I have been living at the Opal since July of 2009, and at first it was a great building to live in. A lot of the staff including Anthony, Harold, and the doormen, have been fantastic. My issue lies with the front office and rude and obnoxious individuals like Elena (Yolena as she prefers to be called). We have been great tenants, paying our rent on time, friendly with everyone in the building, even going so far as to buy presents for all the employees during the holidays, and buying a heater for the front desk in the winter (because for whatever reason the building didn't supply them with one, and it was FREEZING due to the door constantly opening. The issues first started with the Opal Shuttle...this would pick you up in the morning and drive you to the subway, however it was CONSTANTLY broken down and never worked. We were then forced to take 2 separate small vans to work in which everyone has to cram into every morning. They decided never to fix the orginal shuttle, so the 2 vans are what picks you up every day. The 2 bus drivers are great, really nice guys...but for everyone to squeeze onto those Vans is a little ridiculous. Not to mention that if you are even a minute late getting off the subway, you have to wait a whole 30 minutes for the next one to come. In addition, they have a dog run in the back, which was a big selling point for us. They advertise as having 2 dog runs, but its really just one dog run that has been sectioned off into 2 sections. The "2nd dog run" is about 5 feet by 6 feet...call that a "Run" if you will. The dog run NEVER has new bags for picking up after the dogs, so consequently, the entire dog run is overrun with dog feces and flies. The opal used to refill the dog run with new mulch to cover this, but this has only been done 2x in the 2 years I have lived here and it is disgusting. Another annoying thing is because of the fact that the area is very Hasidic and to abide by religion, on Fridays-Sat (THE BUSIEST DAYS OF THE WEEK IN TERMS OF PEOPLE COMING AND GOING IN THE BUILDING) 2 of the elevators stop on EVERY floor, so that Jews who cannot use electricity do not need to press a button to get off on the floor they want to. I understand this, but it is a HUGE inconvenience for everyone else. If you happen to get in that elevator, it will stop on every floor...and when you press the button for the elevator, sometimes that is the one you get stuck with. I have spent times waiting 15 min+ just for an elevator to show up on these days which is ridiculous. Another gripe is that anyone can come onto the premises. They have gates that open on the property, but they open for anyone and everyone...you don't need a pass or anything. So there are constantly people who do not live in the building on the property, and people park their cars there when they shouldn't. The management office is retarded as well....we have decided not to renew our lease because they tried to increase our rent $200, and for the same price I can live in DUMBO which is 5 min to my office instead of over an hour. We have sent Yolena paperwork that she needs to sign to prove we have lived in the building for 2 years. It doesn't take a lot, she literally just needs to sign off on it, but has decided to not do that for over 2 weeks now. We have called every day, and she still has not signed it, and now she is "on vacation". It is very evident she is bitter we are not renewing our lease so is trying to make things difficult for us, but we have gone above her and had everything sorted out. IF you want to live in a building where the management is incompetent, the quality of the people living there continues to decline, where the backyard is covered in dog sh*t, and a community where NOTHING is open on the weekends (due to religious observance), and NOTHING to do in the immediate area without a car, then by all means live here. You are MUCH better off looking at places in forest hills, however, and I highly suggest you look over there if you are considering the opal. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. read more