I spent many hours searching for an apartment in Observer Park and ultimately decided to pass. We were verbally told that the deposit we put down on one specific unit counted towards the building itself and we can have our choice of 3 different units after the elevator was fixed. 903 was our first choice- it had the best views in the building but had the double whammy of train noise and elevator noise, and at the time of our deposit the elevator was taken out of service in an "attempt" to fix this noise. Well, (perhaps intentionally) right after our three day refundable "grace period", we were told that the apartment we actually wanted (903) had already been rented and that we were stuck with one we did not like as much. We visited other Greystar properties like Grand Adams where the initial deposit was refundable until the actual lease was signed, but sketchy Observer Park refused to refund any of our deposit even with our special circumstance. Here's what I learned about the building in my time spent sitting in apartments wondering if the slightly lower prices were worth the nonstop noise: 1- Jay and management seem like good people, and I was shocked they wouldn't refund our "refundable" deposit given the fact that they were dishonest about the elevator being taken out of service to fix the bothersome noise. 2- The garden elevator noise is very noticeable and bad- almost like a vibration that rumbles through the walls and into apartments- you can even hear it from the rental office- listen up. 3- The apt is not well constructed and the walls are thin. Standing in a hallway at 7pm I heard every apartments TV, conversations, music etc. This is a very old building that has been renovated but sometimes feels like they put lipstick on a pig. Bad bones. For example, the windows and window handles were clearly not renovated and were old and fragile and not very insulated. Closet space is tight because as they renovate they are taking the hall closets and converting them to a W/D with no space left over. A true legitimate renovation of the building would include new insulated windows with new handles, new doors that insulate noise, and a new garden elevator that doesn't vibrate and scream every 3 minutes like it was built 30 years ago. On the plus side, I did talk to some residents who said they got used to the noise and lived with it and enjoyed the apt. The amenities looked solid- gym and courtyard were nice. Obviously proximity to path also nice. There's a reason Yelp and every apartment website has a ton of suspect reviews for this building more so than others. Where there's smoke there's fire. We ultimately sacrificed being close to the path for a quieter nicer apartment uptown. read more

I've lived in this building 2 years and used to love it. Greystar management took over the management from Bozzuto in Fall 2017 and it's gone way downhill since then. Since Greystar took over the building, here's what we've experienced: 1. Heat in common areas (lobbies, elevator waiting areas, stairwells, hallways) is often either way down or completely off. It's freezing in this building the minute it gets cold. You pay for your own electricity to heat your apartment (heat not included in rent). It also smells like urine in the stairwells (which you'll be using, as elevators go out of service regularly because they break or residents are moving in/out - no dedicated elevator for that). 2. Bozzuto management used to host regular community events to bring residents together: a summer BBQ on the patio, Grimaldi's pizza party, concert in an empty apartment. Since Greystar took over, these community events are basically gone. There was one attempt at a "resident appreciation day" where it was advertised that a "healthy grab and go breakfast" would be provided on your way to work, but that consisted of coffee, Costco croissants, and a bowl of apples. You pay a super premium to live in this building, and well planned, well executed, valuable opportunities to meet other residents used to be a part of what you paid for. Not anymore. 3. We wanted to renew and stay here, but Greystar is hiking all the rents to an crazy price (almost 3400 for a 2 BR) that does not reflect the local market. When we visited management office to negotiate a rent staying at the current level, we were told that the building is going to undergo renovation and they "need to make a profit." If this happens, you may be paying to live in a building with construction, elevators out of service, dust, and of course a ton of noise. And Greystar does not seem to value current tenants who are respectful, clean, and pay on time all the time at all. We were also told rents are not negotiable because they're "highly occupied", which is not what the online availability indicates. 4. Our move-out letter states that we'll be charged $5 to mail back our security deposit. A stamp costs 49 cents. It's quite the indication of where Greystar's priorities are to charge $5 for a normal cost of doing business. By the way, no option was offered for us to just pick up our security deposit from the office for free. $5 isn't a lot, but the fact that they do this says a lot about how they do business and what you can expect as a resident. A few good things about the actual building- well located, walkable to PATH. The apartments are just basic "box style", nothing fancy, stainless steel appliances that try to make it feel fancy, but it's really not an upscale building. It does have an OK gym and a nice patio for resident use. But none of this is worth dealing with the impersonal and inflexible management company that runs the place now (and feel free to look up other reviews for Greystar Management, you'll unfortunately find these sentiments echoed). I don't recommend you rent here. read more

Updating my review as quite a bit of time has passed and ownership has changed. I have lived in this building for about 4.5 years. When the building was owned by Bozzuto (from my move-in in 2016 through the sale in late 2017), my experience was mediocre. Greystar purchased the building in late 2017 and my experience since the sale has been overwhelmingly positive. Most importantly, I find that the Greystar team is outstanding. Anthony and Jay (and in the past, Jackie) in the front office are the consummate professionals - they have always been transparent, responsive, accommodating, understanding, and fair. Danny, Alberto, and Markito in the maintenance office are fantastic - the property is clean and organized, and Danny, Alberto, and Markito are extremely responsive as well. Whenever I contact any members of the team, I receive a response within an hour, and for maintenance requests, the fix occurs within just a few hours. I cannot say enough about how great Anthony, Jay, Jackie, Danny, Alberto, and Markito have been. Greystar has spent a lot of money to update and repair the building, which was neglected by Bozzuto. The new finishes are quite nice, the patios (common area, courtyards around building, apartment patios) are awesome, and the gym in the building is also great for a quick workout. I also appreciate the package concierge room and I am comfortable knowing that my purchases are safe and secure in a locker and/or locked room. The plumbing in the building was completely redone, flooring totally replaced, heating and air conditioning fixed/replaced, everything was repainted, and landscaping replaced. Greystar also updated the intercom systems for the building that allow you to grant access for guests and deliveries using your smart phone from anywhere, which has been fantastic. Payments/billing occur electronically via a web-based portal, which is also extremely easy to use. Also, Greystar is very pet-friendly, which has been extremely pleasant. The two problems with the property that I have experienced, which existed since Bozzuto owned the building, have been the elevators and the community laundry room. Greystar has been installing in-unit laundry in renovated units, which mitigates the laundry issues for many other tenants, and Jay and Anthony have been extremely accommodating in helping me, personally, find alternatives as I do not have in-unit laundry. The elevator issues have been rare in recent times after a slew of repairs by Greystar. Given that these issues have been around since I moved in and the severity has decreased significantly since Greystar's purchase, I would say this is another piece of positive evidence. Contrary to what other reviewers have stated, Greystar has hosted numerous community events and often offer very nice breakfasts/to-go items for tenants headed to work in the morning (which have slowed, understandably, in the COVID-19 pandemic), all of which is free and none of which is cheap. I do not know how these false assertions in other reviews are created. With respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Greystar team here has been extremely responsive and the property has been SPOTLESS - cleanings of the doors, elevators, and common areas occur multiple times per day to keep things sanitized and keep us safe. With respect to the economics of living here, Greystar does nothing different than any other property owner/management company with respect to fees and charges. In fact, I find that Greystar is more transparent than its peers with respect to the charges you can expect to incur, and my rent increases have always been very reasonable. If a tenant reads the lease, there is nothing that occurs in practice that is not expressly stated in the lease. I have always felt that I am receiving a good value for my money, and my rents are aligned with comparable properties and market rates (thus, validated with research). Also, I have never had a problem negotiating (which I have not had to do very often) in the off chance that the rent system provided a high number. My water/sewage/trash/electricity is always very reasonable (even cheap). The only matter of caution: the quality/personality of the tenants in the building is very polarized. There are many tenants that are kind, respectful, clean, courteous, and the quintessential good neighbor - I enjoy running into these neighbors throughout the community. They will hold the doors, hold the elevators, clean up after themselves, be mindful of their noise, and treat others with respect in the community areas (e.g., the outdoor patio). Unfortunately, there are an equally number of awful tenants, individuals who are persistently loud, disrespectful, careless in their dealings with the property, treat community areas as their personal party venues, careless with their packages and clutter, and possess a shockingly strong sense of entitlement - be wary of these individuals. read more

I usually don't post reviews for anything but I think Observer Park deserves more credit than people are giving them. I have lived here for over 2 years so let me share with you some takeaways: Location: This is the best part of the building. Just a few blocks from the PATH / Ferry / NJT and from all the bars and restaurants on Main Street. Price: Is the building expensive - yes but so is Hoboken. Real estate prices continue to rise by 8-10% a year and as stated we are 2 blocks from the path - what do you expect. The building was one of the first to be built in the "new" Hoboken so things are not as new as across the street - but those prices are even higher! Building Staff: Maintenance team has been here a while and they are great. Everything always gets fixed within a day or two. Management has turned over several times since I have been here but I really feel like they try to make things better. They also keep us informed frequently but that is better than not knowing what's going on. What they could work on: The elevators always seem to give us problems and sometimes you have to walk around to the other side to get down, although after getting them fixed they finally seem to be working well. Also, there are a few residents who think this is a dorm. To management's credit, they quickly realize that it is not! read more

this building is a sh*t hole, we have had an elevator not working for almost 4 weeks yet pay $3400 per month for a 2 bedroom apartment. Your packages get left on the street or if you are lucky in the foyer. They never make any offer for concessions and they are the WORST management company i have EVER dealt with. "kathryn coleman" will instead write you a novel of an email EVERY 6 HOURS to try and make it feel like raping is not a bad thing, but it sucks. NEVER EVER LIVE HERE. If i could take back the last two and half years of \getting this total run around and dealing with incompetent property managers who change every three months, I WOULD. But i can't and Buzzoto stole it. if you do anything right in your life, DO NOT GO TO A BUZZUTO PROPERTY. read more

Observer Park is an excellent building for people working in or around NYC. The distances to the PATH, NJ Transit and highway, as well as restaurants, bars, and water are excellent. Safety was a priority for us as well, and Observer Park exceeded our expectations. The staff, including management and facilities, is extremely responsive, whether via email, phone or i person requests. The only constructive feedback we had was the continuous issues with the elevators and sometimes promises of renovations that either didn't happen or took much longer than promised. Also, not having a laundry machine/dryer in unit was sometimes frustrating as the laundry room fills up during after work and weekend hours. read more

Elevators break all the time (at least 1x a month) Same with Laundry/and hot water for those who live on the first floor. They fixed up the packaging issues, but now my text messages don't work anymore. The new thing, the management company enters apartments at their free will. No prior notice (state law requires 24 hour notice). You tell them no, and they pretty much say tough shit. we have to or we don't get x,y,z. Will complain to housing authority in hoboken. read more

Yes, the rent is high and sometimes the elevator breaks, but that is all part of living in an apartment building. Just think about the fact that we didn't have to worry about the blizzard a few weeks ago because they worked around the clock to make sure we were safe and shoveled out. I have nothing but good things to say about living here. The office and maintenance staff has been nothing short of incredible. They have been so helpful over the last few months and have been incredibly accommodating and have worked really hard to fix all of my apartment related issues in a timely manner. They have assisted me with multiple package deliveries and have been even more amazing with helping me to coordinate with contractors to do work during the day when I am unable to be there. Overall, they have all been great to work with and have tried to make my life so much easier over the past few months so thanks for the hard work!! read more

The management at Observer Park is fantastic. Katie & Michael do a great job of organizing events for the residents and handling issues with the building. They developed a new outdoor space that is great and are always prompt and thorough with their responses to resident's questions and concerns. The maintenance staff is great too. They fix any issues within 24 hours and do a thorough job with it. read more

Been living here for almost two years now. the area is great, the management is great. Living two blocks from the path is a plus! I plan to stay! read more

I am not sure where to begin. The management is not that good at what they do and don't try to go out of their way to help in any way possible. The elevators are awful and always slow. The automatic door has been broken for roughly a year. The gym doesn't have good equipment. The laundry room is always filled up. They don't have a doorman or any way for packages to not get stolen which is really disappointing. The television that lets you know if you have packages is always broken. Also if you do decide to renew your lease they increase it by 10%. If you move here its basically only for the decent location but not really worth it. read more

I have given one star because if you let them know something is broken they will answer your email. I moved in a couple months ago and I am beyond annoyed at the entire experience of living here and am currently looking for someone to transfer my lease to. When I moved in everything was broken..closet doors, window latches, oven lining torn, refrigerator shelves collapsing. The kitchen has to be at least 15-20 years old and the apartment probably hasn't been painted in 10 years. When I asked about all these things, they said they only do full maintenance/renovations if everyone moves out, but as long as the lease continues they don't do anything besides basic maintenance. So my refrigerator is rusted and the shelves will stay broken along with the ripped oven lining I have to put on 500 degrees in order for it to adequately cook food and then it burns before it cooks so it's useless anyway. The carpets in the bedrooms are old and stained and no carpet cleaner can help it. the best part about all of it, is that I spoke to a few people on the floor who have some of the "newly renovated apartments" and they pay less than we do for our broken down apartment. The hallways smell like the garbage shoots, right now there is only one elevator in service because of renovations, so ALL THOSE PEOPLE have to use one elevator, so prepare to wait ten minutes. Two washing machines are out of service and there are only 7 for the whole building so prepare to wait for that too unless you are home during the day or up in the middle of the night..The carpets in the hall ways are stained as well. I can't wait till the lease is up or someone takes it from me. For the ABSURD amount of money charged to live here, this is anything but luxury. I will give the fact it is convenient though, so if you work in the city you can't ask for a better location so I guess that is what you are paying for. I am just so so SO disappointed. A little TLC, a white coat of paint and a new fridge/oven would make SO much difference read more

I've been living here for 3 years and I feel that this is the best apartment ever! Very convienient to the PATH and just about everything else in Hoboken. Also the gym, laundry room and courtyard is an amazing addition. It has been so great to grill with friends on the courtyard this summer! Management is also very friendly and super quick to respond! If there is a issue with anything in the apartment they usually come by within 24 hours! read more

My daughter lives in the building and I am 100% pleased with everything, especially the very friendly, attentive Management. Love the entire atmosphere of the building. read more

after moving in only 2 weeks ago, the transition has been seamless. Katie and Michael have been absolutely fantastic in everyway possible. The building is great, obviously there are ways the buidling will be improving overtime and upgrading amenaties such as the terrace which is great. We look forward to our future here at Observer Park read more

This building is perfectly located and run by an excellent staff. I have lived here for two years and can't imagine living anywhere else. Things get taken care of within hours of reporting them. The building is always clean and yes one elevator does have a bit of trouble but the other is always working and there is never a problem getting into the building. Love this place! You would be lucky to live here. Perfect read more

It has been over 2 years since Dan B wrote his review and I was shocked at how much the building has not changed. My rent was raised $180 after a year which is ridiculous considering I would be paying more than when I was living in a doorman building in Murray Hill. The gym is an absolute joke, treadmills are always broken and they have a total of 4 weights, not sure how that can be considered a gym. Elevators are usually broken or so slow that you aren't sure if its coming or not. I have been late to work multiple times for the elevator taking over 15 minutes to make it from the 7th floor to the bottom. I haven't noticed the NJ transit noises so make sure you are on the side furthest away if you are desperate to move into the building but I would never recommend the building to an enemy. I am not typically someone that writes reviews but after 9 months of paying way too much to live here I couldn't help myself. One last thing is make sure that you don't have any wine glasses or anything that is above a regular size glass - they wont fit in the cabinets. read more