Estela Bronx Apartments — Local services in New York

The Sad Downfall of Estela…

I moved into Estela in Mott Haven, Bronx, when it felt like a promising, upscale community. Unfortunately, the last six months have been a complete nightmare. What was once a decent place to live has spiraled into a poorly maintained, overpriced disappointment.

Pros:

Close to Manhattan Nice rooftop with views of the Hudson Dog Park and Media Room Beautiful lounge areas Fully equipped gym and basketball court Garage

Cons:

Overpriced & Poorly Maintained – The rent is sky-high ($3,400 for a one-bedroom) for a building where nearly everything is broken or neglected.

Filthy Rooftop – Stains, grime, and swarms of flies make the roof nearly unusable. Black Mold in Ice Machine – Reported to management, but no action taken.

Armed Guards Over Residents – After one out-of-control party by a single resident this summer, management responded not by addressing that tenant, but by hiring ARMED GUARDS to police the entire building. They patrol the rooftop, kick people off at 11 PM (even in summer), and use intimidating police-style tactics against mostly Black and Brown residents.

False Amenity Promises – We were told amenities were 24/7 before moving in. In reality, everything shuts down at 11 PM, even during peak summer nights.

Grills Are a Joke – Beyond filthy and barely functional. Only 1 of 3 works, and summer is almost over.

Neglected Dog Park – Overwhelming stench, flies breeding in the corners, and clearly not cleaned for months.

Smelly Hallways & Stained Carpets – The hallways reek of dogs, and carpets throughout are permanently stained.

Loss of Great Staff – The wonderful original building staff have all quit due to friction with management or tenants.

Community Decline – The care, respect, and overall vibe have drastically changed for the worse.

I’ve personally picked up trash and tried to keep Estela clean—without pay—just to avoid embarrassment when hosting guests. It’s disheartening to beg management for basic cleanliness only to see them pour resources into policing their own residents.

Estela was marketed as a sanctuary for the community, but now it feels like a trap—one where the amenities are dirty, the rules are arbitrary, and management’s solution to everything is surveillance and intimidation. For the price, you’d expect luxury; instead, you get neglect, disrespect, and a building that’s rapidly falling apart. I would...

Edit:

This building is 100% NOT WORTH the egregious rent. The amenities are in full disrepair (multiple pieces of equipment in the gym have been broken for 5+ mos). We’ve had issues with water quality, building security, it constantly stinks and nothing is ever in good condition.

I pay a premium for private outdoor space and spend every weekend cleaning up cigarette buds, garbage and worse from massive parties on the communal terrace. My furniture and umbrella have been damaged by burning buds, people literally spitting over the side, and throwing food and drinks onto our terrace (as if that would be acceptable to do if it went straight to the ground). I have made frequent complaints to management and never received any acknowledgement to my complaints.

Unfortunately I signed a two year lease, but I will be moving immediately once it is over. I would highly recommend for others considering the south Bronx to only come here if you want your halls to constantly stink of smoke, dog shit (neighbors and building staff do NOT clean up inside or around the property) and to constantly have 50+ gatherings of people who don’t live here and treat the building with utter disrespect. Waste of money and waste of your time to look at it. Don’t be fooled by the breadth of amenities and unfulfilled promises. This building wants your money and will ask you for a kind review before they make you regret every dollar you spent.

—

Recently moved in and have loved the building, my unit and the amenities. The gym in particular is very solid and thoughtfully designed.

Shekinah Grayson, the leasing specialist, was an integral part of my experience in helping me find a home here. She was so patient, informative and accommodating as I made a decision and I ultimately chose to apply based on the kindness and professionalism exhibited by Shekinah and the rest...

DO NOT LIVE HERE!

After two years of living here, I take back everything I said. Let’s start off with management - they severely lack empathy, effective communication, and basic human skills. The minute the new manager came in, she was on a power trip, and she’s not making any friends here. The assistant manager is nothing but nice to your face, and fake as can be, oh and super passive aggressive. The only good thing about the leasing office are the leasing agents themselves.

We were led here under false pretenses. I was told the amenities would be year round and open 24 hours. It wasn’t shortly after I moved in that they changed the policy and you can only use grills for three months, that is if you make a reservation, and the people who had it before you use it for the allotted time. Good luck with that. We were also told that there were only a certain amount of apt allocated for the lottery/section 8 - the entire building 414 & 445 are nothing but section 8. Because of that, this place has lost all of its credibility. People leave their kids roaming around the hallways, there are aggressive pit bulls here that have attacked other dogs, and when you complain, nothing gets done. We were also told there was a coffee shop opening in the last retail space, to this day, still not there. People leave their dogs waste in the hallways, elevator, and refuse to clean up after their pets in the “dog run”.

The building itself is beautiful, the apts are spacious, but definitely NOT WORTH the price. I’m extremely disappointed with the lack of professionalism from management. Do yourself a favor, go down the road and look at the high rises, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble and won’t have to deal with the lack of management here. I cannot...