The Ansonia

you know there are rent-stablized tenants, there is scaffolding on the outside and you remember reading about MASSIVE roach infestations....BUT you're interested in looking at a unit in the bldg. You really need to look at finding a good shrink!!!

Well, the article about the roaches sounded a bit exaggerated, I think, and involved a sublet situation. Personally, I love the architecture and the history of the building, so I'm just asking if anyone has personal knowledge or experience with the building.

Usually a mistake to have a building occupied by tenants with very different objectives. That includes old co-ops with residents who on average have been there for decades and then new young buyers buying in.

bart1 - I have looked at 2 apartments in the Ansonia. The floorplans are odd as it was a hotel at one time. I didn't see any bugs. The lobby is very nice, and the hallways are average. The apartments I saw had high prices, but did sell.

I looked at apartments in this bldg. Love the location, the architecture and the wide hallways. I agree with Margategirl, floorplans are odd. So are the people that live in this building. A very eclectic mixture. Many guys with tatoos and shaved heads. It turned me off. But, to each his own.

The roach problem was very real, but mostly contained to one section of one floor. After much effort, the building was forced to take care of the problem via the court system, to compel one specific longtime rent controlled tenant to clean up their apartment (it was cleaned up on her behalf). That problem has been corrected, at least for the time being. Not sure about your other concerns though.

I've also looked at a few ansonia apartments. Very charming, but like Margategirl, I've found the layouts somewhat odd. The location is phenomenal, and these things do seem to sell at high prices. I don't personally value these apartments as highly as the market seems to (because of strange layouts, unclear what they have to offer over other prewar apartments in the area).

Check closely into the building finances. The facade is terracotta? Or at least very intricate. I think I read something about a huge amount of restoration/maintenance it needs. Few facades are more costly to repair than terracotta or very intricate designs since replacement pieces must be individually cast and on a building like the Ansonia, the complexity of design could mean many hundreds or over a thousand individual castings of terracotta-like composites (real terracotta is prohibitively expensive now). I lived through Local Law 11 in a terracotta building and would not move into another such building unless a major overhaul had recently been completed. The cost to shareholders was staggering and this was not The Dakota--it was just a nice building. Maintenance fees in the building will likely never return to market norms and the apartment values are depressed as a result. You're really going to want to think this one all the way through and do A LOT of home work.

What is local law 11? Thanks

Every 5 years in NYC there is a "cycle" of facade inspection requirements for most buildings. We have most recently been up to the 11th cycle, or Local Law 11. Different things are required each cycle. It may be repointing, or patching, or extensive structural inspection of elements supporting the facade. The latter was the latest and most costly yet, I believe. The cycle is begun by having an engineering inspection. A scaffold over the sidewalk (a "sidewalk bridge") is generally erected and remains in place (since invariably something is found that needs correcting and building insurers then insist on the sidewalk bridge to protect pedestrians until the work is complete). The building must then get bids on the work, hire a contractor and complete the work. In the most recent cycle it was/is not unusual to see buildings with scaffolds up for 2 years. When purchasing in NYC, it is wise to inquire as to where the building stands with respect to the Local Law complaince. Find out when the most recent cycle was complied with.

I highly recommend the almond croissant at Patisserie Margot which is in the ground floor of the Ansonia.
The best in NYC.

Anyone have any current info on the rentals in this building?

I went this afternoon to see two open houses at this building.
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/487843-condo-2109-broadway-upper-west-side-new-york
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/485290-condo-2109-broadway-upper-west-side-new-york

It's such a different building than I'm used to seeing with the very wide hallways and so many units on each floor. Each apartment has several nice features and were so quiet inside. The less expensive apartment had alot of closets for an apartment of its' size, but a very small L/R. The more expensive apartment looked much better in person than on the floor plan. Not the right building for me, but interesting apartments and building.

Love the thick walls and floors. Extremely quiet.

I am currently a tenant and it is important that you know that there are roaches in this building, they are huge ones and small ones. We don't see them everyday because we keep the apart very clean but we already got infested at some point, and we see some from time to time especially in the summer.
We are looking to buy a place and this is the reason why we will never buy in this building....

Hi, Any recent developments on the roaches?

I lived there for 4 years. I've heard of roaches even though I never saw any, but I had two cats so maybe that's why...
I did well financially on the place I owned. The taxes and common charges are very low compared to other condos in the neighborhood.

Yes, there was scaffolding and other work done at various times. A couple of times there was an assessment, but nothing unreasonable.

I thought it was a great place to live. (I am in a house in Westchester now)

When I was looking to relocate from San Francisco, I looked at an apartment in the Ansonia the size of one of my closets here. It had a huge, beautiful bathroom, and the main room had obviously been a foyer. When leaving, I saw a roach in the kitchen that was beyond belief. I think you guys calls them water bugs, but I call them HIDEOUS. I'm terrified of bugs, but this one really took the cake. If anyone is afraid of bugs, and from the stories I've read even here in our papers about the Ansonia and the roach problem, BEWARE.

I recall a NYT story about roaches in an Ansonia apartment a few years ago, but I vaguely recall that it was a crazy shut-in hoarder in one apartment that was causing roach infestation in a neighboring apartment. It wasn't building-wide, was it? If I weren't so lazy I'd look it up. Surely there is somone else on here with better recall who can set the record straight.

"File this one under really, really gross: the Ansonia, according to a lawsuit, has a roach problem. And, not just any old roach problem, but a world-class, "biblical-type explosion of roaches" issue. The epicenter is the 14th floor, which where Angelina Jolie has owned since 1997 and where Brangelina and children were said to be living until they went to the Waldorf. In any case, details about the bug problem are in a lawsuit filed yesterday and they include an outside hallway "constantly covered with cockroaches," roaches crawling on people when they sleep, roaches in coffee makers, etc. So many roaches that the people suing say their apartment is "completely unfit to live in." Which by New York standards would have to be a boatload of roaches.
· Historic Ansonia 'Bugged' [NYP]
· Ansonia Is Plagued by Cockroachs, Lawsuit Says [NYT]"

Found this for your guys: mind you, it's from 2007. So maybe the roaches have migrated to Florida.