Lowell Hall

All residents are encouraged to obtain renter's insurance to protect against losses of personal property resulting from theft, water, or fire damage. 

The College is not liable for any damage in your apartment no matter what the cause. Each resident is responsible for protecting his/her own property through their own insurance coverage.

When residents submit maintenance requests, they are authorizing access to their units.  Residents desiring to be home for maintenance request, must indicate in the work request that they would like an appointment.  The work will be coordinated with residents and facilities personnel.   In the event of an emergency, the building staff will access the unit as needed without prior notice.

The College does not provide air-conditioners, and if residents choose to purchase their own, they must have it installed by a College approcved vendor if it is a window unit.  

The basement can be reached in three ways:

1)    Taking the Lowell elevator to the first floor, and then taking the stairs located the left of the elevator.

2)    Taking the Lowell stairs all the way to the basement.

3)    Walking through the hallways to Whittier Hall, and utilizing the Whittier elevators to get to the basement.

Residents are provided cable television through Teachers College.  There is no additional charge as it is built into the housing charge.  To take advantage of services, residents must have a cable-ready television.  The cable channel lineup is subject to change and can be found here; click the Change Provider or Time Zone button and search for zip code 10027, and select "Privatel Inc. Teachers College - Cable (New York)" to see live channel and programming information.

For services concerns, please contact Privatel at service@privatelinc.com or call 732-974-1502.

Several carts are available via the Whittier Mailroom, located on the first floor of Whittier Hall, for residents' use. They should be returned as soon as possible for others to use.

Food Deliveries:
Delivery personnel will utilize the intercom from the Lowell lobby to contact you when they arrive.  You will then be able to use your tablet to open the door so that they can come up to your apartment.  

Personnel can also come to Whittier Public Safety Desk, a Public Safety Officer will call. However, you would be required to come down to the Whittier Lobby to pick up your delivery.

Packages and Non-food Deliveries:
As packages arrive to Whittier Hall Mailroom, located on the first floor of Whittier Hall,  they are entered into our package tracking software and you receive an email alerting you that a package is waiting for pick up.  The email will include the hours of operation for the Residential Mailroom.

Given the limited space for packages, residents must claim packages within 8 days or the package will be returned.   In the event you will be traveling, it is important to alert the mailroom so that the staff can hold any packages for you.

If you do not have a dishwasher and would like one, send an email to housing@tc.columbia.edu, Teachers College will supply the dishwasher but the resident is responsible for all other costs associated with the install. Teachers College will get pricing from TC authorized vendors.   Portable dishwashers are prohibited.

There is one elevator in the Lowell Hall, and goes from floors 1 to 9.  The Lowell elevator requires a key to call the elevator from floors 2 to 9, but no key is required from the first floor. 

Residents are not permitted to use this elevator to move furniture or equipment in/out of the building.  There are two elevators in Whittier Hall that are to be used for large moves as well as access to the Whittier Mailroom and the basement. 

There are two laundry rooms in the Whittier Basement – one for students and one dedicated for Lowell residents.  To access the Lowell Laundry, you will use apartment key. You can use quarters, a credit/debit card, or the CSC ServiceWorks App to pay for laundry.  

Please be courteous to other residents by immediately remove clothing from the washer and dryers.  The College is not responsible for any itens left in the laundry rooms.   Also, do not remove the laundry carts from the laundry rooms.

Problems with the machines and any issue regarding the loss of funds and refunds should be reported to CSC Services Works at 1-800-762-3452 or the CSC ServiceWorksApp.

Your apartment has a hardwired smoke detector and one sprinkler head.  Should you generate smoke when cooking, you should immediately open windows to minimize opportunity for setting off your smoke detector as that will summon the fire department. 

In the event that the building fire alarm is activated (could be from your unit, another Lowell apartment, or some space in Whittier Hall), you are required by law to evacuated the building, using the safest stairs nearest you.  Whittier Hall has four stairwells – A, B, C, and D (Lowell).  The typical meeting/gathering space for Lowell residents is on 120^th and Amsterdam.  Should the fire condition by in Lowell, you will want to go to 121^st and Amsterdam.  Public Safety or Residential Services staff will notify you when it is safe to return to the building.

Residents should submit maintenance Work Requests to the Office of Facilities for any defects or malfunctioning safety equipment.

The USPS will distribute mail to the resident mailboxes, located in the Lowell Lobby.  Your apartment key unlocks your mailbox.

Residents who are vacating Lowell Hall should complete address change forms with the USPS before moving out.  

Residents should always submit a work request for non-emergency maintenance. A work request can be submitted online on the MyTC portal.

 Once a work request is submitted you will receive two emails regarding the status of your work requests (one indicating work request was received and one when it’s closed).   If you do not have internet access, you can call the Office of Residential Services at 212-678-3235.

Unless there is an emergency, all requests should be made through the on-line work order system so they can set priorities, schedule work, monitor progress, and keep a record of all of the work performed to identify recurring problems. It also tends to be more efficient for the residents.

 Emergency Maintenance Requests

Emergency maintenance issues that occur between 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., M-F (non-holidays), please contact the Office of Facilities at 212-678-3010.

If an emergency occurs after-hours, weekends and holidays, call the Whittier front desk at x3333

Newspapers are dropped off in the Lowell Vestibule.

Noise travels on the first floor. Residents and staff alike need to remember to keep conversations low in public areas, especially near the elevator, front desk and front steps. If noise is a problem, email the Office of Residential Services at housing@tc.columbia.edu.

As for outside noise, which can be problematic on summer weekends, New York City has a hotline number, 311, for making "quality of life" complaints. 

Residents are entitle to have their apartment completely painted every three years.  Painting requests will need to be scheduled, and residents will be required to prepare the apartment for the painting. 

If prior to the three year time period you notice cracking and peeling paint bring it to the attention of the Office of Residential Services at housing@tc.columbia.edu.

TC will paint your apartment with their standard Benjamin Moore Linen-white paint, or will use custom colors if you purchase the paint at your own expense.

• Columbia University Station, 112th between Broadway and Amsterdam (always a long wait)
• Cathedral Station, 104th between Broadway and Amsterdam (later hours, shorter lines)
• Manhattanville Station, 125th between Morningside Avenue and St. Nicholas (passport applications & processing available)

Recycling is available in the basements of all buildings. New York City has many programs and educational opportunities to learn about Zero Waste and recycling.

There are also places where residents can donate or give items they no longer need so others can use them. DonateNYC is another helpful resource to help reduce waste.

Building Access
The front door of Lowell Hall is locked 24hrs/7days. Apartment keys can be used to unlock the door.

Whittier Hall Front desk
The front desk is staffed 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Guests
Should you have guests staying in your apartment while you're away, a Guest Notification Form should be completed at the Office of Residential Services.  This will allow them to utilize a TC Guest ID Card for access to Whittier as well as allow them to have access to the Keytrak key in event of lockout.

Also, any outside vendor (babysitter, housekeeper, dogwalker, etc.) that works in you apartment for long term circumstances should be listed on your housing license agreement so that they can get a Photo and have access to the Keytrak key in the event of a lockout. 

Keys
All Lowell tenants will receive 6 Apartment keys.  Residents needing any additional keys should contact the Office of Residential Services, housing@tc.columbia.edu, or 212-678-3235.

If you or a member of your family is locked out of the building or apartment, go to the Lowell and produce a picture ID.  The Public Safety Officer will issue you the spare key that must be returned within 1 hour of issuance.

Lost Keys
If an apartment key is lost there is a $150 lock change charge for the apartment.  The charge will appear on your monthly statement.

Teachers College ID Card
All family members (over the age of 12) of the residents who live in Lowell should go over to the Office of Card Services, Whittier Hall Suite 1B, to receive a Teachers College ID card. These ID cards will allow access into Whittier Hall and other campus facilities.  If you are locked out of your apartment, you must present this ID to the desk staff in order to receive a loaner key. Lost cards result in a $20 replacement fee.

The College prohibits smoking of any kind, the use of smokeless tobacco products, the use of e-cigarettes, and the use of vaping devices of any kind in all College buildings and common areas, including private offices, lounges, rooftops, residence halls, including rooms and apartments, and the Russell Courtyard. Smoking is also prohibited within fifty (50) feet of all building entrances.

Smoking, vaping, smokeless tobacco use, and e-cigarette use where prohibited is a violation of both Teachers College policy and, in most cases, New York City and State law. 

Solicitation is not permitted in the building.  Staff and residents should report all solicitors to the Office of Public Safety at x3333. 

Each apartment has a storage unit located in the Lowell basement. Locks for the units are not provided.  Residents are required to keep items in their unit, and not on the floor (exception:  bicycles).  Any personal item, other than bicycles, found outside of the storage unit is subject to being discarded without any notice. 

To access the storage area, exit to the left once the Whittier elevator reaches the basement, and walk all the way back past the laundry rooms.  Use your ID Card to open the blue door and walk straight back until you see another door.  Open this door, and walk straight back until you see the door to the meter room. Enter here, and again, you continue all the way back. Your apartment key will provide access to the storage room. 

Any issues regarding the intercom system (missing telephones, non-working telephones, or the intercom malfunctions) should be emailed to housing@tc.columbia.edu.

Small bags of garbage can be put down the garbage chutes on each floor.

For non-recyclable trash that can't fit down the chute, resident is responsible for taking those items to the Whittier Trashroom in the basement. Take the Whittier elevator to the basement. Turn left, immediately go to the right where you will see a blue door.  Use your ID card to access this door, and you will then see double doors on your right which is where the Whittier Trashroom is located. 

Con Edison: 1-800-780-2884

You will need to contact Con Edison to setup your account for gas (cooking) and your electric before you move-in.

Resident Responsibilities

1)    Inform Office of Residential Services of vacate date.

2)    Inform Payroll of vacate date to stop payroll deduction, if applicable.  Payroll should be informed of last month of residence.

3)    Contact USPS to provide forwarding address --- https://moversguide.usps.com

4)    Contact ConEdison of the move-out date.

5)    Provide Office of Residential Services with of proof of insurance for moving company.

6)    Empty storage unit located in basement.

7)    Empty apartment completely -- Movers must use the Whittier elevators -- Lowel elevator shoudl not be used.

8)    Leave apartment in broom swept condition (appliances wiped down, bathroom cleaned, floor swept clean, etc.)

9)    Take apartment keys (should be 6), front door keys (should be 6), and mailbox key(s) as applicable to the Office of Residential Services.  

10) Move ins/outs may only occur between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  No move ins/out may be scheduled on holidays or outside of the hours mentioned above. 

Moving companies must supply the Office of Residential Services with proof of insurance and must name Teachers College as an "Additional Insured."  This documentation should be received by Residential Services at least one day prior to move-out and can be emailed to housing@tc.columbia.edu ATTN: Executive Director of Campus Services.  The documentation should reference the faculty member moving in /out and the apartment number.

Window screens are not provided in residential units. If interested, students may buy window screens at a local hardware store.  Window screens are highly recommended for residents who have pets.

Window cleaning, both interior and exterior, is the responsibility of the tenant in each apartment. The windows are designed to swing in for exterior cleaning. The building staff is responsible for cleaning windows in public corridors and spaces. If you need assistance, the building staff can demonstrate how the windows swing open for cleaning.

The law requires you to have window guards on every window if you have children under the age of 10. If you have window guards that you want removed because you have no young children living in your apartment or they are not installed, please email housing@tc.columbia.edu