Doorman building, spacious apartment for a great price, great location 5 mins from Central Park and Columbus circle

230 W. 55th Street feels like it was a good building in its heyday but the owners are not investing in the building.

The location is what it is--it's Midtown West. It's not Hell's Kitchen. It's convenient for work, but it's not the most exciting part of town for residents. The neighborhood feels like a work and tourist place, not a real neighborhood (e.g. expect Starbucks not a cool neighborhoody coffee shop). That said, the location is great for public transportation, with very easy access to the N, Q, R, 1, B, D, A, C and E trains.

My unit has good sunlight, but it's loud. It's on Broadway, so noise is really non-stop out there (despite the fact that I'm probably 200+ feet above the ground), and the building is pet-friendly, and my neighbors pets love barking. Storage is excellent.

The building is a bit tricky--the hallways have clearly been renovated in recent years and have finishings much nicer than my apartment's. My kitchen is what you'd expect in NYC apartments--small but very functional. My bathroom is fine, but nothing special and without ventilation.

The doormen and porters are great. They're truly nice people and are quite helpful.

The in-building gym is a joke. It's functional, but I find it dirty and the building has absolutely no interest in maintaining it. One treadmill has been broken for over a year. In-building laundry is fine. It's clean, but it's a bit expensive. The building makes money on our rent; there's no need to charge more than a laundromat for the laundry room. The roof deck is "meh." It's there, but it's not used much, because it's not that nice. Furthermore, there was a fire and no rush to repair it. The elevators are okay. When all three are working (and the third one is not reserved for the porters), they are sufficient. When only two are available, the waits can be a bit long.

Overall, this building is fine. I kind of wish I hadn't moved here, but it's not so bad that I need to move.