Tenant Reviews for 20 RIVER TERRACE

BEST Building In NYC

Unit 16Q Pros: Everything! From the staff, to the location, amenities, and quality of the apartment. Its incredible Cons: Nothing at all. Advice to landlord: Keep up the good work.

Great building for families with young kids

Pros: - children friendly - clean and no bug issues - friendly and efficient employees and concierge - great children’s playroom and common area Cons: A lot of people saw their rent being raised by 25 to 30 percent this year Advice to landlord: None

I thought we would love living in the Solaire, but I don't think the management of the building know what they are doing. All of the recent communications from the building have been admonishing residents over relatively minor things. They should really be asking for feedback about how they are doing, particularly since they charge SO MUCH more than other nearby buildings. Quality has really declined recently. The doormen never help open the damn door, elevators break frequently, there is a disgustingly dirty/virtually unusable playroom with seemingly never cleaned toys, and hallways/elevators that smell like dog piss. The business management for this company is also astonishingly unhelpful and rude.

We lived at the Solaire for one year. Really nice building. Great building management and staff. Very friendly and helpful. Our only problem was with the management company office. They're not that helpful. We had to move out almost two months ahead of our lease term. We offered to turn over the keys and lease when we moved out to get our deposit back earlier and they in turn could start marketing the apartment sooner. They refused and said they wouldn't even physically take the keys from us. They told us we had to mail the keys back when the lease actually ended. Very unhelpful and makes no sense for them. They probably lost a couple months of extra rent they could have had. Then on top of it, our lease expired mid month but they want ahead and charged our bank account for full month instead of half for final month. That was almost 60 days ago and they still haven't returned the excess rent they deducted.

We just moved from a high end condo building to The Solaire and we are beyond pleased with the maintenance and concierge staff. They resolve issues quickly and have a positive attitude. The building manager, Michael Gubbins is wonderful and Arthur Korzyk is amazing. We couldn’t be happier!

Miss this very special building and it's very special staff. The best of the best! The best building in Manhattan/the world. I would recommend the Solaire in a heartbeat. First class all the way. The views are great, and the neighbors are friendly, respectful and warm. Mr Gubbins, the live in superintendent, does a wonderful job and the doormen and entire staff all became a part of our family. THANK YOU!!!

The Solaire is a great "home" in the best location in NYC - a LEED building with a staff that really knows and cares about its residents. If you like green space, the waterfront/marina setting and easy access to all that Tribeca has to offer, then you can't beat The Solaire.

I lived all over the city and this apartment building is simply amazing. I moved out in 2009 (take care of sick parent) but will be headed back in 2012! My experience while living there was a very happy one. Very quiet apt...one bedroom with den on the 18th floor. They are pet/child friendly. If you want to live in the city but also want to feel like you live in the country too.....this is the place for you. Beautiful green lawn in front and back of apt building, right on the river, amazing boulders with a mini water park for kids, great playground for children and in the summer the elephant statues spurt out water. You feel like you can breathe! Whole foods is around the corner. The roof deck is clean, full of flowers and never crowded, the gym is perfect and the outdoor running paths go for miles!

Hands down, this apartment building is really amazing. It is run like a high-class hotel. For example, upon move-in, we were told to just leave all of our boxes against the wall in the hall and the staff would pick up everything. We were told not to worry. It was done literally minutes after we informed the front desk that the boxes were out. This is just one small example of how the building tries to make the tenants happy. The door staff also is extremely courteous and professional. The location can't be beat either. For families, there is a playground right in front of the premises. Also, in the mornings, you see many people working out in the area of the park, which is right in front as well. For lazy weekends, it's right around the corner from the Battery Park movie theater, which is rarely, if ever, crowded. Everyone in the building really seems to be happy. I've never seen anything like it. They gym is adequate as well. The deck is beautiful in the summer with amazing views. Also, after reading a prior post, I would like to dispell any myth about hearing your neighbors. We have never, ever heard any noise from an apartment next to ours, both of which are rented. This building was built extremely well and that is a simple fact! It's really an exceptional building and I felt compelled to take the time to indicate as such to everyone reading this post.

My wife and I just went through the process of trying to lease from the Solaire. We were approved, but after reviewing the lease, it quickly became apparent that the lease wording reduced, to an extreme, any tenant protections and rights a tenant may have. For example, there is no cancellation clause nor were they willing to provide one after I asked for one. Therefore, if you have a hardship and need to break the lease, you are on the hook for all the money to be paid through the entire lease term. My previous landlord had a 60-day notice and 1 month penalty which seems reasonable. Also, I noticed that they require you to attest that you are not a member of the Armed Forces. Military personnel are allowed by law to break their lease without penalty if they are relocated. I think a reader can infer what the intent of this in their lease language is used for. Additionally, they have arcane rules that could result in a default (and by their rights, early termination if not cured and could result in acceleration of all your lease payments). Specific examples are: (1) you have to turn the valve off that feeds the washer machine after each use (2) violation of children s playroom rules constitutes a default under the leas. Finally, if there was a fire or other damage to the apartment that rendered part of the apartment unusable, you are still liable for the portion of the rent that is. Overall, we were really looking forward to living in the building, but the lease terms are too obnoxious.