It’s that time of the year again: spring everlasting winter! And that can mean only one thing—the annual installment of Bwog’s housing reviews.  Today, we bring you the deets on one of New York’s hottest clubs above a bagel place: Nussbaum.

Location: 600 West 113th Street (colloquially known as Nussbaum)

  • Nearby dorms: McBain and Watt; kind of Hogan and Broadway (1 block away)
  • Stores and restaurants: Nussbaum & Wu, Mill, Milano, Community, Dig Inn, Amigos… Basically every restaurant in MoHi is just across the street. Say goodbye to your meal plan.

Cost:

  • $8,522/year (same as Harmony, River, and Wallach)

Amenities:

  • Bathrooms: Bathrooms vary substantially by floor and suite, so we suggest checking out the actual locations before picking. Typically there are three bathrooms per suite, with one of the bathrooms being private (i.e. connected to one of the rooms). Housing’s floor plans are up-to-date, so check bathroom availability there. In general, it’s a 3 or 4:1 student to bathroom ratio.
  • AC/Heating: There is definitely heating, no AC. (Rooms on the Broadway side tend to run hot, while rooms on the west are colder).
  • Kitchen/Lounge: Some halls have their own kitchens, others share them with the adjacent hall. Kitchens vary in size depending on the floor and hall, but all have refrigerators, ample shelf space for all residents, a stove, and a sink. All kitchens were remodeled two years ago. Not all suites have lounges.
  • Laundry: The laundry facilities are located in the basement which can only be reached by the elevator. Nussbaum charges the highest laundry prices on campus at $1.75 per washer or dryer. Also you have to put money (cash only) on a card to use them. But if you are lucky, you can see the super cute Nussbaum laundry cat!
  • Computers/Printers: One printer in the lobby, which functions approximately never.
  • Gym: There’s no gym in Nussbaum, but the stairs provide more than enough exercise.
  • Intra-transportation: Two elevators and a stairwell. The elevators are relatively slow, but they only fill up right before a 10:10 class. The doors close really quickly.
  • Wi-Fi:  Wi-Fi and ethernet.
  • Hardwood/Carpet: All floors are hardwood.
  • Facilities: Nussbaum has Columbia and non-Columbia residents, so it has its own maintenance crew. They clean the bathrooms and kitchen once a week (but not private bathrooms, like ever). If you have a problem you can call the superintendent, and it usually will be resolved that day.

Room variety:

  • Doubles: 68 rooms, from a cozy/Harry Potter-esque 154 sq. feet to 210 sq. feet. Walk-through doubles are around 260 sq. feet, but don’t really feel that big.
  • Singles:  49 fairly large rooms, from 124 sq. feet to 160 sq. feet.
  • Windows vary by room location. Read the floorplans to determine the number in your room.

Numbers:

  • Freshmen who are aiming for a double don’t need to stress; last year’s final one went to 10/2812. Don’t hold out for the walk-through double though; last one went to 10/1204.
  • Sophomores looking for a single should likely be fine as well; last year’s last single went to 20/2799.

Bwog recommendation:

  • Nussbaum’s a perfect location for rising sophomores. While it’s still social and on the 113th block, it’s clean and basically suite-style. The high ceilings and hardwood floors don’t hurt either.
  • Though it’s technically corridor-style, sophomores with sophomore split-up can effectively all select into the same suite.
  • Singles generally go to rising juniors and seniors, though last year’s high cutoff might make it easier for juniors.
  • RAs don’t really exist.

Resident opinions:

  • “Wood floors, big windows, and you can pick in with your whole housing group.”
  • “No one’s aggressive about taking the elevator to lower floors, and the security guards are super nice.”
  • “The best thing about Nuss is that it’s above Nuss. Bagels 5ever.”
  • “Half the building gets great light, the other half, not so much. Lack of AC during September is also not great, but only one month really.”
  • “Not as many roaches as expected.”“There isn’t really a community in Nussbaum. What I mean is that sometimes people will say ‘Oh I’m from McBain’ and then someone else in the room is like ‘Me too! Hey bestie!’ That doesn’t happen with people from Nussbaum.
  • “The doubles are actually pretty big and if you snag a single/double in one of the end rooms you get a walk-through closet and your own bathroom (otherwise you have to share one).”
  • “Some of the doubles can be quite snug, despite the high ceilings, and the laundry’s a massive pain.”
  • “The walls are paper thin. I heard all the bad techno my soccer-team suite mates were blasting on their super bass.”

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