All 41 tenant reviews.

“Pros: Very great neighbors and community vbe on Roosevelt Island Cons: This building is making changes to justify rent hikes, but aren't getting rid of rude staff like the super and doorwoman who make tenants and guests very uncomfortable”

“Unit 11K Pros: Though there is only F train available (or Tram) for transit, the apartment sits at a beautiful location surrounded by parks. Easy access to both Williamsburg and Manhattan. The place is very safe and family-friendly. Highly recommend for those who are thinking of 'New Jersey-vibe' or want a relaxed atmosphere. Friendly Doorman/Super and neighbors. Clean, would've stayed longer if it wasn't for the rent price. Cons: There was once incident before I left where the utility(for AC and heat) would skyrocket throughout the building. People have been filing complaint for the absurd amount of utility received but am not sure how they resolved that issue.”

“Pros: This is a really nice building to live in, talking about the greenery scenes and running East River just outside the window if you're facing north. The neighbors and the front desks are generally nice, the maintenance team can take care of the request within the same day in most of the cases. The gym is quite large too, with multiple free group classes ranging from cardio to yoga throughout the week. Overall, if you would love a peaceful island vibe living, this is a great choice. Cons: Some people are just constantly smoking weed, and the smell would inevitably get to your room through the ventilation system. Sometimes there are people who play loud music/argue with others and you can also hear it in the bathroom and the kitchen where there are vents. Advice to landlord: Please punish the ones who use weed inside of their homes as what's listed in the leasing contract.”

“Pros: i lived here for a year and the building was consistently well maintained and beautiful. never had any issue with pests and the hallways and common areas were always so clean. it is clearly well taken care of. Cons: management is weird about some things. lots of families and children so if that's not your thing then this isn't your place. noise definitely travels in the hallways (so lots of screaming children)”

“Pros: Doorman Laundry Pet friendly Cons: Transit availability difficult sometimes Advice to landlord: Better tenant gatherings”

“Pros: quiet and safe.. does feel like suburb but with the manhattan view Cons: relying on only one subway station”

“Pros: Building Decor in the Main Lobby Certain Neighbors Certain Front Desk Staff Maintenance Cons: Management - Most people in the leasing agent started off nice to reel you in but then you find out they are just not nice. Garbage- so many times the chutes didn't work and had to go through maintenance which caused a bad odor from the garbage on the floor.”

“Unit 831 Pros: Building the clean and well maintained. Lots of amenities, management is quick in response to repair requests. Cons: Price hike after pandemic - 12%-30% yearly increase forced out tenants. not an NON-SMOKING building so there is nothing you can do about second hand smoke. Close to an church converted event space, music can be loud all day-night. Advice to landlord: Keep the increase resonable and revert back to non-smoking policy”

“Pros: Clean, isolated, helpful staff, rub smoothly Cons: Loud neighbors/babies/dogs, one elevator usually out if service, dark hallways Advice to landlord: Install brighter lights in the hallways”

“Pros: Building was clean and things worked. Cons: To save energy the hallway lights would turn off so it was a bit creepy Advice to landlord: N/a”

“Unit 536 Pros: Excellent staff. People from maintenance to concierge is very responsive and kind. No rats, bed bugs, etc. Amenities are very good. Cons: My last experience regarding lease extension was terrible. The management company proposed an unrealistic raise and didn't want to even listen to a counterproposal. Let's see for 2024 as the management has changed. The gym maintenance requires more attention. Some machines are broken for long time. Advice to landlord: A more flexible posture when negotiating renewals.”

“Pros: Clean building. Good maintainance. Cons: Since I lived in this building, I have heard about 2 crimes. One room was broken into while residents were traveling. Another neighbor left the door open, and someone grabbed her purse and ran away in the day time. Both times, the management and front desk did not do anything. The room had no sign for broken lock. Some suspect that it is an internal job.”

“Unit 837 Pros: If you ever wanted a home away from home at home, The Octagon is the place to be. It's a little slice of heaven in the middle of the city. It's relatively quiet and peaceful, with a beautiful view of Manhattan. Staff is wonderful, helpful, responsive, and friendly. It just changed ownership, so not sure what to expect, but hoping it is more of the same. Cons: Minimal, very few roaches, but it is still NYC. The water pressure could be better, particularly since the bathroom sinks are very large but the water pressure does not permit any significant use. I'm someone who will often rewet my hair in the sink, but I cannot do that here. My only truly significant complaint is that the beautiful floor to ceiling windows are a bit drafty. When your are paying for central A/C and heat, that becomes a problem. Advice to landlord: Reframe the windows so no loss of energy (and $$) happens.”

“Pros: Have lived here for 2 years. Building staff is wonderful. Neighbors are respectful and quiet. Haven’t encountered any pest problems. Cons: AC units frequently break. The water here is very hard.”

“Pros: There are zero pests, super bright and large rooms with closets in each room with laundry in building, rooftop, bbq, gym, 24 hour doorman Cons: It is a 10-15 minute walk to the subway to get to Manhattan”

“Pros: Family friendly, clean, quite & lots of out door space Cons: Far from public transport- tram/subway.”

“Pros: Great lobby and pleasant surroundings Cons: Real pain to get off the island from this building. Advice to landlord: Get a ferry stop on the island’s northern end”

“Unit 19H Pros: The best things are, the clean roof deck, how responsive the staff is to issues you have, and how safe the neighborhood is Cons: There’s not much to do in terms of nightlife so you’re always going to have to go far”

“Pros: Maintenance team is always quick at response. The building is very clean. Cons: Some management and concierge staff can be quite racist. You can always smell smoking and weed through the vent. The smell will come into your room and stay for a long time. The building is supposed to be smoke free, but management can’t to much is your neighbor is smoking. Every two years, they try to get rid of the old tenants by increasing your rent by 20-30%, and the rent is usually non-negotiable. Some bad reviews on Google map or Twitter will disappear/ deleted by the owner.”

“Pros: Everything! This is a great place Cons: It can get very expensive”

“Unit 712 Pros: Great building management, very responsive to maintenance concerns, clean amenities. Shout out to front desk staff for creating a welcoming and homey atmosphere. Free transportation to and from the subway stop. Couldnt have asked for a better place to be stranded and finishing school during peak pandemic. Cons: Honestly, no complaints. It's a bit of a walk from MTA if the buses aren't running on time. Definitely not affordable, but they dont claim to be. Sometimes feels more like a hotel than homey. I just like a little more liveliness to a neighborhood, but that's just personal preference. Neighborhood is not very diverse.”

“Pros: 1. Newish building 2. Great concierge staff & maintenance staff. Got to know a handful the day I moved in 3. Amenities are a great selling point Cons: Nothing really with the building. The only inconvenience is the travel to the F train or tram. Sometimes its a hassle having to take the shuttle or free island bus. Advice to landlord: NA, been great thus far”

“Pros: The polite and helpful staff, the gorgeous amenities and responsiveness. Cons: I literally have nothing bad to say about the Octagon”

“Pros: Good neighbors. But it's not rent stabilized! Cons: Proximity to a celebratory event venue - the Sanctuary - makes the 2nd floor too noisy Advice to landlord: Please talk to the Sanctuary”

“Pros: I love my neighbors and the neighborhood. The management office here is difficult to deal with. They threaten legal action when you are insistent on an issue in the apartment. Cons: Management is not great. They need to be replaced ASAP. Advice to landlord: SWITCH OUT GRC REALTY. THEY ARENT DOING YOU ANY GOOD.”

“Pros: Nice design and outdoor space Cons: Poorly run maintenance department and not enough regular upkeep of common areas. Doormen do the minimum. Advice to landlord: Provide better service and work on communication. For example, send an email for an emergency water shut off or post signs when the garbage chute is out of order. Also, start cleaning hallways and stairs better and more often.”

“Pros: Cleanliness, gym, roof access Cons: Window replacement made room unusable for a week. Advice to landlord: Be willing to negotiate”

“Pros: chill environment and large windows with nice view Cons: noisy sometimes in the morning or late at night Advice to landlord: too expensive and not worth it at all”

“Pros: Clean, well-maintained building, with friendly and responsive building staff. Any issues we had typically got solved on the same day. Large apartments by NYC standards, with great views (depending on which way you’re facing). Solid amenities (pool, gym with free weights and a squat rack). Cons: Our front door was oddly thin and let in a lot of noise from the hallway. Our side of the building had 2 elevators, but one was constantly in use by building staff or someone moving in / out, so elevator wait times could be frustrating. Other residents would occupy equipment in the gym for extended periods and take phone breaks in between sets. Advice to landlord: The elevator situation was our biggest pain point. Other than that we loved the building (even though Roosevelt Island wasn’t the right fit for us in the end).”

“Pros: The Octagon is a lovely building with great amenities, particularly the outdoor space. The maintenance team is super friendly and helpful. We moved from across the country and it was great to get a no-fee apartment with an in-house leasing team. Move-in was also a breeze since you can reserve an elevator and the concierge directs the movers. The concierge staff learned our names very quickly. Cons: The building is fairly expensive but given the quality and the care of the concierge and maintenance staff, I think it's worth it. But the transportation on Roosevelt Island can be extremely disappointing. When the F train isn't running or only one tram car is operating, it's difficult to get on and off. We also had an emergency with our dog and it was very stressful to rent a Zipcar to drive over to a vet ER in Manhattan. Also, on the 4th of July, NYC police weren't letting cars onto the island which required us to get out of an Uber with our sick dog in Queens and walk across the bridge and to the apartment in the heat. Advice to landlord: While there is a weekend shuttle and The Octagon Express red bus, the transportation to and from the island is a headache. I think The Octagon should do more to keep residents informed of known transportation issues, closures, or work, using the resident app so we're not left stranded trying to get home.”

“Unit 7F Pros: The doormen are very good, friendly and helpful. The maintenance staff is responsive Cons: They allow the neighbors to leave the shoes and stuff in the Hallways, since there is no air hallways are smelly. They are doing a big renovation, all the buildings are a construction site. construction takes place not only inside vacate apartments but the ones with residents living in as well, noise starts at 7Am, chemicals smell and dust is all over. There is a lounge area with wifi that residents could go while the workers are in their apartments BUT no A/C, so working from home is almost impossible. The apartments are not the greatest, noticeable cheap construction, very thin walls, you can see the where one wall is glue to the other, you can hear your neighbors. I ended up in this place because I was in hurry and didn't have the time to look for a better place but It's awful Advice to landlord: Don't be cheap, if you are pushing the residents out of their apartment in order to renovate the apartments at least fix the A/C in the lounge area so this can be a shelter while the construction is on. OR give the residences some rent discount for the inconveniences”

“Pros: Great views, friendly concierge, package is safe, quiet and safe Cons: Expensive, lots of flies in laundry room, not a lot of food chains, only one train in the island”

“Pros: Large apartment, nice neighbors, no bugs Cons: Friendly staff, doormen overworked”

“Pros: - elevator - doorman - safe - responsive maintenance - large laundry room Cons: - a bit pricey compared to the other buildings on Roosevelt Island”

“Unit 11k Pros: Our experience with Manhattan Park was actually great. From google reviews, I was afraid that management would be hard to work with. Actually, for us, they were always reachable and fixed any problem that we had very quickly (within 1-2 days of request each time). Cons: The hallways were pretty dark. I definitely know there were some pests in the building, but not too different from other buildings of NY. There was nothing extreme.”

“Unit 11a Pros: The great view. The folks who worked at the front desk were always friendly and kind. Movie nights. Cons: They kept some of our deposit without explanation, wouldn’t answer the phone, and wouldn’t see me when I showed up in person. The person who did our exit inspection said it was all good so idk. They wanted to raise the rent 20% every renewal so they was a pain to deal with. The vent in the bathroom never worked right. We had to have someone come up and deal with the ceiling mold on a regular basis. They would hold a piece of paper on the vent and say, “see, the paper should stick to the vent,” and then never did anything about the ventilation. Towards the end of our time, they started allowing dogs. Our neighbor had a dog that barked all day non-stop while it was home alone. Management said they couldn’t do anything about it because it’s a service animal. You could hear it echoing all the way down the stairwell from half way up the building. At one point they took all the screens off the windows for window washing. Then they would NOT replace them them so we started getting a lot of bugs in the apt. Advice to landlord: Don’t steal security deposits.”

“Pros: amenities , service , cleanliness Cons: heating, electricity, price”

“Pros: Location, amenities, red bus Cons: Far from everywhere actually”

“Pros: Concegerie staff is great, wonderful amenities, apartments are fairly updated (we had a new fridge and oven when we moved in), central air, good views Cons: Neighbors can be loud and entitled, not a great sense of community, far from the train”

“Pros: Gorgeous river views. Updated apartments new floors and kitchen. Nice staff. Honestly if you are kind and reasonable so is the management company. They have been great to us. Amazing pool in the summer with residents getting preference. New lobby, bike room, gym and more. Free pick up and delivery of dry cleaning. Cons: Construction, however this is almost complete. Because electric heat- it’s expensive in winter, especially for corner units. However really low in summer even with AC. Advice to landlord: Maintain the hallways a bit more. Understandably you can’t control tenants.”

“Pros: I used to live in a high floor looking at Manhattan with a balcony, great light, amazing balcony. It really felt great to arrive to the 2-bedroom apartment, 2 baths. Great spacious kitchen. Cons: The bathroom of the main bedroom was small (no tub). Due to balcony door, insulation was week so it could be cold during winter. Electricity bill was sometimes $500 per month. Advice to landlord: Change the AC machines for newer/more modern ones.”