170 Amsterdam Apartments

Really great building with amazing staff. My leasing agent Olivia was incredible, she is super helpful and always available to answer my questions. I considered moving units in the building multiple times and she always makes time to show me the layouts and discuss options.
The whole building has great staff!

We recently moved into 170 Amsterdam and have been very happy with our decision. We have lived in several apartment buildings on the Upper West Side over the past few years that are described as luxury buildings — finally we have found a building that warrants the description.
Equity Apartments has a very easy application process. We visited the apartment several times before moving in and the leasing manager, Olivia could not have been more helpful in answering our questions and following up on some questions /​requests we had. Overall, this was the most straightforward lease application we have gone through.
When we first saw the building (when passing by during construction) we were not sure what to think — with its exoskeletal design. Now, as residents, we are very happy with all the natural light and modern conveniences that most newer buildings have (washer/​dryer, gym, golf simulator, pet spa, conference room etc etc). Bathrooms and kitchens are spacious (by NYC standards) and the fixtures are good quality. Management is also planning for resident events during the warmer months which gives the building a nice vibe.
In summary, we would recommend this building. Moving is never fun but everyone from the leasing office to the front desk staff have made the move a positive experience.

Having lived in several rental buildings over the years, 170 Amsterdam stands out as being a place I have enjoyed calling home. The architecture is stunning, layouts are great and the service is spectacular. The building has all the amenities that are nice to have (eg. washer dryer in unit) and also amenities I did not know I wanted (eg. gold simulator).
The leasing process was the easiest I have encountered and Olivia was a pleasure to deal with. The form was simple and straightforward with no hidden fees. Olivia showed us several apartments in the building to us over and over again until we found the perfect unit, with no complaints. High recommend 170 Amsterdam!

I loved the look of this building and was able to see a couple of units during my apartment search. However, the leasing office acts so entitled and are completely unhelpful. After schlepping uptown to see this apartment, I followed up with numerous calls and emails to get more information and get some questions answered from a woman named Olivia. It’s been a while and I never got a call back or email (s) answered. So incredibly unprofessional and rude. The prices at 170 Amsterdam are outrageous. If I am ready to sign a lease, clearly I can afford living here. It would have been nice to be treated with a more respect and courtesy. There are enough luxury apartments in the city for any respectable person to put up with this kind of behavior. In fact, I am moving to Hawthorn Park (a Glenwood management building). I feel badly writing this negative note — however, Equity Apartments needs to train their staff better as they are the representatives of the building.

I’m hopeful that others jump in with more reviews — maybe my experience was an anomaly.
170 Amsterdam is a very distinctive-​looking new building. Some people love the architecture, a lot of the neighbors don’t. I think it looks cool, and they manage to take some of that design into the building, in the common areas and the apartments. Even the bathroom floors reflect the aesthetic. It was all designed very cleverly, and the whole package hangs together and looks great.
But here’s where we run into some problems — the execution is just not up to the design. These are very expensive apartments, especially since they’re a little small. It’s disappointing that finishes and appliances are very much mid-​range, although new. The windows are great and big, but the roller shades are ineffective at keeping out light, and are way too translucent to provide enough privacy. And probably the biggest issue — the one that forced me to move after 6 weeks — was the noise that comes through the walls. They’re relatively thin in the first place, but the building also hasn’t solved some engineering challenges related to the gap where the interior wall meets the glass exterior, and allows conversation and TV noise to just pass through from apartment to apartment relatively unabated. Hopefully they should be able to figure that out — I just wasn’t willing to wait for it. In addition, my apartment was on the North end of the building, and I had a constant rumble from the next door synagogue’s HVAC that I couldn’t stop hearing.
Service was inconsistent, also. The doormen are friendly, professional and otherwise great, although they’ve surprisingly got a lot of administrative work to do and are trapped behind a wall, so they can’t provide a ton of assistance for residents coming in the door with packages or luggage. The porters and service department were perfectly nice, but my (brand new) apartment was not well inspected and fairly scuffed up when I moved in, and although I was promised that they’d touch-​up, it never really happened. It took several weeks to remedy a minor construction defect that took probably about an hour to correct. Pretty much every deadline they provided about anything — from the beginning of the leasing process, to maintenance commitments, to the very last signature — was blown through without any acknowledgement. I think a lot of that had to do with the building’s manager, who was not ready for the job, not customer-​focused, and I believe no longer at the building. All that said, now in a new Equity building, I think I’m continuing to see a minor disconnect between management and maintenance, so this might be a corporate issue that 170 just needs some time to navigate.
I appreciated Equity’s policies that allowed me to transfer to another building of theirs, and the process — guided by the rental staff at the Trumps — was surprisingly painless. Like I said above, I’m hopeful that others jump in with their reviews — I got a lemon of an apartment, and didn’t have a good vibe with management, but maybe that’s a minority experience.