building at 159 West 53rd Street

I live here. It is a great building if you like the neighborhood. Friendly staff, neighbors. Some of the apartments have better layouts than others. Maintenance includes electric.

Past 10 years have seen new water tower, roof deck, elevator overhaul, all new windows, redone hallways, new laundry room. New chiller being installed for the central a/c this year. The nabe is midtown. Convenient to theater and offices, lots of tourists, but buzzing at all hours; quiet building, because no apts below 11. Walk to 8th for markets and affordable nabe services. Great transit hub to anywhere with subway right out door.

I have been renting there for a few years. I like that the location is very convenient, and electricity and basic cable are included in the maintenance, but your choices are TWC and RCN. FIOS is not available even if you're willing to forgo the subsidy.

The staff is friendly, but they are a little slow about actually getting things done compared to other buildings I have lived in, and staff complaints about working late led to having the laundry room hours reduced to 7AM to 10PM daily. For those of us who work for a living but can't afford to hire a cleaning lady, this is problematic, though not a deal-breaker. (Washers and dryers are not permitted in the apartments - not that that would make a difference to me since I don't own my unit, but I've talked to some unit owners who griped about that policy.)

In the past, the roof deck has been under-utilized and occasionally occupied by equipment, but I understand this coming spring they are finally going to put some lawn chairs or something up there.

Used to live there.
Location either you love it or you hate it. It cannot be beat in terms of convenience in terms of taxis, banks, drugstores, fine-dining, or fast food. Noise and crowds can be annoying and get on your nerves at times. NYPD / SS will annoying tell you to get off your balcony if there is a VIP staying across at the Sheraton.
Building is fairly well insultated with thick concrete so you tend to not hear your neighbors.
Very few kids in the building which is a good thing to me personally.
Most staff is pretty good. They are super strict about stopping anybody who they don't recognize which is a great thing.
Laundry room closing at 10pm is very annoying and even then someone will try to shoo you out at 9:50
Condo board is a bit tricky. I think 1 corporation owns like 50% of the units or something, and the board president is also associated somehow with the auditor or something like that..It came up in the last annual meetings.
Maintenance is kinda high but thats probably b/c of the # of staff and # of projects they've taken on such as windows, AC, rooftop. As someone said it includes electricity. Neighborhood parking garages are pretty cheap relative to rest of manhatten.

I lived there for a few years and finally left when I couldn't take the thin walls anymore. The building may be concrete but I could hear EVERYTHING every neighbor was doing, including normal volume telephone conversations being clearly understandable. Every time any of my neighbors came or went, their front doors banging shut would echo through my apartment. Crazy.

I also left because the residents are obsessed with policing each other and extremely strict enforcement of the house rules. I love rules and I'm usually the one who's the stick in the mud but these people are like military level obsessed and persnickety.

The demographic was a strange combination of snobby older longtimers and sneering self-important recent college grads.

The staff were generally friendly though and the building was kept in tip top shape.

Hi Snuffles (or any other residents),

Is the laundry room still have reduced hours of operation?
As the originator of the this post, asked, common charges seem high compared to other buildings in the area. Any specific reason for this?

Was looking at condos in midtown, and this was one of the buildings I was considering. Any other information would be appreciated.

Hi Bostonian,

"I also left because the residents are obsessed with policing each other and extremely strict enforcement of the house rules." I'm sorry you had to go through this. Can you elaborate on this a bit more, if you don't mind. I'm thinking of buying in this building.

Thank you.

Hi,
Also, can I get more input on the thickness of the walls? It seems like some for some apartments, you can hear your neighbors, whereas for other apartments you can't.... Maybe it's just the quality of the neighbors, and not the quality of the walls? LOL.... Such is city life. But any more input would be greatly appreciated.

Palafo?

Post87deflation?

Khoi

Hi,
Also, can I get more input on the thickness of the walls? It seems like some for some apartments, you can hear your neighbors, whereas for other apartments you can't.... Maybe it's just the quality of the neighbors, and not the quality of the walls? LOL.... Such is city life. But any more input would be greatly appreciated.

Palafo?

Post87deflation?

Khoi

Been three years since I lived there, but I was in a B line. The walls are concrete. Took me forever to hang up a wall mounted TV in it!

Compared to other places I have lived in, the walls are relatively thick/good.

Rules are strict but that's good.
No food deliveries to your door..u go down to lobby to get.
Movein move out must be booked etc

Rules are there to protect the residents tho.
Maintenance includes electricity.

I would say building is abt 50% rentals or little more.
Some of those older renters did not seem to like Newer people who buy into the building at times it felt and or are into the very progressive liberal scene.

Hi,
Can anyone describe the sublet rules for this condo? The minimum period?
Many thanks in advance.

Why this building has such high HOA and property taxes???