help! how safe is 110th street at 5th avenue?

Posted by scstebb22 
What is the status of the bedbug problem at the Heritage?
Moving to NYC for a year starting in July 2013. Thinking about the heritage as its a 15 min walk down 5th ave from my work place. Any thoughts from current or past tenants? I read the previous posts. Just wanted to see if anyone had different opinion or update on the location or that particular complex. Thanks.
OK FOLKS.

HERE IS THE UPDATE....I HAVE LIVED THERE SINCE 1984 (29 YEARS)...SO PLEASE...IF ANYONE CHALLENGES WHAT I AM SAYING...THEY ARE WRONG. NOT ONLY AM I STATING MY OPINION, BUT I AM STATING OTHER FOLKS OPINIONS. I KNOW MANY FOLKS AT THE HERITAGE.

1. YES, THERE ARE PROBLEMS OF BED BUGS.
2. YES, THERE ARE PROBLEMS OF LOUD MUSIC
3. YES, THERE IS A \\\\\\\"DOOR MAN\\\\\\\" (HE\\\\\\\'S CALLED A SECURITY GUARD
4. YES, THE SECURITY GUARDS ARE DISRESPECTFUL TO WOMEN AND WIVES AS THE WOMAN WALKS BY THEY ARE LOOKING AT THE BEHIND.
5. ROBBERIES....I\\\\\\\'M NOT SURE ABOUT THAT...I\\\\\\\'VE NEVER HEARD OF 1 ROBBERY.
6. FIRE...YES. 3 PEOPLE JUMPED OUT FROM THE 33RD FLOOR IN 1295 YEARS AGO.
7. FIRE...YES, ANOTHER ONE....I OPENED MY DOOR AND BAM ALL SMOKE IN THE HALLWAY...EVERYONE WAS SCARED.
8. SOME CRAZY PEOPLE IN THERE. YES. SOME NORMAL PEOPLE IN THERE? YES. VERY MIXED.
9. WHAT RACE: MIXED. MANY CAUCASION HAVE MOVED IN, THEN MOVED OUT.
10. HOW IT IS AT NIGHT? CAN BE VERY DIFFERENT THEN THE DAY. I SUGGEST A PERSON SEE HOW IT IS FOR THEM TO WALK IN WITH TEENAGERS AND SOME DRUNK PEOPLE HANGING OUTSIDE AND THEN WHEN YOU GET ON THE ELEVATOR YOU FEEL UNCONFORTABLE WITH THE NON-WHITES THAT DON\\\\\\\'T CARE FOR YOU BEING THERE...AND THEN YOU GET A DRUNK PERSON SHOUTING OUT TO YOU (AS A WHITE PERSON) SAYING SOMETHING DISRESPECTFUL LIKE, \\\\\\\"I HATTTTTE WHITE PEOPLE...WHEN YOU MOVING OUT\\\\\\\" (Now if you have a stomach to handle that....go for it)
11. EVERY SO OFTEN..ANOTHER NOTICE FROM MANAGEMENT SAYING THEY WILL TAKE OUT THE WATER ON A PARTICULAR LINE...SO YOU CAN\\\\\\\'T WASH, YOU CAN\\\\\\\'T BRUSH YOUR TEETH, YOU CAN HAVE SOME TEA ...YOU CAN\\\\\\\'T DO ANYTHING UNTIL THAT WATER IS BACK UP. IT WOULD BE NICE IF THEY SIMPLY FIX THE FREAKING PLUMBING.
12. THE GARAGE IS THE COST OF SOMEONE ELSE\\\\\\\'S RENT....TOOO MUCH.
13. THEY REQUIRED EVERYONE TO GET IDs AND USE THEM TO GO IN. HOW RIDICULOUS WAS THAT? NO ONE USES THEM.
14. THEY PUT IN METERS TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH ELECTRICITY WAS BEING USED. ANOTHER STUPID THING. THEY CAN\\\\\\\'T CHARGE FOR HEAT WHICH IS DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO ELECTRICITY....
15. THE BODEGA (GROCERY STORE) RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET USUALLY HAS A PERSON IN THERE RIGHT NEXT TO YOU BEGGING: \\\\\\\"SPARE CHANGE\\\\\\\" \\\\\\\"SPARE CHANGE\\\\\\\"
16. YOU CAN\\\\\\\'T FIND PARKING FOR JACK DIDLY SQUAT...AND DON\\\\\\\'T LET IT SNOW...YOU NEVER WANT TO LOSE YOUR SPOT.
17. THE APARTMENT DOORS ARE UGLY.
18. THERE IS AN AREA IN THE BACK THAT USED TO BE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE...LOCKED OFF. SUCK A WASTE.
19. THE COMMUNITY ROOM IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO...DON\\\\\\\'T LAUGH...THE COMMUNITY...LOL
20. THE WALLS ARE SUPER THIN...YOU CAN HEAR PRACTICALLY EVERYONE IN THE NEXT APARTMENT. SERIOUSLY.
21. IN THE LOBBY, THEY MAY BE FROM TIME TO TIME...A FREAKING LEAK ....IT\\\\\\\'S BEEN GOING ON FOR ABOUT A DECADE...WHY WON\\\\\\\'T THEY FIX IT...WHO KNOWS.

OK...THERE YOU GO...

If you have any additional questions, please email me at:
do-you-really-think-i\\\\\\\'m-giving-out-my-email???? Noo....I would be thrown out!!! And yes....I still live there. You know how the song goes: \\\\\\\"Good Times\\\\\\\"

Again....everything I stated is true and DO NOT let anyone tell you different.
Hi C,

For good or for bad I\\\'m moving into the Heritage this summer for one year for work in NYC. If you by any chance check back on this board can you comment on the bed bug situation again. Is that an old thing, new thing, ongoing problem?

I will be spending majority of my time at work but for little time I spend back at the apartment good sleep would be priority. I would imagine a bed bug infestation of the building may hinder that.

Also can you comment on safety of walking at night on 5th avenue? I will not be going any further north on 5th avenue, this would be strictly walking south in the mornings to work and walking back up to the Heritage late (after 11pm) on 5th avenue. I hoped it would be ok since it looks like most of the buildings on 5th avenue along the way have door men and hopefully relatively good street lighting but I have not made this walk at night yet. As a long time local your opinion would be greatly appreciated.
I have live here for 2 years. The things C said about the building are true. Thin walls, loud music every now and then, water shutdowns (I think about 20 in 2 years. It's a bit insane) etc.
however, I have good experiences with management, they were kind and responsive (although the office was sometimes closed durin posted office hours). The security guys change regularly, some have been there during the 2 years I've been there. Some are really nice, others are just there and couldn't care less. Some crazy people in the building, yes. But overall the people were nice, I had some nice little chats in the elevator.
I have never felt uncomfortable walking home from the subway and I often walked there late at night, by myself. I am a 29 year old white woman. Really, I believe if you just stay relaxed, nothing will ever happen. Expect to see people egging for money and drunks and cat calls every now and then but that is it. They don't follow or harass you or anything.
The windows in this building suck by the way. Have some towels ready when it rains. There is not much to do in the area but you're close to the park in an okay apartment building. smiling smiley
well, I just signed a lease. After looking for 6 weeks north of 59th Street, I was
tired of seeing tiny hotel room type studios with tiny appliances, mostly in
the same room, the only room. I am white, in my 60s and retired. After a divorce
I just had to get back into the city from the burbs. Seeing about 20 studios ranging
from $1750. to $2050. I decided I had to explore other neighborhoods. I saw the
Hermitage on a trip to the Harlem Meer in Oct. The park is beautiful there, as is
the conservatory garden. Mt. Sinai is 9 blocks down and medical residents are moving in as are students from Columbia University.
Walking from the Lex. subway after 9 PM I would worry. After that I would tell you to change subways to get to the 2 or 3 which stop a short block away on 110th Street, take a bus or take a cab for late nights.
Now I live in Trump Place on Riverside Boulevard at West 66th Street, a wonderful
place, just too pricey for me. We had a rash of burglaries on the street a couple of months ago. I have a friend in Park Slope who was mugged 6 times over the years.
I once lived on East 84th Street and there was a murder in the townhouse across the street. Newscaster Dan Rather and a male friend were mugged on Park Avenue in
the fifties a while back.
Crime can happen anywhere and teenage boys make trouble wherever they are.
Drunk driving kills kids in thee suburbs. In my 223 years in northern Westchester I can
think of at least 20 casualties of car accidents. Just be smart, don't walk in heels and
no eye contact and notice who is around you and what you would do if you are
attacked. Maybe carry a wrist model of pepper spray, available at Walmart.
Good luck.
How has your experience even living here? I am considering moving in
You are probably more likely to get struck by lightning at that corner than mugged.
Wanted to post an update for anyone considering moving in. For background, I am a mid-20s white female and I have lived at Heritage for about a year. Here are some things I like and don't like about the place.

Neighborhood: Living right on the park is wonderful! It's beautiful, especially if you're on an upper floor and face the park. The neighborhood is pretty quiet which is both good and bad. It's good because it's peaceful but it's bad because there's not much to do - not much good food, easy shopping, etc. I used to live downtown so I got spoiled, having my gym, CVS, good grocery store, and more within a block. Now I have to go up to 116th for those things, which can be annoying if the weather is bad. There is a grocery store within a block of the building but I usually find it too pricey.

Safety: Overall, I do feel safe here. However, the neighborhood can feel sketchy at night. It feels MUCH more sketchy on the walk from the 6 (Lexington) than from the 2/3 (Lenox). On the walk back from the 6 there are a couple little bodegas and groups of men like to stand outside of them and make comments when I walk by. No one has ever followed me or anything, so I have been fortunate for that. However, it still feels kind of unsafe. I much prefer to take the 2/3, then the walk back is just along Central Park and some residential buildings. It is pretty much deserted at night which may seem creepy but it's actually peaceful. No one around to bother you. I have never had anything sketchy happen on that walk, and I make it pretty much nightly.

I'm sure there are drug dealers and gangs around here like people have said, but I have not encountered them. Just stay out of people's business. I keep my eyes forward when I walk and make sure to look alert. No one bothers me except the men by the bodegas I mentioned. I have heard gunshots while living here, twice in the past year, and that did scare me a lot. However, I know that's to be expected in a big city, especially in a neighborhood like this. There's not much to be done about it.

Bed bugs: I have never had an issue with this, nor have I heard anyone in the building complain of it.

Residents: Everyone here is nice. Most tenants are from minority groups but there are some caucasians as well. I have never encountered anyone saying something hateful to me because I am white. In fact, I have chatted with some very nice people during my time here. I can think of one tenant in particular who is a bit unstable and has been yelling every time I have encountered him. Other than him, everyone I've met has been very pleasant.

Robberies: Same as bedbugs, reading this thread was the first time I heard of this. I have not heard of anyone in the building being robbed in the past year.

Security: Yes there is a front desk with security guards. They have always been nice to me, or at least indifferent. However, they don't do much - anyone can come in the building. Guests are supposed to sign in at the desk but I have had many guests visit and only 1 or 2 of them were ever actually asked to sign in. So unless someone walks in carrying a gun wearing a ski mask, I don't think the security would be very helpful in preventing a robbery or anything like that.

Fires: These buildings seem prone to fires, which does scare me. There was a big fire in 1295 very recently, thankfully everyone survived but it was very scary to witness. And then there was the huge fire in the 80s where several people jumped to their deaths. I have also heard of many minor fires over the years. I'm sure some of them are the tenants' faults but some has to be due the building wiring as well. This does make me nervous.

Water shutdowns: Yes, this happens annoyingly often. Usually only for a few hours one day, and they do provide notice, but still.

Elevators: There are three elevators in my building, but really, there are only two. One of them NEVER works for more than a day at a time. It has been working maybe a total of 10 days in the year I have lived here. The other two are fairly reliable but, two elevators for 35 floors and so many tenants... they can take forever depending on if it's a busy time. We really need all three elevators.

Noise: Not bad. The walls aren't as thin as people say, at least not in my apartment. Or maybe I just have good neighbors. Occasionally I will hear music next door or above me, but not often and it's not too loud. I DO hear noise from the street on the weekends - car horns, music, people yelling at each other, etc - but I have a fan in my room that blocks out the noise. Overall it's a quiet apartment, which is hard to find in the city.

Parking: I do not drive but I have had guests with cars come and visit. They have never had a problem finding street parking. I do not know anyone who has parked in the garage, as it's expensive.

Overall: I like living here. As you can read, there are pros and cons. I plan to continue to live here and I hope the building and the neighborhood keeps improving.
YOU WILL BE FINE!

if all else fails kick them in the baahhhs and get on the closest subway you can
What bothers me about this post is why does it matter who is white and who is not. Safety is safety and crime happens in all neighborhoods. There are projects and trailer parks in Staten island that are filled with whites , would you question your safety there? I would have had more respect if you came into the forum and just honestly asked about the safety of the neighborhood in general and not mention " im a 23 y/o white female" do you know how petty that sounds ?you almost make yourself a target with that mentality because I can already tell your the type of girl who clutches her purse to her chest and cowers down at the site of saggy pants. Its thoughts like yours that a white female is going to be attacked after dusk in a mixed race neighborhood that stall our growth as a community. I live on 110th and yes i'm a white Irish female if you must know ...get some cajones and stop being afraid of the world. If your terrified of black people or going out after dark pehaps nyc isn't for you .

god I had to vent that ...
It's not as bad as people think ... IT'S WORSE

East Harlem ~ ~ ~
Highest crime rate in NYC
Highest percent of projects in NYC
Highest percent of drug rehab clinics
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