Building Amenities

When you are looking for a new rental apartment in New York City, you will probably have a checklist of features that you absolutely want to have in your new home—but you should also remember to take a look at the various amenities a building will offer you if you choose to become a resident there. Here are some of the more popular building amenities that you should keep an eye out for:

Fitness Center

If you are one of those people who avoid going to the gym just because it’s not located close to where you live, then you should look for a home in a rental building that offers a gym, fitness center or health club as a building amenity. When checking out a fitness center, the details you need to look out for include the square footage of the space, the type of machines available, and if there are any additional services (like a yoga studio, a pool or a sauna room) that they offer building residents.

Live-in Super

When you are living in New York City, there can be days when you find yourself facing problems with the place where you live in—these can range from things like getting locked out of your apartment by mistake, or maybe you just need someone to collect a package for you when you’re not at home. A live-in superintendent is your answer to these problems and more—you’ll be glad to have someone always there in your building to listen to your queries, complaints, requests and more.

Pets Allowed

Finding an apartment in New York City is a tough task by itself, but it’s tougher when you have a pet along for the ride! Besides considering things like the location and features of a building, you also need to make sure that it is a “pet-friendly” building as well. But even if your chosen building allows pets, expect to see rules that put limitations on the size of the animals allowed in the building, the kind of pets you can have, or even the number of pets you can have in your apartment.

Children’s Playroom

If you have kids, a children’s playroom is a great amenity to have in your luxury rental building. On days when you simply can’t take your kids out for a romp in the park, having a space indoors where your kids can play and have some fun can seem like a godsend for those occasions. Make sure you check out what age groups the children’s playroom caters to—while most of these spaces cater to young children, there are others that have game lounges, foosball tables, etc. for older kids. 

Rooftop Deck

It’s easy to see why rooftop decks are fast becoming one of the most desirable building amenities in New York City today—not only do such spaces offer a great vantage point to check out views of the city, these outdoor areas provide the perfect place for building residents to chill, relax and hang out with friends and family. Many buildings now offer swimming pools and cabanas on their roofs, which makes the rooftop deck a great place to hang out during the summer months in the city.

Storage Room

There are times when the closets in your apartment simply don’t have the space to accommodate all the things you own—it is in such situations a building amenity like private storage becomes especially useful. Be it to store your winter clothes or your summer furniture, some storage rooms can help keep your apartment devoid of clutter and make sure yopur living spaces continue to feel spacious, airy and comfortable.

Laundry

There was a time when New Yorkers could get their clothes clean only by making a trip to the nearest neighborhood laundromat, but nowadays, such trips can be avoided if the building you live in offers a laundry within its premises. Many rental buildings in the city have washers and dryers located on their ground floors or basements, but there are also certain buildings that make life easier for their residents by offering laundry rooms on every floor of the building.

Parking

In a city whose “lack of space” is especially notorious, finding a spot to park one’s car can be an especially difficult thing to do in New York City. In such a scenario, a building that offers parking space or a garage can be a godsend—you’d no longer have to worry about your favorite parking spot on the street getting stolen by some other hapless driver, and your chances of getting parking tickets in the city will also come down considerably.