84 Grant St. Apartments and Condos

Let’s start with what is to like about these apartments. The interiors were redone in the past four or five years and look nice, especially the hard wood floors. The rest of the building, however, looks like it is in a state of decay. There is a park nearby, and although the buses are wildly unreliable (especially the 89 and 101), you can take a quick bus ride to Sullivan Station. Otherwise, it is a 20 to 25 minute walk.
But my compliments end there. The chief problem with this building is the fact that not only is there no measure of security, but the landlord does not believe it is his job to implement simple safety measure, like making sure the main doors lock.
The apartment comes with a parking space, but the management does not police this area. On a number of occasions I found a car full of teenagers smoking pot while parked in my spot. At first I thought this was just a random incident, and didn’t get upset about it. When I came by the teenagers left. But this occurred again and again. These parkers would often strewn trash all over the parking area, including a string of used condoms. When one of the individuals made a threatening gesture at my wife as she tried to get into our parking spot, I finally called the landlord. But he refused to call back. After months of calling the landlord, I finally got a hold of him. His response: «What do you want me to do? I’m not the police.» I told him that I knew he wasn’t the police, but that he could have called me back at some point and he could have informed the police that this was occurring. This same incident played itself out nearly a half dozen times.
But at least on those occasions, the car full of people eventually moved. On two occasions there was a random car parked in my spot without a driver. I was forced to park on the street. The price of these apartments includes a parking spot, but be advised that you may not be able to actually use it. Once again, I called the landlord but received no response.
These are minor security issues compared to the problems I have encountered with the apartment’s main doors. The back door in particular is a major security threat. During my years at these apartments, the back door was continually broken. The metallic door closer had been smashed and the glass had been shattered on multiple occasions. I often found the door completely unlocked. These problems would linger for weeks at a time.
As you would imagine, this meant that strangers off the street were often found in the building. For a time, homeless people would find their way into the basement on cold nights. As much as I understand why they might want a warm place to sleep, I don’t think it should necessarily be in my basement.
In a frightening incident, someone off the street tried to get into my apartment while my wife was home alone. She heard someone at the door and thinking it was me, she opened it slightly. When she saw that it was some stranger, she quickly shut and locked the door. The man would only leave when she told him that she was calling the police. There are times when I’ve heard people walk down the hallway trying each door to see if it is unlocked.
Again, after calling the landlord a number of times and finally getting a hold of him weeks later, I was able to address these issues. His response: «If you don’t like it, then you can go live somewhere else.» Tellingly, one of the apartments on the first floor has a sign on the door warning intruders that they will be prosecuted. This is obviously a widespread concern.
If you believe that your landlord has a duty to his tenants – that he owes them the courtesy to call them back and that he should make certain major entranceways are secure – then this is not the apartment for you.
Oh, and the apartment is infested with cockroaches.