West 54th Apartments — Local services in New York

I lived in West 54th Apartments for 3.5 years. The two stars are exclusively for Omar and Irving (great doormen). The rest of the experience was the worst rental experience I’ve had in 15 years of renting in the city. Where to start? Let me start by explaining why I abruptly and recently left mid-lease. I had been a great low maintenance always paid my rent on time tenant for 3.5 years, as the pandemic took a toll on the city rents started plummeting and incentives were plentiful. As a retail professional my income was drastically cut and I inquired to see if I could renegotiate my just renewed lease (as the same unit on a higher floor was being offered for hundreds of dollars less than what I was paying) or at least have some kind of incentive that I saw the building was offering to new prospective tenants off the street to help during the uncertainty. I was told NO every step of the way and finally decided to move to a much nicer building in a more central location and save $600+ a month! I paid two months rent (almost $7K) to break my lease and move on. Fast forward 3 weeks when I received my security deposit back. I was charged $175 for cleaning! I am the neatest person, left the apartment in amazing condition and NEVER once in all my years of renting not received my full deposit back. I’ve had former landlords even comment on how clean the apt was when I left. To be charged $175 for cleaning after paying much too high rents for 3+ years and an exorbitant fee to leave the apartment in the middle of a pandemic was absolutely infuriating. On top of that once I reviewed the move out cost statement I realized the wrong apartment number was noted so I called thinking this was all a misunderstanding and I’d get that ridiculous cleaning charge removed and refunded. Well, it’s been a week and a half and NO one has called me back even though I have called almost daily to follow up and was told on 3 separate occasions that the interim property manager would call me back later in the day, that has yet to happen. The apartments are nothing special and although renovated still dated (popcorn ceilings, parquet floors) and mine which faced 10th Avenue was extremely loud. I would NEVER recommend this property or even any Equity property after this experience even though when I went into this lease I thought Equity was one of the better ones. Local Management (Sherman was good and attentive to his community’s needs but he’s since moved on) has no power to make decisions regarding the well being and happiness of their tenants, they are non-responsive and even when they promise to call you back you will never get your calls returned and issues resolved, Mirsad (the super) will only help you if he’s guaranteed a 5-star rating and if you don’t provide a 5-star rating good luck ever getting anything taken care of in the future, and renewals are a nightmare (maybe that will now change with the new...

There are two buildings: make sure you live in the one on 54th St, not 55th. The 55th St side is next to two NYCHA properties and is dimly lit and dirty immediately before and after the Archstone entrance. They're not really bad ones, but don't expect to smile at your neighbors when you come out in the morning. Also, that building doesn't have a concierge it has a hand scanner. But the hand scanner has literally been malfunctioning the entire year we lived there despite multiple attempts to repair (and in all fairness they do have repair people constantly but the technology is frankly just outdated and needs complete replacement which we were told was happening the week we moved in by the management company who has now been bought out and replaced by a bigger company). So instead of controlling your own entrance you have to press the call button and wait for the concierge from the other building to buzz you in. It won't bother you on the first day, maybe not the second. But eventually it gets really annoying.

There is a nice little backyard area, but you have to walk up two flights of stairs to get from the small area with no tables (55th st) to the nice patio area (54th st), and they don't put the lights on at night. The patio area is connected to the gym, laundry, and community room. If you come in early or late, you have to walk around 10th Ave because there is no hand scanner out there. They also do very minimal tree trimming and don't cut back the ivy that is overgrowing on the adjacent building. The grass area where the chairs are kept is worn away and its just dirt now. Someone needs to be taking initiative back there, not just keeping up with day-to-day.

The laundry room is nice and clean. The cleaning, maintenance, and concierge staff is incredible. The place is kept immaculate, the staff practically jump at the chance to help you with anything. You also get a lot of square footage and you're really close to the west side bike / jogging path, the Intrepid (Friday night movies are awesome there), Central Park, Rock Ctr, Lincoln Ctr, movie theater, Best Buy, etc. You can even walk to a cruise ship. Norwegian Gem departs from 54th and 12th. So if you care more about square footage and proximity to those things then this is a good bet. If they weren't trying to raise me the maximum 4% then I probably would...

It is rare for me to write reviews but I simply felt it would be rude for me not to do so in this case. I am a new tenant to West 54th and have lived in NYC 16 years, 14 of which were close by. I also work in a customer service industry.

My experience thus far has been great. Everyone who works here are good people - polite, friendly and attentive. This not only includes the leasing office (which I will elaborate on shortly), but also the doormen, maintenance and janitorial staff.

When looking for my new home, certain criteria were non negotiable for me. I was so happy to find my apartment which not only had everything on my list. For people with a large wardrobe or a lot of things, the closet and storage space at 54th is unmatched.

What I did not expect and am simply blown away by is how quickly I felt at home here. There is one reason for this - leasing agent Evie Moran.

Yes, while it is true I probably would have applied for this unit if somebody else showed me the apartment as long as they were not rude, Evie’s attentive and caring natural way of being created such a welcoming, feel good atmosphere from the very beginning.

Evie is passionate about what she does and genuinely cares about making everything as seamless for you as possible. She is extremely knowledgeable, takes initiative to help you out with clear communication, is very prompt at replying, is extremely professional but also approachable. She truly hears any concerns and in no time resolves potential concerns.

Her demeanor and know how make me feel right at home here and give a cozy, safe, cared for feeling here at West 54th. Thank you Evie!! (And thank...