The Towers — Local services in New York

So far, my experience here has been very good. My apartment (1 bedroom shared) at the Towers is well-equipped and spacious: standard fridge, 2 burner electric stovetop, microwave (mine was brand new!), large sink, kitchen table with seating for 4, plenty of storage, shelving in lower cabinets and shelves above counter, large windows (they open just a crack) with blinds (can add a tension rod and curtains if you please), central air in bedroom and common area/kitchen with thermostats each... a nice sized desk and dresser (both deceptively large) with comfortable desk chair, and closet (with rod and shelf), comfortable bed (check: mattress can be flipped for firmness, and height can be adjusted at request by maintenance), plenty of outlets, free wifi and ethernet cable connection, (if you have a living area in your apartment, you also have couch seating), decent sized mirror at bathroom sink (but should probably bring an over-the-door too), bathroom toilet and shower are in a separate room from the sink which (in my case) is open to the bedroom, even the light at the bathroom sink/mirror is a nice daytime light (nice for applying makeup). My view is very nice overlooking the beautiful campus (north). In general the neighborhood is quiet but there is a school next door which can get noisy. So far I haven't really had any problems with noise from my neighbors aside from the occasional loud bunch in the hallway. There is one communal kitchen on the 1st floor, but if you just get a toaster oven/air fryer you should be fine. There's a main lounge on the first floor with pool table and TV, and there is a conference room that you can study in. There is also a print station, and small music room with piano. There is a small lounge with seating on every floor save the 2 quiet floors (9th and 10th) as well as a trash room with recycling bins. My apartment was clean and in good condition when I arrived (but trust, I still would clean the heck out of everything when you get here). I recommend getting a draft dodger of some kind for the front door as there is significant space under the door (hello: noise! bugs! your neighbor who doesn't know how to cook!) I also quickly purchased a shopping cart from the nearby 99c store which comes in handy for getting groceries and doing laundry. Grocery stores are somewhat close, and there are some restaurants nearby. Subway station walkable. Be aware the campus/neighborhood is pretty hilly. Also be careful going out at night; this is NYC. Roommate selection is done through a matching service where you create profiles and list preferences and then you choose who you would like to room with. Good security, but strict guest policies: only 2 guests allowed per resident and must surrender ID's for length of stay. The laundry use is free and they have a small gym. Receiving packages is easy as they hold it at the front desk for up to 2 weeks until you are available to retrieve it. You can use financial aid to help or fully cover the cost to dorm. There is no "board" or meal plan. You have a kitchen, campus dining, and restaurants at your disposal. The maintenance requests are dealt with quickly and thoroughly and can be submitted through the portal. And the office staff is extremely helpful. Everyone I have spoken to has been kind and caring. In particular, the Assistance Director of Housing, Atiya, is one of the most professional, capable, and friendly people I have ever met. She's prompt, informative, courteous, and efficient. If you have a question or problem she will call or email you right away to talk through the issue and advise you. She really cares and goes above and beyond to make sure there are no problems and that things are going well. I'm super appreciative of her because I would probably not be able to live here otherwise. Overall, the Towers is a great opportunity for you to live independently near school in a great city. I highly recommend it and I hope my review...

If I could give the Towers at CCNY a zero star rating then I would.

As an undergraduate freshman at CCNY, The Towers at CCNY has made a long lasting impression on my life. This is possibly the worst student dormitory in Manhattan. I decided to write this review to let everyone know, at least any who wants to live here, that the Towers at CCNY is a terrible place to live.

Living condition: For the price of $1558 a month, the dorm room is incredibly small. It is miniscule for what you can get in Manhattan. Not to mention that for the price, you will likely be spending your time living with three other people in the living spaces. The kitchen is small, the bathroom has no sink, pest are frequent, and your air conditioning unit is likely to leak on you. The first time that my air conditioning leaked, I was stuck in a room inhaling chemicals from the water supply. Not to mention that the leak put a huge hole in my schedule and I missed time in class.

Staff: the staff here are extremely unprofessional and disrespectful. The Towers recruits students here for working positions. The resident advisors here are extremely careless and unprofessional. The actual staff here that handle paperwork are akin to morons(people with less than 70 IQ). Overall the Towers absolutely needs to retrain its staff, or better yet, hire better staff.

Contract: if you are renting a dorm at The Towers, PLEASE read your contract properly. This is not a lease, it is a license, meaning that you do not get the rights of a lessee. For the Fall season, The Towers charged me $4,500 before I even moved in. This is on top of the other 2 installments of $1,558. Make sure that you read EVERYTHING. Make this a practice when signing contracts. There are also extra fees, such as cleaning fees. The cleaning fees are usually $200 or more.

Area: This is Manhattan, and the pricing reflects that. However, the area around The Towers is not pleasant. The people are loud, there is dog s* all over the side walks, the people at night tend to get very rowdy. Not to mention that everything around you is overpriced(of course because its Manhattan). The area is even worse at night.

People: the other residents are usually peaceful. Conflicts are mediated. From what I have heard, sexual assaults at The Towers happen frequently. Other reviews on Google and Reddit mention this. However, I am skeptic of it. If you do eventually live here, there will more then a few accusations.

Pricing: The installments and semester payments are clearly meant to be overpriced. $1558 to live with pests, 3 other people, a bathroom with no sink, and little accommodation is too much. It is reasonable that this is Manhattan, however, the area is terrible and there is no realistic boon to living here. After being here for quite a while, I have learned that it was a mistake to sign my contract. After the deadline, getting out of your contract will cost you $1,000 minimum. Please please please make sure to read your contract. The down payment is $450 and if you try to get out of contract after the deadline, you will have to pay $1000 on top of $450.

Lobby: the lobby at The Towers looks pretty good. There is a fitness center, a laundry room, and a music room. The fitness center has equipment, however the equipment is usually broken and there are dumbbells missing. The laundry room is usually overcrowded, damp and messy. The music room has two digital pianos, however, the one to the right of the mirror is broken. There is a conference room, a kitchen, and an actual lobby on the first floor.

Summary: Not worth the pricing. The Towers definitely needs to improve the living quality and train the staff better. Everything here is a grade down from what it should be. Not to mention that some lunatic(someone who is out of their mind) might pull the fire alarm if their rice is just a bit too crispy. Please please please read your contract if you are serious about living...

I lived at the towers for the 2023-2024 academic year and it was the worst dorming experience I have ever had. It seemed like an appealing place coming from a newcomer’s perspective but this not the case. Fall semester went pretty well up until the last few weeks before winter break, which is when the wall began to leak from rain. Maintenance was notified on multiple occasions about this but there was no attempt at repairing it since it was an “outside company’s” responsibility. The leak progressively got worse causing black and white mold to begin growing. When requesting help from the towers staff, my roommate, RA, and myself were gaslit and questioned about if it was actually mold (they could clearly see it was). A carpet treatment was done numerous times to combat the putrid mildew smell, but my roommate and I were constantly getting sick still. Additionally, eleven of my clothing items were ruined by mold. Storage under beds is essential when living in a college dorm so it’s reasonable to store off-season clothes there. I was lucky enough to receive a $200 reimbursement for the damages despite this being an uncommon occurrence from the towers. Shortly after the mold fiasco, we began to have mice/rat problems (sure, this is common for NYC, but still gross). The towers supplied us with glue traps that did absolutely nothing for months until they finally gave us snap traps. Once the snap trap was set, we shortly caught one. The leak in our room prevailed during this time as well. That was until a random Tuesday night at 4:30 am when a pipe burst! Multiple rooms on floors 6, 7, and 8 FLOODED with rusty water. After a long night/morning of wet vacuuming standing water out of our room, my roommate and I requested room changes since our room was inhabitable at this point. Towers staff were extremely dismissive during this time and there was a ton of miscommunication, causing my roommate and I to continue to sleep in that room for a night (we were told later that we shouldn’t have done that…what was our other option?). My roommate and I were able to change rooms the next day and the rest of spring semester was tolerable. I additionally want to add that dealing with staff during all of this was a nightmare. BIG shout out to Benny, Wilson, and my RA Sydney because they were wonderful. All the other staff members I specifically came across were just plain rude and could not care less about their residents. However, I am extremely empathetic to the RA’s, they face a lot of abuse from management behind the scenes which is completely unacceptable considering they are students FIRST. The conditions of the towers are unbelievably poor and for the price you’re paying to live there, it’s simply not worth it. The only plus from living here was finding my current friends and roommate. Otherwise, don’t sacrifice your sanity or health...