201 E 12TH ST, New York, NY 10003

I've lived in 201 E 12th St. for a couple years now. The building itself is nice, the lobby often reeks of BO or low-quality marijuana (it can be hard to tell), half of the tenants are easy going college kids who are probably too loud but respectful, a quarter is younger professionals who are rarely heard from, and then the other quarter are the completely annoyed tenants who complain at the drop of the hat and are probably used to mommy and daddy spoon feeding them. Yes, it's a weird mix. The insulation is completely inadequate. I've had the police called twice for domestic disputes when we were just having rough sex. I've thought my ceiling was going to cave in the rare time my upstairs neighbor gets laid. Windows and light to the street are great, the street is tree-lined and the atrium (without a doorman) is really a nice sight. They set up a Christmas tree and do things like flowers seasonally. Everyone lets everyone in without any regard to who lives there, so sometimes questionable people are waiting in the lobby. The staff is great and have always been kind even in the worst of times. They open your apartment to leave packages even if you request not to, which is a crime. Management is helpful only if you are complaining about other tenants; otherwise they are minimally helpful. The interior Garden is beautiful, but they stopped allowing grills and smoking out there a year or two ago. Now it goes highly unused. The building was much better when I moved in. Possibly they are trying to make the building more convenient to less loud, obnoxious college students but the building is parked directly across from an NYU Dorm and at a right angle to a New School dorm. Go figure. The rents were great since I got in during the housing recession. I've heard they have rebounded with the market with a vengeance, which is when I will not renew my lease. Some units are triplex, some are duplex, and some are traditional 1/2br. Both the Garden units and duplex units are very nice, but I've never been in one of the four street-level townhouses. If management would consistently rent to either stuffy or roudy individuals this building would be great, but I know of a number of units at war with each other over sound and other problems. The super is helpful but constantly stressed by them. There are almost no babies in the apartment - perhaps not a coincidence - and animals are not allowed but we all still have cats and dogs. The management should consider not just choosing anyone who has a security deposit as a good future tenant, regardless of whether they did 20's 30's professionals or teens/20's college kids. Overall I like the building and with proper sound insulation I would stay here. Do not live here if you expect to get sleep whenever you would like, though. This isn't something you think about when looking at buildings, we didn't either.

I've lived in this building for three years and, for the most part, was very happy. PROS: (1) The apartments are well-sized for the price in Manhattan. (2) The building staff is great. There is no door man, but they deliver your packages into your apartment and are prompt with repairs. (3) Manoco, the building manager, is actually very good to work with. When we had a problem with the tenants upstairs and their new speaker system, they dealt with the problem tenants directly. They were generally friendly and returned phone calls. (4) GREAT neighborhood. I walk everywhere and the East Village is my favorite place to live. (5) Great proximity to subway. (6) The walls are thick - For the most part, I never heard neighbors on our floor. (7) I never had a problem with laundry room availability. (8) The building is kept up well. It was recently renovated. Flowers are planted in the spring and summer. CONS: (1) The biggest issue is that the floors of our apartment were extrenely creaky and amplified footsteps. We did not discover this until after signing the lease, but it may have been a dealbreaker. I had to sleep with earplugs every night. I believe that some units are worse than others. (2) The neighborhood is fairly college-y - lots of students in the building and NYU dorms in the viscinity. (3) If you live on the inside of the buildings, parties and use of the balconies can get pretty loud.