Shore Towers Condominium

Building views are OUTSTANDING but many cons with this building come with the management «boss».
Arty Baxter (senior director of Metropolitan Pacific Properties) is an angry man with an irretrievable chip on his shoulder.
He performs so many illegalities that I will not rest until he has been terminated from his job that he is normally used to abusing his power with.
If he doesn’t like you he will restrict your guests access.
SOME OF THE HOUSE RULES:
*You HAVE to go downstairs to get your food deliveries, it will never be delivered to your door for the $ 500-​$ 1000 monthly maintenance fees.
You cannot escort the delivery man upstairs to retrieve your wallet.
Do not leave anything outside of your door for more than 5 minutes, you will incur $ 100 fine each time.
Move in and move out fees $ 250 un refundable
Higher fees for certain people
INDOOR pool is closed during winter.
No barbecue on your balcony. Period.
Management is shut during weekends leading to weekend fines/​boots if you have a rental car without the pass because you were unable to retrieve from management.
Non refundable.
Must seek permission to have furniture delivered and choose a slot deemed accepted by Arty Baxter.
Do not move in as a renter at all, manager does not respect you and will not respect you.
$ 75 car boot fines: if you double
Park on building property for more than 5 minutes, if the landlord told them he’s moving back into the apartment he will have doormen boot your car (although he has no business getting involved with the owners and tenants business as he is Just a Manager at a Management Company)
Other than that rest of building is great :)

The building is nice and convenient as they have a shuttle to train station. I gave one star rating because of the guy who works at the management office. The building takes a security deposit before you move out ($ 250) and the guy said he won’t return my security deposit since I used the elevator for 2 days before I moved out. There were people using the same freight elevator randomly like delivery folks and others who work in the building and it took us a lot longer to move things out of the building.
I called him to explain that there were no damages to the building or elevator and I need my money back, he screamed over the phone and said I cannot get my money back. He also said he decides these things and he doesn’t have supervisor. What business doesn’t have a supervisor these days? Unbelievable!!! They are so cheap.
This is not the first time they charged me a fee, sometime last year I had to get a rental car and since it was a long weekend, the management office was closed, I had left the car in the parking lot over the weekend, but the next working day as I was leaving for work I found they had booted the car, and charged me $ 75 for not notifying them.
CHEAP!!!

I used to live there and they held my mail that was mistakenly sent there. I had great times in room 5M and appreciate working with Mazen. Thanks!

Really nice apartments in the Shore Towers. They all have balconies which are either on the river view or on a beautiful view of Astoria and part of south Manhattan.
The place feels very secure with doormen around the clock and locked doors.
They offer free shuttles from the towers to the subway station of the N train at Astoria boulevard. Pretty awesome after a whole day of work, or when it’s raining.
Of course all this comes at a higher price, but it’s all worth it.

I enjoy being an owner of a Shore Towers condo. I rented at 30^th Avenue in Astoria from the early 80’s until 2010. I love the diverse neighborhood.
Moving to Shore Towers in 2010 from 30^th Avenue really improved my lifestyle. Life is easier at Shore Towers.
Below are PROS and CONS of living at Shore Towers
THE PROS:
Shore Towers is A PET FRIENDLY BUILDING which was a huge factor in my decision to buy a condo here. I now have a dog.
Owners can have pets but renters may not and this rule is now strictly enforced.
ASTORIA PARK — Astoria Park is less than a block away. It’s a fantastic place to walk my dog.
THE EAST RIVER — We are next to the East River and it’s wonderful to watch boats and barges go by. Plus, there are plans to bring the NYC ferry service to nearby Hallets Cove starting in 2017. The ferry will bring Astoria residents to Manhattan!
PARKING — At 30^th Avenue, parking was difficult to say the least. Shore Towers has indoor and outdoor parking. It was a life changer.
THE SHORE TOWERS SHUTTLE BUS — I feel we have reliable transportation by bus to and from Astoria Blvd. I have absolutely no complaints. Also, if I want to walk for the exercise, it takes 20 minutes for me to reach the train station at Astoria Blvd.
I GET A SEAT ON THE TRAIN — The Astoria Blvd train stop is near the end of the line and I often got a seat even at rush hour. Going to work in the village, it takes about an hour from Shore Towers to the office.
The N and Q subway trains are reliable, clean, safe trains. And, going to Grand Central is a breeze. You take the N or Q to Queens Blvd. Then you switch to the 7 line. It’s quick and easy.
TAXI SERVICES — If I come home late at night, I take the subway to 30^th Avenue where the green «Boro Cabs» wait for pick-​ups under the train. It costs about $ 10 to get to Shore Towers.
SECURITY — I feel safe walking around in the building. When I go on vacation, I don’t worry about my apartment.
LAUNDROMAT — we have a good-​sized, clean laundromat. We use laundry payment cards instead of cash — no saving quarters!
THE GYM! We have a large, clean, air-​conditioned gym with lots of equipment.
PACKAGE PICKUP IN THE LOBBY — The front desk signs for packages and holds them for me. I save on mailbox fees and on the time it used to take me to go pick up a package. This has changed my life!
DRY CLEANING SERVICES — There is a good dry cleaning service in the building.
GOOD CONDO MANAGER (ARTHUR) AND SUPER EFFICIENT NICE OFFICE SECRETARY (CATHY) — They are always helpful.
CLEANING STAFF — We have nice friendly efficient staff.
SPECTACULAR VIEWS FROM OUR BALCONIES — and I mean spectacular. All but the first floor apartments have a balcony. Unfortunately for me, barbecuing is forbidden. It’s not safe.
I watch planes coming in for a landing at nearby LaGuardia Airport. I see storms developing. Sometimes huge storm clouds gather and sheets of rain rush towards Shore Towers. I see beautiful rainbows after afternoon showers. The view is never boring. Night is even better than the day! I’ll never take the view for granted.
INDOOR POOL/​SAUNA — we have an indoor pool and I enjoy doing laps in the evening after dinner. The pool is not open all year — Yet.
TENNIS COURT — someday I’ll learn how to play.
COSTCO — Costco is a few minutes from Shore Towers by car. They have quality stuff and they save me lots of money.
THE CONS:
CON ED BILLS — Shore Towers is an all-​electric building. The Con Ed bills are very high in the winter. I bought the honeycomb shades for insulation and they helped enormously.
The Queens-​side apartments get tons of sun and this keeps heating costs down.
THE NOISE AND INCONVENIENCE OF WORK DONE ON THE FAÇADE EVERY FIVE YEARS — It’s very noisy work and we can’t use our balconies while the work is being done. High-​rise buildings have this problem due to Local Law 11.
ASSESSMENTS — In addition to maintenance fees, we have building assessment fees. They are needed to pay for things like elevators. Not fun.
FOOD SHOPPING/​BANKS — There are no food stores or banks close to the condo. Key Food and Best Market food stores are great but they are kind of far away. This may change as this area gets developed in the next few years. Check out this shore towers owner’s website which gets into changes coming to the neighborhood:
That’s it! I love Shore Towers!

Be warned about the unreasonable NON refundable $ 325 move in/​move out fee (so if you want to move on Saturday, in and out, paying $ 650 just for that!) That completely blows dude. And if you take the day off of work to move out Mon-​Friday, it’s $ 250.
BLOWS.

I lived in shore towers for more than 5 years as a renter. The apartments are decently sized, we’ve got a king bed and plenty of room for a desk, and furniture for two in the bedroom. The balcony and the bedroom closet are the highlights of the apartments. I can’t comment on all the units as the owners have a lot of control but the basic model which is what renters usually get is nothing special. Cheap carapet, appliances and finishes– mine haven’t been updated since this place opened in 1991. But a comfortable living space.
The amenities are nice. Parking is included, which is great. Storage in the lobby for an extra fee. Laundry room is big but pretty good. Its under renovation now so hopefully it gets better. The pool is small but there’s a decent little sundeck. Not bad for a lazy summer afternoon. 24 hr security is nice for receiving packages. I like the security guards in general, never really had any problems with any of them.
There’s a shuttle bus to and from the subway during rush hours. It’s nice but the driver is totally unreliable. I often take the 15 minute walk in the afternoon. The location is not ideal but it’s quiet, near the park and there’s some stores and restaurants in convenient walking distance.
Price wise — it gets interesting. There’s a huge variation in rents because you rent from the owner. Some of them are reasonably priced, others aren’t. Sale prices seem too high still too. Management is fine. It’s a condo-​what do you expect? Barely noticed a change with the new company. The board does seem totally crazy, not that I care. They’ve gone through four security companies since I’ve been here. I’ve heard of lawsuits concerning elections at least three separate times.
To sum up, if the price was right I would recommend this place for a couple or small family. If you want to go out in the city a lot, it’s not a great option unless you have a driver.

I’ve only been here a couple of years. I’ll have to update periodically.
I’m very happy overall. Having said that, little things bother me.
The pool that is supposed to be the big draw to this place is nothing more than a kiddie pool. Completely overrun by mommies and daddies and screaming babies. There’s hardly any room to really sunbathe. There a tiny perimeter outside the enclosed pool where you can catch maybe a couple of hours of sun if you’re lucky.
There’s a lot of weird politics going on with the Board of Managers and that’s just from the little I hear. But I know that’s common in most if not all condos and co-​ops. Owners sit on this Board for years and few fresh faces have a chance to be voted in.
There isn’t many YOUNG SINGLES around that I can see. And you don’t hear about any activities the renters or owners might want to inititate. And people are not really friendly.
The laundry room is OK but it would be nice if they had modern machines that took credit cards. There are 3 parking lots but the waiting list for the under-​ground parking lot is supposedly years long!
Lastly, Kathy the secretary is very sweet but other than her, the Superintendent Nick and the Manager Rolinda are very DISMISSIVE and PRETENTIOUS. Nick especially walks around (along with his entire Slavic extended family) like he owns the entire complex. I’ve seen him yelling at tenants like they were his children. Why are these type of people allowed to hold and keep these positions?
Finally, the 24 hour doormen: most of them are great. I really love the Black dudes who keep to themselves and don’t say much. I’m not the type of person who likes inane small talk (see previous reviews, hahah) so as long as they say a cordial hello, that’s fine. But there are these 2 White MEATHEADS that really rub me the wrong way. They remind me of the juiceheads who work at a gym or tanning salon who look down on the clientele because they are in some position of authority. The type who will ogle at the «hot chicks» as if you don’t notice. The type that will gossip about you to anyone and everyone if you do or say something unusual. UGGHHH! I realy wish I didn’t have to see those 2 everytime I entered my «home».
more to follow…
more to follow…