NYC’s hottest club is: Carman! 

Location: Broadway and 114th

  • Nearby Dorms: Furnald, John Jay, Wallach, Hartley, McBain, Broadway/Hogan, Frat Row, Nuss
  • Nearby Stores and Restaurants: Junzi, Sweetgreen, Shake Shack, Morton Williams, Milano’s, Community, Starbucks, Pret a Manger

Cost: $8,412/year (standard cost of freshmen housing)

Amenities: 

  • Bathrooms: 1 for every 4-person suite (or if you’re in a lucky corner suite, you may have one for just you and your roommate!!!), cleaned weekly, two sinks per bathroom
  • AC/heating: AC in the fall (great to have and to flex on your John Jay friends) which unfortunately does not turn on again in the spring, heating in the winter
  • Kitchen: One in the basement, but microwaves on each floor lounge
  • Lounge: Each floor has a lounge with couches, tables, a TV, and a microwave. The basement also has a large lounge that people study/hang out in.
  • Laundry: Machines in the basement, and it’s free! Dryers are usually full, but if you go at obscure hours it’s usually fine.
  • Computers/printing: Computer lab and 2 printers on the main floor
  • Gym: Sad little gym in the basement with a few treadmills and ellipticals, but at least it’s something!
  • Intra-transportation: Two decently fast elevators in the lobby, and one service elevator in the back of the building if you’re impatient. There’s also two staircases for The Athletic.
  • Hardwood/carpet: Hardwood floors in each of the rooms, carpets in the hallways.
  • Bonus: Really good views from the top few floors! Also vomit in the elevators sometimes if you’re into that.

Room Variety: 

  • 287 doubles. Mostly 4-person suites, with one ten-person suite at the end of each floor’s hall. Some corner rooms aren’t in suites, and have their own bathroom. There are two single-sex floors as well.
  • Most rooms are around 210 sq. ft., but you may be unlucky and get a 180 ft. room in the 10-person suite, or you may be super lucky like me and be blessed with the one 300 sq. ft. room!

Bwog Recommendations: 

  • Carman is definitely the most social freshmen dorm, but I’ve never felt any pressure to go out and it’s easy to escape the party in your room if you need some peace. Also, I’m living in unrenovated Carman right now, and I still think it’s the best dorm. It’s going to be almost completely renovated by next year, so that’s definitely a plus!
  • When I asked friends if I should live in Carman or JJ, one guy told me Carman is a meme of a dorm which I think is true.
  • It’s nice to run into literally all of the freshman class. It makes it feel like you actually know people/makes it easy to keep up with people.
  • Rooms are big and the top floors have amaaaazing views, and the bathroom ratio is unbeatable. On the other hand, roommates and suitemates can be hit or miss, very noisy at times, have to deal with annoying drunk people in elevators/hallways on weekends.
  • Carman is super close to many of the dining halls and restaurants in the area, which is either really good or really bad depending on how much self control you have!
  • Once I drank a little too much wine one Thursday evening and was in the Carman lobby waiting for the elevator, and some of my friends entered high and looked at my face and started laughing at me. I started laughing so hard that I started puking, but my puke was pink because I had a lot of wine and I couldn’t stop laughing because it was so funny that my puke was pink.
  • Carman is easily the best freshman dorm. You have nice facilities (especially on the renovated floors), air conditioning, only four people to a bathroom, and a social, upbeat atmosphere. There’s a decent amount of partying on the weekend, which means you’ll have an easy time meeting people, but no parties get way too crazy/loud. Plus, the walls are so thick that you can go to sleep wherever you want.

Resident Opinions: 

  • “Our lounge always smells like popcorn and vomit.”
  • “Long live the service elevator!”
  • “Carman is the greatest!”
  • “It’s super convenient because so many of my friends live on my floor, so I can just go out to my lounge and talk to people if I want human interaction.”
  • “I don’t know why there are grates over my window!”
  • “I can’t imagine living in any other dorm! I don’t want to leave.”
  • “I’m in unrenovated Carman and to live the lush life of a renovated floor resident is the ultimate dream.”