Newport rental suggestions

[babo111]

My opinion is biased so take it with grain of salt.

Avoid Newport. You are better off near Grove St due to better walkability and future potential. Here are my reasons why.

• Commute
  • If you are taking 33rd line then Path is packed by the time it arrives to Newport and it'll only get worse as time passes. There are at least 11+ hi rise being built in JC right now. Which will add more than 1,000+ units over the next few years so imagine all the people getting on at Grove and JSQ station riding 33rd Path line. I'm not even including people from Newark that'll jump on 33rd line as well.
  • The extra 5 min difference between riding from Grove vs Newport compared to probability of can you even get on Path itself is what you need to think about.
• Shops, Restaurants, and Events
  • You have access to more of it at Grove St area and Grove St is still gentrifying so you'll see more choices there. Whereas Newport already has spaces filled up and not much more space to build stuff.
  • Events are held around Grove St or City Hall. Not Newport
• Updated buildings and units
  • Some of the hi-rise in Newport are old and need to be updated (because Newport was one of the early places where building went up whereas Grove was later). More choices for updated buildings and units in Grove St area.
• Parking
  • If you do own a car, street parking in Grove area is more easier (although this is getting harder due to more buildings going up and closing off streets) and more choices in terms of lots you can get monthly pass. I'm not sure if street parking in Newport is even possible without paying the meter.

If you want more family friendly then seek low rise at Van Vorst area or Hamilton Park.

[averwind]

Thanks for the suggestion, I will check those areas as well.

Found 2 candidates for now if anyone has any idea please let me know.

- Parkside East: Couldn't find any reviews online, lease take over. The only problem for now seems to be lease take over complications, i.e. management company considering me as a new tenant and charging a big rent.
- 270 Marin, Metropolis Towers: Found reviews on apartmentratings and most of them seems to be very negative especially with marks about roaches and rodents. The fact that all the utilities being included in the rent is the main attraction and owner keeps telling me not to pay attention to the online reviews.

[MrsPiggleWiggle]

Originally Posted by averwind

Thanks for the suggestion, I will check those areas as well.

Found 2 candidates for now if anyone has any idea please let me know.

- Parkside East: Couldn't find any reviews online, lease take over. The only problem for now seems to be lease take over complications, i.e. management company considering me as a new tenant and charging a big rent.
- 270 Marin, Metropolis Towers: Found reviews on apartmentratings and most of them seems to be very negative especially with marks about roaches and rodents. The fact that all the utilities being included in the rent is the main attraction and owner keeps telling me not to pay attention to the online reviews.

Wow the name Parkside East threw me off for a good five minutes because I had never heard of it, then realized it's because LeFrak at some point last year RENAMED the four old presidential towers?! Anyways, if you look up old reviews, it's the Thomas Jefferson building (similar to the other presidential ones, e.g. George Washington, John Adams, etc). We've seen a few units in those buildings, which you can consider LeFrak Phase I as they are the oldest buildings in Newport, in Phase II, which are the green windowed buildings by the Town Square (South/East Hampton, Riverside, etc), and Phase III, which are the new constructions (Aquablu, Laguna). Phase III >> Phase II >>>> Phase I from my own impression and reviews from coworkers. But hey, to each his own.

I'm very familiar with Metropolis. Those roaches and rodent comments are not kidding. Those buildings are old and have shared plumbing for HVACS and vents in bathroom, etc. If you have an unlucky unit, and I don't know if there are any impervious units, you'd see German roaches (the regular brown ones) and American roaches (the giant black ones, but with little black babies) like it was nobody's business. I strongly recommend you stay away from those buildings if you value your health and sanity. It's that cheap for a reason.

Buildings that I actually recommend from LeFrak for decent value are the Roosevelt and Lincoln. Huge 2b's for just a little more than 1bd in the highrises and due to low turnover, the units are in so much better shape.

Hope that helps!