Brodsky apartments -- any comment?

Looked there, but didn't actually rent from them. Decided against them because the spaces were very, very small. Prices were a bit lower but in my mind not enough to justify cramming my family into the tiny spaces. This was February/March 2009 so prices were at their nadir.

Been renting from Brodsky for over 7 years. Very happy. Granted, your happiness is building specific and where you are mentally in life and how you deal with problems, but as far as an NYC building goes, it's more than fine. No bugs, they fix things pretty quickly. We have a 685 - 700 square foot 1 bed overlooking the hudson, $2,750. We fought like crazy to get to $2,750 during the rental downturn, last year, but we got it.

Thanks, Tallisman. I am somewhat flexible as to the location (anyhting from 14th street and north + Tribeca). Plan to see some of their UES apartments this week. Will take a look at UWS in a week or two. Do you mind sharing how much securtity they want? Also, do they sign only one year leases or will they do 2 years as well?

Have you ever considered Long Island City? It's the Cultural Capital of the East River.

I haven't yet. Prefer to stay in Manhattan, but it is not impossible that I will change my mind.

Tallisman, which Brodsky building are you in? Thanks.

I live in a Brodsky building after moving from a Related building. My sense is that Brodsky spends less money on common areas, amenities, employees and finishes, but as to the important things the Brodsky building is fine. No bugs, no noise, repairs are done relatively quickly and I have a huge 2br apartment with incredible hudson and city views, a terrace, tons of windows and tons of closet space for far less than the comparable related 2br.

For the money, Brodsky is a good deal. Solid experience, they build/manage their bldgs, and they've been in the game a long time. If you need ultra luxe, Related is the shizz. But looking for a traditional luxury Manhattan rental? They are as nice as Manh Skyline, Glenwood, Rockrose, et. al.

I'm in One Columbus Place, it's 59th and 9th. (love the hood, nice mix of baby stollers and tattoos).I know they've got rentals here, saw the list, must be at least a dozen, and that was whittled down from 35 or 36. You can rent directly from them w/out a rental broker, so that's a plus. They have both 1 year and 2 year leases. It's rent stabilized, we've never signed a two year lease, we're just jerks at renewal and that has worked well. It's been so long since we originally rented, I don't know how much money they have of ours, I would err with caution and say first, last and one month for damage deposit. Probably cost you $9K on a $3K a month 1 bed rental.

And.... Some of our doormen wear white gloves, they really fixed the lobby nice, new plants, signage, not shabby at all, the gym is about as good as it gets for a building. All new equipment, 6,000 square feet, deck, party room, toddler room. (Of course all of that is extra). Doormen and porters are extremely nice and attentive (not a crusty drunk among them) Here's the downside, The bike room is a theif's paradise, so you'll definately need to keep your bike in the apt, otherwise you'll be left with just the front wheel. And this is a dog building, lot's and lot's of dogs, which is fun to see in the lobby and elevator, however, the front curb smells something fierce in the summer.

Another Broadsky-tenant here, going on six years. Management and building staff have always been professional and responsive, no complaints.

Thanks, everybody. This is very helpful. Spoke two two of their buildings yesterday. Will set appointments to see them next week. Already visited 4 of their apartments on w 42nd street. For what it is worth, so far every building (Brodsky and other) has availabilities and each acknowledged they will have more coming up. For all the talk of tighteing real estate mkt, my experience so far has been that there are plenty of apartments from which to choose.

I lived in 420 W. 42nd for five years -- I just moved out. (If that's where you're looking, you might even be looking at my old apartment.) It was a great building, and the staff was really nice -- the gym had just about everything you could need (though it could have used a leg press machine), and the laundry was in good shape. Brodsky was always solid, professional, courteous -- they seem to be good people. I never had any complaints -- I only moved because I bought a place uptown.

Hi, please allow the a broker to offer his insight. Brodsky is great but the price is slight high for the location.

I just show a unit in the bldg to a client along w various other places. My client choose a fee place instead. The fee was the minimum of 1 mth and after factoring that in, my client was still paying less.

Plus this bldg is in a prime location near Columbus Circle.

Hence, explore other options (including fee places) such as my client did. He really loves his apartment and I have a great relation w management to make the approval process a breeze.

Happy renting!

Jamie 917.370.7806

thank you everybody. marcoson: thank you for the offer, but i do not believe in paying broker fees, prefer to deal directly with the landlord.

"great relation w management to make the approval process a breeze"

This supposedly difficult approval process is a load of crap to make the renter feel as if he doesn't have leverage and therefore be more accepting of all of the terms. If you have a good job and income and are over whatever age, be more aggressive, recognizing that there's some truth to the velocity of the market in the summertime that you need to be cautious about as a renter.