I am currently a tenant at 63 Wall Street and would like to confirm the reports from many of the posters on this site regarding the building mechanicals, amenities, and management. Below is a list of issues, followed by some of the building's positives.

1. The biggest issue for me is the fact that for the last four months the Tower Elevators have not been fully functional. These are the elevators that service the top portion of the building.

For approximately 2 months, both of the passenger elevators that service the upper floors were inoperable, relegating tenants to the service elevator and causing elevator wait times to reach over 10 minutes. If you have never experienced waiting at an elevator for 10 minutes while trying to get to work in the morning, it's less than enjoyable.

Metro Loft Management has since restored one of the passenger elevators to serviceable condition. That elevator does not operate very smoothly and I often wonder if I am going to become stuck and have to wait for the fire department to rescue me. Also, I believe Metro Loft used mechanical parts from one of the three elevators servicing the lower floors in order to fix the Tower Elevator that is now operable. However, I am not sure about that so perhaps someone could confirm. Regardless, the elevator situation is still pretty terrible for residents living on the upper floors. It's not what you would tolerate in a luxury building. Metro Loft gave residents just 10% off 1 month's rent for our inconvenience, despite the fact that the inconvenience is currently ongoing.

2. The second major issue for me is the poor condition of the gym. My general rule is that if an amenity is pitched to me as a reason I should live there, it should work the way it was pitched. The gym was pretty decent before 67 Wall Street (an adjoining building also managed by Metro Loft and owned by the same family) opened. Since then, the gym is far too crowded most of the day. It is very difficult to get a working elliptical machine or treadmill and there is not much room for using the free weights.

I would estimate the elliptical machines to be inoperable approximately 50% of the time (sometimes the TV s are out, sometimes the machine doesn t work, very rarely are both working on the same elliptical). The same issues plague the treadmills, which often have the message Please Notify Maintenance displayed across the screen. The TV s on the treadmills are often malfunctioning as well. For me, the cardio equipment in the gym was a big selling point, and I feel ripped off.

3. The third major issue for me is the poor service from Metro Loft Management/ general upkeep of the building. I would estimate the building to be in about 20% disrepair. I come up with that estimate by thinking about all of the things in the building that work, vs. things that do not work in a general week. Generally the elevators, back door, a/c units in hallways, and a/c units in many of my friends units, do not function. I try and talk to fellow tenants in order to get their opinions and I have found the overwhelming majority have at least one issue with their unit that has not been resolved. I consider myself a fairly assertive person and have had to spend an inordinate amount of time talking to Metro Loft in order to keep my unit working fairly well. That said, I believe my a/c units do not function well.

Another common issue I hear about is the seemingly exorbitant electricity charges tenants receive. From my own experience, as well as from talking to people in other buildings downtown and with other tenants at 63 Wall Street, I estimate the electricity cost at 63 Wall Street to be 50% to 100% higher than elsewhere. Yes, that s twice as much as other places. Tenants at 63 Wall Street are not sent an official bill from the electric company, but are charged by Metro Loft Management. People have speculated that Metro Loft includes a large surcharge to the kilowatt/ hour charge from the electric company.

Those three issues are my primary complaints. There are some good aspects to the building. First, due to its less popular location in Manhattan, the cost of renting at 63 Wall Street is less than a comparable property in a more popular location. This isn t anything surprising, but I find that it s not nearly as bad a neighborhood as my less-informed colleagues and friends believe. The number of retail stores nearby is really starting to pick up and Underground Pizza is even open on Saturdays now. Retail will continue to pick up, and the neighborhood will become much more crowded, for better or worse, as more residential buildings come online over the next two years.

My interactions with doormen, and maintenance staff at the building have great since day one. It s not their fault that building ownership has tried to short change tenants everywhere it can. I hope everyone remembers to tip the staff once in a while as I believe it is some of the best in the city. The low staff rating I have given is for Metro Loft Management only and is not a reflection of the doormen and maintenance staff.

Security is very good as guests are always stopped at the door (a hassle for them but security for me). Some of the doormen even know my friends names and still stop them at the door before calling me to let me know of their arrival. I think that is an understated positive of the building.

If you made it this far, you are very interested in learning about what tenants have to say about the building. I think I have portrayed an accurate issue of the problems at 63 Wall Street, as well as some of the understated positives. Everything not mentioned is average and what I expect in an apartment, nothing more, and nothing less. I hope this helps you make informed choices.

User Responses
From: crests67	Date: 10/17/2008
Thanks for the posting! It is important that people are objectively informed before taking a real estate rental decision.
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/04/2008
By the way, one elevator has been down for over 5 months now. FIVE MONTHS. Can't wait to get out of here.
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/24/2008
I think this is an extremely accurate description of conditions in the building. The team in the building are a very accomidating and proactive group of people, but anyone working outside the building (management) needs a wake up call. You cannot place a random charge of $300 for 'electic' on the rent bill when the ConEd slip says $60. It is not acceptable to delay someone's already loathed morning commute on a consistent basis because the top 12 floors need to wait for a service elevator. It is also unacceptable to scam tenants by asserting bogus demands regarding leases- clearly violating the New York tenants and renters rights. I am very comfortable in the building, but management is a frustration beyond definition.
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/24/2009
Horrendous! It is the end of March and management has still not replaced the broken elevator. It has been approximately 8 months now. I have seen people shoving to get into the single elevator and smaller ladies, who didn't become involved in the shoving, forced to wait for it to make the round trip back to the lobby... disgusting.

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