Brusco Realty Corporation

Everyone seems to be attacking Brusco here for things that you will find with any realty company, or any business for that matter. Are these reviewers calling themselves perfect? Have they not made a mistake in their line of work and had to be corrected? Had to learn? That's life people. I give Brusco a five-star rating because they have come through where many ( or possibly all) others WOULD NOT. An actual rarity for a business whom I am not blood-related to any one of the members. Joe, Linda and Bob have been kind, courteous and understanding in my three years as a tenant in a Brusco building. There have been ups and downs, but mostly though misunderstandings. Where did they pull through for me? You could say my luck has been awful of late, I was laid off in this failing economy, and my rent was collecting (but I was unable to pay it). Joe and Linda have been very understanding in light of this, and even compassionate on the phone. THEY HAVE NOT TAKEN ME TO COURT, though ... Read more

Do not believe the shills. These guys are crooks. They're the most inattentive, unhelpful, cheap, corner cutting, profiteering mafiosos you can ever expect. Right out of central casting. Why they haven't been locked up is a mystery. Until I recently left their building, here are a few things I could always rely on: water leaks; shoddy and overdue repairs; a homeless man sleeping in our laundry room; unreturned phone calls; a broken elevator; a broken lock on the building's front door; cluttered, unwashed hallways; garbage in front of the building; angry tenants; horrific service; and dishonesty at every turn. Man, I could go on and on. I'm a reasonable person, a young professional, and don't get worked up easily. But nothing and no one is as vile as these guys, who bought up lots of UWS buildings on the cheap years ago, paid off their loans, and have made a killing on renting to people with no upgrades, service, or semblance of class. Saddest of all is that the buildings were once ... Read more

Here is a suggestion I have for any prospective tenants: Go to the city's website (nyc.gov/hpd) and put in the address where you will be renting. You can see the # of complaints. Had I done that, I would have seen that my small Brusco building has dozens of complaints. In my experience, they hare UNRESPONSIVE, DON'T CARE, DON'T PROVIDE ADEQUATE HEAT, ALLOW GAS LEAKS TO PENETRATE BUILDINGS, and 'FORGET' THAT YOU'VE CALLED ABOUT LACK OF HOT WATER. If you choose to move into one of their buildings (again, this is just my opinion), I recommend investing in a good exterminator, a case of roach spray, space heaters, hot water heaters, extra blankets, and a lot of patience. Heck, you might as well just live in the wilderness--either way you're on your own....

I am too angry to even write anything, but please know that I can identify with EVERYTHING that has been written. In the last month, I have spent $5000 trying to rid my apartment of bed bugs, only to find that I now have mice and continue to live with bed bugs. This all happened just 10 days after I moved into the building that was already infested with bed bugs. Brusco claimed to have never had a problem. Bottom line...not worth it. Steer clear.

I am too angry to even write anything, but please know that I can identify with EVERYTHING that has been written. In the last month, I have spent $5000 trying to rid my apartment of bed bugs, only to find that I now have mice and continue to live with bed bugs. This all happened just 10 days after I moved into the building, that was already infested with bed bugs. Brusco claimed to have never had a problem. Bottom line...not worth it. Steer clear.

I liked my apartment itself very much. But, in 4 years despite their legal obligation to and my many requests it was never re-painted. Numerous other very basic repair requests were ignored. Walls are very thin. Trash area directly outside (as you walk in and out of building) is often riddled with insects and sometimes rodents. Most important=the many times I had no heat or hot water in the winter and was never remunerated for those days (as should be required by law). I have dealt with worse management companies than Brusco, but only once. Proceed with caution.

SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF PROBABLY EVERY TENANT IN MY BRUSCO OWNED AND OPERATED BLDG, BRUSCO WE SALUTE YOU! SINCE BRUSCO HAS OWNED THE PLACE WE HAVE SEEN ONLY BIG AND POSITIVE CHANGE--FAR TOO MANY TO LIST HERE. THEY HAVE UNDERTAKEN LARGE PROJECTS IN WHICH THEY HAVE GONE TO GREAT LENGHTS TO OBTAIN PERMITS--ALL LEGAL!! THANKS TO THE BRUSCO'S WHO HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK TO MAKE THIS BLDG GREAT!! AS TENANTS, SOME OF US REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL THE HARD WORK THAT OUR LANDLORDS DO TO KEEP OUR HOMES RUNNING SMOOTHLY. HIP, HIP, HORRAY FOR BRUSCO!!!

I have been a tenant of the Bruscos for 21 years. When I adopted my teenage son and had 3 large dogs, they were the only landlord in NYC who was willing to let us rent from them. When I needed a backyard, they held one for me when it became available and I was able to live here for the past 18 years. Through the years, like any relationship, there have been some minor bumps. At times my rent was late. At times their plumber was late. There were times the dogs disturbed the neighbors. At times a broken boiler disturbed me. But one thing remained constant. We have always treated each other with respect and I can honestly say that the Brusco family has always done right by me and my family. In fact, I've appreciated this family oriented business, their lovely receptionist who always asks about my dogs when I drop off my rent, the manager of the building who was always firm but supportive and finally the young brothers who I watched grow up to be men of fairness. Nothing is perfect in life... Read more

IF YOU ARE MOVING IN THIS MARKET - AVOID BRUSCO AND WEST SIDE MANAGEMENT (AND YES THEY ARE AFFILIATED EVEN THOUGH THE PIG LAWYERS WHO OWN THE BUILDINGS ARE INBRED IN A BUSINESS SENSE AND CLAIM THEY ARE NOT) - IF YOU SEE WEST SIDE MANAGEMENT OR BRUSCO - DO NOT RENT - IF A BROKER SHOWS IT TO YOU - RUN. THE BUILDING WE WERE AT SMELLED OF SEWAGE FOR 5 YEARS - IN A NICE AREA - THE PROBLEM WAS NEVER FIXED - HALWAYS AND BASEMENT WERE DISGUSTING AND APARTMENTS ALL RENOVATED IN THE EARLY 80S WITH LITTLE REPAIRS - KITCHENS ARE DISGUSTING, DUST AND ROCHS EVERYWHERE. OVERPRICED AND IF YOU NEED A REPAIR YOU WONT GET ONE. GUY ABOVE ME WAITED A YEAR FOR A CABINET AND IVE WAITED FOR 6 YEARS FOR SEVERAL REPAIRS I DID MYSELF. THEY ARE VERY LOW CLASS LAWYERS WHO KNOW LANDLORD CODE VERY WELL (AND NOTHING ELSE ABOUT LAW) AND WILL USE IT AGAINST YOU TO TRY AND BULLY YOU. BUT NO ONE IS AFRAID OF THEM BECASUE SLOWLY AND SURELY - THE WORD HAS SPREAD AND NO ONE IS MOVING INTO THEIR BUILDINGS. THEY OWN SEVERAL B... Read more

I am just writing to inform all that Brusco Realty Corporation is not in any way affiliated with West Side Management Corp that is located at 163 West 74th Street New York, NY 10023 also known as Brusco Group. If you have any questions or concerns regarding our business please feel free to contact us at 212-595-9590 Thank you for your time..

Rushed into apartment 6 weeks before it was truly inhabitable: dirty, broken appliance, front door falling off of hinges, no dependable water supply, missing screens, banging radiator. One year later, the door is still broken and the water and radiator issues continue to be unaddressed. Requests for help or repairs go unanswered or unresolved. Like other commentators below, I fear for my deposit; I am convinced that Brusco will find some cause to keep the inflated deposit they demanded from me, an Ivy educated professional with 6-figure income and perfect credit rating. Class-action law suit anyone??? I have worked and rented around the globe, including developing countries, and have never confronted such incompetence, mismanagement, and disregard. It would serve Brusco right to get nailed by the current economy -- in a renter's market, as this is turning out to be, even in Manhattan -- why would anyone subject themselves to this?! Steer clear!!!

It pains me to give this company even one star, as they are so BAD! They are lazy, stupid and incompetent, and just seem to be good only at providing you 'lip service', and not really doing anything. It is now Christmas Day, and we are again without heat. We spent almost a week without heat, not even a week ago. Not only that, but I don't remember the last time someone really cleaned the common areas. Last year some person threw up in the entryway, and even though people called them, it wasn't cleaned up for well over three weeks. I am so upset right now as I write this. When I first moved in, the place was filthy. I made arrangements to leave work to meet the cleaner...they never showed up. I ended up cleaning it myself. I was also without a mail key for about a month, even though the super swore up and down he had left one in the apartment for me...he most certainly did not! I also spent almost the entire week with water up to my knees in the shower, as the drain was clogged. If I ha... Read more

These people should be locked in jail for eternity. I moved into an apartment of theirs -- correction: was rushed by them into an apartment -- on September 5th 2009. It wasn't until October 23rd that they finally managed to put the shower door in (that's right, they rushed us into an unfinished apartment pretending it was totally renovated). For the first two months, everytime someone buzzed apartment 30 it rang in my apartment. I missed countless furniture deliveries as a result costing me an arm and a leg. The apartment was also full of insects. It took them two months to send an exterminator. They never did send him for the promised follow up and we ended up paying out of pocket to get rid of the "house guests." For a week, the heat failed. It was freezing out and the apartment was unlivable. Like a cruel comedy movie, the following week the heat went haywire and the apartment was over 100-degrees. They couldn't fix it. The hard drive on my computer literally melted, cos... Read more

I agree completely with the other reviews. This company has no business managing buildings. Their only motive is profit. They don't return phone calls or deal with complaints. They changed the lock on the front door and never even gave the tenants new keys. Even the building super could'nt get in and was locked out with all the tenants! For almost 2 months we had no mail delivery because the new mailboxes were not properly installed. We had to stand in line and pick up our mail at the post office everyday. The people that work in the office are completely incompetent and the contractors are clueless. Last month a pipe broke on an upper floor and leaked through the entire building. Finally, yesterday, the contractor said they would come in and fix our bathroom ceiling that caved in and the shower tiles and paint our ceiling in the living room which is spoiled because of leaks. I came home and now our shower is completely unusable because they ripped out the sheetrock and we ha... Read more

Let me begin by saying that even if the apartment is wonderful, if they are your landlord then you are best off searching for a different apartment. They illegally collected double security deposit from us. They never answer their phone. But the worst thing about them is that the heat/hot water turned off in the coldest week last winter for 13 days and they did nothing about it! They even lied to the City and claimed it was only off for 24 hours so they wouldn't have to pay fines. They also refused to refund deposits for those days without heat and they did not bring in the ConEd truck that provides heats for buildings where heat is temporarily out (as required by law). Oh, and they also raise the rents obscene amounts. Overall, we've had lots of other disputes with them - none where they gave in - and I would strongly recommend against ever renting with them.

These other reviews are completely correct. Brusco realty, on Amsterdam Ave, is the most horrible realty company I have ever come across. Their supers do not understand English, and therefore cannot respond to problems, their apartments are old, unfinished, and not well-kept, they only fix things once they have broken repeatedly, and the management neither returns phone calls nor does anything of its own initiative without being hassled into it. I have wasted a huge amount of time trying to reason with these incompetent and unpleasant people, and I hope to save anyone who reads this the misfortune of living in one of their buildings.

STAY AWAY FROM ANY BLDG OWNED OR MANAGEMENT BY THE BRUSCO GROUP. Illegal construction, no respect for their tenants. We rented a very nice apartment only to find out illegal construction for 5 month would start once we moved in and paid the broker. Water and heat breaks every now and so often, super's are never available or don't speak English, whoever answers when you call the office is usually rude, complaints remain unanswered, the common areas in the building are not maintained at all, washer / dryer breaks but nobody cares. Stay away from them!

Just a note, there are three non-related Brusco Company, I used to live in one of Brusco Building, they are located on 163 west 74 street. The main guy, Paul Brusco and his brother go around intimidating tenants (they are both lawyers, so they know how to) to move out so they can build box apartments and charge high rents.

Avoid Brusco at all possible costs. We had the same pipe banging issue for over a year before the problem was addressed and fixed. Jennifer and Linda, who normally answer the phone, do not pass on messages, do not follow up, do not listen and are completely useless. The service guy, Bob, is the only one who actually answers the phone. Joe Anunziada, the owner, does not return a single phone call or email, is never in the office (according to anyone you talk to). We are on our 6th day of no heat and hot water in the last 30 days. Last winter it was 18 days of no heat and hot water. Someone from the city needs to get involved. This is a serious issue and must have legal repurcussions. Do not ever rent from a Brusco building.

Terrible management company. They Ignor complaints until legal action is threatened. Safety violations addressed only after written formal complaints. They do not unkeep or repair anything. Empty promises abound. Nothing but lip service unless you have legal representation to enforce policies. Avoid living in a property managed by Brusco.

I lived in a Brusco managed building for two years (78th and Amsterdam.) The steam pipes ran through my bedroom and BANGED horribly from October through April. And i mean, for hours upon hours every night. I called and showed up at Brusco probably over 30 times to complain about the situation and ask that they fix it -- it was unliveable, unbearable. They always promised to fix it, but NEVER did. I filed a complaint with the city, and finally moved out in frustration. The worst landlords ever.

I had posted early regarding Brusco and I wanted to retract my review. Things always start shaky and sometimes one issue can bend an entire situation out of proportion -- especially when you are being fed misinformation by others, claiming to sympathize (when they are either naive or out to use you for their own gain.) I have come to respect both Joe and his team (that which is Brusco Realty) -- they have been understanding / patient with me in one of my darkest moments financially; furthermore, have offered what help they possibly can. This gives them a rating of 4 stars out of 5 in my book, because no one is perfect -- but they try. Let this OFFICIALLY retract my original review.

As a tennant in a Brusco owned and managed building, I totally agree with the other review. If you don't care about people and their welfare, by all means hire Brusco. If you only wish to make money and ignore your tenants and the building, then hire them. The service department, 1 person, is the most unorganized, forgetful person even when he writes it down. The owner never returns phone calls or responds to any problems the tenants are kind enough to point out. We frequently have to go the owner as the service person is not reliable. Our super dosn't even speak english so it is rather difficult to talk to him directly. That shows how Brusco feels about their tenants, hire someone they can't communicate with. There is a court case recently where Brusco was sued and the tenant won a rent abatement and the compelling reason for the award was Brusco never even bothered to respond. That should tell you something right there. You can find this on line. Like the previous reviewer said, t... Read more

Brusco realty management has really nice employees, but they are disorganized, forgetful and do not maintain their buildings. The carpeting in the common areas has probably not been cleaned since the building was first built, and it smells horrific. The front door of the building doesn't shut properly, so it is almost always unlocked for anyone to get into the building. Not quite the safest building in Manhattan, it is a good thing it is in a relatively safe neighborhood. If you call for a service, their service people are never on time, and you wind up having to take the whole day off of work even if you scheduled for them to come in the morning. You can only ask for one service at a time, otherwise, they forget. This is the first management company I have ever dealt with who refuses to send a monthly bill. I hope the owner of the building doesn't pay them a lot of money to manage his building because they really don't provide a whole lot of services. To end on a positive note... Read more