All 47 tenant reviews.

“Pros: There are so many "luxury" apartments to choose from in Downtown Brooklyn, but I believe this is the best managed apartment in the area. Maintenance, garbage room management, package handling, elevators, shared spaces, building staffs etc I literally have 0 complaint. Things are fixed within 24 hours. Jay metrotech entrance is right off the building and I don't even need to step outside to take the trains. Very useful for rainy or cold days. The small park in front of the building doesn't do much but it looks good and better than nothing Cons: NYU is a block away, there are always too many international students hanging out in the rooftop lounge. Once you sign up for the gym you can't opt out until your lease ends. There are not many restaurants in the immediate area other than takeout places or DeKalb market hall, I need to walk 10-15 mins to other neighborhoods. I don't have a pet and I feel like I am paying extra rent for nothing because pet owners don't pay pet fees Advice to landlord: I don't want the gym membership anymore, let me cancel...”

“Pros: We moved in during Covid and got a great deal. We love the space! Cons: You have to unfortunately pay a lot to rent the amenity spaces for a private party and the gym costs money. Advice to landlord: Unless you can get a good deal, I think it’s overpriced.”

“Pros: - The building is super pet friendly and has an outside dog park - They keep the building clean, but you'll occasionally find trash in the elevators - Garbage rooms can be messy at some points, but they staff are great at keeping trash managed - Maintainance requests are very quick, usually under 24 hours to fix. However, the AC units they buy are very prone to breaking. Cons: - The dog park can get very gross at points before their deep cleaning, and deep cleaning is non-existent during the colder months - There are 4 elevators, but a couple are usually broken. This has gotten much better over the years, but can slow down getting home during a rush. Advice to landlord: Please deep clean the dog park twice a week”

“Pros: Classic luxury building. Unbeatable Location + convenient. Usually things get fixed quick. Friendly staff + workers. Cons: Gas service was out for two months without warning. The inspection process was poorly handled, announced with only one day’s notice and then dragged on again and again, mandatory access required for the 6+ times inspections throughout. Elevators always down (at least 1~2 out of 4). Small living / bedroom (certain units). Facing other buildings without sunlight (certain units). Absolutely no negotiation of rent.”

“Pros: All the staff are very helpful and responsive. They have their own app to pay rent. Cons: The elevator is frequently damaged.Really annoying for a 30 floors building. Also I think the water quality sometimes could be very bad.”

“Pros: Well maintained, friendly and responsive building management. We truly love everyone who works here & at the cafe in the building. Cons: Really bad elevators that do not work 80% of the time. Many will break down in a week causing long wait times. Neighbors here can also be really rude and entitled. They are mostly international college students who can afford it and treat it like the dorms.”

“Unit 55Y Pros: This was my first apartment in NYC, and I’m afraid it set the bar too high. I rented a large 650 sqft studio in 2018 for $3090. The building is rent controlled so your rent cannot increase beyond a certain amount (I stayed for 2 years and my rent increased by 2% in the second year). The staff is wonderful, there's a coffee shop and a subway station right on the premises, the amenities are comfortable and clean, and the apartments are well built. I occasionally heard a lot of wind (but when you're 50 floors up, it's to be expected). Walls are thick and I never heard my neighbors. I literally never found a bug or pest in 2 years (thank god). The sinks have disposal built in (a lifesaver!). There's (expensive but readily available) parking in the building, and it's close to every subway line you can think of. Target, Trader Joe's, and several other stores are across the street at City Point. If they weren't so expensive I'd come back to lie here in a heartbeat... I'm already considering blowing through my budget to do so. Highly recommend. Cons: Honestly, nothing apart from the rather minor inconvenience that sometimes the entrance smelled like dog pee (because owners would take their dogs right outside the door). Additionally, the way the leasing office communicated to me about lease breakage terms was kind of shady (they implied during COVID that I could take 2 extra weeks to confirm my lease break for free, but ended up needing to pay for those weeks because there was obviously no demand). Just read the terms of your lease carefully (they're clearly spelled out) and you'll be fine. Advice to landlord: Make sure to be clear about your lease conditions to new tenants! Also please do short term leases.”

“Ghulam was polite and professional when he entered my home. He saw the window and in a moment, he remedied the problem. He had only been there for about 3 minutes tops! Avalon Willoughby has a super amazing maintenance team. Thanks!”

“Unit 31A Pros: -gym and roof access -great staff -responsive maintenance -convenient location to other neighborhoods and subways Cons: -mail room can be overwhelming…Amazon lockers are great though -windows don’t get cleaned often (not once while we lived there for 2 years)”

“Pros: clean building, nice amenities, responsive front desk and leasing office Cons: our apt unit did not have the same layout as the same line we visited on a different floor (one of the window panels was covered by a column in our unit, which was not what we saw during our visit) Advice to landlord: please provide accurate floor plans to tenants”

“Pros: First and only time living in a more luxe building and all the perks really are convenient. Apart from a neighbor who liked to blast house music, the apartment and building were extremely quiet even though it is in a busy area. I loved the big windows as well. Cons: The elevators are always down. Do not expect compensation when multiple are down for months. In fact, half the time they don't bother even letting you know when one is down for that long. No room for negotiation on lease renewals or early endings. Also if you decide to try out joining the gym, you have to pay for it for the remainder of your lease. They have archaic breed restrictions for the dog run, but the don't require the dog to be spayed or neutered. Wild. They also make you use an app called Latch as your keys, but do not provide you with a back up door code to the front door so if your phone is dead and there is no door man at night which was so often the case, you are SOL. The old man who yells outside with no shirt on around that corner is harmless, at least, if you are stuck outside at night because of this. Something is also going on with the electric bills likely due to their meters. After my first year my electric bill went way up with no change in consumption. Advice to landlord: Care more about your tenants rather than just being a business”

“Pros: Convenient location with lots of subway lines nearby, modern apartments with nice amenities Cons: Elevators constantly broken”

“Pros: - management team is fantastic - 24/7 doorman - good security Cons: - extra fee to use gym - location sucks, transient area with no real neighborhood vibe - tons of annoying college student residents Advice to landlord: Screen out the crappy college students with 5 people renting a 2 bedroom”

“Pros: Well kept and friendly staff. Quick to respond to maintenance. Cons: Area near building not the best.”

“Pros: Nice apartments Quiet away from the elevator Good shared spaces Cons: Loud street noise Irresponsible pet owners Slow elevators”

“Pros: Nice area, no guarantor needed Cons: Leasing team is such a headache to work with”

“Pros: the building is super nice and centrally located. it'll be loud in the mornings occasionally due to traffic but nothing crazy. the bottom 30 floors have less nice finishes in general but is still very new and clean Cons: i thought it was super weird that the floors (grey linoleum) continued into the bathroom. there was no divider or any tiling. it's probably not a deal breaker in this market but it drove me crazy”

“Pros: - Very clean - Very responsive - Amenities always work - Moving in made simple - Quiet Cons: Nothing I didn't like”

“Pros: Great front desk team and maintenance team! Stayed for 3 years. Cons: Rent prices getting high”

“Unit 11T Pros: Great Management Easy move in and out Fastservice welcoming communities Cons: Overcharge on moving out bills Advice to landlord: Nothing really”

“All I can say after my move out experience and the serious money grab scheme by Avalon Bay that I would absolutely not recommend to live in this building. Holding me responsible for 1k in accelerated rent until a new tenant could take possession of my unit although I already had a lease with another Avalon property that was new and under construction that due to construction delays I had to delay my move not through any fault of my own causing me to resign my lease knowing I would move out 6/30/22. More than enough notices and apartment inspections were completed. I later then broke my lease with the new property and was told all I would be responsible for was 1 months rent which I paid in full immediately due to my work relocating me and then now after move out at the old building they want to gouge me for an additional 1k in costs. Not to mention they’re charging the new tenant about 1.6k more monthly for rent vs what I was paying and I only moved in back in May of 2021. Always paid my rent on time and had no damages to pay for upon move out. The building employees (Concierge, Maintenance) were always great and will miss seeing them but on the leasing side not so much now with all of this mess and additional money they’re trying to require me to pay.”

“Unit 29Y Pros: Brand new spaces Cons: Dog park which was a huge selling point was unkept and had rocks that hurt all the dogs feet. Constantly jacking up rent Advice to landlord: If this is a 1-2 year option for you as a pit stop, great! Otherwise you will live in constant fear of lease renewal time!”

“Pros: Pet friendly Amenities except gym included in rent Close to subway restaurant Cons: Elevator gets stuff frequently”

“Unit 6A Pros: Friendly front door staff, generally strong communication about issues, apartments are well maintained Cons: It is pricy (like everything in Brooklyn) and occasionally some in leasing office are hard to get a hold of Advice to landlord: Keep up the good work!”

“Pros: Responsive maintenance, all the staff are extremely nice Cons: If the hallway is noisy, you can hear everything - no sound barriers on the door.”

“Pros: -New building with great facilities and roofdeck - Management is helpful and responsive - Great location Cons: -Can get a little noisy around the building at night and weekends Advice to landlord: Keep doing the great work!”

“Pros: Great building amenities and management Cons: management does not respond to noise complaints well and are not addressing such issues with tenants Advice to landlord: management does not respond to noise complaints well and are not addressing such issues with tenants”

“Pros: Under big company network Clean common space and great common space Great location Cons: Package room is self-served which may cause package mistakenly taken (residents are high quality so not likely a steal) Gym is small for 50 fee”

“Pros: Some amazing concierges. The lobby does appear luxurious when you first walk in. Cons: The apts look luxurious but with substandard materials. Cabinets peeling, floors not properly installed, gaps in the front door so neighbors and people in the hallway can hear your in apt conversations and vice versa. Elevators out of order way too often with no or little notice. Advice to landlord: Improve materials and service. We’re charged a premium that isn’t worth it. Turn overs are costly so appreciate the good tenants that you have.”

“Pros: Incredible staff. Fast response from maintenance teams. Great space and amenities. Cons: During Covid it became impossible to get duplicate keys made to give someone access to your apartment. A lot of amenities that used to be enjoyable we’re no longer able to be enjoyed.”

“Pros: Clean building with amazing front desk staff. The roof is nice and open mostly year round. The actual units have great appliances. The management is communicative with the tenants. Cons: The amenities aren’t as luxurious as some other buildings. They let packages fill up the hallway to the elevator which cheapens the look of the lobby. The leasing office can take a long time to get a hold of, and sometimes they need 2-3 nudges before they actually do what they said they would. The apartments feel a bit sterile and too much like hotel rooms.”

“Pros: Great staff, quick maintenance, user friendly portal Cons: Gym requires membership through your entire lease”

“Pros: Staff friendliness, convenience, proximity to subways Cons: Nearby construction, somewhat shoddy “budget luxury” appliances that wore down”

“Pros: Great maintenance team Nice amenities Cons: Not much in the neighborhood”

“Pros: Conveniently close to trains, clean, walls aren’t thin, a lot of amenities Cons: There are a lot of crazy people nearby lol”

“Pros: - The doormen staff are friendly, welcoming, and personal - The finishes in the apartments are all very nice - The views of Manhattan and Brooklyn (especially above the 30th floor) are outstanding - Cafe, gym, lounge, and rooftop area in the building, all great spaces that are also great to bring guests Cons: - Management can be tone deaf or unresponsive. For example, they laid off a popular doorman against the wishes of everyone in building. There was also an issue with brown water (pipe problem) and they were not reactive in real time. - The elevators are not good. Theyre often out of order because they’re made in Germany and don’t have domestically available replacement parts. Never happened to me but quite a few reports of people getting stuck in elevators Advice to landlord: Fix the elevators!”

“just now Run, don't walk. Worst rental experience of my life. Have never made a public post before but feel morally obliged to warn those who, like me, will be taken in by false promises and later regret everything. If you are a black person especially, AVOID. Too many complaints to list but here is high-level summary: Clear racial bias, lies/underhanded behaviour, unconscionable rent hikes, application of "concessions" to individual tenants based on who they like/are most afraid of, brown water/no water issues, loud and intrusive repairs in your apartment with no notice, water leaks, smashed windows due to poor construction, endless elevator breakdowns, immoral COVID policies (they forced elderly maintenance employees to work sans protective gear, and did not provide any accommodations for them despite them being at higher risk), poor communication with residents generally and extremely underhanded and negligent management of key selling point for dog owners - the dog park - including by allowing violent dogs in, denying access to service animals, and lying about whether dogs are all vaccinated. In response to complaints, management claimed the park is the same as a public park and disclaimed all responsibility - but at the same time collect high rent for access and arbitrarily choose who can and cannot use it without notice and often lock it entirely so people are forced to go outside at 2am (what's the point of having it then?) Despite accurate reviews about how kind Becky in leasing and the front desk staff are, management in general are awful. Here is acid test: vast majority of those who were here when I moved in in 2017 have all left due to same issues - poor/underhanded management and outrageous rent hikes. At least two other black residents experienced awful racial bias as have I - I can't stress enough how bad management is here. There are dozens of buildings in same area with equal or better amenities, better pricing and better management. Do not give these people your money.”

“Pros: -One crazy experience that showed me why I want to live in such high rise, fancy buildings: washer and dryer in residence -Food deliveries are intercepted by security for maximum safety (security sees delivery guy, security calls you to confirm delivery, delivery man heads up) -Huge bathroom, bedroom, living room, kitchen -Lighting is impeccable (lights actually provide light) -Study, pool, lounge, and other shared rooms with all building residents -Near shopping center (Macy’s, Forever 21, etc) but not sure what’s the case with the pandemic now Cons: -I’m not a fan of the neighborhood. It’s near Jay St Metro-tech aka near NYU, City Tech, JP Morgan, Accenture but opposite of that is where a lot of crimes happen. Basically one block divides the good and the bad -High rise residence also means LOTS of neighbors. Lots of units, lots of people Advice to landlord: You’re doing great! Hope you’re accommodating people during this pandemic!”

“Don't be fooled by the positive reviews for this building. I've lived here for 3+ years and I've reached my absolute breaking point with this building. They sell you on a luxury high rise with amazing amenities and yet don't handle building issues or emergencies after they've sold you an apartment. I've been here through brown water issues, building facade issues (a glass panel literally fell off the building and crashed onto Willoughby Street causing scaffolding to be put up for almost a year) and elevator issues for 3 years. A friend of mine who eventually moved out used to make sure she always had a bottle of water on her when she left her apartment in case the elevators went out. That's how bad it is. The issues got so bad that several tenants joined together to try and get them resolved and here we are years later with the same problems. We even involved corporate and nothing got fixed. Check with the department of buildings of NYC- the 311 complaints are endless. The elevator issues have gotten so bad in recent months where all or all but one elevator have gone out of service causing massive lines, waits and delays to get to or out of your apartment. This consistent issue causes people to cram into the maybe one elevator they can get into service. Forget social distancing in the middle of a pandemic when you're just trying to get home and feel safe. The thing I will say is that the front desk staff and maintenance staff are absolutely lovely people. They are as helpful as they can possibly be and honestly take the brunt of the issues here because building management is typically nowhere to be found. When you have an issue they email you or call you to discuss and give vague "we're working on it" responses and then nothing ever gets resolved. I'm at such a breaking point that I just want anyone who's considering to live here to run far far away. This year has been hard enough on everyone as it is. Don't move into a building that will just cause you more stress you don't deserve. Stay away.”

“Moved to Avalon Willoughby Square in June 2017. AvaDobro and Avalon Willoughby Square are one and same building. The bottom 30 floors are branded AvaDobro and top 28 floors are branded Avalon Willoughby Square, but since it's the same building it suffers the same underlying issues. Here are some actual things that have happened in this building and are an ongoing concern: 1) Willful negligence in fixing a broken window for 2+ months, resulting in a window falling from the 55th floor of this building. Resulted in shutdown of all outdoor amenities by Department of Buildings until further notice. Dog park just reopened yesterday. 2) Brown water, which tested positive for 4 heavy metals 400% the accepted EPA limit (copper, iron, manganese and aluminum). Management maintains water is safe to drink despite these independent test results. 3) Frequent outages of hot water throughout the building. 4) Leaks in several apartments every time it rains. 5) Abnormally high level of elevator outages since building's inception 2.5 years ago till now. All 4 elevators went out at the same time on multiple occasions - trapping folks on New Years Eve and Halloween with kids inside. To this date, the call for help button doesn't work. 6) Lack of security in the building, allowing non-residents abuse paid, resident-only amenities and multiple of episodes of hate crime in the building. 7) Ineffective management and corporate leadership team in communicating and fundamentally resolving any of the issues above. 8) Lack of disclosure to new/prospective tenants on the pre-existing conditions above. There are many nice things about this building, such as very nice support staff who generally show up on time to fix stuff. The view is incredible. Our favorite concierge is Jean who goes out of his way to always help us with our packages, which we often pick up after midnight. But all the good deed by the individuals who work in this building does not compare to the things structurally and fundamentally wrong with this building. I would never recommend this building to my friends or family. Even if you don't plan to live here - this building is still a public safety danger - you should avoid walking near the building in case of 1) above. Here is an actual petition signed by current residents on the issues we are experiencing with the building: TLTR: Run, don't walk. Or join us, so we can be stuck in an elevator together and have no way to call for help and we can talk about our life choices that resulted in us being here.”

“The concierge are amazing and there are amazing perks to living in a luxury building; however, the leasing agents are dishonest and irresponsible when it comes to informing potential leasers of the apartments. Ava Dobro is having a massive problem with brown water spewing out of the faucets, including the shower. They basically tell people once they sign the lease, they can either terminate the lease or live as is-- although the brown water was never mentioned beforehand. Having accessible water-- especially to shower in-- should be considered as a basic right as a tenant. I understand that there is higher management probably ignoring the problem because it's going to cost them a lot of money and tenants to fix, but this is awful. They should not mislead people like this when they KNOW there is a problem before a potential leaser signs the papers.”

“There are plenty of high rises in downtown Brooklyn. I urge you not to move into this one! I regret it every day. No Safety. No true managment. Brown water coming from the pipes. They just want you to sign the lease And forget about you”

“Do not move into this building. The management is absolutely horrible, bordering on negligent. My young children and I have lived here for six months and have experienced brown water consistently with no resolution at all. Management has moved us to a different unit (because they couldn't fix the brown water in our apartment), they have had us shower in an empty apartment (because they couldn't fix the brown water in our apartment) and have offered no compensation in rent or answers. The brown water continues to this day. I have lived in NYC for most of my life and never have I lived in a "luxury" building until Ava Dobro and never have I experienced consistently horrible experiences with a building owner. Do not move here. You have options. This building should not be one of them.”

“I love my apartment. It is brand new. Fantastic view. Happy vibes every where. Metro is down stairs very easy connection to Manhattan. Beautiful area and everything accessible. Friendly customer service”