Apartment Review for Dwell On Wall, Yoo By Starck - New York, NY

I was one of the first tenants to move into this building in August 2008. My experience has been somewhat positive but overall I have to say this place is waaaaay too expensive. They designers have billed 95 Wall, yoo by Starck as similar to living in the lap of luxury, but unfortunately it falls short. While of course overcharging for what they do provide. PROS 1) Courteous and discreet concierges, door men and maintenance staff. 2) Impressive common spaces and lobby 3) Rents can be paid via Amex thereby earning amex points. CONS 1. I estimate that at $3800 I am paying about $700 above market rents. Sure, I knew exactly what I was getting into when I signed the lease but I still feel compelled to to bring your attention to the fact that there are much better values in the city at the moment. I am unaffiliated with any management companies, but the Archstone apartments for instance are much better value for exactly the same product. On top of exorbitant rents the lounge common area can be reserved for private events at $500 per hour (4 hr minimum) plus a refundable deposit of $5,000. Are these guys serious?! I am paying 3800 for a 1 bedroom apartment and they want me to pay $2k for use of the common area?! WOW! 2. The elevators suck. Despite crystal chandeliers and washer dryers in every apartment the elevators are in a horrible state of disrepair. I have been asking about the timeline for new elevator cabins since I moved in and I basically haven't received a straight answer. The other thing is that not only are the elevators unsightly but the wait time can sometime be up to five minutes. Indeed on one occasion I had to climb several flights of stairs to reach my apartment after waiting for at least 20 minutes. 3. Management response has been unsatisfactory. Don’t get me wrong, they are reachable via email and telephone but the property manager hides behind a veil of not having anything to do with the determination of policies and therefore not able to explain them. I mean come on! You are managing a property that YOU billed as five star rentals, so how about giving a sh!t and promising to look into all queries from residents even if you don’t know the answer immediately. 4. Noisy apartments due to very thin walls and single paned windows. I can easily hear dogs barking on the other side of the floor. How about some thicker doors people?! Also if you live on the west side of the building as does a friend of mine, at 5AM every morning the garbage disposal trucks spend 5 minutes loading commercial disposal bins onto their trucks. Obviously this is no fault of building management but it is something to bear in mind if you are looking to live here. The windows are NOT double paned despite what the sales reps will tell you during your tours. 5. The appliances such as the washer/dryer constantly break down. I have had to request maintenance work on my washer dryer units no fewer than once a month since I moved in. In addition the refrigerator open door alarm malfunctioned and the only way that they could fix it was to disable it altogether. The ice makers don’t work. The air conditioners are also extremely noisy. Overall I am unsatisfied and will definitely be moving once my lease is up. I am not a real estate professional but as someone who has rented high end apartments in NYC for the last few years my estimate of the true market value of the 1 bedroom apartments is $2500 - $2800; NOT the current 3800 I am currently paying.