Oriana — Local services in New York

Do not even think of living here. We lived here for 14 months, after relocating to NYC. The concierge are great, especially Lisa. However, some of the doormen are just plain lazy. The management is corrupt and inept. Our remaining belongings in our apartment were literally discarded in the garbage, despite paying rent and holding a valid lease, during a time that we had two leases on apartments in NYC. They illegally entered our unit, without any written or verbal permission via telephone or email. When we returned to our unit to collect our remaining possessions, we walked into a completely EMPTY apartment. They even threw away our vacuum cleaner! They clearly violated our lease terms, illegally entered our unit, and stole our property. They even took my Verizon FIOS leased equipment from our unit, causing me great stress as I was informed by Verizon that I would be responsible for the costs of the equipment if not returned.

During the 14 months that we lived there, construction noise was a daily occurrence, which required wearing noise cancelling headphones every day when home. We were told that the building would be undergoing renovations, but not that we would be living with jackhammering constantly close to our unit for the entire duration. Nothing was completed construction wise on time. We also experienced an electrical fire caused by the construction in our building lobby, to be displaced and forced to go stay in a hotel. The apartment violated NY fire code for evacuating our units. This was done in a haphazard, unsafe fashion per the FDNY. We were told by the Chief that we would have died in the fire, had it been large and due to the improper evacuation methods utilized. None of the costs were reimbursed. Management is shady, rude, ineffective, and does not live up to their verbal agreements.

We agreed to settle at a loss for $700.00 for our belongings being discarded and the illegal entry, only to months later be told that, “due to counter damage they will not refund $500.00 of the 700.00.” I took photos thankfully of each room and bathroom before moving the majority of our stuff. Now, I am forced once again to fight with management over $500.00, but I will because I have pictures not only showing how immaculate the counters were but that we did clean them. My pictures even show a bottle of windex and paper towels, as I was cleaning. I spent 8 hours one day cleaning every room, bathroom, and closet. Just stay away from this building, no matter how many soon to be broken promises they make to you.

One final note, we also suffered a radiator leak in one of our bedrooms, ruining my son’s belongings. Written documentation of their knowledge of the leak yet it remained unrepaired. We notified management and they refused to pay for our ruined belongings, despite their knowledge of this issue prior to the leak. Elevators were frequently broken and taken out of use. Staff was informed, yet did nothing.

We were offered a lease renewal for our same unit, only to find out they were advertising the exact unit for over $1000/month less than we were being charged! So much for loyal tenants. Just stay away. The building is now beautiful, but you will be taken advantage of by management in time and lose money...

Lived at Oriana for 5 years and moved out last summer. There were a lot to like about the building.

(i) The location is quiet and I loved the Sutton Place neighborhood - so peaceful and clean. The riverside walkway is nice, and Wholefoods/Trader Joe's are close by.

(ii) Unit itself looks beautiful (though build quality is your typical rental building quality, ie not super high). There are lots of issues though (see below)

(iii) Best part of the building are the concierge and maintenance people - very warm, know everyone's names, truly created a family feeling. I lived at many rental buildings and Oriana's staff really stood out (most have been with the building for a long time too)

(iv) Gym / rooftop has a great view. There are two pelotons but sometimes they were broken.

Now the bad and the ugly:

(i) Mgmt: as many pointed out, mgmt was not super communicative and professional esp. during lease renewal periods (not going to name names, but one manager just dodged us / we were told she was on a call and would call back - never happened. Would advise you to save down stuff they promised in writing too.

(ii) Utilities: most rental buildings include water/gas/garbage in the rent. Oriana charges on top of it and might increase it w/o notice. I paid $25/month for water heating for the first 3 years, then one day it just spiked to $125/month. When I contacted the office for an explanation, they just said it is due to higher gas prices and more usage (which didn't make sense, and they couldn't provide any evidence). So beware of those hidden costs which would add another $200+/month to your stated rent

(iii) Elevator issues: break down often and sometimes could be hugely annoying to wait for elevators forever

(iv) I also unfortunately lived through the Local Law 11 repair period but hopefully that doesn't happen for any time soon.

(v) Windows are old and don't block the street noises (I lived high up too). AC units very old (one broke down and they gave us an even older one with manual adjustment - no temperature control/automatic...

Not worth the high rent.

Raised the rent a crazy 30% (thousands more per month) which doesn’t include any utilities, not even water or sewer. They also charge an $800 annual amenities fee, monthly rent for pets, and a one-time pet fee.

Local Law 11 facade repair on the building has been ongoing since Fall 2021 with insanely loud drilling, hammering, and dust daily during business hours and some weekends. Rooftop has been closed off for periods as well, it’s currently closed until the end of August 2022.

The extensive eyesore scaffolding outside the building was there even earlier, well over a year/before 2021.

Elevators broke down often, causing long lines during peak times and forcing some to take the stairs. The elevator doors close fast sometimes, so you have to sacrifice a body part to keep them open.

The building-controlled steam heat didn’t work for several days/nights in winter. The heating system (if working) kicks in when temps are below 55 outside but doesn’t account for inside temps, so you could be roasting or freezing.

Windows are thin and don’t block any outside noise nor provide much insulation.

The AC units are decades old, noisy, and should be replaced.

Lobby also had scaffolding when we moved in, and it took months to repair the lobby roof.

The 70+ page lease is riddled with errors which were never corrected when pointed out to the leasing team.

Management is disorganized, not solution-oriented, nor transparent about issues. Claims to listen to complaints or make changes are all lip service. They’re also understaffed, 2 employees left in less than a year.

The building mainly focuses on raising prices on new renters rather than keeping any current tenants.

Pros: Every once in awhile free snack events are held in the building. Maintenance responds quickly, though they tend to do fast fixes, so you may have to ask them back. The trash/recycling rooms are cleared frequently. The front desk and doormen are friendly. Pretty...