“Hot take. McBain isn’t that bad.”

Location: 562 W 113th Street

Nearby dorms:  Watt, Nuss, frat row, Broadway, and Carman

Nearby stores & restaurants: Junzi Kitchen, Milanos, Wu & Nussbaum, Blue Bottle, and a lot of other stores on Broadway!

Cost: All upperclassmen housing is $11,026 / year.

Amenities: 

  • Bathrooms: Each floor has an ADA compliant bathroom and six other, spacious bathrooms on each floor. They are cleaned every weekday, so they are pretty nasty on the weekends.
  • AC/Heating: Every room has a radiator. Shaft rooms also have A/C, as a preemptive apology for the Vitamin D deficiency.
  • Kitchen: Each floor’s lounge has a kitchen with a stove, oven, and microwave. We think the kitchen is cleaned every weekday, but we really don’t know.
  • Lounge: Each floor has a large lounge. Sometimes it smells because the kitchen.
  • Laundry: There are 12 washers and dryers on the first floor, but the dryers may leave your flared pants damp. Sometimes, it takes 3 dryer cycles.
  • Computers/Printing: First floor has a small computer lounge and printing.
  • Fire Escapes: None.
  • Gym: There is a minimalist workout room on the fourth floor, though not many people know about it. 
  • Bike storage: No… But there is a Citi Bike station right outside. 
  • Transportation: Two elevators that are only marginally faster than climbing the scaffolding and going out your window.
  • Flooring: hardwood in the rooms, carpet in the hallways.

Room variety: 175 Doubles from 182 to 268 square feet.

  • 41 Singles ranging from 117 to 178 square feet. 
  • Rooms on the air shaft are termed as “shafted.” They get very little natural light, especially on the lower floors. Your view just might be your window neighbors on the opposite side. Shafted rooms have A/C. 
  • The corner rooms are pretty nice. They are spacious, moderately quiet, and filled with sunlight in the mornings, so they are quite nice, even though it can be a tight squeeze.

Bwog recommendations:

This is a super sophomore dominant dorm, almost akin to the Carman of freshman dorms. It’s good for meeting fellow sophomores but can get a bit loud sometimes or awkward if you don’t want to see people (take the elevator down and you will inevitably run into five to six people). Single-stalled bathrooms are definitely a plus if you are poop-shy but the lounge can be often full. It’s not as bad as some people make it out to be, but the dynamics on some floors are better than others.

Resident opinions:

“Depends on your floor. 8th floor was a shitshow, but the other ones were fine.”

“Once I went no. 2 and then realized there was no toilet paper or paper towel.”

“Pretty social. Some dorm parties. I made new friends on my floor. We had a fun floor formal.” 

“Some people shave in the sinks, and other people treat the sinks like their ashtray. It can be kinda shitty.”

“Mostly sophomores.” 

“I like the privacy of the single-stalled bathrooms.”

“My floor had mice.” 

Photos:

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