Meet NYCs crappy luxury buildings where tenants pay big bucks for water outages, no heat and infestations

Tenants paying top dollar for modern New York City apartments are battling chronic maintenance issues.New residential buildings across the city have a long list of headaches, according to a Gothamist investigation, including water outages, flooding, heat failures and infestations.The report found that nearly 10% of the city’s residential buildings opened since 2016 have significantly higher rates of housing code violations compared to the citywide average.Complaints range from cheap finishes to full-on power outages.The problem has become so dire at amenity-rich buildings in Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx that market-rate tenants are getting organized, lobbying for repairs and rent concessions.Chronic maintenance problems and poor construction can be linked to growing industry pressures, experts told Gothamist.

Cash-strapped developers are cutting costs during the costly building process, prices for materials are climbing and skilled workers are in short supply.Not even the city’s wealthiest residents are free from modern construction pitfalls.

The 432 Park Ave.tower, a Billionaires’ Row supertall has been plagued by price cuts and condo board lawsuits in recent years.

Allegations include cracking concrete, faulty elevators, excessive noise, leaks, power outages and other operational headaches since its 2015 debut.“The quality of everything that goes into construction seems to be going down while the prices just continue to go up,” Darrick Borowski, an architect and housing researcher, told Gothmist.That is despite every new building in the outlet’s report receiving property tax abatements from New York’s 421a program.38 Sixth, a shiny new affordable housing development in Prospect Heights, has racked up 1,320 complaints over issues like leaks and roaches over the last two years, Gothamist reported.Avanath Capital, an investment firm that took over the building in 2022, said they are responding to complaints, but denied there are water issues.Tenan...