Robbins Agency - Union, New Jersey

Daniel R.

This is the singular worst residential management agency I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. We lived at 233 bay st in Jersey City, and lived specifically in the apt that is currently being advertised. Issues below:

1 - the intercom system is a complete mess. It goes down at least twice a year, and during our 2+ years there, it was out of service for a total of over 6 months. Meaning, every time you have a visitor, delivery, package, you had to go downstairs to let them in.

2 - Addressing COVID - they didn’t at all. During the entire pandemic, we did not receive one notification about mask policies, building cleanliness, rent relief, or anything. This was not an issue worth addressing to them.

3 - Maria, the facilities manager. She does not care about you, or any single resident that she oversees. She will consistently rush you off the phone, downplay building issues, and on one occasion, she even called me a bully for registering complaints. She will placate you on a daily basis, or outright ignore you. Do not believe this person’s kind tone when you first speak with her. The moment you need something, or find an issue, she will either not respond, or downplay the issue, unless it is emergent, and once you meet the real Maria, good luck getting the “nice” version back. Eventually we wound up having to make most requests to the owner, or cc him on every email to get anything done.

4 - apt maintenance issues. Again, the specific apt being advertised is the one we lived in, so here’s a play by play:

Bathroom - i suspect there is a large mold issue, as at one point while we were showering, a few tiles simply just fell out of the wall. The toilet clogs very easily, and the vent is more for show, rather than doing any real ventilation.

Kitchen - extremely dated - the dishwasher is on its last leg, sink leaked like a sieve, fridge is damaged in several places (broken drawers, shelves).

Heating/central AC - the vents all leak. All of them. This was never addressed, and we had to have the ceiling patched and re-patched several times because they were not willing to address the actual problem of insulating the vents. They kept saying they would do this and never did. This means that the leaking is constant, and mold is potentially growing above the ceiling and blowing into the air you breathe.

You may ask why we stayed for 2 years, and I will tell you the single positive thing about the apartment - it is cheap... and so is everything about the building and the management. This is the prime example of getting what you pay for.

rocco C.

Absolute best apartment rental leasing experience. Maria was the most helpful person I have come across in a year. Really worked with me to find an apartment that suited my needs. Thank you maria. And I definitely will refer others here.