New York Apartment - 1 Bedroom Rental in Harlem (NY-15337)

I loved staying here for two months while searching for a more permanent place in the city. The brownstone building is beautiful, and the unit is very spacious with tons of natural light. While it could have been cleaned better before I arrived, the place had cleaning supplies available, multiple sets of bed sheets, and brand new kitchen utensils and dishes. The location was great, just a couple of blocks from a Whole Foods grocery store, laundromat, a few good restaurants, and the express subway. I always felt safe in the immediate area and had no issues taking the subway home late night. I strongly recommend this apartment!

I spent 6 months in this apartment and had a wonderful experience. I'm a single woman and felt safe in the area and building. But it is NYC so you can't escape the fact that there are homeless and people who might harass you. I never felt unsafe but I probably was never out in the neighborhood after 11pm. If I went into Manhattan I would take a cab back to my door, if I was going to be coming home at a late, late hour.

The location of the apartment is fantastic. I'm a runner and could run in Central Park, Marcus Garvey Park and Morning Side Park. You can walk to several subway lines (A,B,C /456) and the 2/3 stop is 5 minutes from your door. I don't cook but a Whole Foods is right there as are other lower end supermarkets. Plenty of fast food places to grab a quick meal. And many local restaurants and cafes to enjoy. CVS, Duane Reade, basically everything I need was in walking distance including TJ Maxx, H&M, Marshalls or Bed, Bath and Beyond and lots of other shops.

The building is a traditional Brownstone, meaning no elevator. The only time I found the 5 flights a problem was when I arrived with all my luggage. I'm not sure I would have been able to get it up to the apartment. But the landlord and her nephew were there to greet me and help me get my stuff up there ( I gave a large tip to the nephew). The apartment was great but it is in an old building so you get old building things like steam radiators that are really loud and hot. You can't regulate the heat. But it also has air conditioners. The kitchen is small and as I said I don't cook. I don't think I ever used the over but it worked. It is well supplied with glasses, plates, pots, bowls. Pretty much what you need. It was very clean. Friends who have lived in Harlem have had problems with roaches and mice. I saw one roach the entire 6 months and no rodents. The exterminator came for his regular spraying without me having to schedule anything.

The apartment is in the back of the building. You have normal city noise but nothing extreme. I had few encounters with my apartment neighbors but when I did they were uneventful and everyone seemed nice. I never had a problem with noise because of my neighbors. But it is an old building to you do hear noise.

The only complaint I have was the TV was in the bedroom. The apartment has a great little living space with the most comfortable leather couch I ever sat on. It would have been nice to be able to watch TV on that couch. I got a lot of crumbs in my bed watching TV while I ate dinner.

The landlord is a wonderful lady. I didn't see much of her as her nephew was the one to climb all the stairs and take care of any problems. But I felt my emails were answered in a reasonable amount of time. I felt like she cared about all her tenants.

I would rent this place again in a heartbeat. A fantastic deal for NYC! Highly recommended!

The apartment is well located in Harlem (Whole Foods Market, Starbucks, Cinema and more nearby).
It is also close to metro station 2 and 3 and bus stops.
The apartment is a bit old, it doesn't have an elevator but you get used to it.
I spent three months in that apartment and it was good.

While this apartment served my purpose for my short stay, it was just an average stay for me. Upon arrival there were things that were not working or in place as stated in the information given at the time of booking but they were resolved shortly thereafter. A few other minor hiccups occurred along the way, even though these were resolved, it was always with an attitude of it being a bother to the owner to have to do it. She seemed more preoccupied with her other business interests than in being a landlord. When emailing back and forth with her to resolve certain issues her emails always contained some kind of snide remark, which I chose to ignore, assuming she was feeling put out about having to resolve issues with the property.
The biggest plus to my stay was the location, it is in a great area with easy access to all parts of the city and I felt very safe. The area tends to be quite noisy but you get used to it and my stay was short so it wasn't too much of an issue for me.
Things to improve would be the owners attitude. If she doesn't want to be bothered with tenants then she is in the wrong business. Most of my issues with her would have been nonexistent if the apartment and amenities were as described upon arrival.