The Helena

The building, staff and leasing experience at the Helena is nothing but the best! The location is amazing and everyone is very friendly and helpful. Since the moment I signed my lease, Judith from the leasing office has truly been a pleasure to work with. The doormen and the maintenance crew are always there for you and with a smile at that. You could definitely say there is a strong sense of family here… Something that is very important in a city like this! This building is definitely the best building to live in in New York City.

I moved to the Helena after divorce and move from Florida. From day one, the leasing office worked with me and made me feel welcome – not like a tenant or a number. I had lousy credit and had to get a co-​signer and they worked with me on that, the one bedroom apartment was facing the avenue and on a low floor, but I got a good (by NYC standards) deal and came to love the apartment – spacious, clean and everything worked well. Modern and convenient.
Judith and Kristin (leasing office) made sure I wasn’t lonely and included in things and gave me suggestions in a neighborhood that has changed radically since I grew up. What was once Hell’s Kitchen now is right on revitalized hudson river park/​walkways.
The location is not for everyone — right on 11^th avenue and it can be loud with construction. I was also surprised GYM not included in rent, but the building has many plusses: Reasonable parking opens right into lobby, really nice common area, roof, and lobby shop open for food and essentials early and late. Handymen nice as well and responsive.
I was able to get my security deposit sent right away, and they even helped with a moving guy who was superb. Recommended and I would consider moving back if unit was right. Surprised how much I liked it.
Ben S. Tenant 2013−−−2015.

I lived in the Helena for the past 3 years and could not have asked for a better place to live! The building is top of the line, apartments are great with amazing space & views! and the location is perfect… only a quick walk to central park and Columbus circle!
In addition, all the employees from the doormen, maintenance and leasing were a pleasure to deal with. I lived in an alcove studio for 2 years and then upgraded to a 1 bedroom, the leasing office made my transition easy and accommodated me in all my asks!
I recently bought a condo which is the reason I moved, otherwise I would still be loving life at the Helena
Thank you for a pleasurable living experience the past 3 years!

I’ve truly enjoyed my stay here at the Helena. The front door staff are ALL terrific — friendly, always a smile and truly accommodating. The office staff have also been very helpful. All in all a very «well run ship». Common spaces always immaculate and rooftop sun deck a real treat in the middle of NYC. A great experience overall.

I’ve lived in The Helena for almost a year and love this building. It’s LEED certified, all repairs and service are complete quickly, and the rooftop is gorgeous. Plus the neighborhood is growing and the the building is close to Columbus Circle and the amazing Hell’s Kitchen restaurants. Love it here.

I lived in the Helena for 13 months. Although the apartment and gym were very nice I had a horrible experience with the night doorman in March 2015 in which he followed me to my apartment and attempted to physically assault me. I called the police and have the incident documented at Mt. Sinai. It was a horrible experience as several other doormen on duty simply watched him and the incident was caught on camera. The other doormen in the building are professional and respectable — it was just George who works the 12am to 8am shift. Aside from the predatory actions of George the security is terrible mostly bc of the lobby’s layout where it’s very easy to walk past the doormen. Most delivery men and visitors bypassed the guards. When I brought this up with management, a lawyer representing Durst Mgmt send me a letter stating that the building ‘is not a fortress’ and that I should call downstairs when people bypass the guards. The doormen did collect packages well though and were very sweet to my puppy. If it weren’t for the safety issues within the building it would have been a nice apartment. For single women looking for safety this is not a good choice. Most of the other doorman buildings I have lived in at similar price points are much safer.

This is one of the best places to live in NY. The quality of the building is top notch. The staff are well trained, eager and helpful, The views are fantastic and the location is perfect, its near everything you need, but just a few blocks from Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center and Central Park, which is perfect for a run in the park or just a stroll.
The leasing staff were responsive, helpful, and easy to deal with. I am very happy and I am recommending this building to my friends who will be moving here from Europe.

I love The Helena! I’ve had a great experience here. The building staff is attentive and quick to respond to anything I need. I absolutely love the area. It’s right next to Hudson River Park, there are tons of great bars and restaurants in the area (check out Bar Bacon for bacon themed EVERYTHING). Also it’s just a few blocks away from Columbus Circle and Lincoln Center.
The leasing staff was extremely helpful throughout the move in process. I dealt with Sophie, she was attentive and helpful in making sure everything went smoothly and was stress free. Would definitely suggest moving here!

A friend of mine lives here and I love visiting them in this building. It has tons of luxury amenities and is well kept.
Staff are super friendly, especially in the leasing office (I stopped in to look at the possibility of moving in myself)
My friend likes living here as she goes to see performances at Lincoln Center often and it is super convenient, to say the least.
I hope to move in soon!

I lived here for two years until spring 2014 and moved out.
Pros: A great view of the Hudson. Steps away from the Hudson River Greenway. You can walk, jog, run, bike, skate, etc. there along the river.
All the doormen and handymen are helpful, responsive.
My unit was clean. No roaches, no bedbugs, other pests.
Cons: Noise from construction sites. There are two. Work — noise — can start as early as 7 a.m. This was really irritating sometimes when I wanted to rest in the morning. Both sites are not finishing anytime soon. The leasing office did not inform about it. Perhaps my fault for not asking.
It also sits on a zone 2 hurricane evacuation zone. We did not evacuate for Hurricane Sandy of 2012. Zone 1 was subject to evacuation. I got a robocall telling me not to flush toilet in the apartment because water supply was suspended. It got fixed within a day, I think.
The Helena stands on a very low-​lying area, unlike other apartment buildings nearby along the river that stand on an elevated land.
The gym closes early at 10:30 p.m. weekdays, 8 p.m. weekends. You needs to pay $ 50 or more per month, not included in the rent. I usually came home after 10 p.m. so, it was useless.
They have a bus in the morning to Columbus Circle subway station and can be handy. I used it sometimes. It runs every 20 minutes. From the station, I’ve never taken one. It only runs limited hours in the morning and evening on weekdays.

I’ve lived in The Helena for several years. It has an awesome view of the river and New Jersey. Because it’s pretty far from the subway, it’s assuring to know that there aren’t too many strangers wandering in the area. The lobby décor is pleasant and I must compliment the overnight doorman, George. From the beginning of his employ, I’ve found him to be very courteous and always with a smile on his face. He always greet the tenants pleasantly, is very knowledgeable about local resources and always willing to provide assistance without resistance and/​or attitude. Because he able to communicate very well, I can also have an intelligent, informative conversation with him, as opposed to the other building staff members I’ve encountered. Although he works the overnight shift alone, I always feel safe knowing that he’s present and in an emergency, will be able to handle any situation calmly and effectively.

The leasing office is fantastic and has bent over backwards to help me on two separate leases.
The front desk staff and maintenance workers are always nice and helpful.
The apartments are beautiful inside and I have had no issues.
There is a lot of development in the area, however if you are on the south west side of the building, it’s much quieter than the other three sides. We are actually looking to assign our lease to someone starting asap — message me if interested. There are no fees if you work with the management office. Contact me and let them know I referred you.
Happy apartment searching.

I have lived in the Helena for a little over a year.
The building’s management on the border of being immoral. They charge folks high rents under the guise of providing luxury accommodation, however the Helena is just a building in the middle of a construction site.
There’s always jackhammering and the management (who is also responsible for all the construction) does now have the courtesy to start the work at a reasonable time.
Please stay away from this building. Go to the Mercedes House

Lived here for a year in 2009. Building is very far away from subways/​restaurants and bars. The building is nice and close proximity to the west side highway and west side greenway but that’s about it. When we moved out it took us MONTHS to get our security deposit back. I’ve never dealt with a more rude and incompetent person than with the durst fetner accounting department. They told us week after week that our deposit was returned and that we should see it shortly, but it never happened. Finally they actually looked into the issue and discovered that the building never submitted our lease expiration papers. Maybe this has been improved upon, but the experience was so awful that it still upsets me even after having not lives in the building for 4 years

Poor customer service. I am preparing to move in the city sometime in June of this year. I have been touring apartments for a few weeks now. I contacted The Helena via webform. They called the next day and left a message. I called back and spoke with Judith in the management office. She was less than concerned about me and wouldn’t even schedule an appointment to view the apartments unless they had one available for me right now. They wouldn’t even let me tour the building or look at anything and told me to call back. I’ve looked at many buildings and properties in NYC already and the is the first time I was told they wouldn’t even schedule an appointment. I don’t make decisions on the fly especially when spending more than $ 3K a month for rent so I’m not waiting until a few weeks prior to my move date. To top it off, she wasn’t exactly friendly.

The apartments are excellent and the staff (excluding The leasing office staff) are super nice but the rent increases are obnoxious. We just got our renewal through and it’s up by 11% on last year, and we already had a rent rise of 11% in the previous 2y we were here.
Watch out when viewing this place too, the leasing office are super nice until you’ve signed then the cracks in their personality will start showing. Also, they blatantly lie on the tour, the tv room doesn’t work (cable isn’t connected) and all the residents know this and so don’t ever go there. On the tour, they’ll say it’s very popular and always in use. Complete crap.
Overall, if you know you will only rent for 1year and you can negotiate a good deal, this place is well worth it. But if you want to rent more long term, they will screw you on the renewal and they don’t negotiate

I have never rented here. Went with an agent. They were going to pay the fee etc. Building is okay, got all the way through till lease signing, checks etc. Then was told I need to get a vet certificate for my dog. She is 53 lbs.
They have a 40 lb weight limit. She’s 8 years old and I had her since she was 3 months old.
Come on? Really. Wasted my time for a week during the whole process.
There were German Shepherds and other big dogs there, apparently they were grandfathered in.
They need to spell it out. When you tell them you have a pet. WE HAVE A WEIGHT LIMIT of 40 lbs. They have to put that on their website. Instead of pet friendly. I have searched/​googled & on none of their advertising do they have it. Hopefully people with pets more than 40 lbs will check Unilocal first.

THE WORST MANAGEMENT I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!! — On the fifth floor. I live here for a year, and can’t say any good words about management in the building. Completely disrespectful to residents. They never willing to help residents. The door is mostly closed when you try to come to the office. There is always new people work in the office. For only one year, I’ve seen so many new people. And they seem really not competence, most of the time they don’t know information, they seem don’t know what they doing, they can’t help you, and they really not interested to talk to residents who already live in the building. And I spoke to so many people in the building who think the same way, even doormen.
I think they seriously have to work on developing an office team on the fifth floor. This is a WEAKEST part of this building.

I stayed here on two visits to NYC with a friend who lived in the building. From my perspective, it was an awesome location. Just a tad far from Columbus Circle’s subway station, but you get to be right by the water, with peaceful night views:

The walls are thin but it wasn’t like we could hear the neighbors from inside the apartment. We could hear the neighbors through the doors when walking down the hallway, though.
Also! Vanessa Williams lives in the penthouse. I didn’t stalk her, but maybe I should have.

I’m reviewing this building in the viewpoint of a dog walker.
The people who work here are polite, friendly and helpful. They seem to know some of the residents well. They’ve helped me get a few clients in the past year by recommending me, which I really appreciate.
Although the location isn’t central, I wouldn’t call it remote. The M57 and M31 are across the street and they stop by Columbus Circle Station and 57^th St-​7^th Ave Station.
I take my dogs either to Riverside South Park on W 59^th & 12^th Ave or the off leash dog run in DeWitt-​Clinton Park on W 54^th & 11^th. My dogs enjoy both places :)