Vernon Tower - Astoria, New York

Joseph C.

RENTERS BEWARE: this place is being managed so poorly that we are speaking to an attorney.
My girlfriend and I have been tenants here for almost two years. The first year was more or less fine.

About three months ago, a neighbor moved in and we started having immediate problems, mostly around noise, parties, and large amounts of smoking happening in the building.

For context I work in property managment too, and we are not cry babies.

We have taken every reasonable step to resolve this including speaking to the neighbor, speaking to the super, speaking to the building manager, contacting the owners of the building, contacting the cops etc. nothing ever changes and nothing gets done.

My girlfriend is 5 years sober and on an almost nightly basis, our entire bedroom is filled with weed smoke. We have reported this to management at least 15 times.

I volunteer coach at a judo school in town, the weed smell is so strong that my gi smells like weed. It's very distressing that I, a non smoker, am having my clothes smell like marijuana.

When we have reported this to the manager, their typical response is no response. After several messages, they said they spoke to the tenant and the tenant denied smoking at all because he has to be sober for his job, this is an obvious lie but they clearly put zero effort into looking into this. They also claimed that buildings are strange and smoke could come from any source.

Again, we lived here for one year, no smoke issues in our living space. Tenant moves in, immediate issues.

The other night the smell and noise was so loud at 5:30 a.m. I knocked on the neighbors door til they answered, there appeared to be many underage women in the property which is even more concerning.

Last night, someone attempted to open our door.

This place is a time bomb. The building manager Michael Baird has displayed by his words and actions on many occasions that he does not take tenant conerns seriously.

More concerning, if you contact the company that owns this building (excel development group owned by Michael Heletz) it is an intentional rabbit hole. The phone goes to a call service that never calls you back. The emails are never replied to. I have probably called and emailed 20 times each.

That to me is a huge red flag.

I am only leaving this review here to warn others to stay away so they don't find themselves in a similar situation.

I also find it questionable how they reply to any negative review by claiming the reviewer didn't live in the property. Again another red flag

The weed odor and noise currently happen every night.

Its unfortunate because we used to love this place. Now it has added so much stress to our lives.

Jennifer D.

I had a wonderful experience living in Vernon Tower and have seen many units in the building. The layouts of the units are all very unique and carefully designed for optimal space. Management keeps the building SPOTLESS. I’ve never had an issue with receiving packages and mail. This place truly felt like home to me and I always felt safe.

The reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because it is listed as a luxury building but they could have more updated amenities since there are many luxury buildings being built in the area. If the rent continues to be raised but no additional features are being offered, it’s hard to retain tenants.

Overall had a wonderful experience living here!

Marlon

The building is well taken care of. The facilities manager and his team does a great job keeping the place spotless and smelling nice. The air conditioning in the lobby is always refreshing and the amenities are great. Very relaxing part of town and glad we moved here instead of busier areas. Leasing agent was also super nice and transparent as well. No attitudes or wack terms.

Kristin D.

I recently moved into this building and I'm really pleased so far. Between COVID and all the snowstorms, I've spent a lot of time in the building. The building is super clean, or always in the process of being cleaned whenever I come or go. Management has also been responsive. There was an issue with one of the heaters and the same day I mentioned it, the super came to resolve it. There is no doorman, but honestly, the system that is in place with the Carson app for packages has been working out great and I have no complaints. I love the location and the neighborhood is very pet-friendly, which I like. So far, I'm really enjoying living here!

Nimra S.

I have looked at so many apartments in New York and I instantly signed with Vernon towers the day I got here. Mike is absolutely amazing. Super friendly and on top of his stuff and will definitely work with you. The views, neighborhood and residents are very well off. The super intendant Dennis will help you with all of your needs. I’m super picky but this place is a keeper

Aubz A.

My experience at this location has been very positive! I want to start by saying that the leasing and management teams are highly responsive to every request and concern, and the maintenance staff handle every work order expediently. The property is so beautifully maintained and always super clean.

Tyler W.

I recently moved to NY, and I had roughly four to five days to find a place. I stumbled across Vernon Tower on some app and quickly went to check the place out. Of all of the places I saw, Vernon Tower was an obvious no brainer. The location is perfect. It is right against the water with multiple parks and shopping near by. I have also had very little to no issues with street noise. The rooftop and gym are also top notch amenities. I'm really happy to have found a home here!

Perla D.

This building is in a decent location .On the expensive, but that's just the area in general and the building doesn't have a pool.Thus far only minor maintenance issues, and all taken care of on the same day of reporting. Not sure about how anything major works but so far so good. I felt the need to leave an honest review because the people who left 1 star were unfair and inaccurate review toward the administration.