Ludlow Residence Hall – School of Visual Arts

As far as dorms go, this was very nice, very easy. Laid back and new. Great terrace space. Secure. I was never bothered. I was there in the summer. I think it’s mostly design students, some culinary students, and dancers. A cool mix.

I lived at the Ludlow in January 2013 — May 2013 straight out of college. I moved t o New York to work an internship at an entertainment agency in Flatiron District and overall truly enjoyed my stay.
Pros:
Location, location, location! I was one stop on the F train to Brooklyn and just 4 – 5 stops uptown to Midtown. Even better, I was within walking distance of everything in LES and Soho/​Chinatown wasn’t too bad of a walk either.
Apartment: My room was very clean and the building was nice. Elevators always worked and same for laundry machines. I was lucky to stay in a double as a single so I felt like I had plenty of space. My adjoining roommate was in a single and it was pretty tight but she mad it work. Great views and the terrace is nice too.
Social Life: LES/​The Ludlow is surrounded by some of the most fun lounges and tastiest restaurants. There are so many cool places to eat within walking distance. Right across the street, the DL has AMAZING brunch. There’s also Beauty and Essex two streets over that is great for brunch and after hours they have a great DJ as well.
Security/​Management: They do their jobs well by checking IDs and making sure guests get signed in accordingly. They also hold big packages that don’t fit in your mailbox behind the desk which is nice.
Cons:
Following the security piece in pros, the sign in aspect can get a little annoying. You can also only have guests stay overnight if you sign them in by a certain time (5pm or 8pm, can’t remember) and you are limited to 10 stays a semester. If you have a guest that isn’t on the overnight list and they don’t leave by midnight, security WILL come to your room to personally escort the person out of the building. No questions asked. They don’t play about that rule.
Kitchen: There is one stove/​oven and 2 microwaves and 2 toaster ovens. For a high rise building with as many students as ours, I think that’s a bit ridiculous. Obviously, around dinner time, it was PACKED.
Laundry: Although I never had any issues with laundry machines themselves, if your clothes were left in a dryer or washing machine you ran risk of finding them on the middle table because someone moved them to use the machine. I personally think it’s rude to touch people’s clothing but just know to keep your alarm on your phone so you can go get your things when the cycle is finished. (It’s completely free though so that’s a very nice aspect)
Recap: Great location, nice clean building, invested security. I say it’s a win for temporary NYC housing!

This place was like Fort Knox. Four doors just to get down to the basement and signing someone in for a mere ten minute visit might take 15 minutes depending on the guards on duty.
The rooms are tiny and as a big dude I felt crammed regularly. My bed was so squeaky that it woke me up several times early on. Also there are security cameras all around which is fine if they are used for that purpose but caught a staff member scolding a resident when he tried to go on the terrace after 9pm because he tried the handle three or four times and tracked him to his key card.
Think carefully if you want to deal with many of these inconveniences. The cost I thought was high and subletting somewhere in the city has to be a better deal anyway depending on the location.
Positives: Gym is right across the street, and there is a crêpe place nearby, close to little italy

Oh this place wasn’t so bad. I lived there mid-​june through august 3^rd for a summer internship.
The Good:
The booking process was super easy, albeit a bit sketchy. Using an online form, you choose your room type and simply pay for it online with a credit card. No check to see who you are, if you’re a student, etc. Ah well. At a for-​profit institution, they’re just in it for the money. I guess they don’t care who books their rooms as long as they pay.
The location was pretty good. Right across from a Duane Reade (though not a renovated one, if you’re used to the others in the city). The gym is right across the street. Bars are close by, and you barely have to drive to the city to get out of it. You’re right by the Williamsburg Bridge so when it comes to moving your things, it’s easy to get a car there. Plus, there’s a parking garage right across the street.
Everything is included in your payment to live here (read: you don’t have to pay extra for laundry, cable, wifi, or AC. Keep that AC running as much as you’d like!) Compared to subletting a place for the summer and having to find a furnished place and pay extra for all utilities (and piece of mind with 24 hour security) it’s price is pretty much on point.
The room are small, yes, but it’s a college dorm. Except small rooms. Most are singles, which was important to me. Each room had a bed, two dressers under the bed (I moved mine and stacked them), a desk, a chair, an exposed closest, a microwave, and a mini fridge/​freezer. Each single is joined by another by a bathroom (so you share your bathroom with one other person). I’m not sure how this works with the double rooms.
It was easy to move in and check out. Even when I had guests, the process of signing them in and out was easy. I don’t know why others had a problem, unless they didn’t know the policies. Even when I had to change the dates of one of my visitors very last minute, it was easy to change with security. You just have to be nice and apologetic.
The RAs are really nice! I didn’t have much contact with them, but when I did, they were super friendly. The resident director also kept everyone up to date on building happenings via both email and the facebook page. It was great!
The Not-​So-​Good:
The single worst part about my stay was the wifi issues. I got over it with my computer once I bought an ethernet chord, but it was incredibly annoying to have to sign in every single time I wanted to use it on my phone. Not just every time I went into the building. Every time I picked it up to google something, even if I had been in the building all day. Honestly, it only started working properly the day I left. Naturally.
The only kitchen in the entire place is in the basement. I never used it because I could never find a time when it wasn’t being used. I got really good at cooking delicious things with a microwave.
I had consistant problems with my refrigerator leaking water. Condensation would build up inside and it would leak everywhere. I submitted a request to get it fixed, but I’m not sure anything happened with that. I think it was a combination of using the AC, which increased the condensation in the room, which somehow effected the refrigerator. I wish I could have gotten confirmation of this, but no one ever responded to my request.
This may seem silly, but the toilets are SUPER loud. Just prepare yourself to wake up every night at 4am if your roommate always needs to pee then…
All in all, it was an okay stay. Nothing fabulous, nothing glamorous. I needed last minute housing, and this was honestly better than I probably could have gotten in a sublet.