Birch House — Attraction in Jersey City

DO NOT TRUST THESE FAKE 5 STAR REVIEWS- concierge staff were incentivized by management to encourage tenants to write 5 star reviews about the building online. They would ask the first week we were there as well, and admitted to receiving a bonus.

This place is a nightmare. I only lasted 2 weeks before breaking my lease and I was forced to stay for 2 months.

-everything they brag about on the tour is a lie. Building is a mess and cheaply made. Water Leaks everywhere. Shared spaces have been closed due to leaks in the ceiling. One of my neighbors had their apartment flood. Windex will take the paint off your walls. Package room is always breaking down & your packages will get stolen. You can’t have guests without adding them to your lease. Coffee machine isn’t functional often and just dispenses water. If you complain about these things best they can offer is a meal voucher to the roach infested pub across the street. You’ll have to go to regional management to receive any credits for damage they caused.

-the dog run only gets cleaned once a week. It’s disgusting. They only sanitize it every few months affording to concierge.

-when I signed my lease I was told parking was $250. They decided to raise the cost of parking for everyone (not just new tenants) to $300.

-rude management who spy’s on you through the cameras. They’re looking for any and every way to charge you extra with made up rules that aren’t even in your lease. Will not help you with issues, just threaten you with eviction. You have 0 privacy, 0 support, you complain you’ll get punished. The building manager gave my father and I dirty looks during my move out. Management stopped answering my emails so I had to speak to regional for any help - probably explains the looks and unfair treatment I received after breaking my lease.

-no cell service in any units. You can’t call 911 in case of emergency and if you work from home this isn’t the place for you

-there are no keys, they use the latch app. Which sounds convenient but it doesn’t function properly. I couldn’t move in on my move in date and lost $800 in move in costs because my app opened the neighbors door instead of mine. I went to the management office 5 different times for help and I wasn’t a priority, I was seen as an inconvenience and told that they had no idea what was wrong. If you lock your door from the inside anyone can get in using the latch app. Maintenance said when they malfunction they use a “slim jim” and stick it under your door - it opens right up. Which means anyone can do that and easily pick your lock. So unsafe.

-building set on fire at 1am, everyone had to evacuate and staff ran to their cars instead of making us aware and helping us. My latch app was malfunctioning so it was a struggle getting out of the building.

-my neighbor had a medical emergency and EMTs couldn’t get into the building because her latch app couldn’t open the door to the building. This happens often where concierge isn’t present or they just ignore whoever is at the door so any guests, food orders, and even EMERGENCY services can’t get inside. She had to call a friend for help to drive to the building and get them inside. If she was unconscious this would have been bad.

-someone bent over my terrace and puked on it. And someone threw a bag of cigarettes on it as well. Shocked this could even happen since we’re policed so much.

-the area is so bad, you’re not allowed to walk on the grass outside and are forced to go across the street to walk your dog, smoke etc. would be fine if it was safe but it’s not. Violent homeless people on drugs have came onto the property and spent time in the outdoor lot, but us tenants can’t do so. Crack pipes are sold in the corner stores and bags of heroin are on the streets.

-I’m not the only one who feels this way. Iv met multiple people dealing with the same issues but they can’t review this place due to fear of backlash/ they can’t break their lease.

Don’t move here and trap...

The leasing office and management lack communication between them which then the burden falls on the tenet.

When I was in the process of filling out all the paperwork, I gave all my pet information to leasing. But on the day of me moving in the manager asked me if my pets were on the lease and when I answered her yes, she made it seem as if I was some how getting upset?? (not sure why), and told me that she was just trying to make sure because she didn't have any info on them and then asked me to send her photos, and pretty all the information I had already sent to leasing. (I don't understand why she couldn't just get the info from leasing) but I sent it to her anyways.

I also kept asking management about the internet and why did I need to get wifi with the building which is with Verizon and it's $50. I told her I already had an account with Verizon and I'm only paying $40 for the exact same thing. She kept going around in circles about how she's reaching out to someone else about it but they haven't responded. Just very unprofessional. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

The building is really nice with nice amenities but with that comes a high a rent. I would expect management to be on their A-game and make sure there are no issues and if there is they should be something done to make up for the inconveniences.

And to add to the unorganized/unprofessional that is management. They have a lot of events for the residents that involves food or drinking. And as someone that is vegan (no consumption or use of animal products) and sober for 7 years now. I'm not really able to participate in these events, which then defeats the purpose of why someone would chose to live in such a pricey building. When I mentioned to them if they will start offering vegan options, I was met with some sort of annoyance. As if I was bothering them that I was bringing it to their attention that they are not really being inclusive. I tried to explain to them that a side salad is not really consider a vegan option especially if there is no vegan dressing to put on the salad. (Like do they really expect me to eat dry lettuce with some pieces of tomato?? And just because someone is vegan doesn't mean we want to eat a salad! Veganism is not a diet! I'm not vegan to be healthy. I'm vegan for the animals.) I told them there should be more than just side dishes for people that are vegan. I don't even think they understand what vegan really means. And it just shows how unprofessional they are. They don't care to look up what it means and how they cater to different needs.

For the holiday party, I was really looking forward since they said they would have a vegan option. When I got there and asked them what was vegan, the lady said the rice and the salad and plantains. And I told her that those are just side dishes, what is the main course and she mumbled something and then said that tofu was too expensive. (What??) I told her that tofu is actually the cheapest thing you can get. And then she mumbled something else under her breath and when I asked to repeat what she had just said she mumbled something else under her breath and then said they're "on a budget" okay, if you are charging over $200 for one parking spot, you cannot say you're on a budget. This is insanity. For the amount of money that we pay, she should have made sure there was a vegan option for me. She could have reached out to me and ask if would be attending the holiday party so that she could get a vegan dish. That's what I'm expecting from management. But they don't care. They lazy and don't want to go out of their way or do anything extra.

If there was management different or if they were better, I would give them better rating. But unfortunately anytime I have to talk to management, it's always a...

I’ve been living at Birch House for 2 months now. I am very happy with how tidy and clean the public areas are! I also find the building to be quiet and tranquil. Much of the staff is extremely friendly and many of the Residents are very kind. I do wish that I could set my own permanent access code in the Latch app. We don’t have apt keys, so if your phone dies or you leave your phone in the apt, the concierge has to follow you to come open the apt for you.

Check-In for me was surprisingly disappointing. I arrived at my appointed time to meet with Celia so that I could gain access to the unit. Celia was kind enough to show me how to access the Latch App so that I could gain entry to my unit and to the amenity spaces. After that, she then suddenly asked if I paid the required amounts necessary to move-in. I told her that I did, in accordance with the instructions provided to me by the leasing agent. I also provided to her the screenshot of instructions given to me to mail cashier checks to a Birch House office. Apparently, as she informed me, the instructions provided to me were incorrect. She then told me that ‘technically, you didn’t pay, so we cant give you access’. She then went to her office (with her Manager) and quickly disabled my Latch access. In that moment, I felt upset and utterly humiliated. I also immediately regretted my decision to move to Birch House. I waited in the lobby while Celia discussed the matter with her manager. When she returned she explained that it was a unique situation and that they were sorting through it but couldn’t give me access until they verified that I actually paid. She also told me that she was leaving at 3p and that her manager would continue with me on the matter. Lastly, she suggested that I cancel the cashier checks that I bought and go to bank to re-purchase new cashier checks. The entire situation seemed very disorganized and messy. I ended up leaving with no access. Instead of going to the bank at 2p on a Friday to get new checks, I went home and took photos of the certified mailing receipt and emailed to Celia. At that point they called the Birch House office and verified that I had indeed mailed checks as required. Celia told me that I could come back for apt access. I returned later and met with the Property Manager who had W-9 form in hand that Celia said I hadn’t completed - which was False because I had in email that I already sent it. She also had parking garage remote for me, but I did not require parking garage access. At my rent price-point, I would expect a better check-in experience. Property Management should have given me strict instruction that I should arrive with cashier checks in hand at the time of check-in. I looked back at my emails from Birch House Mgmt and could not find that detail. Or at a minimum, they could have contacted me the day before check-in to question me about payments. Ultimately they apologized for the inconvenience, but it was a humiliating experience for me that did not...