Even then it might not work. You'll have to go to find the broken alarm yourself, record a video, mail it to the business owners & managers, and wait for days until they stop the annoying sound. One time, the manager Collin Hooper openly told me that he's not going to look for the broken alarm, although it was beeping for 3 days. So, the alarm kept beeping for a week.
18 rooms' windows (and mine too) + 5 bathrooms & 4 showers face a small, enclosed, ALWAYS DIRTY lightwell (see the pics) covered with the patches of black mold (deadly for your health), and have A VERY BAD VENTILATION. You have to make a request for a cleaner to sweep it & he does a very bad job doing it. I recently asked a manager and a maintenance man to wash off the mold & dirt, and they both started telling me that there's no need for this, "The streets are dirtier! This is not black mold, it's just dirt..."
Some rooms' windows face a wall of the nearby building that's about 3 inches away (You'll have a narrow gap for breathing).
Overall, the place is VERY old, with the old, chipped furniture, squeaky beds, old thin doors that will let you hear every step someone makes in a narrow corridor, dirty, smelly comforters and dirty sheets (When I rented my room, my sheets were literally grey - they were so dirty)
+ THE PLACE HAS MICE
This place might work for you if you're completely deaf, OK with filth, lack of fresh air, dirty bathrooms, black mold & rodents, and have time and energy to deal with many different problems.
Add to this a neighborhood full of homeless & drug addicts who sleep & walk on the streets and use the streets for all their needs. read more