Residency: Freshmen
Estimated yearly cost: $7,942 – $11,052
Low-cost rooms available: Yes
Commute to class: 5-10 minutes
Nearby subways: A, C, E, F, M, B, D, N, R
Shuttle: No

Rubin Hall, previously known as Grosvenor Hotel, is recognized for more than its Fifth Avenue address: actor Alec Baldwin once lived there and the dorm is featured in Saturday Night Live’s opening credits.

Rubin is a community of 680 first-year students, a Faculty Fellow in Residence and a Writing Affiliate. Rubin also houses two Explorations Floors, including “Fashion in NYC” and “Enterprising the Artist.” The Faculty Fellow occasionally hosts events for residents on the building’s wraparound terrace, such as a move-in day meet and greet. In addition, the Resident Assistants facilitate weekly outings and group activities.

Rubin has various housing options, including standard doubles and triples, shared studios and low-cost triples. The second floor lounge is air-conditioned, but the rest of the building is not, which can be a pain when the weather starts to warm up. The second floor also has piano and dance practice rooms, a ping pong room, a billiards room and a black box theatre. Students can relax on the lounge’s couches and watch television or use the lounge’s 24-hour silent study to do homework.

Rubin is six blocks north of Washington Square and four blocks south of Union Square, making it a quick walk to both class and Palladium for food, as well as other NYU dorms. The dorm is also conveniently located near many different subway lines and the shuttle’s bus stop on 8th St.

You have to be able to get past the lack of air conditioning in the dorm rooms for the first couple of hot weather weeks, but once you come to terms with that, you’ll enjoy being at the crossroads of West and East Village, with the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop, the Highline and St. Marks just a brisk walk away.

Read the rest of the housing issue here.