The Balton

I finally met the new manager, how ironic they hired a heavy smoker. I had a question regarding my lease renewal because the assistant sends me letter stating i will be evicted. They never sent anything and my lease expired a month ago. I really feel the office is incompetent. By law we should receive our lease renewal the minimum 90 days before it expires. When i said this to them they just looked at each other. I am contacting a attorney.

I’ll echo the review left by Tsuyoshi in 2011. The Balton is by far the best high rise to live in the Harlem area if you can get in. The waiting list is 500+ for a great reason. Great amenities, friendly doorman, great tenants, and safety. Steps away from 125^th express train. I never want to leave!

Front Desk and Security
People know that most of the time the building has no security or coverage at the front desk so they wait for an opportunity to enter behind a tenant. They rarely have to wait long. The entry key system is frequently not working, making it impossible for people with legitimate business in the building to enter the right way. When no one is at the front desk or in the office, deliveries are left at the concierge desk unsecured. During the holidays the area is overflowing with packages that should be locked away.
Emergency Repairs
This is a large building but the office lacks the juice to get things done in a timely fashion. When something goes wrong they allow vendors to dictate when a problem will be resolve. Vendors decide what is a high priority for The Balton. If a tradesman says they’ll be there in 3 weeks they are never challenged. The office simply accepts what they are told. This results in important repairs that take weeks instead of 2 or 3 days. The fact that the building entry system, lobby air conditioning and elevator repairs take WEEKS instead of days is ridiculous and unacceptable.
Regular Maintenance
Over the last year the level of general maintenance has diminished. Schedule of vacuuming and cleaning carpets is inadequate. In the past paint was touched up on a regular basis. In addition, the elevator doors, resident doors and base boards were all wiped down. These are small details but they do make a difference.
The Balton of 2014 is very different from that of 2011.

a lovely place to live!

I moved in the Balton in November and I did not have to go through all the stuff everyone seems to have problems with. The staff was always polite with me, I had to re-​schedule one appointment but that was it, overall the entire process took 3 weeks and I was able to move-​in. I agree with Tsuyoshi, I don’t know where everyone comes from but to say the rents are too high for such a building is laughable. I moved out of a studio in the East Village (where I was living for the past 15 yrs) to the Balton and my rent there was only $ 350 cheaper from what I’m getting now: a 1 bedroom, clean bldg, gym, washer and dryer in the apartment, etc… Brand new bldg! I’ve never moved into a brand new apartment before. I had problems with one neighbor who thought he was moving into a dorm but the management helped me with that problem and so far, so good! I hope it will remain that way.

We love The Balton! Very convenient by all means! Directly across from A/​B/​C/​D train station entrance on 127^th Street. Walking distance to great restaurants and shops.
Simple-​luxury at good value… Washer, dryer, dishwasher in most units. The application process took a month and it was rather stressful but fair. We are the first tenants of our apartment (moved in late September, 2011) and we just renewed our lease. The only problem we encountered so far is the noisy people next door and people blaring music when they are waiting in the traffic, directly in front of the building. The tenants are extremely diverse which is pretty cool. People from many different countries live in the building.
The management is fairly responsive and they are kind… Probably one of the best communities in Harlem!
The front desk manager, Rhudra, is the best!

Some of the reviewers for The Balton seem quite bitter that they never were accepted. What some forgot to mention was that The Balton checks credit, along with employment and various other background info prior to accepting the applicants. Most people are denied because there credit is to low, so they become bitter and complain about the staff. While it can be understandably frustrating being denied to live somewhere, remember, there were guidelines and the application, along with the staff, made it quite clear that they check to make sure applicants have good credit. So, in essence, there’s no reason to throw others under the bus when you have bad credit (which is no one else’s fault accept your own) and apply to a place that requires good credit.
For those that complained the rent is too high… oh please, give me a break. Where in Manhattan can you find a brand new building with views of the entire city, with that much SQ FT, and with all the amenities included? For those that applied and live there and are complaining that the rent is to high, then why on earth did you decide to 1) apply and 2) move-​in? The rent prices are absolutely middle income. If you can’t afford these prices, then your low-​income (nothing wrong with that). I will say, however, that if prices go up 7+% in the coming years, then it will start to get rough and unattainable/​unaffordable. The Balton, though, is rent stabilized.
As for the rules… what rules are people referring to? No smoking? No throwing trash outside on the sidewalk? No BBQ’ing on the the balcony’s? Those are legit rules that are enforced in most «luxury» buildings.
With all that said, my wife and I are moving in soon, and our experience with the whole application process and dealing with the staff were quite good. The process did take a long time, and we had to call to remind them of who we were and of our application, but throughout the whole process they were very kind and nice to us. After we were accepted, we signed all the paper work with ease and no problems. Again, throughout the entire process we were treated very well. If there was one complaint I can even try and squeeze out of this whole experience, it’s that it just took too long.
For those that weren’t accepted, may your apartment hunting go well!
Cheers…
*UPDATE*
To Mary G., who left a whiny comment about how I must be a «staff» that wrote such a raving review… For starters, crime in Central Harlem has dropped 79% since 1993. In comparison, the Upper West Side has risen 123% and Greenwhich Village has risen 160% in crimes! (All of these stats can be found online, and or by simply contacting the local police precincts). The Central Harlem you think you knew has obviously changed, or rather «Gentrified».
I wouldn’t have moved my family to Central Harlem if it was dangerous. And while the cost of rent may be out of reach for some, the fact remains the rents are indeed middle-​income. The rents are based on income requirements, and if you look at them, the maximum and minimum numbers are indeed middle income.
Also, to be clear & fair, I wrote my original review based on the experience of applying and getting accepted. The only negative thing I said was «we had to call to remind them of who we were and of our application», and we did that because we were too anxious to move-​in! Now that I have been here for 3 ½ weeks with my family, my experience LIVING here has been most excellent. The neighbors, along with the other folks who’ve we met during the party gathering in 2011, have all been awesome. New Years eve was incredible, with loads of people all together watching the fireworks over the city from the sun-​deck! The community here rocks, so far, and our apartment does too. The whole experience living here has been the best we’ve had since first moving to NYC in 2009.