Tenant Reviews for 601 W 57TH ST

I lived in this building for 2 years, and it is not worth the exorbitant costs to live on 11th avenue. Living right by the river during the winter, you should know that entire area turns into a wind tunnel and it is downright scary to live on the upper floors. The amenities are nice, the roofdeck and views are amazing, I have to give them that. But for the price they were charging me for a studio, it was not worth it. Additionally, I highly recommend you never, ever, get involved with the Durst company. They are terrible. I had an issue with trying to cancel the letter of credit that they required me to post upon first receiving the apartment. They flatly refused to release the security interest, even after contacted by the local bank who was the issuing bank. I had a terrible time dealing with them to obtain any information, and ultimately it was the bank who refunded my fees and released the security interest. So I don't recommend this apartment - save yourself the heartburn and go rent from the Westport instead (much better place, even though I am moving from there soon).

There is a strike threat by staff at this building from April 20 that affects all residents in Durst Fetner buildings. Here are highlights from management's note to residents: In the event of a strike, this building will take certain emergency measures to insure the safety, health and welfare of all residents. IN THE EVENT OF A STRIKE, PLEASE FOLLOW THESE PROCEDURES: 1. SECURITY: If a strike occurs, the only access into the building will be through the destignated entrance of the building. All side doors and basement/garage entrances/exits will be secured: no entry will be permitted and readers will be disabled (except for laundry rooms and health clubs where applicable). For your protection, deliveries (other than packages or dry cleaning) will not be accepted without your presence. Additionally, we cannot accept deliveries that require the use of the service elevator. Lobby attendants will be furnished with a resident list and you will be expected to identify yourself as you enter the building. To facilitate resident identification, pass cards will be issued prior to the strike to authorized apartment residents. You must present this pass card upon entering the building to be granted access. REMEMBER TO CARRY THESE PASSCARDS AT ALL TIMES! THE LOBBY ATTENDANT WILL NOT RECOGNIZE BUILDING RESIDENTS AND ANYONE WHO DOES NOT PRESENT A PASSCARD WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ACCESSS WITHOUT BEING ANNOUNCED. During the course of a strike, we will not be distributing keys at the front desk. Please ensure your guests and/or housekeepers have a set of keys when they arrive at the building. 2. DELIVERIES AND ELEVATOR SERVICE Since all traffic in the building will have to pass through the main lobby, residents are requested to keep deliveries and other use of the entrance door to a minimum during a strike. - Residents will need to pick up all food deliveries and messenger deliveries in the lobby. Delivery personnel will be announced but will not be allowed access to apartment areas. - Packages delivered by messenger will not be accepted by our staff if the messenger cannot show identification and does not know the name of the recipient OR the recipient is not registered. NO DELIVERIES WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR THE SERVICE ELEVATOR DURING THIS TIME. 3. GARBAGE COLLECTION: Please store within your apartment items such as recyclable bottles and newspapers/magazines, which are not health hazards. Please defer any garbage generating activities to a minimum until after the strike. Sanitation workers do not collect during strike activities. Chutes will be closed during the strike. All garbage must be disposed of by residents and instructions will follow as to the disposal location for your building. 4. EMERGENCY REPAIRS: However, during a strike, it will be impossible to have repairs made that are not of an emergency nature. The Resident Manager will try to remedy emergency situations as they arise. Outside contractors and repair personnel may be unwilling to enter the building if there is a picket line outside. In addition, please be advised that if you are locked out of your apartment, you may contact the front desk. However, the Resident Manager is the only employee who will have keys to let you in, and he or she may not be available at the time you are locked out. Locksmiths may refuse to cross the picket line. Therefore, please make every attempt to keep your keys safe! Toilet overflows are a common part of our lives in apartment living. Please take extra special precautions when using your toilet to ensure you do not clog it or that it overflows. After using the toilet, but before leaving the bathroom, please check to ensure that it has flushed completely and properly. Dishwashers and stoves should not be put on when you are not at home. 5. STORAGE AREAS: If applicable, all storage areas, including mechanical, supply, and equipment rooms (including bike rooms if they are located in the basement and require a key to access) will remain locked throughout a strike. If there is an item (or bicycle) that you may need during the expected time of strike, please bring it to your apartment prior to April 20th. 6. CLEANING OF HALLS AND PUBLIC AREAS: During a strike, residents are asked to keep their hallways in good order. Residents of each floor should monitor these areas and everyone will certainly appreciate if you do what you can to maintain cleanliness. Please keep elevators tidy and hold their use to a minimum! 8. VANDALISM: There is always a danger of vandalism during a strike. If you see suspicious looking individuals within the building or attempting to enter, please call management or the front desk immediately.

we've lived in the Helena for 3 years. The onsite staff is friendly and helpful. The management office is unresponsive and doesn't address billing errors. Lately we've notice a lower-quality tenants replacing the existing tenants. Drug smells in the hall, more noise, etc that shouldn't be tolerated at the rent we are paying. A low occupancy rate has led to the management allowing new tenants to pay a substantially lower rent than existing tenants. Some of the other reviews here have noted air conditioning/heating noise or ambient street noise to be a problem. We've not noticed these problems. We have noticed that the quality of construction for a six year old building is below our expectations. We've experienced both flooding from a backed-up air conditioning unit (original construction left a clogged drain) and warped flooring because of substandard concrete placement. Also, grouting in the bathroom displays gaps and cracks. The Helena is at the lower-range of quality for the value of what the rent they are charging us.

I have been a resident here for about 2 years now, and I have to admit, I have had so many problems with this place that it seems comical at times. Why did my husband make a breakfast run from the 9th floor lounge in the morning and encounter human feces in the stairwell from the 9th floor all the way to the 7th? I have never lived in a building where people pooped in the stairwell! That is just disgusting, but that just makes me question the types of people that Helena are allowing to live here. My downstairs neighbor apparently is harboring about 4 to 5 people in a one bedroom apartment who keep their bright lights on throughout the night that I have to close the blinds because their light comes through to my apartment that is diagonally above. Also, they have been promoting the renovation of the kids room, and I have yet to see any type of improvement. The kids room is still bare of any toys except for one new box of building blocks and the old play mats and two kids tables. I am wondering if the kids room even exists since they keep talking about the renovated play room. If they were improving it, wouldn't it be obvious because you would see new playsets or toys? We stepped into an empty kids room yesterday when I went there with my daughter. Good thing I brought her ball with me, or do they expect my daughter to play with the tables and chairs as if it was a jungle gym? It just seems Helena has been pretty consistent with what they are known for: Oversell to prospective renters and once you have hooked them in, underdeliver on the promises. The bike room is convenient, but apparently management has managed to rent our bike storage space to another tenant so when my husband went to return his bike at his space, another tenant's bike was in it. When you try to call management to complain, good luck getting an answer because they never answer their calls. But, when you stop rent payment ($15) for the bike storage because someone else is using your space, they are quick to badger you for the $15. Also, management took my husband's bike for 6 months and hid it in their office because they were doing some work where his space was WITHOUT NOTIFYING US. So, 6 months later when my husband decided to ride his bike because the weather was warmer, there was no bike in his space! We tried contacting management, but no one answered the calls or letters, but when we stopped paying the storage fee, they again called us immediately to BADGER us for the $15. We located the bike because one of the doormen told us WHERE IT WAS after he figured it out that the bike was ours! It was simply sitting in the management office all this time. So, if you plan on living here, I probably suggest not spending a lot of time in your apartment (as we do since we have kids), because that's when you notice all the problems with this place. We are just too tired to move at this point. Kids run around in the hallways at night so you can hear them. And if your neighbor is having a party, you might as well join them because you can hear them too.

The management/leasing office & resident services staff is very unprofessional. They treat you like they are doing a big favor by even talking to you. Was not worth the money and I so regretted moving into The Helena. I was a former tenant and vacated the apartment long time back. I am still waiting to get my security deposit back. After a string of excuses, they started hanging up if you call about it. I am so frustrated that I am thinking of complaining to the Attorney General's office about the security deposit. http://www.oag.state.ny.us/bureaus/real_estate_finance/pdfs/rent_security.pdf