Twelve Twelve Fifth Avenue

One longstanding problem at 1212 has been the water leaks from a failing roof drainage system. This has been present since the 1970s, and a rent control action was taken for all the tenants as a result of this back in that decade. The north penthouse (the one with the terrace) always smelled of mildew even back in the 1960s and has been gut-renovated at least twice in recent years without... [more]

One longstanding problem at 1212 has been the water leaks from a failing roof drainage system. This has been present since the 1970s, and a rent control action was taken for all the tenants as a result of this back in that decade. The north penthouse (the one with the terrace) always smelled of mildew even back in the 1960s and has been gut-renovated at least twice in recent years without improvement. The 15th floor (now called 16 by the new management) had significant leaks on both north and south sides involving insurance coverage and property loss. The drain pipes that caused some of the leaks were original - I don't know if they were replaced in the renovations that have been in progress for these past few years. Water leaks from the small terrace that adjoined the south apartment just below the penthouse (now 16S) were constant over the past decades - efforts to solve that ended with additional building cladding that can still be seen on the exterior. Whether these efforts were successful will be determined by the new occupants. Both terraces, the one around the penthouse and the smaller one attached to the floor below, were originally tiled with spanish terra cotta tile (subway tile rectangular shape). This was replaced with architectural pebbles (leading to another rent control action), then later with square terra cotta tiles that had a rubber sheet footing. The roof work failed to solve the leak issues, later felt to be coming primarily from the drains or from the brick exterior. [less]