I lived at 33 Gold for over 2 years and I'd like to give a candid review of what it's like to live there and some suggestions for prospective tenants.

Upfront I'd like to say that this building has LOTS of ROACHES and MICE. You can control them with traps, borax and roach motels, however you will NOT get rid of all of them. especially in the "inside" apts. If this bothers you, do NOT move in. The landlord does nothing about them but will tell you they spray. I lived there two years and never saw anyone spray. Approximately 2 dozen small roaches came out at night (there were only the visible ones!). It is gross, you get used to it but it's still gross.

Parking:
The building Does not have it's own parking garage and street spaces do not exist but there is a parking deck next door which is very convenient for visitors or if you have a car in the city but to move in there is no loading dock, you have to just park on the side walk, do this on the weekend and the cops probably wont hassle you. Overall it's a pretty good parking situation for NYC.

Noise:
Upper level apts probably don't Have this problem but anything on the first few floors will hear noise from Spa 88's Night Club which it operates illegally and without the permission of Thurcon (though neither the City, Cops, nor Thurcon has done anything about it in the last half decade or so that it has been running it). Units next to the washers may hear noise from the machines all night if rude people do their laundry at 2am. Noise also echos inside the "air/vent" on the inside of the building especially from the exhaust fans from the spa, restaurant, dry cleaners and other commercial spaces in the building as well as from tenants who blast stereos in the inside apts. The noise from the air/vent is not too bad if you have your windows shut but you can FEEL the noise from Spa 88. Neighbors were never too noisy from my experience but it is mostly college kids and people fresh out of college so you experience may vary.

Grounds:
This is NYC, there were no grounds. However, the neighborhood is not too bad. There is one bar across the street and there can be some noise from the drunk people there but it is fairly quiet. There was also a 24 hr grocery store across the street that was really nice.

Safety:
It fairly safe compared to some neighborhoods I've lived in. the building has a doorman during the day, however, at night people can follow behind you and gain access to the building, the door was often broken when I lived there and was pretty much open during some nights but I never found homeless people in the building (only once was there one in the vestibule). Make sure to install a SECOND deadbolt on the door. One of those classic Jimmy-proof "segal" brand locks are good but you will need something more than the one that comes on the door if you want to feel safe. Feel free to install a third deadbolt if you are so inclined. Thurcon could careless and the Super is useless and probably won't notice. You also need to secure the balcony door with a sliding door lock since most of the locks on the balcony doors are broken. I have no idea why they thought it would be a good idea to share a balcony between 2 units. usually there balconies are covered in cigarette butts so unless you smoke they are pretty much useless.

Construction:
It is an old industrial building (power plant/station') that was converted in the 1970's and hasn't been upgraded since. I've seen much worse in NYC and I can't really say that the construction is bad, only outdated and a little creaky. The heat is radiator and has only one setting (full blast) so you're probably going to have a window cracked open in the winter (the radiator knobs were rusted shut and even the super couldn't move them). Carpeting is ugly and usually a little stained when you move in. they replace it only if it is REALLY bad. Appliances are old and adequate, nothing fancy. Closets are big for NYC but not walk-in big. I couldn't find studs in the walls so I wouldn't try hanging anything heavy, you could use anchors but ask yourself if you'd be sad if it fell. Doors don't really shut (except for the door into the apt), I used a chain lock on the bathroom door since it could never shut all the way. Bathrooms are hit or miss. one of the showers has a ceiling that was caving in from water from above (it never fell but it was a little scary). The other bathroom had a leaking shower head that was annoying since it always made noise when it dripped and the added moisture meant we had to clean it once a week or more. it was fixed 6 months into our lease after we told them about it before we moved in and reminded the Super every few weeks. Good shower pressure, hot water during peak hours was iffy.

Maintenance:
Almost non-existent. I fixed most of the stuff in the place like the toilet but it took 6 months to get a shower fixed. They didn't replace a faulty refrigerator for the entire last year we lived there so we couldn't use the freezer. They didn't replace broken A/C units and they couldn't turn down the radiators. The brick repointers broke one of our windows and it was never replaced after several requests and they tried to charge us for it when we moved out (they did eventually refund this money). Make sure you live with someone handy or have some payoff money for the super if you want stuff done. Trash is usually taken away if someone doesn't put it down the chute and big items can be left at the end of the hall. Washers usually "work" but the card readers (no coins) eat money on a regular basis. It once wiped out $20 on a brand new card. Thurcon says it it not their problem and the laundry machine service says it is not responsible. you're better off using a laundromat. There are two elevators but usually one of them is broken. When you look at the apts you will notice the A/C that are high up in the windows look >20 years old. They are pre-9/11 and were supposed to have been replaced by law. However, only the ones the super could reach easily were replaced. This is a major health issue and if you search on google for 9/11 air quality you will see why they needed to be replaced.

Staff:
There might have been turnover since I lived there but One door man was very nice and helpful and the other must have had an unlimited calling plan since he was always talking to friends on his cell phone. As for Thurcon staff, they are the most despicable people working in Real estate I have ever come across. Rude on the phone, try to blame you for things they did (like broken windows and carpet with paint). They even tried to change our lease AFTER we signed it by upping our rent (good thing I had made a copy of the original, make sure you ALWAYS sign EVERY page of your lease). They tried to blame this on City Habitats, out broker, but they [thurcon] approved and deposited our first months rent and security (in the amount we agreed upon) without question (funny right'). I used to go to the post office and get proof of mailing every time I sent in a rent check because they charged a late fee three times when I know it must have arrived on time. I never had a problem after the post office stamped the envelope so that they [thurcon] knew I had proof of mailing (funny how that worked right'). They try to up the rent >15% every year but all you have to do is FAX them a counter offer of 0% increase and they'll come down to 5-7.5%

Overall:
It is a good place if you are not a picky person and need a big space in Manhattan and want to be close to all of the subway lines. Plus, no matter where you live the rest of your life you can always say it's good 'cause it's better than 33 Gold. However, if you don't like Roaches or mice (we had a lot of both and we did not keep open food in the APT, and yes there are places in NYC where there are no roaches or mice in the apts, like the placed I lived in after 33 Gold) or if you are picky about things like ventilation, light (there is no light in the "inside" apts) maintenance, or having decent humans as landlords, I would stay away.

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