Riverton Square

Full of drug dealers and thefts. Also they charge a lot of money depending on the person. The manager, Lawris Brown is an idiot, he only apologizes but doesn’t do anything. From June they will have preferential rent which wil make things worse.
DONT COME TO LEAVE IN THIS SHITTY PLACE PLEASE

I’ve lived in Riverton for about 6 months. Some points I would like to share:
Positives:
The location is very central — a 6 – 8 minute walk to the ²⁄₃ at 135^th, comparable walk to the ⁴⁄₅ trains over the bridge in the Bronx. M1 and Bx33 stop outside the building. Easy access to to/​from the FDR if you own a car or rent a zipcar.
The apartments have been recently renovated and are nice although the internal doors are cheap and the handles break off easily. The laundry is inexpensive and rarely busy.
There are no mice or rats that I have seen, either in the building or within my apartment.
The neighbors are very friendly. Some people have lived here for decades.
I was given a months rent free when I moved in. I applied on the Wednesday and moved in on the Saturday. Mary Allison and the leasing office are extremely efficient. The maintenance staff are very good.
There are several stores close by — Fine Fare, Delis, USPS within a 5 min walk. Plenty of shops on Lenox. CostCo, Target and Aldi are down on 116^th.
Negatives:
Noise — The proximity to the FDR, Madison Bridge and Harlem Hospital means there is a lot of noise — Ambulances, Car Horns, Metro North, Motorbikes. The traffic regularly backs up on and off the bridge in the morning and evenings as well as on the FDR.
The Heat is the apartment is miserable. I have no control over the temperature. It’s typically 82 °F even with my windows open. If my windows are open, I suffer a lot of dust. I hope the heat is shut off soon for the summer.
The complex recently changed hands as CastleRock sold it in 2015. Rent payments are only payable by check whereas online payments were available before. Mail has been stolen in the building.
There is no Bike room or additional storage available in basement.
Security could be better. It seems too easy for people to wander in and out of the building (see mail has been stolen). The security building is not staffed ²⁴⁄₇ either.
Elevators are sporadic, although I understand one is supposed to be replaced soon.

Family members of mine have lived here, pretty much since I was a baby, so I’ve been here numerous times every single year of my life. I mean, I was pretty much even raised here by my Grandpa when I was younger and have stayed over with my Aunt here a lot. I’ve never really been all that impressed and tonight on my way here, groups of people were laughing at the Christmas tree, saying it was like the one from Charlie Brown. I didn’t even think of the tree but my Aunt was so pissed because apparently the Riverton used to have amazing trees.
But I digress; I’ve just never really seen anything that impressive. I remember the elevators getting really beat up until the point where there was a hole through the floor. When they finally came to fix it, the really just encased it a bit on the inside, I always assumed to just hide what they were looking like. It made the elevators about ¹⁄₃ the size of what they used to be. Entering through the basement was always really lackluster, with lits of trash as you came through and looked dirty.
Until fairly recently, the gates were pretty much just there for show because they wouldn’t even lock, after running down. But at the end of the day, at least there’s running water and apartments and stuff, I guess.

I’ve had a great experience from the first inquiry for a rental through my move into Riverton Square. Everyone working there has been informed, efficient, and kind. While it’s not a new construction, the buildings are maintained and the landscaping on the property is really appealing. I feel very lucky to be calling Riverton Square home.

Can any apartment building get 5 stars in NYC? I don’t think it’s possible, but I’m going to give it to Riverton. Riverton is really one of the best places I’ve lived in the last 15 years. Maintenance does repairs in a timely fashion (though note, I really haven’t had to rely on them to repair anything since move in); the management office is always polite and courteous when I call; I live at «Little Riverton», and the 24 hour security team is always so pleasant — when I see them, the smile and wave signal to me that I am home. It’s convenient to express trains down both the east and the west sides of Manhattan and bus stops on both sides of thes treet, and the apartments are very well maintained and very spacious. Move in was a piece of cake — I was approved in 2 days, and signing a lease on the 3^rd. Mary Allison really does make it her job to make the process seamless (I looked at Savoy and Lenox Terrace, and wasn’t impressed with either, comparitively). Though I’ve never had an issue, exterminators are on hand for weekly service (literally haven’t seen a bug since I moved in) and have never seen a rodent in the entire building: outside grounds, basement and laundry room, included. Walls are very thick and ambient neighbor sound is really kept to a minimum. Elevators, though fast and often available, can be entertaining at times (skipping floors occasionally), but rumor has it, they’re getting upgrades — even still, not enough to make me detract a star. The Riverton Community, though, is truly my favorite part. So many wonderful people live in these buildings — please make sure you say hello to your neighbors when you move in; you’ll be so happy to have met such warm and caring personalities. I may have lucked out with my building and floor (luck of the draw) but after having lived on the UWS, UES, Soho, the West Village (for 8 years), I’ve never felt so much at home as I do, here. Thanks to the Riverton Community for welcoming me with open arms.

Great place to live, loved it for the past 3 years. Great staff, maintenance is timely and lovely view of the Harlem river from our apartment

It’s hard to breakdown the review. The management and leasing team led by Ms. Mary Allison is top notch (especially when compared with her peers at nearby high rises (Lenox Terrace and Savoy). I was able to move in within 3 days. She really helped me.
While great value for the money, one must be conscious that the ambulance dispatch is across the street. You want to make sure you get a bright unit. The apartments weren’t my favorite, but for a stress free move and competent management, I give the Riverton the nudge.

******Update 2016******
Seems that the bed bug epidemic has continued in the building. Items are not properly thrown away, just left in the hallway in the basement. Makes me wonder if someone is evicted, or died at home.
Someone has been stealing my packages. They have the nerve to take my boxes and return them to my door empty. The security in his complex is a joke. The gate always seems to be left opened, and is broken. Security can’t do much besides contact the police.
There has been someone peeing in the stairwell for months. They have even left their crack pipe in the stairwell.
I’ve been in the building for 5 years and just don’t feel safe anymore.
The only positive are the great long term residents in the building, the Porter Richie and the super Kenny. Everything else is a joke.
*****2014 update****
I’ve been living in Riverton for about 4 years. Some other reviews complained about the area. I never heard gunshots but I have seen some crazy crime aftermaths outside the building. My first summer out here was a bloody one, a shooting in this area every week. One time I got outside the building and across the street at the projects the whole block was taped off with police everywhere. Around that time my roommate witnessed 20 kids fighting each other in the street! Last crazy thing was seeing ballistic markers a block away on 135^th and Lenox after a kid got shot!
Fast forward four years later, it’s pretty Huxtable now. Just walk up and down Lenox and you have coffee shops, restaurants, cafés, better grocery stores. You hardly ever need to leave the neighborhood.
My experienced with management is mixed. The last management was quicker with request. But my super Kenny fixes things for us when needed pretty quick if he can. Great to have him as a super! But the management is lousy.
I have had bed bugs. It wasn’t bad, really new situation the management discovered. Probably had one or two bugs in my apt for less than a week according to the exterminator. I recommend keeping an apartment minimal, not being a hoarder and you can spot pest issues quickly, if you have one.
I hate how high the heat is in the building. You need a humidifier if you live here. I was told by management they keep it hot for the old people that don’t move around much. So expect to rock shorts and tanks when home in the winter, and run a fan.
The past 8 months I have seen a lot more white young faces and other non black groups. When I moved in, there hardly were
Anyone under the age of 40. It will be interesting to see how this building changes if I’m around in a few years. Most of my neighbors have been living in the building for years, and some of them have rental property in the area.
The neighbors are great. Probably the best thing about this place are the people. Very friendly and helpful. When some of them heard about my bed bugs they gave me plastic bags and other supplies.

After reading the other reviews posted here for Riverton Square, I decided I should add my two cents and share the opinion of someone who really enjoys living here. The thoughts are a bit scattered.
My partner and I moved into a newly renovated, one bedroom apartment at 10 East 138^th Street in June 2013. We are white, gay guys in Harlem, living comfortable and safely. We are completely accepted, and we were even wish a Happy Pride in June!
Our rent for the first year was $ 1,650. It increased 3.5% to $ 1,708 in our second year. A 5% increase is considered to be a market value increase, so we were more than okay with a $ 58 hike. When you think of it this way, we would’ve paid close to $ 1,000 to move, plus a broker’s fee and the stress and hassle that come along with moving. Instead, we paid an extra $ 696 in rent this year. We’re practical, we love the apartment and the neighborhood… and we live in Manhattan! We were both priced out of Brooklyn (Williamsburg and Park Slope), so we’re not complaining.
Before we even moved in, we felt good about the neighborhood. When we came to view the apartment the month before, people we had never met before — both in the complex and on the street — were saying hello, asking us how our day was and telling us to have a nice afternoon. And that hasn’t let up in our nearly 14 months. This is, after Bay Ridge, the friendliest neighborhood I’ve lived in in my 8 years in NYC (I’ve also lived on the Upper East Side, Hell’s Kitchen and Williamsburg).
The grounds are beautiful and impeccably maintained. It’s so nice to walk through the courtyard area each day. There are newly planted flowers, fresh cut lawns, tons of park benches and a playground area with basketball hoops and a water sprinkler, which I admit to having run through on a particularly hot day last summer. More importantly, they are secure. There’s 24-​hour security and key fobs (or being buzzed in) are required to get into the property. There are, on occasion, a group of teens hanging out in the courtyard, but they never seem to bother anyone or cause any trouble. They’re hanging out with friends and minding their own business. They do smoke pot sometimes, but that doesn’t really bother me.
Inside, the apartments are very quiet. We never hear noise, music, conversation from the other apartments, unless we’re in the hallway. I’ve never heard conversations, but sometimes if a TV or music is up loud, we’ll hear that.
We’ve never had any billing issues. Our rent is automatically debited from our checking accounts on the 1^st of each month.
We have never heard gunshots or witnessed any violence. There’s a hospital a block away and the streets are well lit and usually pretty busy. I’ve never felt unsafe walking in the neighborhood.
No bed bugs. No mice. No roaches.
I will say the elevators in our building are puzzling. There are two elevators, and if there’s already one elevator moving, the other one will remain in the lobby while the other one makes the rounds. It’s never that long of a wait, but it’s frustrating to see it go from 1 to 10 to 12 and then back down before picking us up on 5 and taking us to our destination.
It would be nice to see bike racks and picnic tables to the public space.
Echoing some other reviewers, a major complaint is the temperature of the apartment in the winter. Beginning in October, the heat was on — way too high. We almost always had to have a window cracked. An easy fix but seems like a huge waste of energy.
I’d like to comment on some of the specifics from previous reviews:
«…I will say that you cannot get ANYONE who works for Riverton Square to return your calls.» (2÷3÷2014)
–This is simply not true, at least not in our experience. Whenever we’ve had a maintenance issue, of which there have been very few, we’ve either called the maintenance office or the property manager directly, and have had issues dealt with in a respectable manner. I’ve never dealt with a rude employee or been hung up on.
«The neighborhood is blah — no stores and hardly a restaurant worth going to within walking distance. You’ll need to travel on transit or have a long walk to get to anything really.» (12/​24/​2013)
–Again, not true. One block over on Lenox Avenue there are at least a dozen nice restaurants, with more and more coming all the time. There’s even a fancy coffee shop getting ready to open on West 137^th.
«There’s a large amount of crackheads in the area that on one occasion I had to chase away from my car when they were drinking on it and getting high.»
–I have never seen a crackhead in or around the property. And I’ve never seen anyone in the parking lot sitting on cars — drunk, high or sober.

I’ll have much more to add once my husband and I move out at the end of our lease in April, but I will say that you cannot get ANYONE who works for Riverton Square to return your calls. I’ve called about maintenance issues (a huge hole beside my oven range where mice and other critters were certainly getting in), nuisance complaints (tenants around my unit continually smoking pot) and many many complaints about extra charges on my rent invoice (which happens at least once every couple months).
The women I’ve talked to in the management office are RUDE and one of them hung up on me today in mid-​sentence.
The only time I’ve ever been able to get someone to return my calls was when they were harassing us about renewing our lease last year. In that case, the woman in the leasing office called twice in a 24 hour period, NO JOKE, while I was physically IN the hospital delivering a baby. If only they could be so proactive when it doesn’t directly benefit them.

I’ve lived in Riverton almost a year. I received my renewal lease in the mail recently and decided not to re-​sign. I’ve read the other reviews on here and can say I’ve had no problems with bed bugs or crime of any kind. Never heard gun shots. I have seen a roach every now and then in the kitchen even though I keep a very clean house. Generally, the common areas of the building are clean but some of the tenants throw garbage around. Twice that I can remember someone threw up in the elevator, probably after drinking too much. It was cleaned up the next day; just the kinds of things you’re susceptible to living in a building of this size. I’ve never had a problem with building management, but then I’ve never needed to call them for anything. I moved into a renovated apartment which is very nice.
My biggest complaints /​reasons for leaving:
— As expected, they’re raising my rent 4% for the same apartment. If I was happier here, I might consider that.
— Parking is terrible in the neighborhood so I got rid of my car, which I miss dearly.
— The neighborhood is blah — no stores and hardly a restaurant worth going to within walking distance. You’ll need to travel on transit or have a long walk to get to anything really.
— Projects across the street. Not dangerous but definitely ghetto.
— As others have pointed out, excessive amounts of heat in the colder months. It’s 30 degrees out now with a colder windchill and I have my windows wide open, sitting in shorts, and I’m sweating. Such a waste of energy.
— Something I didn’t pay much attention to when I first saw the apt, my windows face East towards the Bronx. Decent view but constant, 24 hour noise from the traffic on the Harlem River Drive and the Metro North trains going to/​from Grand Central. They cross between the Bronx and Manhattan here. It’s never quiet.
— As others pointed out, the front door of the apartment does not block much noise or odors, so if someone else is cooking or smoking (cigarettes or pot), you’re going to smell it like they’re doing it in your apartment.
Some positives: The apartment I rented was totally renovated and they did a nice job. Also, the management rakes up all of the leaves in the fall and plants new flowers in the spring. Birds and squirrels are common on the grounds.
All in all not a bad place but do your research on the neighborhood to make sure it’s right for you. And open the windows when viewing the apartment to judge noise. I know it’s Manhattan but I miss a quiet night sleep.

Some good some bad the only thing I haven’t seen covered is the risk of parking your car in the area. They break into vehicles a lot here so you have to watch where you park and keep an eye on it during the night. My first year here my car was broke into twice so far nothing this year. There’s a large amount of crackheads in the area that on one occasion I had to chase away from my car when they were drinking on it and getting high. The apartments are pretty nice and the maintenance staff is kinda of a joke. You’ll have a better chance fixing any issues yourself. But otherwise no major complaints

i finally left that hell hole. bongo drummer on the corner bum sh*t in the street and the same old mentality of riverton past. People run down to get there deliveries with rollers in their hair and money in their Bra. they bend over backwards for the geriatrics which pay little to nothing to live there. the old woman that lived over me banged on the floor at all hours of the day and night you hate to be a prick but come on already. Location is awful no nysc no supermarkets worth shopping in closest cvs duanne read is on 125^th st. They have some nerve to charge what they do… Up and coming my ass there are still gun shots and the dirt bikes terrorize the area. NOISE NOISE NOISE. MAIN ENTRANCE TO MANHATTAN A SCHOOL AND A HOSPITAL… loved the apt if you could just move it… The grounds are beautiful but a mirage look at it but DONT USE IT. If you think i will get a blanket and have a little picnic like say in peter cooper forget about it your a second class citizen. I STILL AND NEVER WILL UNDERSTAND THE SECOND CLASS CITIZENSHIP OF RIVERTON IN COMPARISON TO THE SISTER PROPERTIES PETER COOPER STU-​TOWN… The tenant association IS ONLY FOR STABILIZED PEOPLE!!! ITS ALWAYS AN US VERS THEM SITUATION. that mad me feel VERY uncomfortable!!!

My boyfriend and I have been living in Riverton for 3 year now. At first we thought this place was a dream come true, decent rent, new appliances, nice area, great view… of the Bronx. Everything was great. But year after year, our rent has gone up and the quality of the apartment and maintenance has gone down.
There have been times when one of the elevators would not work for weeks on end, Now there is permanent electrical tape on the floors instead of actual repairs. We’ve had issue with roaches, with our toilet overflowing, the paint on our walls chipping (horribly) and now our fridge has stopped working.
Maintenance has know about this for two weeks and have sent five different guys (three from Riverton and two from a third party vendor) to look at our fridge. The last two guys to look at the fridge said we needed more freon but that it wasn’t a guaranteed solution. Sure enough, two days after the freon was replaced the fridge stopped working again. I’m 9 months pregnant as of writing this review and I had to go down to the maintenance office in-​person to get them to act quickly on replacing our fridge. The woman at the desk, Starre Moss, said that they didn’t know what they have available and that they don’t keep new refrigerators on stock. Finally, when she heard back from her staff, she said that someone would be coming up to replace our fridge… with another old fridge. When I asked about getting a new fridge she said that if we wanted a new fridge we would have to pay for it. I said it’s not our responsibility. She said that it wasn’t Riverton’s responsibility that we have a new fridge, but that we have a working fridge.
I find it highly irresponsible and quite incompetent for the «head of maintenance» (who she claimed to be but I know otherwise) to not know what they have in stock and to not have new appliances ready and available to replace broken ones. They get a new check from us each month but we’re to settle with hand-​me-​downs? Needless to say, we are looking for a new place and will be leaving Riverton once our lease is up.
Update: They’ve replaced our fridge with a smaller, older, dirty fridge! They say that they are gong to see if they can fix the steel one that they took form our apartment but it is clear that they are trying to do everything they can in order to NOT get us a new fridge, but we are not backing down.

I have lived in The Riverton Square Apartments for six years and I absoutely love it. It is convenient to all places, the train station is 2 blocks away. The grounds are always well kept and they just improved the laundry room and the security has been stepped up to make me and my family feel very safe. I also like the diversity of the tenents; we have a good number of families as well as single people from different ethic and racial backgrounds. The area is really growing and changing; there are a number of really nice restaurants, lounges and other attractions right out your door.
Lisa F.

We have lived in Riverton for few years, moving here from the West Side, for the catchy price, larger space and a laundry machine in the apartment. The first year we moved in we had an insane mice problem, I’m talking about 3 – 4 mice a night on one sticky trap. After few days of yelling and fighting, we got the management to rip out the cabinets in the kitchen to discover that there were open holes everywhere, and that’s where they were coming from. We finally got the problem taken cared of, and not more mice! We never experienced roaches, but OHH BOY!!! there are MaNY BED BUGS in the Riverton Community. NOt just us, but many neighbors have them, we even had to pack up our stuff twice last year alone within few months apart to treat our place. Luckily, Riverton paid and took care of the treatments, but because they only do an apartment at a time and not the whole building, the bugs run from one apartment to another. SO BE WEAR!!!
Few months ago we got a rent increase since our lease was up, and living in an open market apartment meant that they could raise the rent up to anything they like. So they raised it $ 250, that was a huge and unexpected increase, especially since, the neighborhoods only best thing is having great subway lines. We live next to loud Harlem Hospital, there are gangs everywhere, and the summers are so loud, because of the obnoxious people in the area. Riverton although a gates community, always has outsiders sit and hangout on the property drinking and do drugs, and the security doesn’t do anything about it. Since we have been there there have been cases of Pitt Bulls biting few tenants, and there are few people in the building who breed them.
We have now moved, and wished that we have not seen the ad for this property few years back. Because it was nothing more than a big headache.
Lease Letter would usually come in 3 weeks before you have to give them an answer whether you want to stay or not, never giving the residents enough time to look at other options. Although we were very happy with the cleaning staff and maintenance responses, the management in all is not that great.
Also in 3 years living there I had my car braking into 4 times.
So all in all, don’t judge the place by it cover, Riverton has many flaws, and many nasty Bed Bugs, which you do not want to have in you bed.
GOOD LUCK!!!

The apartments are very pricey. There are gunshots throughout the month at night, very scary, along with occasional rats and bugs (roaches, usually) in the apartment when it’s not winter, but I did see a huge roach last week even when it was cold! I moved here from Savoy but that was a mistake, after my lease, I’ll try Jersey. The staff is friendly and nice, but that’s not enough for my health and safety.