The Hamilton at 60 East 9th St

Well maintained and on great block in obviously fantastic neighborhood. Units on Broadway are generally less appealing than apartments further from Broadway due to traffic. Most units I've seen require near-gut renovation but would end up being quite nice. Kitchens can be too small and may need creative alterations to open them up a bit or to create more storage/counter. Building is similar to 30 East 9th ("The Lafayette") and 50 East 8th Street (a landlease building I wouldn't touch) in terms of construction because they were built by the same developer in the 1950s. They have held up relatively well over the decades. I believe there is space in the ceilings to install recessed lighting (love the small ones by Contrast Lighting!) during a reno.

As for this particular building, I would ask about capital projects to understand how well the facade has been tended to, the fire escapes, if the building's main electrical junction with the city grid has been modernized, and what their plans are for fuel conversion just to gauge the likelihood of substantial assessments in the near term.

Overall, if you want "in" to this AAA neighborhood in a location that puts you at the crossroads of GV, East Village, and Soho, this building may be good for you. It is much less than the pre-wars; not as ugly as the white brick buildings nearby, and has serviceable layouts that can be made to work well for contemporary ways of living (generally decent closet space!). If post wars are what you are looking at in this area, be sure to check out the rest of East 9th Streets offerings, too. Many are competitive but as you move toward 5th Ave the prices will increase. Good luck!

Floor noise?

I used to live in this building. The good: location. The bad: EVERYTHING!! I don't even know where to begin. Okay, first of all, this is perhaps the ugliest building in the city- just a totally nondescript red brick six-story box. Secondly, there is no insulation in the walls, ceilings or floors, which means you hear EVERY footstep, every creaking floor joist and conversation from your neighbors. And heaven forbid your neighbors have children running about; you will never sleep. I finally had to move out due to the noise from neighbors. After the experience I had there, I have to state emphatically that people are evil by nature and they will do nothing out of consideration for their neighbors, no matter how slight. The coop board and the managing agent (at the time) were pretty much useless as far as enforcing noise-mitigating practices such as covering bare floors with carpet, etc. In a nutshell, this is a building to avoid like the plague.

I am looking at moving "downtown" and the listings here caught my eye. I respect kylewest's comments which I found encouraging. This last blogger - I am crossing off to someone with an axe to grind. There are quite a few listings, so any other comments would be appreciated. Thanks!