Essence 144

Building is unkept and looks rundown. The prices that they’re charging aren’t worth it but ppl are desperate and inventory is very low right now so they’re going to convince ppl. Moved out Feb 28th, did my walk through with the old property manager Tracy and was told that I would receive my security deposit right away. It is now July ppl soon will be August and I have no security deposit! Be prepared to be giving the run around. I am at the point where I’m just going to go to court to handle this. Will update you guys.

My partner and I lived in the apartment for about 2 years. In the beginning, everything was all good (of course). Then as the 1st year went along, we noticed how a certain manager would act and show his true colors. He is very unprofessional and some of the other managers weren't responsive to our needs about the apartment. The quality of the apartment is CHEAP, so the monthly rent did not make sense from the lack of quality, including the amenities. Yes, the placement of the apartment is great for recruiting to New York but that is literally about it. For the price of rent and the hassle from the managers, it is not worth it.

Do Not waste your time and money and rent out these poorly managed apartments. The manager thinks he is all that and never takes time to listen to the residents complaints. There is very poor waste management, so there are roaches running around at the back entrance. He is also very big on evicting people and taking them to court over being behind by a month after being a well paying resident. He acts as if he is understanding, when he knows that he will put your name in the eviction courts.

Management is TRASH! Do not rent there! Rat running in parking lot due to poor waste management. Unprofessional is the name of their game! Overpriced is an understatement.

All the other comments sums up the experience at this place. Poor management, low quality flooring, cabinetry, and appliances, the amenities are no where near as described, and they have a infestation problem. Extremely over priced. Your best bet is somewhere else.

This is an unprofessional family-owned business so I guarantee you any GREAT (5-star review) comes from one of the family members. They only thing they are concerned with is $$$$ and they have the audacity to charge 4% increase on a building that is unfinished. They do not offer 2 year leases, clearly because they want to increase the rent yearly and they DO NOT DESERVE IT. The building is a MESS and looks like it is an un-maintained 5-year old building and it is only a little over a year old. SHAME. It does not even deserve a $20 rent increase. The building was NEVER fully completed. Once you walk into the lobby, look at the elevator section at the ground, unfinished and dirty. The walls are unfinished, inside the elevator, unfinished, the hallways, unfinished. I took a walk up the stairs to the other floors and they all look unfinished as well. The elevator is ALWAYS broken and for over a year, there was either a broken front entrance or back door or no door at the entrances at all. The doormen froze all winter. Don't be fooled by this management company as it is struggling and does not have funding to upkeep the building and approved loans to move forward with their newest project. It is at a halt. (KARMA) Employees are not paid either and have left. When I parked my car in the lot, I was always greeted by freaking rats running up and down the lot and I had mice in my apartment as did other tenants I asked in the building. They have since decorated the lobby with several plants and added "Essence" mats as if this is an improvement to mask the unfinishes. The building has never looked polished and never will. The head of security Mourice is not friendly and lacks customer service skills. The doormen could never do anything without his permission. If you have a food delivery you'll have to go down because Mourice instructed the doormen that the delivery person cannot park in the driveway to head to your apartment to deliver. Once my lease is ended I will be leaving. Essence you do not deserve the rent you charge, the area is sketchy, and your staff past and present are unprofessional. I wasn't expecting Park Ave but I was expecting honesty, professionalism, and respect. I do not think there is any ENTITLEMENT in that.

Do yourself a huge favor and rent else where! The building was rushed and the finishing is terrible. The building has a beautiful external structure but the interior is not properly done. My walls were not painted, my bathroom faucet not intalled properly, the ceilings was not painted. Management do not response when you email or contact them. My floor smells of weed constantly and my Neighbour’s blast music loudly at ungodly hours of the night!

Our experience at Essence has been very enjoyable. We’ve been among the first ones who moved in when the building was still being finished. Reading the review that many people wrote just made us laugh so much. It seems like many thought they were moving to Beverly Hills, some reviews are biased. We’ve met some former tenants who moved out because of some silly reasons, but the problem was not about the units, the problem was them being extremely entitled. We have never experienced anything like others were complaining about. Of course, we had some little things about our unit that we had to discuss with the management, this is normal when you moved into a new building, however, the management took care of our request and made sure that we were satisfied with what we’re paying for. For example, our washer and dryer were not delivered as soon as we moved in and the management team allowed us to use one in an empty unit for free. Yes, some details in the units could have been done in a better way, however when we asked to tare care of some little things, everything was done in a timely manner. The location is East Orange, it’s not the fanciest place, but the building is very nice. Our unit is super bright, we have a beautiful New York view, we have a 24/7 gym upstairs, 24 hour security, a beautiful lounge and a concierge. We also have a washer and dryer in the unit which is a real luxury. The train station is literally in a 5-min walking distance and the train takes you straight to Manhattan in pretty much 20 minutes. We totally disagree with some of the reviews that we’ve seen because our stay is great, our neighbors are nice (mostly young professionals) and between amenities and the units, we’re happy to live here.

Where do I begin. My boyfriend and I went to Essence 144 to view some of the apartments in the building, however, what I saw was mind-boggling and out of this world I couldn't even think of letting my dog stay there or my worst enemy. First, the elevator was covered in piles of construction dust. In addition the elevator was so small and dingy it made me wonder how can anyone fit inside this thing and hopefully, it doesn't break down. Secondly, the apartments are cheaply made, everything in the apartment ( e.g. cabinets, doors, flooring etc...)are very bad quality. Now, I have lived and still live in apartment complexes where they are known to cut corners, but Essence 144 takes the cake. The construction is so poorly done, you feel gross just being in the apartment/building. Thirdly, when my boyfriend and I saw the apartments, it looked like the construction crew was living there. You saw their clothes, underwear's, and sneakers in the bathroom. You also saw their turds and urine in the toilet (gross). Also you saw crumbs and leftover's from their food all over the apartment. How can an apartment that is new construction be so gross at the same time. Keep in mind ladies and gentlemen, there is a reason why on their website they do not have actual real pictures. The pictures on their website are animated and does not even closely resemble what the actual apartments look like. I would not be moving into this complex at all. It is nasty, gross, and extremely bad construction. Everything looks very fake in the apartment and it is very obvious. That's my review, see the apartment and judge it for yourself.

Please believe every bad review you see posted. We are tenants living this nightmare not angry individuals who were evicted. The construction in the apartments are very poor. When I moved in my ceilings were not finished. Ayman stated "this is the look we were going for". I told him it is definitely not what I signed up for. Had he informed me at the time I viewed the model apartment that my ceiling and walls would not look like the model unit, I would not have signed. I had to threaten to not pay rent for them to come into my unit and patch/paint my ceiling. A crew finally came in and completely the living room ceiling back in June but we are now in September and I just went to the office to threaten them again to finish the ceiling in my bedroom. There are cracks all through the ceiling, the boarding around the door is damaged. The shower head is broken and water shoots out all over, floors are uneven and poorly cut. Did I mention the walls are thin? You can hear your neighbors entire conversation! I have to turn on my music to tone them out. I really wish we could post pictures on this site to help the non believers. The gym is not finished at all, they just started laying the floor down. Ask to see the gym in their sister property at 141(across the street) you will see that they do not care about the up keep of the building. The weights are damaged, the bench is ripped with exposed cotton... it's a MESS. They will not get another year out of me.

I really wanted to like this place. Unfortunately here are the issues. It took over 50 phone calls for anyone to return a call regarding a leasing request, it goes to someones cell phone. The building pictures are all altered, the neighborhood is nothing like they depict, its not a good area. If you make decent income, move elsewhere. Parking onsite is non-existent, they make you park 3 blocks away in a sister property. Now to the unit, when I moved in, the unit was not even close to clean. The bathroom tub has rust stains on it and they wont come off. The floors are UNEVEN, I didn't think a developer could even pull that off these days, but the floors are lumpy from pouring concrete wrong. It is not just my unit, we looked at other units and they all had the same floor issues. The edges of the hardwood floor are not flush against the wall, there are gaps here and there, apparently someone didn't know how to measure anything. On the door outer rims, there are tiny nails holes everywhere, on every single one (not sure how this even happens) In the kitchen, the cabinets look great but not well thought out and also, misaligned....oh, did I mention that my dishwasher is not bolted to anything? I can pull it straight out, fun..... The building itself needs a lot of work in the common areas, I've been to dorms that looked nicer. Its the little things can make a difference and they missed every detail. There are no amenities yet, its still under construction. The elevators are gross and old, has a old motel vibe to it. So why would I move in? I relocated for work and did not know the area well. I was exhausted from traveling and needed a place to live. I thought I could put up with this for a year and I will have to, but I wanted other people to know to stay away.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU SIGN THEIR LEASE..This is the most unprofessional, underdeveloped, tacky overrated apartment complex I have ever dealt with or lived in. RUN!!!!! Its next door to a FRATERNITY house they party and play loud music in the parking lot until after 10 pm at night.The building is not up to the standards they set. The management team are mostly family and they are manipulative Airaj (owner), Ayman, and the female who works there. They smile and laugh with you before you sign then treat you like crap once you do. The hallways smell terrible because the garbage is left their all day and you are not guaranteed to be able to park your car in the parking spot you pay $125 when you come at night because they don't enforce the parking rules. They never finished the ceilings from the 4th floor up they have cracks and holes in them and they are uneven. Most of the cabinet’s counters were installed backwards and have huge stains on them. The kitchen cabinets are missing pieces to open and close properly. The floors are uneven and have bubbles under the wood. The paint jobs are terrible and sloppily done with the exception of the model apartments. Those are great because there for you. Pain is on the floor, doors, etc.. The bathroom details are hideous. The vents were not installed in some of the apartments they were covered with dry wall and (NATS) have been coming into the apartments through the vents. When you come into this building go to the basement, it has a horrible smell and fly’s flying all around. I don't know how any of the tenants are going to live here with that smell. The toilet tissue holder has parts missing. The paneling is coming off the cabinets. They did not take out the rubble and dust after constructing the apartments. The cable wires were covered causing an issues with installation. Management is extremely selfish and not family-oriented as they pretend to be when you meet. They will not work with you regardless of circumstances, rental history etc. Their company is under (Blackstone 360) realty and they have two other buildings 141 south Harrison and Aura 240. Beware..... Stay away. Run. So many people are breaking their leases and leaving. There is no fitness center yet and the building has been open since about March. We are paying for amenities we can’t use. I have to warn you please stay away or you will regret it. I promise you.

I had very high hopes for this building. The floor plans and demo pictures are AMAZING. Unfortunately, reality has been the FURTHEST thing from amazing. What seemed like our dream building has become our worse nightmare. This building is nowhere near worth what they are charging the tenants for. Like multiple people have already stated, the construction is poorly done due to being rushed. The management is constantly telling us things that they do not follow through with(they're never on the same page and you get different answers from different people), the parking lot is a joke(which is extremely over priced), all this along with the most recent gnat/fly issue has turned this experience into a living nightmare. I really hope for the sake of all the tenants they get their things together ASAP. This is definitely not what we signed up for! The building has so much potential, but stay away until management gets their ducks in a row!!

I give the building one star. Management are liars leasing manager in particular. Do your research and do it well before signing. They promise so many things. The building is not finished so there are currently no amenities! Management will tell you it will be finished soon. However it will not be finished anytime soon. You will hear construction at 7 am. The building manager is rude and is very unhelpful. I pay for parking and it took months for them to get it in order. My spot would be taken on a daily basis and all the other spots as well and would be left with no parking. They have currently fixed this providing parking passes. Will see how they manage this as there is no security in the parking lot to monitor this. The building has so much potential if they get rid of their current management and hire managers that are professional and honest. Please get new management. Managers with a professional track record.

Moved into essence a couple weeks ago. The Building was constructed very cheaply, you can hear neighbors next to you and below you. In addition to the poorly insulated walls there are many things wrong with my unit and according to neighbors they are having problems as well. Faulty appliances, unfinished painting, spots on the walls and ceilings, poor window installation . The worst part of everything is my washer and dryer have not been installed yet and you have to pay for each parking space in the back of the building. THEY DONT EVEN GIVE YOU A COMPLIMENTARY SPOT ! The building isn't complete yet, so ill give them the benefit of the doubt. The work should have been completed properly and not rushed before anyone moved in . Id like to see better management, and the building completely cleaned up and painted by the end of construction.

the management is awful. I called 5 different numbers trying to get in contact with someone. After leaving emails and voicemail's I got a text that said "sorry I cant talk right now"

Besides the poor construction done in units the walls are ridiculously thin. I am currently listening to the entire conversations of my neighbors whom are speaking at a regular level. I am also listening to the clanging of pots and pans because some genius actually thought it sensible to neighbor a kitchen with a bedroom. It would be fine I suppose provided the walls had even the most basic sound barrier. Construction of apartments without proper sound proofing should be a crime. Hearing someone whisking eggs while in your home is beyond outrageous. I have never experienced such insanity. You can't even complain to your neighbor because they are doing the least but this cheap construction makes it sound like they are doing the most. It's 6AM and I am being annoyed by the high pitch of a child and preparation of breakfast in ANOTHER PERSONS KITCHEN. They have rented almost all of these units because the price is right for space and decent amenities. However, I expect their cutting of corners and lack of ethics in terms of construction is going to cause several confrontations in this building. I weep for those who are neighboring with babies, dogs as those who are quite loud during private time. Can't be good. Above and below are insulated. To your left and right; not even close. Terrible, sloppy, bootleg construction and The thinnest walls you have ever experienced. Oh yes the weed smoking is ridiculous as well. Permeates hallways and mgmt does nothing. Blackstone 360 needs to be investigated. The upside is that I can rise early and get more out of my day I guess since I'm being forced due to thin walls and pot clanging alarm clock. Upside ......space and large windows. My bedroom is huge and would be great despite sloppy construction if I could actually ENJOY the peace and quiet a bedroom should provide. Clanging pots at 6AM and voices clear as day voids the good stuff.

i signed a lease because i fell in love with the place. the area is so so but does not bother me much. after the lease was signed its been impossible to get in touch with management. so far I've tried to contact 3 different people in regards to the move in date scheduled for may 15. i was told 2 weeks ago they would send an email for orientation and never received anything. the name on the lease is also wrong and today is the 13th of may and still nothing. hoping i don't regret this move.

I visited Essence 144 and signed a lease on the spot! The team was welcoming, informative, and answered all of the questions I had. The building was still in the process of being renovated so I didn't see the entire thing but I was shown the apt model and it was beautiful. They had spacious, open concepts, gorgeous kitchen appliances, and huge bathrooms. It is modern and classy. I was so impressed with the amenities and the price. The building covers some of your amenities and has parking options on site and down the street. I commute into Manhattan for work and the train is about a 5 min walk from the building which is incredible. The team was awesome and responded quickly to all questions I had after I left that day prepping me for move in. I can't say thank you enough to the amazing team at Essence 144 for introducing me to this building!!

We've been seeing this building over the course of its renovation for some time now. Even though the building is still currently under renovation, Sam was amazing and really sold us on the property. Sam is truly the reason we decided to act so quickly and sign a lease the same day we visited. He was very knowledgeable, easy going, funny, and extremely helpful. All of the reservations we had about signing a lease for an unfinished project were assuaged the longer we talked and toured the property with Sam. He made sure to address all of our concerns and reservations. The building is one of the many properties own by Blackstone, that we also toured and really liked the decor and amenities they offered. Also we saw the model apartment for the apartment we would eventually move into and the finishes were excellent, the size was spacious, and the price was competitive and affordable. We look forward to moving in soon.

Saw this listing pop up all over my apartment searches and the more I looked into it the more I liked it. Went to the open house last week- researched around a few more days but honestly nothing else came close for that building and that price. Definitely looking forward to moving in

Went for an open house yesterday and after 45 mins of seeing the building and speaking with the staff on site, I was sold. It was kind of hard to see the finished product since the building is still under construction, but the one model apartment they had for viewing definitely helped me visualize the space- it was beautiful, really modern design & an ideal location for me. Looking forward to moving in!

The management makes me nervous to move here! The pictures look absolutely beautiful but that is all that anyone can go by. I filled out an application and paid $45 the beginning of this month, and I have YET to hear anything regarding a tour, credit check, or an approval. This is alarming when I was informed that I need to consider applying for a February 1 move, at the latest March 1, because after, the pricing will increase. How can I prepare to move into a place that won't return a phone call, voicemail, or email regarding an open house! It's halfway through the month and no one has seen the inside of the apartment building but you are aiming for a February 1 move? This is not how you attract the "specific clientele" that you claim you want to attract. Even if the timelines are behind schedule, you should call all of the people that have been told to or have actually paid the application fees. DO NOT KEEP PEOPLE IN THE DARK!

its unclear that the building still under construction. no one pick up the phone for weeks. then when someone finally answered my call he could even respond to a simple question: when the building is gonna be ready for tenants to move in. really bad.