The Lightwell — Local services in New York

Update (04/21/25): there have been security incidents in the building and one violent crime across the street. One time at night, at the York street entrance, a man followed me in. While virtual security informed authorities, had the man been violent with me virtual security could not have helped. Another time, a woman exited from the same entrance and a group of people (who did not live here) came in. We've asked for a doorman again repeatedly for legitimate safety concerns, but were told they would not hire one, despite Nooklyn still falsely advertising one. During Easter weekend there was a violent altercation across the street, a stabbing, that resulted in a lot of police presence. I would give zero stars if I could. Living in this building has been an absolute nightmare due to the management company’s shady practices, broken promises, and complete lack of accountability. Here's a rundown of the countless issues we’ve faced as residents:

No Running Water for Over 12 Hours and Poor Communication: The building had no running water for over 12 hours, and management failed to communicate this in advance, nor did they voluntarily provide us with updates. Residents were left without a basic necessity, and couldn't bathe, use the restroom, have potable drinking water, or make meals. This is a blatant violation of tenant rights under New York law.

No Doorman and Security Concerns We were promised a live doorman before signing our leases but were bait-and-switched into a “virtual doorman” setup. Packages are constantly stolen, delivery personnel are confused, and residents feel unsafe. An Instacart delivery person even stole the building’s moving cart, which could have been prevented if we had a live doorman.

Costly Amenities and False Advertising The coffee shop has not opened without any updates (toured in October and was told it would be open at the end of the month) The sauna and steam room, promised to be ready by December 1, are still not operational. Co-working spaces were advertised as free, but private rooms are now locked, and residents are charged monthly fees—something that was never disclosed during tours. Other amenities that were supposedly free actually charge $350 to use them!!

Appliance and apartment issues Kitchen exhaust fans are non-functional, which is a safety issue. Apartment was dirty upon move-in. Even after sending emails to management and being told they’d be in touch, they just stopped replying.

Lack of Transparency and Accountability The management company consistently fails to communicate or follow through on promises. We were sold on amenities and services that are either unavailable, broken, or come with hidden fees. They are uncommunicative except when it comes to charging you for something.

This building is not worth the high rent prices. Management’s disregard for tenant safety, comfort, and basic needs makes this an unlivable environment. If you’re considering moving here, save yourself the trouble and look elsewhere.

Management, if you’re reading this, start taking accountability. Fix the issues, fulfill your promises, and communicate with your residents. We’re tired of...

I can’t really give a review yet. No doorman?? I’ve never lived in a building without a doorman where I currently live there’s several doormen there’s several there’s a package room where are all the shipping goes to and it’s locked! How can any high rise building have no doorman? What’s a virtual doorman? I wouldn’t feel safe without them! hearing of people having stolen packages already? This is a red flag and the amenities you said are $350 that’s insane. Is that for a year or for a month? My son lives in a high-rise building and he has a small foyer with the doorman with a package room and his amenities are nowhere near that much. He also has a pool. Are you sure you guys are really being legit? My current building I’m in is safe. How could a building a high-rise be safe without a doorman? I don’t really know what a virtual doorman is if people are paying really high rent they should be able to afford to have a proper doorman. In my building there’s been a problem with the water in the past because the pipes here are not new and they have to clean them out every so often, but they’re not turned off for 12 hours maybe five? What about building repairs? Do they come right away? Cause where I currently am? If I have a blocked toilet or whatever they’re here all the time I’m currently in Chelsea. I was thought the dumbo was a really good neighbourhood my son said it was. How are people following you in the building and stealing your stuff? It seems really scary to me. When was this building built? Is it new? It’s really a shame that you’re having problems already in the building they need to get a real doorman. We need a door man we don’t feel safe without one? If you have a virtual doorman who collects the packages that are delivered but they do put them in a pile somewhere and just potluck I have to say the building I’m in is very or when it comes to packages some go missing but they’re not stolen. It’s a problem with the UPS or something. I’m gonna have to look up what a virtual doorman is because this...

Read fully if considering this building

Had some poor experiences living here. I moved in September 2024, and I thought a lot of the issues were simply due to the building being new but I’ve realized that’s not true. Management doesn’t care about any concerns that are escalated - especially safety concerns. One example is that we were promised an in person door man but the building switched to a virtual one without notifying us. This has led to so many safety concerns. The amenities are “free for the first year” but super limited (no sauna, steam, individual meeting rooms, theatre) etc. considering rent prices for this building, that is insane. I wanted to move from a 2BD to and studio (my roommate was moving out) and it would make it way easier for me to move. My lease ends August 31 and they offered me a studio for October 1 - expecting me to pay to move out and move back in. They had a promo going on for 50% off rent in first month, I asked if I could apply that to the 2BD for the month of September so I wouldn’t have to move out and move back in. They said no. After pushing them, they agreed to 50% off 2BD in September but then increased the monthly rent of the studio - it made no sense. Super sad to see them treat tenants like this. Especially good tenants who didn’t originally complain about all the issues. Seeing that they aren’t doing anything about the feedback we’ve given them I want to make sure anyone considering this building is aware of the ongoing issues - aside from safety: shower water leaks outside of the shower, oven doesn’t have a vent, no ice machine even though it’s in the freezer, oven takes 2 hours to heat up, very noisy and no noise cancellation doors or windows (I can hear my neighbours conversations), blinds don’t keep light out making it hard to sleep, walls and floors weren’t finished correctly. The lobby also always smells like dog pee.

The only positive about this building is Carlos the super who is kind and...