Just about the only thing to do on Riverside

Today, Bwog reviews Woodbridge: a dorm with suites less famous than EC, but no less coveted. If you’re a senior in a double, and you have at least some kind of cooking knowledge, this dorm may be just the place for you.

Location: 431 Riverside Drive

Nearby dorms: Schapiro

Stores and restaurants: Morton Williams, Sweetgreen, Vine, M2M, Starbucks, 115th street halal cart

Cost: $10,120/year (most expensive tier)

Amenities:

• Bathrooms: Private in each apartment of 2. Cleaned weekly by Columbia.
• AC/Heating: No air conditioning. Heating is plenty active – you’ll have to open a window now and again.
• Kitchen: Private per apartment. Kitchens have lots of cabinet space, a sink, an oven, a stove, a microwave, and a fridge. Most kitchens are too thin to fit more than one person comfortably, so multiple people cooking can become a hassle. Students responsible for cleaning.
• Lounges: No floor lounges or building lounges. Each room technically has a living room and a bedroom, but most students will put one bed in the living room, adding some extra sitting space to the living room.
• Laundry: Available in the basement, with six dryers and six washing machines. The laundry room is an odd dungeon accessible only by briefly leaving the building through the basement. It works just fine, though.
• Computers/Printers: No publicly available computers or labs. One PawPrint machine in the main lobby.
• Gym: Available on the first floor, with four machines (treadmills and ellipticals), a large TV, and a water fountain.
• Intra-Transportation: One small (2-3 people), medium-speed elevator. Not optimal for people living on the higher floors.
• Hardwood/Carpet: Carpet in the rooms, tiling in the kitchens. Don’t question how much beer has been absorbed into the carpets. Some hardwood hides on the renovated 7th floor suites.
• Wifi: Yes, generally no connectivity issues.
• Bonus: Large living rooms for doubles. A lot of the furniture is just a few years old, and the living rooms come with a good amount of sitting space for guests.

Room variety:

• Singles: 7H, I, and J are technically two-single suites/apartments, eschewing the proper lounge setup from the rest of the rooms. These are big singles, about halfway between the living room and bedrooms sizes of most of the building.
• Doubles: 78 rooms are classified as doubles, which is almost the entire building. Be careful when selecting – some of these are walk-through style, while some of them are not. Again, most students don’t use them as a double, but have one student sleep in the “living room.” Living room size varies wildly from 191 sq. ft. (Interior G suites) to 344 sq. ft. (Corner RA K suites, but that number includes a sort of entrance area). Bedroom sizes vary from 108 sq. ft. (again, the dumb G suites) to 166 sq. ft. (B suites).

Numbers:

• High demand (Corner H, K, and C suites) cut off at 30/2103 last year, a slight increase in popularity from the year before.
• Well-numbered sophomores were able to pick up the last of the medium demand suites (A, B, F, J, and L suites), cutting off at 20/522, once again a rise in popularity from the year before.
• D, G, and I suites are relatively small and lower in demand. Middle of the pack rising junior duos (20/1607) claimed the last of them last year.

Bwog recommendation:

• Last year, H suites on the corner of 115th and Broadway were the first to go, thanks to their circular living rooms. Who else gets to live in a circle? Avoid G and D (the interior suites) if you can – they have all the amenities of Woodbridge, but they’re small and don’t have a pretty courtyard to look into.
• The letter of the suite is way more important than the floor. If you plan on having lots of guests, go for a lower floor to avoid the elevator. If you like a view of Riverside Park, the high-floor suites on Riverside Drive will do you well.
• You’re paying a good dollar to live in this dorm, which means you should take use of what it gives you. The well-sized fridge and kitchens allow you to do plenty of cooking at home, saving money compared to always eating at the dining halls or halal carts.
• The location is fine, but it is an uphill, windy stroll to get to Broadway from Riverside.

Resident opinion:

• “Two prong plugs! Bring a 2-to-3 converter.” Edit: no longer true in most rooms
• “There’s not much interaction between apartments, which can be really nice if you’re looking for a more private living experience.”
• “I was upset that I couldn’t get into an EC group, but Woodbridge was still great for hosting friends.”
• “If you’re partying, keep your interior and exterior doors closed. The walls are pretty thin.”