building at 50 Lexington Avenue

It's been 10 years since I've been around that building but yes before Giuliani's cleanup, there were alway homeless around taking advantage of the park benches by the entrance as well as those staying in the very low rent hotel across the street (washington hotel on lex).
Don't know what it's like today but as it's nearly the hub area for Baruch college, there always be plenty of "hanging out."

The building's plaza is about to be renovated, and whilst it is a public plaza the homeless situation is much more under control, with an influx of new residents, students and conversion of the Washington Hotel to a dormitory for the School of Visual Arts,it has become a better place.
Most of the apartments in the building above the 10th floor have wonderful views, and the building has nice amenities.

Don't know about a rental but I looked at a 1br for purchase there a couple of years ago and thought it was ridiculaously overpriced even by the heady standards of 2007-early 2008. Seemed like the kind of apartment that would function best as a rental (not in the NYC sense of 30 year rentals either) or Pied A Terre, very far from homey and welcoming, a run down and dated version of the Hudson Yards or lower 6th Avenue rentals (no prewar charm, no new construction wow, not even even immediate postwar "solidness). The neighborhhod is way improved over the distant past when homeless vied for hookers for supremacy but as someone pointed out, it is in the middle of a college campus. No slight to the Baruch student body, who are more likely to be self-sustaining first generation college students than the "going to school on the Daddy scholarship fun(d) bunch", but it can present its own issues with noise and congestion.

It's a wonderful building - for renting or buying. Terrific location: for transportation it is 1 block from the #6 train and 3 blocks to R,N lines, and the crosstown busis at the next corner. Madison Square Park is two blocks away with the Shake Shack, concerts, dog run, playgrounds all there. The building itself has a lovely indoor swimming pool with skylight, a sauna, gym and phenomenal roof deck with 360 degree views of the city and landmarks like Empire State, Chrysler, Met Life Bldgs. All the apartments have outdoor space. There is a 24 hour doorman and live-in super. The plaza in front is being renovated. Curry Hill and all its great Indian restaurants and shops is just up the street. The building is located on three dead end streets 2 blocks away; Lexington ends at Gramercy Park on 21st, 24th Street begins 2 blocks away at Madison Square Park, and 25th Street ends at Madison Avenue 2 blocks away so no thru traffic on any of these streets. If this does not describe a great place to live - you don't belong in NYC!

I currently rent in the building and can offer some thoughts. The location is pretty good. The immediate surroundings are not that exciting - Baruch college and SVA buildings, cheap Chinese food and delis, a dry cleaner, a Verizon store, a hair salon, and a store for horse riding clothes and accessories (oddly). But if you go just another block or two there is a lot of good stuff - Shake Shack, 11 Madison Park, BLT Prime, inoteca, Maialino and Gramercy Park Hotel... There are two grocery stores, two Duane Reades and a Wallgreens, a great hardware store (Vercesi)... And it's a reasonable walk to Union Sq, Village, Chelsea, Koreatown. It's also fairly quiet, as noted above, because Lexington Ave ends at 21st St and 24th St does not go through Mad Sq Park, so there is not much traffic. I find that in the evenings foot traffic gets busy for about 5 minutes on the hour (8 pm, 9 pm, etc), presumably as Baruch classes begin and end. But they mostly walk down Lexington towards the subways and buses - not past the building. 6 and N/R/W trains at 23rd are very close.
There is a residence for poor people with mental illnesses next to the building. It's a highly supervised and well-funded non-profit that's part of Catholic Charities. The residents sometimes hang out on the front porch of the building. In my experience, they are very polite and are good neighbors. If they talk to you at all, it is just a "hello" as you walk by. It's much preferable to having a bar or noisy restaurant next door, in my opinion.

The courtyard in front of 50 Lex is very outdated. They displayed some renovation plans in the lobby over a year ago, which would have been a big improvement, but nothing seems to have come of it. There is nothing terrible about the courtyard now, but it's not very nice aesthetically.

The amenities are great on paper. The roof deck is fantastic... No complaints there. The gym equipment is old but usable, and the gym is open 24 hours, which is really convenient. The sauna was a nice touch, and was also available 24 hours, but it got flooded a few months ago (maybe Dec 2010), and is completely torn up and out of service as of now (Feb 2011). I doubt it will be fixed anytime soon. The pool is open 4 hours per day and is a nice amenity, although it is almost too small to do laps - I think it is around 32 ft long. It is never crowded. All of these amenities are free and are for building residents and guests only.

I've recently noticed the level of maintenance has deteriorated. One of the elevators is frequently out of service. On New Years Eve in December 2009, both elevators were out, which was a disaster. The hot water seems to go out a lot. All the building staff is very nice, polite, and considerate... But things that are broken tend to stay broken.

Overall this has been a good place to rent. It is a convenient spot, ok block in a good neighborhood, with nice amenities and pleasant staff. Price are cheap for a doorman building - $2000-$2300 for alcove studios (~500 sq ft), $2300-$2600 for 1-bed, $3400-$4000 for 2-bed. Sales look to be in the $900s/sq ft, again pretty cheap for this kind of building. I don't think I would buy here though, except as an investment. For 80's-era buildings in this hood, 280 Park Ave South, 1 Irving Place, Madison Green, or possibly The Stanford would be higher on my list.

An update to the above post: as of now (early March 2011) the sauna has been repaired. They didn't stain the new wood panels the same color as the existing ones, so it doesn't look great, but regardless, it is functioning again. They also replaced the lane dividers in the pool, which is a welcome improvement. Just when I was beginning to think the building had turned a corner as far as maintenance... One of the elevators is out again today. Sigh.

The area is getting better and better..
However the rents seem to go up with each new renter we move to the area...

Area is great, love the building and amenities. There are plans in place to update the plaza with a sleek new design. Maintenance is also improving, new elevator company is helping. Great for renting or buying. I've lived here for 3 years and plan to stay for a while!

are the monthly maintenance pretty high in this building? seems like it, no?
any other recent positives or negatives in the building?

have the plaza and lobby been recently renovated? it was stated that there were plans...does anyone know if it has happened. any current comments on the bldg?

Hello, what do you mean by "the hot water seems to go out a lot"? Would you be showering and run out of hot water? Or they tell you they turn off the hot water?

How are the elevators and hallways?

Is hot water still a problem?
What about heating/AC?

Water and elevators are rarely a problem. The nightmare of a construction project outside is a wart - and has lasted for years. Beside that, an excellent building.

Terrible management, general condition of building deteriorating, lots of homeless sits all day long at the Plaza.
Keep away from building, it is a low class environment, lots of rentals, some units in total disrepair, attracting only students and low income people. Elevators are old and inefficient.

Just wanted to clarify a few things as a current resident of 50 Lex. There are NO issues with hot water. Although the elevators have had problems, they have since been fixed. Construction project outside has also been completed and looks decent. Also @RIOperson - I have rarely seen any homeless people congregate in the plaza. Generally building residents (who are pretty upscale to my knowledge) or students. Generally an excellent building, considering the high cost neighborhood.

The latest comment I see is from Dec 2013. Wondering what it is like renting/owning an apartment in this building. How is the maintenance? Are the monthly costs high? Good/ bad! Will appreciate any 'heads-up' before making a commitment. Thanks!

Bump, how are things in this building now?