Tenants Complain About Problems at New Luxury Rental in South Williamsburg
Tenants at 53 Broadway in Williamsburg, a luxury rental finished last August, are complaining about exorbitant electric bills, parking lot problems and not having a promised 24-hour doorman. One resident told us, “My personal bill for my two-bedroom apartment was $700 last month, even though my roommate and I are at work all day and…
Tenants at 53 Broadway in Williamsburg, a luxury rental finished last August, are complaining about exorbitant electric bills, parking lot problems and not having a promised 24-hour doorman. One resident told us, “My personal bill for my two-bedroom apartment was $700 last month, even though my roommate and I are at work all day and were on vacation for two weeks that month.” She thinks the electricity in some of the units may be wired incorrectly, because other tenants report Con Ed bills as high as $1,043 (for a three-bedroom).
Tenants in the 75-unit building also say that they were promised a functional parking lot with a lift system manned by a 24-hour attendant when they moved in during the fall. Instead, drivers can park in one of four long slots, causing cars to be blocked in if someone pulls in behind them. “We were asked to give the other tenants with parking spots our phone numbers and be on call 24 hours a day and would be responsible to return home to move our cars within a one hour window so if you were blocking someone they would be able to get their car out,” writes one driver.
Finally, residents say they were promised a 24-hour doorman, but their doorman was switched to part-time without anyone being notified. They’ve tried to contact the management company and the new owners, but the problems persist. Rents in the building start at $2,704 for a one-bedroom or at $4,216 for a two-bedroom.
A rep from Adam America, which developed the building with the Horizon Group, told us that the development changed hands a few months ago, selling to an owner called Broadway Brooklyn Acquisition LLC. We’ve tried to get in touch with the new owners, but we haven’t received any comment on these issues.
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We are tenants of 53 broadway and, like all of you, outraged by our Con Edison bills. While we love William the Super, our neighbors and the doormen, we are very disappointed by the amount we are paying in heat and electricity. We live in a one bedroom apartment and both of us are gone from 7 am to 7 pm daily. We rarely turn on the heat to avoid getting an exorbitant bill (we’ll wrap up in blankets and layer in sweatshirts – not fun). It’s beyond disappointing – this is our home! For the management company to neglect us like they are is unacceptable. There is clearly something wrong with the wiring in the building. I hope we can come to an agreement to satisfy the tenants’ requests, being that we are largely overpaying for our heating bill and living with unfulfilled promises mapped out in our lease agreements. Shame if this has to go beyond the management to include lawyers.
My girlfriend and I are also victims of this building. We love our studio apartment the neighborhood and the staff in the building (Super & doormen) However our ConEd bill has reached heights of $400+ for a small studio apartment. We hardly ever even turn on the heat (which is electric) we even unplugged it so not to trickle energy. There’s definitely something wrong with this building. I really don’t think it’s insulation, as I said we haven’t needed to turn on the heat much which means it stays comfortable without the need for the heater. There is a water heater in each unit which I’m sure accounts for some of the additional costs but certainly this can’t be the only reason for such an absurdly consistently high bill every month. Unfortunately if this is not remedied we’ll be opting to move out once our lease is up. For the extra $200-300/mo we could save it or get a nicer place even.
– Disappointed Tenant
I’m a resident of 53 Broadway. Firstly- let me say I LOVE the building and my apartment. The super William is great, as are the doormen. Secondly – Building Management is TERRIBLE.
1. ConEd Bills. Paid $350 while away for 2 weeks and at work the other 2 weeks hardly being in the apartment. Has only increased since, with bills averaging $600/month. This is with our heaters unplugged and taking our laundry out to be done. Literally using nothing but the TV, Fridge and lights, and only in the evenings after work at that. We also sit in our sweats under blankets in our $3,000 a month apartment like squatters.
2. Parking. Ugh. Parking Tickets, slippery ramps and Tears if you live in 53 Broadway. Needs to be reimbursed, was a promised part of our rental agreement not delivered.
3. Cold Lobby. The poor doormen have been FREEZING all winter. They should also get a pay credit. SHAME SHAME Metro Management for treating your employees like this.
4. Metro Management. Oh Metro Management. Who are you, we’ve never seen you in the building you “manage”. They clearly have no idea what they are doing, allocating 1 overworked person to our building as well as many other “sites” he is frequently at. Not taking responsibility for the issue, and letting us go all winter with no resolution, postponing getting it checked out and forcing us to take time out of our lives to discuss it. This is not how I wanted to meet my neighbors!! But seriously, if EVERY SINGLE RESIDENT of the building is having the same issue, obviously something is wrong, Metro Management. Please fix it and reimburse us, 1 month free rent would be a great start to cover surplus costs + aggravation. Please don’t continue to ignore us and make us take next steps and get lawyers. We want to work this out reasonably and be done with it and move on with our lives.
5. 24 Hour Doorman service as promised. You are taking our rent money, use it to benefit the building, period.
Amen!
I’m having the same issues also. Bills have been as low as $300 and have only been increasing. Thought maybe it was because of the cold weather but I was out of town for 2 weeks with nothing on and my most recent bill was still extremely high. Along with the expensive rent this just adds to the pressure each month! Con Ed needs to fix this soon otherwise there will be a lot of empty apartments.
I’m so sorry to hear about your car 🙁 I had a similar situation happen to me just last week (I was parked on the street around the corner). Try and get video surveillance if you can!
I agree with all of the above. LOVE the location, apartment, staff and neighbors. Hope we don’t have to resort to “lawyers” or “rent strikes”, but it feels like the mismanagement of the building will leave us with no other choice
he wasn’t shoveling in the “garage”!!!!!!!!!
Agree – Apartments and Lofts.com is the PITS. They misrepresented the building, making a ton of money on commissions, and face no consequences. I will never use them again. Absolute liars.