Sink enthusiasts rejoice! If you’re a sophomore with okay lottery numbers who is looking for a single, or if you just really like sinks, Wien could be a serviceable option for you!

Location: 411 West 116th Street (between Amsterdam Ave and Morningside Drive)

• Nearby dorms: East Campus (bonus points for proximity to Faculty House)

• Stores and restaurants: Hamilton Deli, Arts and Crafts Beer Parlor, two (2) halal carts! located at 116th & Amsterdam, Lenfest Cafe 

Cost: $11,026/year (projected rate for 2022-2023)

Amenities:

• Bathrooms: Each floor has one men’s communal bathroom, one women’s communal bathroom, and one gender-neutral single stall with a shower. All bathrooms have one sink, three showers, and three toilets, with the men’s featuring two urinals.
• AC/Heating: No A/C, but heating either doesn’t work or turns your room into a convection oven.
• Kitchen: There’s a kitchen in each floor lounge that is surprisingly nice.
• Lounge:
  • The main lobby is nice enough, but you’ll never use it unless you are an aspiring pianist in need of a non-consenting audience (everyone will hear you).
  • Each floor has a lounge with sofas, a kitchen, and a TV.
• Laundry: Eight washers and nine dryers available on the second floor for no cost.
• Computers/Printers: There’s a computer lounge with one iMac, three Dell computers, and a printer on the second floor, as well as a printer on the first floor in the lobby.
• Bike storage: No, but there is storage available nearby in the EC courtyard.
• Gym: Nope. Dodge it is. 
• Intra-transportation: Two elevators and a stairway if you’re into that sort of thing. 
• Hardwood/Carpet: Rooms and lounges are hardwood; hallways are carpet. (Save for the second-floor lounge, which is carpet.)
• Extras:
  • Columbia’s Mail Center is located in the basement of Wien. Perfect if you love online shopping but not hauling your spoils back to your dorm. 
  • The third floor is an “all-female floor.”
  • Right next to PrezBo’s house. You can look at all 16,803 sq ft of it on your way back to your 100 sq ft single. 
  • You get a sink in your room, which may initially sound underwhelming. But, when it’s 3 am and you don’t have to leave your room to wash your face and brush your teeth, it is a big deal.

Room variety:

• 283 singles and 45 doubles. 
• Singles average around 110 square feet.
• Standard doubles (16) average around 200 square feet. 
• Walk-through doubles (29) — which show up as singles during housing selection — average around 290 square feet.
• Residents are mainly sophomores and juniors, with a smattering of seniors.

Numbers:

In general, sophomores with mid-range lottery numbers can score a Wien single.

From Columbia Housing: “Data from Room Selection 2021 shows the make-up of Wien as 49% juniors, 32% sophomores, 10% seniors and 7% mixed-point groups (average point value of mixed-point groups was 16).”

Bwog Recommendation:

Wien is fine. Just fine. There isn’t much floor community, so if you’re looking for that this might not be the place for you. Having a single, as the majority of Wien residents do, is great, and being in the same building as the Mail Center is very convenient. And, of course, the sinks in the room are god tier. You’ll probably look back on your time in Wien with ambivalence. 

Resident Opinions:

• “I don’t know anyone on my floor. Not even my roommate.”
• “Sink.”
• “Rooms can get a little hot, by a little I mean all your plants will die. Keep your windows open.”
• “If you have a room facing Morningside, it’s a great view.”
• “Having the Mail Center in the basement saved me many trips outside in gross weather.”
• “Sink slayyyyy!”

All photos via Bwog Archives.