Gateway Plaza

When I was there, the person above me had one of those toy bulldogs that began to bark the moment he/she was left alone.
I mean all day every day. Mgt did nothing but say they were looking into it. The dog's owner didn't give a damn. I called the police...nothing.
Don't go there if barking dogs rattle you. The dog lovers don't seem to mind...but then they pick up dog ---- everyday.

I have never been in a quieter apartment when it comes to noise. It's pure concrete between apartments. You might get a little bit of noise from above, but still far better than any other apartment I've lived in.

The only minor downside to the concrete walls is that you need to get the super to drill holes if you want to hang pictures.

About the only noise issues are the garbage removal that occurs 3x a week at 7AM .. it can be loud even up here on the 30th floor .. and then there are the helicopters. Still, compared to anywhere else in Manhattan, this place is VERY quiet.

I've been in Gateway Plaza for 19 months and highly recommend it.

I personally don't get much noise, but you could.

If you're facing directly north in the short building (385 south end, where I live), it can be a bit noisy with the marina and dog run right there. And a park for children. But the tradeoff is the marina view, which is very nice.

I face south though, into the courtyard, and I don't have much noise. Certainly no traffic, just the occasional boathorns and foghorns. They've freaked my cats out for YEARS, so this coud be a prob if you have cats too.

The walls are a little weird, though, and some of my neighbors have sound problems. My floor was designed for one bedrooms originally, but they switched the layout afterward. That means my two bedroom apt has concrete fire walls on one side of the apartment, and oddly between my living room and my second bedroom, but not between my second bedroom and the studio next door (that wall is just drywall). The couple in the studio are v quiet, so I'm fine for now, but it is a prob for some of my other neighbor friends with loud neighbors and no concrete wall between them. There is virtually no sound on the ceiling or floor, as they are both solid concrete. Anyone saying you can hear dogs between the floors is lying. It's just not possible, particularly if its a small dog. It is solid concrete above and below you. BE VERY CAREFUL about renting next to the garbage room. I have a friend who lives in a 1-bedroom behind the garbage room, and it is REALLY LOUD with people slamming the garbage room door and garbage shoot at all hours. The room isn't well designed, so the sound travels very easily into the apartment, shaking the walls. DON'T RENT NEXT TO THE GARBAGE ROOM.

I agree with the comment about the garbage trucks, they are loud. There is also concrete work being done on the facades on 2 of the towers, and there have been a lot of complaints from those tenants about noise and rattling. The helicopters are less loud, but still annoying - but there is an ordinance coming into effect soon that greatly limit the helicopter tour traffic passing battery park (and driving the helicopters toward the center of the river, as well) - something us downtown residents have been lobbying for for a while.

Seriously, though, I joke with a lot of my friends that it's hard to imagine being in the city where my apartment is - but it is a function of placement in the complex. My floor looks right into the tree tops, I face into the private courtyard, and there is no traffic near my apartment (nearest traffic is the boat traffic on the water, followed by the South End Ave traffic nearly a block away). It is very quiet down where I live, at least. But there could be variation from apt to apt - this is a large complex.

Thank you all, your answers are extremely insightful in helping me make my upcoming decision...

The floors and ceilings are made of concrete but they transmit noise loud and clear between apartments. The walls are better but noise can still go through. The lease says that you must have carpeting. The woman above me does not and every step she takes and every thing she drops causes sound to recochet through my apartment. The apartments used to be advertised as sound proof and it's the primary reason I moved here. They are not sound proof by any stretch of the imagination. My neighbors have a beagle that they leave to bark for hours on end. It makes my apartment (studio) a hellish place to be. Gateway Plaza has some positives but the bottom line is that it is a kennel that boards some people.