We've collected a few horror stories about our landlords, Janus Management Inc (aka Janus Property Management, 212-280-3562), that we thought we'd share...
1. Bait and switch on the advertised rent when we moved in (conceivable that this was an error by the broker but in retrospect not very likely).
2. In 2009 all the rents in New York plummeted and they had the gall to hope we wouldn't notice and upped the rent in our renewal lease.
3. They did the same to our neighbors, who tried to argue it. Janus strung them along until a week past their lease renewal date and then threatened to take them to court if they didn't sign the renewal lease with an even higher rent increase (a full 8%, I believe!).
4. I'm not personally a big fan of rent control but the tactics they use to try to drive out rent-controlled tenants is pretty beyond the pale. Namely, lying about them (eg, that our downstairs neighbors' practically deaf-mute dog was disturbing the neighbors) and taking them to court.
5. Janus owns another building -- 132 W 112th Street -- and the tenants there don't appear to be too happy with Janus either. For one thing, they're illegally charging fees for air conditioners even though there are sleeves for A/C units. Also, they apparently lie to prospective tenants about laundry in the building and patio access. Finally, one person had a serious maintenance issue that was like pulling teeth to get Janus to deal with.
We've actually had people reluctant to share stories with us for fear of retaliation from Janus Management. To which we say, "bring it on, Janus!".