Castle Braid

I think this is a great building to live in. However in order to keep this review useful I will focus less on my opinion and simply relay some of the observable facts:
— The staff, both management and supers, is always friendly and I get the feeling that they actually care about this place. They decorate the whole place for the major holidays with lights and signs and while I probably often fail to pause and appreciate it, it does say something when a Jewish landlord takes time and effort to hang up Christmas lights and big signs that say Merry Christmas. Also, when there was a bigger issue with all elevators this fall (due to NYC laws) the board asked for rent reduction for everyone as a compensation for the extra hassle and the next month our rent was lowered accordingly. These are all little things but together they add up to a lot.
— the supers are really super. Whenever we have had an issue inside our unit, they have been quick to help and follow up. It’s obvious that they have worked in this building for years and they know pretty much anything that needs fixing so they don’t fumble around. They come in, fix it, and leave.
— the apartment units are well above standard for NYC. Big windows make the rooms feel bright and even bigger than they are.
— management seems to have a good sense of business, keeping costs reasonable. For example, instead of having 24H door man which would add cost to everyone’s rent, they have a mail room where USPS, FedEx etc can access and leave packages, and then every night from 8pm to 3am someone is there to hand out packages. This is a brilliant compromise which gives me what I need in terms of hassle free package delivery.
— one of the three elevators has been out of service for more than a year now and I see no indication of progress. I’m not sure if this is just the new normal or if this will be fixed. I understand that if it is beyond repair, that it’s probably quite expensive to completely replace it after the building has been built and day to day this is only a very minor inconvenience.
— depending on which floor you live you can experience quite different people. On some floors it seems to be early 20s party town with a constant smell of we… I mean… weekend… Late night parties with loud music etc while on our floor it seems to be super chill adults with professional careers. This is probably the case in any large apartment complex.
— the roof and courtyard are amazing. The gym is decent. You may or may not like the artsy decorations around the building but it certainly makes the place feel different from any other apartment building I have ever seen.
— we are a family of four with two babies. The hallways were an unexpected gift for us: our son loves to go running up and down whenever he has excess energy and we don’t have time to go outside.
— we have live here for two years now and just renewed for a third year.

It is an interesting mix of housing and art space. I’ve lived here for over a year and will probably not stay past my lease. I don’t like that there are so many people around at all hours of the day, especially so many people that don’t actually live here. It makes the shared living areas very dirty and no one really has any regard for keeping it clean or respectable since most of the people here each day don’t actually live here. It is an interesting concept, and could work if the building was smaller and people were more respectful of the space.

We have lived here in Castle Braid for about 4 years now.
As usual, if you live in a big building like this, there are good things and bad ones.
This is the result of living in a big community.
But in general we are very happy living here, things have improved for the past year.
And yes we are planning to renew our lease!

I’ve lived all over NYC for over 15 years and my first living experience in BK has been at Castle Braid. I’ve lived here since Jan 2015 and it has bee ALL GOOD. The management has always taken concern with any issue I might have and the staff that work at the building are always pleasant and attentive. I have a fantastic view of courtyard which lights up at night, all the fixtures in the apartment are modern and dependable. Great fridge, gas stove, deep bathtub… nice. Got my wheels parked inside compound; solid. A short 10 minute walk to the Morgan Station on the L-​Train gets me to Union Square in the city in 12 minutes. Got to love the game room, wood shop, laundry room, media arts room, gym and a spectacular ROOF TOP VIEW; gorgeous every night, the city illuminated as the sun sets behind it. I highly recommend this warm environment with good people and artistic overtones; Khalil (in house artist) is to be commended with his urban artistic edge and organic touch. Point man Motty (Man In Charge of CastleBraid) is honest, thoughtful and straight forward when it comes to dealing with ANY issue. I feel safe and comfortable here. This is a groovy place to hang your hat. Blessings to all who live here…

A truly unique and wonderful place to live. I have been living in CastleBraid for over three years and I really really love it. I’m an artist who both lives and works in the building and I have to say the shared workspace and community of creative people living here is unlike any other place in the world.
Living here has enabled me to develop my artistic expressions, grow professionally, and make connections. I am a self-​taught artist/​sculptor and living in a building that gives me the the space to experiment and explore artistically as well as show and promote my work has been such a blessing. Most tenants do their best facilitate a community and the building is very supportive of that. Of course everything doesn’t always work together perfectly 100% of the time but overall this is a really unique and wonderful place to live and I’m so thankful to have found it.
I also have a golden-​doodle and the community of dogs and dog owners that the rooftop dog park has created has been wonderful for my puppy.

Used to live here — this place has an impressive façade & foyer, but if you look for even a second longer you’ll see that the place is disgusting. The tenants treat it terribly indeed — I’ve seen cigarette butts that have been put out INSIDE of the building, empty beer bottles in the staircases, dog urine that hasn’t been cleaned up by the elevators (not to mention the people that don’t pick up after their dogs on the roof), and it seems that people don’t understand how to fold recycling properly. People seem to misinterpret the room where the garbage chute lies as a room where you just chuck in your garbage.
The library is essentially a jail for books. Nobody volunteers, so you can’t use it. There is no yoga. Sure there is a gym and game room, and a nice courtyard during the winter. And if you have a car you can park it and drive out of Bushwick to find a soy chai latte that doesn’t cost $ 6.
The best part of the building is the roof, and if you stand at the very top portion with the staircases, you might evade the smell of dog shit and get to enjoy the view of Brooklyn for a second.

I have to compare this building to living in a college dormitory though most of the residents are in their mid-​twenties to early thirties. People here tend to like to party and act pretty immature. The building is really amazing appearance-​wise (very artsy and unique) but the residents treat it like crap. I actually wish management would take more action regarding this. The building is less than 10 years old and it’s already taken a ton of abuse. While on the topic of management, I find them very difficult to deal with in regards to common issues. They’re impossible to get in touch with and don’t seem to really care. Often they seem very suspicious and feel like they try to take advantage of their tenants. There’s been several petitions by tenants who feel the same way and have even created their own online forum for complaints. In regards to building safety… there has never really been a presence. While there is a «front desk,» someone only sits there from 9pm till about 2 or 3am and it’s mainly to have access to the package room for tenants to pick their packages up. I am always seeing random people getting into the building that don’t live here. They just wait for someone to open the door to sneak right in. Mainly they come to use our rooftop, but I wouldn’t doubt if they do it to use our game room or gym too even though you need a fob-​key for those. There is no check-​in and having the amenities that we do, it just seems like a magnet to people off the streets. It’s just not a very secure building. It has only been recently that I saw management installing cameras in the hallway. I can only hope this helps as a deterrent to suspicious activity.
While I know this post has been mainly negative, I do have to say the building was built with amazing intentions. They wanted to create and support an artistic community. We have lots of unique art displayed throughout the building… mainly created by tenants. We have great amenities… a gym, game room, movie theater, library, recording studio, wood shop, a digital media lab, and more. The apartments are really nice with new appliances and great lighting (windows are nice and big). It’s a nice place to live, I just believe it can be way better if care was taken.

A few years back following a 2 day warehouse party James Murphy and Karen O copulated and their progeny took the form of a building, we call that building Castlebraid. What am I even talking about you ask? Karen O is a Pisces and would never fool around with a Libra… WRONG SIR. Anything goes in the Wik.
All levity aside, its a great building with great people and that goes for both tenants and management. If I could say anything critical it would be to have more functional roof furniture and fix the cool blue ground lights in the courtyard.

Super hard to get a room in the first place. Then, the ownership is super unprofessional and takes forever to get to anything. Its been months and still haven’t seen my deposit back. Live anywhere else– seriously anywhere.

LOve it! The people are amazing, the BBQ’S are awesome. Love it! That’s is all.

UPDATE: Had to move this to 1 star.
Management is so disorganized that once you move out you will start getting all these weird bills from them and never see your security deposit. I have since moved on and never want to deal with these people again! Make sure you keep all your paperwork, check receipts, and get EVERYTHING in writing so you can later stand your ground with proof.
— — — — — -
I am writing back to say… WOAH.
This place has gone DOWNHILL and I told several friends not to move in this building. There are tons of lawsuits going on and the tenant and management relationship HAS CRUMBLED. Lots of drama!
I will keep the 3 stars because I moved out before it got REALLY BAD!
The rest of my friends have since moved out because of the drama that tenants and management have caused. It is a glamorized dorm at this point with adults and kids behaving like tools.
There are many ways to look at this place. For me I chose this place for the dishwasher, laundry, and gym.
In my experience it’s the nicest place I have lived. My main issues have been with the other tenants and the poor planning of the building.
These issues are not a bothersome if you can ignore or if you are too busy to care.
Amenities– New fancy appliances, huge dishwasher, massive stove, etc. Deep soaking bathtub with rain shower head, and elevators. Walk in closet with laundry hook up plus a laundry room in the building. Control over your heat and A/​C units. Yes there is a gym, a game room, screening room, and rooftop. Internet blows– its so slow and useless. Get your own internet! Living here you know this place was supposed to be condo units ‘for sale’ and not ‘for rent’. The building does have new construction problems like a gym and lobby that leaks every time it rains.
Poor Planning– They put a dog park on the roof. The urine and pooh does not drain so it smells and tenants don’t clean up. Would of made sense to put this in the courtyard with proper wood chips. There is a Library… yes a library that no one really uses. I wish they would donate the books to the local library and get people to use the local library instead. Take that large library space and use it for art gallery, studios, or another apartment to rent. Also management does not give out a set of guidelines to new tenants so idiots move in and don’t do common sense things like– Put the garbage down the garbage chute, or clean up after their parties on the roof or don’t play electric guitar at 2AM on full volume.
But like any large apartment complex you will deal with some jerks.
They also allowed people to create one bedrooms into 2 bedrooms, or 2 bedrooms into 3 bedrooms– creating more population– the turn over rate is very high in this building and sometimes the rents for rooms can be cheap.
Tenants– Some are great. Some are very busy and mind their own business. Some have nothing better to do then have constant drama. The building isn’t all about ‘community’ so if your shy or not into ‘communal’ living you don’t have to participate. If you love that then this is a plus for you. The general population in this building is getting younger by the month which makes it more and more dorm-​like which is sad but the neighborhood seems to be going that route as well. BUT for the most part people are nice and you will meet and know your neighbors which is cool. It is not pretentious at all and those cold blizzard nights you will always have someone to hang with in this building.
Overall the Hood– Bushwick is also fun. The bars are great in the area but do realize if you are ‘new’ to NY this hood may not be for you even though this building looks swanky. This neighborhood is not Manhattan or Parkslope– with every convenience. It is not a hood to walk around wasted late at night and at 3AM you may have to walk far for food. But it is growing and there is a great art and music scene happening.
Also note that this building has hidden fees which have been deemed illegal but I am not sure. You have to pay for a key-​fab when you move into the building, pay for parking pass, and pay for gate opener if you have a car. There is a weird monthly fee added to your rent which are called ‘gas charges’ which might throw you off.
Would I live here again? nah– not because of the dorm feel and drama as of late. But I was one of the first 50 tenants and that was a real good time before all 150 units got filled and management lost it’s grips on managing.

I really wanted to move to this place. REALLY wanted to. Forget all the other reviews about «this isn’t for real artists» or whatever. The building is gorgeous, the amenities are great, etc. Very nice.
Unfortunately, the person you have to deal with to schedule a viewing is an unprofessional dumbass. Talking about you, Taylor Clark.
I scheduled a viewing for a 1-​bedroom at CastleBraid a week in advance. I called the day before to confirm. Not only does this guy not call me back to confirm, he texts me saying «What’s up?» even after I left a detailed message saying I was confirming a scheduled viewing for a 1-​bedroom apartment. I text back with the same info. No response.
Despite the lack of response, I assumed that since I scheduled this a week in advance, I should be okay. Big mistake. I head over to the building and repeatedly text and call this irresponsible douche over and over to no response. Luckily, some random person let me in the building because I look the part, so I got to tour the facilities myself. Laundry room, roof, gym, courtyard, everything. I guess that’s another warning about the building. It’s not in the nicest area, but I got right in, no questions asked. Good thing I’m not a thief, rapist, or murderer. Some kids were playing the courtyard pretty much unattended. If they let just anyone into the building, I’d keep a closer eye on my kids. Seriously.
Anyway, so finally, Taylor gets back to me HOURS later, barely apologizing for not contacting me all morning. Mind you, my viewing was at 10am. I didn’t from this guy until 3pm. But whatever, I liked the building, I was willing to overlook it and chalk it up to just bad luck. We schedule a viewing for the next day at 4pm. Confirmed on the phone and everything. Shouldn’t be any problem, right?
Wrong. The next day, I show up at 4pm on the dot. Call and text Taylor. No response. After 20 minutes of waiting, I decide I’m not playing this game again and just leave. No word from this guy for hours until I finally text him around 7pm thanking him for wasting my time all weekend. Then and only then does he apologize for being unprofessional. Offered to wave any/​all fees associated with applying for an apartment, but no, thanks.
I’m sure they’ll get some other person to fill the apartment, but good luck dealing with Taylor Clark. What a goddamn nightmare. Like I said, the building is nice, even if the neighborhood is a bit iffy, but they just let random people into the building on the weekend and the guy in charge of showing you around is a flake.

Two words: Corporate Art-​house.
That what this is. It is def NOT a venue. It’s a apartment building for «artist». And not the struggling variety either. Someone came along and decided to do legally what floppers and struggling artist have been doing for decades, share a space and use it to promote your work.
Space looks and feels like it belongs downtown. not in bushwick. This can’t be made clearer than by the fact that none of the residents are locals.
As a living space it seems pretty nice and its not too far from the train, but not really a place to be seeking entertainment.

i consider this place a joke.

I used to live at CB when I first moved to Brooklyn from California. It was a great complex. Unlimited use of the gym 24hrs of the day. A screening room you could reserve for those movie nights you have with friends. There a game room that consist of a pool table, ping ping, air hockey, table hockey and two big screen tv’s. There used to be a place where you could hook up your ipod or listen to the radio on the system there in the game room. Not sure where that went.
Building maintenance was pretty on point if you needed something to get fixed. There’s an AC/​Heater for each of the rooms including the livingroom/​kitchen area which is well needed. The ambiance of the whole place is very nice.
The rooftop has improved from when I moved in back in Jan of 2010 till i left in Nov 2010. Nice areas up there to chill, there’s a look out there that you can walk up and see the NYC skyline. In the summer time you can go up there and BBQ it up. Overall, I’d live there again. Great place.

Castle Braid is a very nice apartment complex in the up and coming neighborhood of Bushwick. It has many cool amenities. It is just a 5-​minute walk to the J train, and a 10-​minute walk to the L train. It reminds me of a college dorm sometimes, but without obnoxious drunks.

Castle Braid is a unique, fun, and artsy apartment complex. There are so many interesting touches, like the funky gate, the blue lights in the backyard, the wii hook-​up outside, and the bubble seats on the 2^nd floor landing. You can tell that it’s a great place for collaboration. Furthermore, the apartments themselves are really spacious and artsy, as well. If I had a lot more money and a car, I’d definitely consider moving here.

CB has a decent Gym on the first floor. Multiple Treadmills, ellipticals, a stationary bike, free weights up to 50 lbs., universal machine, cable crossover machine, Nintendo Wii, and an iPhone/​iPod dock to connect to the sound system. Best of all I usually have the place to myself.

Pretty cool place… but what threw me off here were the hodge podge mix of people.
The one bedroom is a good size with a full size kitchen.
They have game room with foosball, air hockey, pool and ping pong plus fitness room across the hall.

Part
Condo
Part venue
For art, music
And comedy between L & J trains.