Vermella Harrison — Attraction in Harrison

4.6/5: We've lived here for 6 months now and overall really enjoy it. The only reasons it's not perfect are the price and location.

Price: The price, unfortunately, is reflective of the insane housing market around NYC. However, for the quality of the building and our apartment itself, we're getting more bang for our buck over Jersey City, Hoboken, and especially NYC itself. There are several new complexes in this area and near the PATH station.

Location: The location is difficult because it's a long walk to accomplish most tasks and errands, and you'll find yourself needing a car if you don't already have one. At this time, most the area consists of vacant lots and other apartments. The nearest grocery store is about a half-mile walk, but if you don't want to fork over your life savings, you'll want a car to shop elsewhere. And even when you have a car, Frank E Rodgers is extremely congested at nearly all hours. That being said, there are a handful of newer restaurants near the PATH station, and over time, the area will continue to develop. There are also several nearby interstates. Plus, the PATH station is close. You can travel from your apartment to the WTC in just about 30 minutes.

Dogs: We have 2 dogs, and the building is very dog-friendly. There is a large dog-run on the roof. Walking our dogs has been easy, too. Although Frank E Rodgers is highly congested, we've found the area to the east of the building and around the RedBull Arena provides an excellent, short walking loop. We also frequently cross the bridge to the south where there is a riverfront park area (though we wouldn't recommend that area at night).

Building: The building still looks very new. You use a type of key fob that allows access to both the building and your apartment. There is a concierge most hours of the day that handles deliveries and packages. They're also very friendly. Overall, the building is high-quality, though the garbage rooms are in dire need of better ventilation.

Amenities: In addition to the dog run, we've mostly used the gym, though the building has quite a few other amenities. The gym offers a pretty good equipment selection for being in-house. Our one complaint is a first-world problem: it's so hot and humid in the gym--a little AC please!

Parking: The building has an attached parking garage. Rooftop parking is $75/month, but it's in high demand, so be prepared to wait for a spot. The other spots are $150/month, and we had no problem getting one. In order to access the garage, your car has to have a special sticker, which is great for security.

Apartment itself: We have a 1br apartment. It feels very spacious, and we were able to fit a large couch, dining room table, exercise bike, and other furniture in the living room. The bedroom is very large and could fit a king with ample room to spare, and our unit has a small walk-in closet. The kitchen is also large, and we've had very few issues with the appliances. The bathroom is massive, probably even too large--some of that room could have been used for storage. We also have an in-unit washer/dryer. The apartment is also aesthetically pleasing, with beautiful hardwood floors and a high ceiling. Our one initial struggle was with storage. There is a small entry-way closet and some shelves in the washer/dryer closet, but we moved from a similarly-sized prior unit and had a tough time figuring out where to store things at first.

Staff: We've mostly worked with Taylor and found her to be very courteous, responsive, and professional (she's even given us a few great local recommendations). The concierge folks are great. And the maintenance team responds quickly, are courteous, and do a great job.

Move in: Taylor made this process easy and painless. We were able to back a 17' Uhaul into a loading dock in the building, and from there we could move our furniture and belongings. If you're moving yourself, though, be sure to rent furniture dollies. The building takes up a full city block, and there is only one loading dock, so be prepared for a lot of walking...

I've been at Vermella a few months and here is my detailed review:

General: I've only looked at the studios so I can only review those, but the studios are beautiful and well maintained. They are modern and have top notch appliances and in-unit washers and dryers. The apartment complex has a large gym in comparison to most apartment gyms that I've seen, and decent amenities like a club room/common area, courtyards and a dog park. Nothing over the top, just enough.

Location/Transportation: Harrison is an "upcoming" neighborhood, next to Newark. I wouldn't consider the neighborhood "cute" necessarily because it's a developing area, with a lot of construction and it's a commuter town, but things are getting built up nicely. For commuting, Vermella Harrison has a parking lot attached to the building which to have a parking space is significantly cheaper a month than the neighboring complexes. Also there's visitor parking on the top floor which is convenient. But the best thing is there is a train station less than 5 minute walk away. It's the Harrison Path station where within 20 minutes you can go directly to the World Trade Center Station, or you can ride one stop and connect at journal square to get up to 33rd street in NYC. It's a very nice above ground train station. Very well lit. Honestly I think its one of the nicest train stations on the PATH.

The main road in front of the apartment building (Frank E Rodgers Blvd) does get VERY jam packed with traffic. It moves but it can just be slow sometimes. Also, this complex is located right next to the Red Bull Arena, so when there are events there, roads are sometimes blocked off but residents are given notice so they can plan around it.

Touring the Property: I reached out online and the leasing office was very responsive in scheduling time for me to tour. I spoke with Faith at the leasing office who was wonderful. I told her what I was interested in looking at and she was the one who gave me the tour of the property. She also told me about upcoming availabilities that weren't listed on the website yet.

Application Process:  Within the week of touring I applied and my application was accepted. Application process was clear and the next steps were also laid out very clearly. I had about an 8 week waiting period until move in and a TON OF QUESTIONS and Faith was incredibly helpful and responsive throughout the process.

Move in: Move in instructions were straight forward and it was pretty easy to navigate around the complex, get my key, and start the move.  The Freight elevator is kind of funky in terms of when it wants to open for you or not, so I did have to call maintenance a few times to help with that which was annoying, but not a big deal. Overall, my move in day was pretty smooth.

Concierge/Maintenance: I've heard great things about Vermella's maintenance team before moving in, and my experience with them so far has been great. I had one issue where I needed emergency service and Elliott on the maintenance team was quick to respond and SO nice. I interact with the concierges pretty often because of packages and they have all been helpful and I haven't had any major issues with package pick up.

ONE CON: So far my experience has been good, but the one weird thing is I am an AT&T user for my cell service and reception is TERRIBLE in this building. I don't know if there's a cell tower being blocked based on where my apartment is located or if its just a big verizon zone, but typically I have to use wifi or wifi calling within the apartment building or my calls and connection are super spotty. 5G is not great for AT&T in the building and cell service is not great when making calls. It's very annoying, but not a deal breaker for me. Service is fine outside and around the building and I'm mostly connected to WiFi inside anyway.

Again, I"ve only been in the complex for a little while but I've been happy with the experience. I toured a few other properties in the area, and rent was also less on average at this property for comparable...

From the outside, Vermella Harrison looks to be a luxurious place to live. Once you move in, it is very clear the building is plagued with obvious infrastructure issues. When I moved here in November 2020, the building was evacuated three times due to water pipe issues. Each month thereafter, there was either a building evacuation or fans in the hallways due to a pipe bursting in a tenant’s unit. On the 5th floor, it's common for water to pour through the hallway ceilings when there's heavy rain - the fix for this, buckets and a paint job. Despite a town hall meeting the tenants demanded with Russo Management, the problems continue.

In 2021, a pipe burst in my apartment ceiling. I was told the “crimper” used to hold the pipe together was corroded causing the pipe to “split." There was minimal damage, but the crack in the ceiling remained despite numerous requests to have it fixed. The building did nothing to clean up, fix the crack, nor did I receive any compensation for having to hire a cleaning service for their poor infrastructure. On July 2, 2025, I returned home to find the fire alarm going off and water pouring down from the ceiling in multiple spots. There was at least two inches of water covering every square foot of my 2-bedroom apartment. Water had been flowing from my apartment ceiling for at least 3 hours. Once the water flow was stopped, maintenance determined that, once again, the “crimper” holding the pipe together had corroded.

Antisha McFadden, the property manager, saw the damage firsthand and kept referring to the issue as a basic "leak." She told me to find a hotel and that I would be reimbursed for the stay. She also said I should withhold the rent payment until the damage was fixed and I was able to move back in. My son, dogs, and I were forced to live in a hotel from July 2nd through July 14th. During that time, I had to hound the leasing office for information. No one seemed to know anything or would give me information on the status of the repairs.

My possessions were ruined due to the deluge, I had to miss several days of work, and the overall experience was incredibly traumatizing. They had to take down the entire ceiling because the water had spread. When they did this, they didn't even move my belongings and barely attempted to protect them from debris (see pics). When I was finally able to return to the unit, there were visible signs of mold and black mold (see pics) throughout I had to request testing be done for the air quality and the mold prior to moving back in. Russo is now also refusing to reimburse me for my damaged items, the time I missed from work, and the hotel stay. They are also demanding I pay rent for the 12 days that the apartment was completely unlivable due to their own negligence.

The frequent issues at this building involving pipes and water heaters happen far too frequently to be considered normal. Clearly there is a problem with the building’s plumbing that poses a safety hazard to the tenants. Apart from Russo's refusal to provide any sort of assistance, Antisha's and the leasing office staff's attitude during this period was especially distressing. I expected at a minimum better communication and proactiveness on their part, as well as a basic level of human care during this distressing situation. Instead, they expressed zero concern for whether I could afford to live in a hotel and front the cost for an indefinite period of time, whether my belongings could have been salvaged instead of being subjected to further damage by their contractors, and even now whether the unit is safe to return to. Vermella and Russo have made it clear that they have no concern for their tenants' well-being and are only interested in their bottom line.

I highly, HIGHLY recommend looking elsewhere for an apartment. Unless you’re happy living in a property where, should anything untoward happen, you won’t be treated with a modicum of care or respect. Don’t believe their website for a second - “nothing short of exceptional”? Nothing could be further...