485 Marin Apartments — Attraction in Jersey City

This building is the worst and belongs to Kushner's family. The experience with this building is a nightmare. Watch out! Unhealthy new construction with high formaldehyde level to cause coughing and breathing for me, irresponsible, greedy, and treating tenants like a dirt. I will write the whole story later.

I wrote the above comments two months ago and now I will finish the whole story:

Last September when the lease starting date, the apartment is not finished! the paint inside is still wet! the curtain fell off immediately after I touched it! The corridor was under construction with no paint on the wall! Other apartments near mine were still under construction. The chemical smell is so strong that I immediately started to cough and feel hard to breathe! Most of you might not feel this seriously since your body is not as sensitive as mine, but these chemicals do exist and will still damage your health!! I immediately left the building to live in hotel on my own cost and the building only agreed to delay my move in date for one month.

My doctor said my lung was inflamed by the chemicals which caused coughing and hard to breathe. My doctor told me not to move back to this building because the formaldehyde could not disappear within one year in such new construction. However, this building refused to end my lease! Meanwhile they also totally ignored my request of cleaning up the air because they know my health would be jeopardized and they did not want me to move in! Instead, they only pushed me pay rent till someone moves in and also pay them administrative fee for lease termination! By the law of New Jersey, the tenant has the right to move out if the living environment is not livable for their health. This building is a big bully only because they knew I should not want to hire an expensive lawyer! All of their replies were through their legal teams!!! So after three weeks, I was tired and just wanted to get settled instead of living like homeless so that I told them I would agree with these terms. Guess what? They immediately sent me a form of Intent to Vacate to sign by saying the apartment would be back to the market only after I sign the lease. So I signed it without thinking much. Afterwards, I asked them to give me the key so that I could show it to potential tenants to make it faster to rent out. They immediately declared my lease was terminated and I could not access to the building! Push me to pay rent but not allowed me to access to the building??!! Under New Jersey Law, as long as the tenant finds new tenant and cause no loss to the land lord, the tenant can leave for free!!! Let alone they even violated the law of living environment for me! Why should I believe they would help to rent this apartment while they have tons of other empty apartment for rent? I even asked my friend to pretend to be tenant to clearly say he wants a south facing apartment but they DIDN'T show my apartment! They only showed other apartment similarly to mine. Later someone applied, they refused to tell if the applicant was approved with the excuse of protecting applicant's privacy. At this point, I have realized they just wanted to keep my money and even might charge double rent from new tenant! This building has no moral ground! So I decided to hire a lawyer finally!!! When my lawyer reached them late November, they said they had mailed me a check. The check was totally ridiculous! They only gave me back $1000 and kept my other around $3500 without any explanation! This apartment should be able to be rented out very fast given the big discounted price! They are so nasty and just wanted to keep my money and might collect double rent from the new tenant too! Since it is a Kushner's building, I am no more shocked by any immoral things they do! After my lawyer talked to them, they knew they were illegal!! They gave back most of my money immediately!!!! Stay away from this building if you don't want to be ripped...

I cannot pass by without leaving this review about the building and its management company. Because these are people who go above and beyond—not just doing their jobs, but doing everything with the quality and care as if it were for themselves. We lived in this building for a year (unfortunately, it’s time for us to move on), and we are left with wonderful impressions of the people who work here. Alison and Akiva from the management team are incredible. I believe they are simply people with exceptionally strong values and high standards, which is why everything runs so smoothly. They’re always willing to help, respond quickly, and make you feel like your concerns and questions genuinely matter. I believe this is why the entire staff is so well-selected—because the management team cares deeply about the building. There is no turnover in their team, which speaks volumes. The maintenance team, led by Alex, is simply top-notch. Every request was handled quickly, but more importantly, there was always a friendly and personal touch, not the impersonal approach you often find in buildings of this type. And Alex he is just wonderful person and always so helpful. The front desk team—Glen, John, Chris, and Cecil—is always warm and welcoming. Even the cleaning staff and other building personnel you encounter in the common areas are polite, cheerful, and professional, always greeting you with a smile. The building itself is impeccably maintained. We’ve looked at almost every building in the newer part of Jersey City, and properties managed by KRE Group stand out. Regardless of the building’s age, they are always kept clean and smelling fresh. What’s most important is that you never feel abandoned if you encounter any issues or challenges in your home. Every residential building might face occasional maintenance problems or minor flaws, but what truly matters is how the team responds. At 485 Marin, the staff consistently goes above and beyond to ensure you feel comfortable as a tenant. Another highlight is the parking—it’s one of the best in the area. It’s private, with spacious spots and ample availability for EV charging stations. It was incredibly tough for us to make the decision to move for personal reasons, as it’s rare to find a team like this in a building you call home. This place truly sets the bar high, and we are so grateful for the experience...

UPDATE: Shout out to Barzi who works at the leasing office (I believe). She is my SAVIOR today because her promptly communication among the management and leasing team resolves my situation. Indeed, she is the only one who was able to get back to me today. At first I didn’t even think about emailing her because she seems to work at the leasing instead of the management office. Despite a lot of confusion and misunderstanding of the whole check-in process (because I take over someone else’s lease as a joining tenant of a 2B), I was finally able to get into my room after 3 hours with her help.

Moreover, GREAT GREAT GREAT thanks to John at the front desk. He is absolutely caring, kind and helpful throughout the whole process, much better than the previous concierge I have been dealing with. John demonstrates what’s called “customer obsession” as a concierge. I could tell he absolutely loves helping people as part of his job. I think he deserves a promotion since he is also a life-long learner — he is studying Spanish on his phone when no one needs his support at this New Year’s Eve! He seems to suffer from some pain in his shoulder that seriously needs a surgery, and I sincerely hope he get his insurance sorted out and recovered from it soon. Honestly, I change my rating for 485 Marin Blvd from 1 star to 4 stars only because Barzi and John. They are absolutely valuable employee to have and with their superb works and supports, life here at 485 Marin is sweet.

12/31/2022 is a rainy day as I move in at 495 Marin Blvd. Everything was fine, I drove my U-Haul and arrived at the front-desk. However, I am not able to get in the room despite the fact that I have emailed the management office to check if I could pick up the key at the front desk along with some other questions, and I got a single sentence “that’s correct” replied.

Well here I am talking to the concierge, he said he is not the decision maker, so I have to email someone working remotely given that the management office is closed…. Well I have been waiting for 2hrs and no email replied yet. God damn knows how many extra hours to wait? Huh?? Is it my fault to move in on New Year’s Eve, when everyone else is enjoying their life with...