The Aurora

The worst part of living here was how the building handled major problems. On February 9, 2026, a pipe burst and caused a serious flood. The only alert was an email at 3:20 p.m. saying the water had been shut off and apologizing for the inconvenience. I got home at 6:00 p.m. to find severe damage from water coming from a unit six floors above. The front desk told me they had known for hours. I later learned water had been pouring into my apartment since about 1:00 p.m., flooding it for five hours without anyone notifying me. Other tenants told me management was unresponsive during the flood, and that Harrison locked himself in his office rather than speak with anyone, left, then came back and rudely said, “this is why I make you all pay for renters insurance!” In the days after, I was told nearly every wall needed a full gut renovation because of extensive water damage, and I would have to move out. This followed an earlier flood in April 2025, when a 15-year-old AC unit I’d been told was “new” malfunctioned and flooded my apartment. I’d also started having significant skin irritation, likely from mold exposure. My apartment was ultimately deemed uninhabitable, and I lost almost everything. When I asked to end my lease under the circumstances, Harrison first said he “wasn’t looking to screw anyone over.” Soon after, I was told my $3,850 security deposit would be withheld if I moved out. When I challenged that, Harrison said, “you can sue me, but you wont win.” After a heated in-person dispute, I did eventually get my deposit back. The building had ongoing maintenance problems throughout my 12 months there. One of its two elevators was out of service for a total of seven months, the ceiling tiles in the working elevator were falling down, and the wooden Pilates reformer in the small gym gave you splinters. None of this was handled with real urgency. Management also made rent payment mistakes. Karen, who handles billing and is Harrison Aunt, failed to process my rent for the third time in one year while I was away on vacation. I got multiple emails demanding thousands of dollars right away through personal Venmo or by dropping off a check in person. I said I was out of town and uncomfortable sending that much through Venmo, and asked what management would do about the money I lost in Bilt card rewards because of their error. Harrison said he would “courteously” waive the late fee, even though the mistake was theirs. Their urgency about getting money on the first, and frantic reactions to their own mistakes when they didn’t have it that morning, made me think they must be in serious financial trouble. They draw tenants in with newly renovated units at semi-reasonable prices and call themselves a “family-owned building,” but the renovations were cheap and the property was badly managed. Harrison Maidman, the building’s “Chief Operating Officer,” was one of the worst people I’ve ever dealt with. I’m relieved I no longer live there, and strongly urge anyone considering it to research it carefully before signing. I wish someone had left a review so I’d known to stay away from these people.

Great building in a lovely part of Manhattan. Management responds quickly and takes care of requests. All around, a fantastic experience.

Really nice apartment, and everyone is friendly and attentive.

I lived here for a year, and the building management was awful. The doormen were the only people who made a good impression. Management disrespected me more than once. Live here at your own risk.