‘Thoughts and prayers’: Billionaire residents of NYC luxury building mocked for complaining it’s not luxurious enough

Building’s penthouse sold for $88m in 2016

One of New York City’s tallest – and most luxurious – apartment buildings is facing various complaints to the dismay of residents and the amusement of other New Yorkers.

In a new feature by The New York Times, the outlet examines life at 432 Park Avenue, where the extremely wealthy spent millions on apartments in the building’s nearly 1,400-foot tower.

However, rather than the pinnacle of luxury, residents have instead found various downsides to living in the tower, which was once the tallest residential building in the world.

According to the report, issues range from extensive water damage caused by floods, which has reportedly cost some residents thousands of dollars in repairs, to malfunctioning elevators.

The excessive height of the building has also proven to be an annoyance rather than a selling point, as the building creaks in the wind and residents reported that dropping trash in the chute sounds like a “bomb”.

Other grievances have been more petty, with one resident expressing her distress at having to travel up a freight elevator with a “hard-hat operator” when she was first moving into her $17m apartment in 2016.

“They put me in a freight elevator surrounded by steel plates and plywood, with a hard-hat operator,” she recalled. “That’s how I went up to my hoity-toity apartment before closing.”

Residents have also been put off by newly increased fees associated with living in the high-end building, which have included a requirement to spend $15,000 annually at the skyscraper’s private restaurant in 2021, up from just $1,200 a year in 2015.

However, on social media, the complaints have largely been met with enjoyment by readers, who have mocked the “first-world problems”.

“OMG! The poor lady! She had to use a freight elevator operated by a - #hardhat man! That shock must have been so huge - I am sure this woman cannot live a productive life anymore!” one person tweeted in response to the article.

Another said: “Turns out that the ugliest building in the skyline isn't even a good place to live!”

“Thoughts and prayers,” someone else wrote.

Despite the criticisms, there are just two units available in the building, according to its website, which lists a two-bedroom apartment for $6.9m, while a three-bedroom is available for $16.9m.