Monaco

If you have voyeuristic tendencies, then this is the place for you! The view out the window is the back of another apartment building, and some tenants show more than you'd ever want to see. On the upside, being in the back of the building is much quieter than the front. The kitchen redone a few short years ago (new dishwasher and lots of countertop space!) and there are new cabinets with doors that not only open when you want them to, they close too! For a 1960 building, there are a total... of 5 (count 'em, 5!) closets. One might even be considered almost walk-in, if walking into closets is your thing. And the 2 in the bedroom take up a whole wall. There is a pesky leak in the bathroom ceiling that nobody has been able to identify, resulting in the permanent mold (I consider it a design) and parts of the ceiling occasionally falling in (only 3 times in the past 19 years), but the bathroom boasts a window (always nice) and some nifty remnants from the early 1960s (a wall hamper that doesn't stay closed, a clothes drying rack built into the wall that would, if I had ever opened it, open over the entire bathroom (I think the tinfoil on it is from the 1960s, but not every apartment is lucky enough to have this feature), and a medicine chest with a little slot for your razor blades (imagine the history of nicks and cuts behind that wall!) Despite the bathroom issue, the building is well maintained. (Not an easy feat - 1960 box buildings were not built to last.) Limited direct sunlight lets enough in to brighten the place but keeps cool most of the year. Right next to the elevator, you'd think you would always hear your guests coming but its remarkably quiet. Part-time doorman will smile and say hi, accept packages for you to pick up. Less than half a block away from the subway, you can hop a train and escape it all, have a short walk to shopping and restaurants in any direction, or you can just stay inside and enjoy the 2 air conditioners provided by building management (sorry, electric not included). Lee mas