Before even thinking about living at NHT, know what you're getting into and the caliber of people you will be dealing with.

I took the place site-unseen since I did not have time to do a housing trip to New Haven. The leasing office was extremely courteous, helpful, and responsive (this was the ONLY time). However, they made me pay for the apartment from mid-July, when I was not moving in until August. That would have been fine (I understand that they probably would have found someone else who was willing to pay from mid-July), but when I moved in the apartment was in horrendous condition. Cabinet doors were literally hanging off the hinges, a kitchen drawer was falling off the tracks, there were hairballs and stains all over the carpet (management told me it was steam cleaned but they had to be lying), mold growing in the grouting in the shower tiles, and the stove did not work. I complained to the office, and it took over two weeks to fix these items. Usually when I move in to an apartment, at the very least I expect it to be cleaned, and was shocked that they had me pay for the two weeks I wasn't living there and didn't even try to make the place livable during that time.

To add insult to injury, when my movers came a week later one of the elevators was broken (this would be a common occurrence over the next two years). The movers had to share the only one other elevator with the tenants. As a result they had to leave my stuff in the corridor near the elevator as they unloaded the truck, since there wasnt an elevator to reserve. One of the building maintenance staff members literally YELLED at me, telling me that I'm not allowed to leave items in the hall as I move in. Quite a welcome.

Over the next two years, I learned how to live with no heat in the winter (thats probably illegal) and no air conditioning in the summer. There were several 80 degree days this May without air conditioning. Of course, there was no notice from the building management as to when the A/C would be running. After calling the office three times I finally found out that they are looking for a "part" and that it will be up in 2 to 3 days. Two weeks later still no A/C. In fact, no A/C for commencement weekend. As a result my elderly relative had to stay with another relative a half hour away. Every time I called the office to complain about the broken elevators/ heat/AC/garage doors, the whiney property manager told me "we're trying." Sorry- that's just not good enough.

In addition to heat/AC problems, and constant emergency weekend water repairs (no water for an entire Saturday, on average once every two months) the Crown Towers garage door was broken for over a month this winter. Anyone could have walked into the garage and vandalized cars. I was paying for indoor, secure parking. I could have paid less per month for unsecured parking, and tenants were not offered a partial parking refund for the time the garage door was broken. When I inquired about security, the property manager told me "I have a system." I later found out that this system consisted of videotaping the garage entrance, but never watching it. Let's be serious here - how is this supposed to stop someone from breaking into a car' Ever think of hiring a security guard'

Now, on to the elevators. Two ancient elevators serve a 22-story building. One is out of order for sometimes a month at a time. Be ready to wait, on average, a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes to get downstairs. Also be prepared to get stuck in the elevator every now and then. And God forbid you need to move in or out when an elevator is out of order (as I did). Here's something they probably won't tell you: they're going to be replacing the elevators this fall. Sounds great now, but there'll be only one elevator in use for several months.

As if the poor condition of the buildings isnt bad enough, the management is dishonest and miserly. When I moved in I signed a parking agreement, and was told by the leasing agent that I'd be allowed to break the agreement once, which was fine for me since I knew I'd be away for the summer. When it came time to discontinue my parking for the summer, the same leasing agent told me I wasnt allowed to do that, and if I did, I would lose my parking spot permanently since the lot was full. In fact, he indicated that there is a "waiting list" for a parking spot. He suggested that I sublet the space. I asked for his help - since there was supposedly this "waiting list," I figured someone would be happy to park in the building for the summer. He told me he wouldn't let me rent my spot to someone on the wait list (and when I went to discuss this with him, he said "it's 4PM on Friday. I'm not discussing this with you now."). As it turns out, there was absolutely no wait list. I ended up subletting to another tenant in the building, who had inquired in the office and was told that there are plenty of available spots. Liars...ugh!

So, the irony of all of this is that before I moved out, I spoke with the property manager about several of my complaints. He told me that he and the leasing agent had felt that I put up a negative posting about NHT on this site and were "concerned" that I was unhappy. In fact, I hadn't even heard of this site until he mentioned it to me. But thanks for letting me know...hope you enjoyed my post!

That being said, there are a couple of good things to say about Crown Towers. The super is awesome - responsive, friendly, and reliable. The nighttime doorman is also friendly and goes out of his way to compensate for the poor management of the building. Finally, the location is good. NHT does cost less than other downtown buildings, but you get what you pay for. If youre planning to shell out $1000/month to live downtown, I'd suggest paying an extra hundred or so bucks and trying the Liberty or Taft. It's just not worth the headache.

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