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These Scathing Reviews Decimate 7 of NYC's 'Best' Buildings

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Yelp is by and large the reigning page that people take to in order to opine about most things; restaurants, businesses, stores, shows—hell, even buildings get praised and ripped new ones across the review-based site. Sometimes reviews are comedic, other times not so much, but they are most certainly always informative and have the benefit of coming from a first-person perspective. Some of the city's most well-known buildings have amassed pages of Yelper commentary. Here's a look at seven of the most notable buildings victim to Yelper rage, and a few of the hilarious/gross/generally depressing reviews they garnered that would dissuade any potential dweller from planting roots.

↑ "These people have no idea what luxury apartment living is," says Sandra B. who deeply regrets her move from somewhere in Manhattan to The Brooklyner, where she suffers the injustice of having to open her own door, "There is no doorman so you have to fight with 2 heavy doors to get into the lobby." Other gripes from renters include the building's "sub-par" finishes, "HUGE drafty leaky windows," splintering floors, and shallow promises: a 2010 review chastises the lobby's "free (lousy) coffee" only to feature a 2011 update grumbling that the complimentary morning libation is gone.

While complaining about prices isn't uncommon, Richard S. who lived in MiMA in Midtown West does it best ↓

New York By Gehry has been endowed with 3.5 stars by its tenants, which is almost a surprise given all of the vocal tenant outrage over its gym fee hikes. "Our freezer door would freeze shut all the time," writes a two-year tenant complaining of the buildings "cheap" appliances (Editor's note: who knew that could happen?). Another tenant lambasts the building for being "overrun with dogs!," which is confirmed in another Yelp reviewer's gripe that the management doesn't "respond to issues with dog urine in the hallways." Yuck.

Dog pee problems aren't only exclusive to New York By Gehry, but are also a con for tenants of Avalon Fort Greene. "Entryways slap you in the face with smell of dog urine," a disgruntled tenant bleats. A different tenant writes of another olfactory predicament, "A major problem arose during my last year of residence here however...my apartment became filled with the scent and smoke of marijuana on a daily basis ... The smell was so putrid that my guests who were visiting from out of town had to stay at a hotel after one night in my apartment." Other tenants noted the same odors ↓

Trey D., who lives in Williamsburg's The Edge, is not so down with the waterfront development after his wife was "chased" off of a communal lawn by management, leading him to opine about the state of Brooklyn these days, "The Edge is ruining what Brooklyn is supposed to be about, and I would never support a company that acts like this." On more than one occasion on the building's Yelp page, the building's management staff is referred to as "thugs."

Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town has amassed a measly two stars and 157 (mostly scathing) reviews. Most of the commenters lamented the management company and their untimely handling of events. "PCV FINALLY GAVE US OUR MONEY BACK A WHOLE YEAR AFTER WE MOVED OUT. Turns out they cashed in our last money order but FAILED to account for it in their ledger," writes former tenant Jonathan N. of a lost security deposit. Another commenter bemoans the area's party-heavy mentality "...just to be fair, I thought I would mention the latest amenity. We now get filthy stinking vomit all over the lobby free of charge which the property management is no hurry to address." Oh, lovely.

Even buildings as iconic as The Dakota aren't immune to the vast disappointments of Yelp commenters. ↓


· Yelp [official]
· A Few of New York's Classiest Rentals, Reviewed on Yelp [Curbed]

The Edge

4149 18th Street, , CA 94114 Visit Website

The Dakota

629 U.S. 190, , LA 70433 Visit Website

MiMA

450 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 Visit Website

8 Spruce Street

8 Spruce Street, New York, NY 10038