The Endicott Dispatch

Adios Endicott.. I'm Goin' Home

2012-01-30T19:39:00.002-05:00

I'll write a full closing post once I'm settled in a new apartment, but my time at The Endicott is over and thus the end of The Endicott Dispatch is near.

I'm currently staying with old friends while I search for an affordable apartment near to the VA hospital where I now get my health care. Even with the uncertainty of not having a 'home' yet my health has taken a dramatic turn for the better. My Blood Glucose readings have gone from averaging 165 to (in just two weeks) a 14 day average of 105.. All of my pants are too big for me now and my belt is at it's smallest notch. Of course not everything is that good.. I'm dreading the moving of my belongings that are now in storage (after being moved by the company contracted by CATCH) and seeing all the damage done by the movers during their moving and packing of my stuff into the storage unit.

More on their destructive technique and it's effect on my furniture and other belongings will be in my final post........ I'll have pictures for sure, but this might call for video (& potentially explosive language!!). -- Stay tuned....

Hot Water, No Hot Water? Oh Yeah, And No Cold Water Either..

2010-07-14T03:20:00.002-04:00

I'd sure like to know what is going on with the water lately.. I've noticed that the 'cold' water stays around 82 degrees regardless of how long you let it run, and most recently the hot water can be scalding-hot during the day but [recently] barely warm (91-92 degrees) at night.

Not too long ago on a Friday evening, I think it was back in June I started to fill a dishpan to wash some dishes. I waited for the water to get hot but after a while I realized that there was something wrong and there was no hot water. I wasn't too concerned and I figured that maintenance would take care of it the next day. A day passed, then two, and finally either Monday or Tuesday evening we got the hot water back. During this time there was no communication from management whatsoever.

A day or so later there was a 'notice' taped to the front entrance door stating that there wouldn't be any hot water for a period of time (I think it was the following day) because Concord Steam had to do some repairs/maintenance. Great timing, I thought to myself..
Hodges Management (our previous property managers) used to keep us well informed and we were frequently getting notices through the mail or on our apartment doors when something was happening. Now when something (like the hot water being off temporarily) happens a note is taped to the front and back entrance doors and if you don't go in/out during that time (like some of us) the notice is useless.

I never bothered to inquire as to the reasons for either the hot water problem or the fact that we were left without any hot water for close to 4 days. At that time I'd just been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, my blood sugar was close to 600, and my vision was getting so bad I had to stop driving for a while because my glasses were practically useless. I was hoping the water problems were fixed, and after my last interaction with management (regarding the 'forced' pest treatment) I had no intention of pushing my already borderline depressive state over the edge.

Since then the hot water has been back to it's usual state of 'burning hot', which is better than not having any hot water at all (but seems like a waste of energy). That was until I recently noticed that the hot water seems to be available only during the day.

Generally I like to try to give others the benefit of the doubt, especially when I don't have all the facts. So like with the heating system during the winter season I get the feeling that being an old building, the controls might be hard to regulate. If that's the case with the heat, the same could be true for the hot water, right?

With no communication from [current] management (as opposed to the excellent relationship we had when Hodges Corp. managed the CATCH properties) and no desire to deal with property management unless absolutely necessary, I'm left to theorize from only what I experience on my end. -- Up to a point..

If the trend of having hot water only during the day continues I'll be forced to deal with it. And I also need to find out why the cold water is so warm this year. I know it gets warmer during the summer months, but in the eight years I've lived here I don't ever recall the 'cold' water being this warm! I could always run the water until the water in the pipes (heated by the building's interior heat) was replaced by somewhat cooler water from underground. Something seems different this year..

The problem is mainly when washing lettuce. When the coolest water available is 81 degrees it makes for some limp lettuce!

What's strange is that every once in a while the water is considerably cooler! It's not in the morning when you would expect it though..

Another effect of this is the amount of water wasted while people are either running the faucet waiting for the water to get hot or cool.

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And now it gets even stranger....

=======================

I just stopped writing to use the bathroom, and while washing my hands I let the water run to check the status of the hot water. The hot water is back! (FYI: it's 1:40 AM)

So what is going on? It can't be a simple case of people using the hot water. Each time I've run the water long enough so that (if the system is adjusted correctly) it should have recovered in a reasonable period of time, but the temperature stayed constant (within 3 degrees). I've used multiple reliable thermometers (including a laser-type), taken multiple readings to check for errors and/or fluctuations, and shot video to document it.

Could it be that at exactly the same times I've not been able to get any hot water an unusually high number of residents were all using it at the same time? Every time? Highly unlikely, and the odds are astronomical.

At the end of the day the only thing that matters is that all too often when I've needed hot water it hasn't been available. And this summer the same goes for cold water.

I know things happen, and the building is 100 years old, but I seriously miss the days when I could count on Hodges Management Corp. to let us know what was happening, and to greet me with a friendly smile when I went to their office, instead of feeling like a bother and if something's wrong at the Endicott it's none of my business.

I'm sure that the majority of the residents of the Endicott have enough to deal with making it from day to day, I know I do. Making things harder than they have to be with a hard, uncaring take it or leave attitude is uncalled for and unnecessary.

Where Did Our Cleaner Go**? -&- Why Did It Have To Be This Way?

2010-01-04T17:31:00.004-05:00

A day or so before Christmas I was saying "I hope this place gets cleaned before Christmas..". The carpeting needed vacuuming, the elevator floor was all salty from the recent storm, and both entrances needed cleaning also. But Christmas has come and gone, and the only change has been for the worse.

Since then, on my floor, pine needles from someone's Christmas tree have added to the mess in the hallway. Every Sunday I listen for the drone of a vacuum cleaner and the sounds of the brush hitting the edges of the walls near my door but I've heard nothing for close to 3 weeks**. Prior to our Bed Bug infestation the cleaning guy Gene was around all the time (multiple times each week) and the place was looking pretty good. Lately as I said, Sunday seemed to be the day the hallways get vacuumed. That's fine but in the fall, and especially in the winter with all the sand and salt the dirt builds up quickly. Also from a maintenance standpoint the longer the dirt stays on the carpeting getting ground in, the shorter the life of the carpet and the longer it takes to clean (not to mention how bad it looks). Added expenses of time and equipment cost for more frequent carpet cleaning also have me wondering why this is being neglected.

Then there's the Bed Bug issue. It's absurd to say that you're doing what needs to be done to eliminate the bugs when the hallways and common areas are left untouched for this long.

- One of the main points that was made to me (when the property manager forced me to get a pest treatment [suddenly] on the originally scheduled day [I had rescheduled the appointment due to health issues]) was that if the pest company treated all the other apartments around me and didn't do mine at the same time, the bugs would be forced into my apartment..

I can only assume that [he] (and the guy from the pest company who told me the same thing) didn't expect me to use logic when assessing that claim. For when you follow that logic every space in the entire building would have to be done in one day (It wasn't, and every treatment [to date] has only covered parts of the building at a time). This building has spaces between the walls and ceilings and many apartments have apartments above, below, and on either side of them so there are plenty of pathways for bugs and other* pests to travel.

The Bed Bugs have been spotted in the hallways on numerous occasions, so regular (or even daily) vacuuming of the hallways would seem to be called for if you're serious about controlling or eliminating them.

Of course if you're truly serious about eliminating the infestation you should do what was done (in Manchester[?] at around the same time). Moving the tenants into temporary housing so that the entire building can be treated fully and more aggressively.

This 'piecemeal' process that the residents of the Endicott have been put through, having to move all our stuff (every month for 4 months until December for me), totally disrupting our lives in so many ways and for so long, is terrible.

What's worse is the fact that not a word has been communicated to us about our sacrifice or troubles. No 'We're sorry that your lives have been so disrupted, and that many of you have had to discard rugs, mattresses, bedding, furniture and other items..". No outreach informing us that some expenses can be reimbursed, or help in procuring items to replace things like beds or furniture.

What did happen was that instead of facing the problem and dealing with it honestly and with a sense of urgency (and compassion for residents), decisions were delayed, the problem escalated rapidly complicating the solution and it's cost.

And on the public front, adopting a policy of not speaking to the media (and then [some] complaining that "Nobody is hearing our side of it...") makes it appear that they have something to hide. Someone needed to be chosen to take charge [publicly], talk to reporters and simply say 'this is the issue, we're aware of it, and this is what we're doing about it'. Avoiding/shutting out the media looks very bad and is evidence of a situation out of control.

Finally, the incident where I was bullied into keeping my original appointment by the property manager when I'd (responsibly and promptly) called and postponed my appointment was disgraceful. I was scolded by the property manager saying "You can't just call at the last moment and cancel the appointment!" when the truth was that the document with my appointment time on it was left (on a Friday afternoon) in front of my door, in the hallway, without even a knock on the door (I was home all day).

The office was closed by then so I couldn't talk to anyone until Monday.

So at 8 AM Monday morning I called.... and called... at first not even getting an answering machine to leave a message (which I eventually did). In fact I ended up calling CATCH to investigate why no one was answering. Not long after that the phone rang and it was the woman from the MB Mgmt. office telling me that she'd had car trouble. I explained my problem and she agreed to postpone my appointment for the pest treatment (that Thursday).

I'd called as soon as humanly possible and had been told that the appointment would be rescheduled, and no one advised me otherwise.. until Thursday morning at 9 AM.

I was asleep when a knock at the door woke me. I shuffled groggily to the door and opened it to see the pest technicians standing there.... I explained that I had called and arranged to reschedule the appointment, and then I heard our maintenance man say (from somewhere out in the hall) something like 'you have to have it done today.. Gerry (the property manager) will be here shortly to talk to you'.

I just stood there, not quite believing what was happening.. The pest techs decided to go on to another apartment and told me to do my best to prepare my apartment for treatment and they'd be back around noon.

I don't recall what I did next.

At some point Gerry showed up with Ray the maintenance guy and proceeded to explain how important it was to keep to the schedule, and the part about how the bugs will all come into my apartment if I don't get it done that day..

I told him that I had called and was supposed to be rescheduled, at which point he made it sound like I'd called them at the last minute (like I explained above). He also said that the woman I spoke with to reschedule my appointment "...had been fired." and I was left with the impression that it was related to my conversation with her! (Later he said that there were other issues that contributed to her dismissal)

By this time I was starting to lose my patience, not only because of the situation in general but because of Gerry's tone, unfounded accusations, and dishonest arguments. Speaking of his 'tone', it varied between accusatory and bullying, to disingenuously warm, grabbing my hand and holding it while he tried to blow sunshine up my butt (as the saying goes..).

I finally gave up, not having the energy or presence of mind to stand my ground. I said I'd do the best I could to move everything so the treatment could be done and they left.

Something else to bear in mind is that during the [previous] treatment a prized piece of family furniture had been badly scratched despite the fact that I'd put a soft ottoman upside down on top of it for protection and specifically telling the pest technicians to be careful, and being assured that they would. After discovering the damage when I returned I called MB Mgmt. and alerted them.

No one ever contacted me about the incident.... Not MB Mgmt., not Southern NH Pest Company, no one.

I brought it up during the call to reschedule my appointment and the woman said Gerry wanted to know if I could provide pictures of the furniture before the damage occurred. Huh? - Even if there were 'pre-damage' photos, unless they happened to be close-ups it was highly unlikely that it could be determined if there was any prior damage, and even then we've always had some form of place mats or other items on the top for protection.

When I brought this up to Gerry that morning (adding that I'd been a professional photographer for many years) he maintained that I was wrong and that he had been a photographer too.. Even if that was true.. Even if he was a [freakin'] NASA imaging enhancement/analysis specialist it would still be highly unlikely.

- Bottom line, more obvious BS/sunshine..

By the way, when I brought the subject up with the pest technicians later that morning one of them basically shifted the blame to the MB maintenance worker(s).

And if you're wondering about an insurance claim? For one, I'd let my apartment insurance lapse just weeks before because I couldn't afford it, and even if I hadn't there's the standard $500 deductible. As far as me making a claim on Southern NH Pest (who makes a point on their web site of saying that they have excellent insurance coverage)? I brought up the situation when I reinstated my coverage with AAA Ins. the following week and the rep wasn't encouraging at all. If I had been a current customer he told me that AAA would have been in a position to arbitrate for me, but by that time the question was moot.

I have to tell you that treating residents/renters in this manner is uncalled for. I know for a fact that this would not be the case if Hodges Corp. was still our property management company. It's been downhill ever since they were replaced with MB Management.

Among other things, I've have to deal with chronic depression and other psychiatric issues for around ten years. Lately you can add heart problems and more to the list.

This is not something I'd ordinarily admit, but I feel it necessary to emphasize how wrong this situation was.... That day brought me closer to suicide than I've been for years (which the woman I spoke with at CATCH later that day probably noticed). And it's pretty sad that I don't see things changing for the better any time soon.

UPDATE 1/30/2011: Now that all the residents (I was the last) have vacated the building I can say that it never did get much better. The bright spot was probably when they added "Bob" to the maintenance dept.. Always with a smile and laughing frequently, he was certainly a refreshing addition.

I really look forward to being able to put all my things back in their place and know that I won't have to move them again*** (unless *I* want to). I look forward to being able to do laundry and not have to put everything into sealed bags. I look forward to putting things back into cupboards instead of having plastic tubs piled up all over the place. And the day I can climb into bed without first checking myself for bugs will be a good day indeed.

I'd also like to have [from MB Management] the same friendly feeling I got every time I walked into the office at Hodges Realty Corp. .

I really don't think I'm being unreasonable.

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* One day I listened while what sounded like a family of rats (or something with claws) climbed up the space inside the wall/partition next to my refrigerator, then across my ceiling to parts unknown. At first I thought workers were threading wiring up through the walls, but after calling the office I was told that there was no work being done in the building.

**[Update] while writing this Gene showed up to vacuum so I went out and wished him a Happy New Year!

- [Update II] I'd like to suggest that Gene might need either a new vacuum or more bags.

It wasn't for lack of effort because I heard him vacuuming our hall for quite a while, but when I went out that night I noticed that a good deal of the pine needles (and other dirt) was still there! -- Also, I heard the hall being vacuumed again yesterday (Wednesday).

That's a welcome sound! THANK YOU!

***[Edit/Update 1/30/2012] Well today we know that didn't last long. The pest treatments continued every few months right up until our forced relocation to enable CATCH to refurbish the building and welcome new tenants paying higher rents. No more 'undesirables' out in front of the building making certain people uncomfortable.. Apparently the sickly color choice and the filthy peeling paint and cracked glass down on the Green Martini side wasn't a serious problem as [literally] nothing was done to it for years.. Not even a simple cleaning to get rid of the cobwebs and dirt built up from years of neglect.

I hope the place gets a nice makeover and I hope the new tenants enjoy it.. And I hope they like the management.

Not a Word from Property Manager or C.A.T.C.H.

2009-09-02T11:00:00.009-04:00

Above are a couple of video stills of just some of the Bedbug bites I received. I don't have any shots of the ones I got on my arms, right hand, and both sides of my BUTT!

The following are some of the random thoughts and questions I've had since my last post. I'm waiting for some contact by MB Management but to date there has been a disturbing absence of any communication whatsoever. Obviously I could just call, but that's not the point..

Some thoughts below might be redundant but for my scatterbrain it's more important to get this posted.

Questions for Southern New Hampshire Pest Control and MB Management:

1. When vacuuming should we leave the edges/crevices/heater pipe (& housing) alone?
2. Should we avoid vacuuming completely for a while?
3. There was/is a white powder-residue lightly covering all the flat surfaces. What is it? Is it harmful to electronics, photos, camera lenses, humans? What about air conditioners? (My filter was plugged-up with white powder!)
4. When vacuuming with anything but a true HEPA vacuum cleaner that white powder gets blown into the air. That doesn't seem safe, is it?
5. Upon returning to my apartment after the treatment the carpet and tile was tacky. Is it OK to mop? (I left it [for now] because I thought that by doing that it might hinder the re-emergence of new bugs)
6. It looks like my dresser drawers were treated with something. Is it safe to put clothes back into them? (I have skin problems that might be affected by pesticide)
7. Are the Endicott's laundry rooms safe to use? Were/are they infested?
8. If we have to keep clothes, bedding, towels etc. bagged, how long is it going to be?
9. In the 'follow-up' treatments do we have to follow the same instructions?
10. The initial episode was extremely difficult and tiring (physically and emotionally), not to mention disruptive and expensive.
___________________________________________

- There has been NO contact from management to date other than the instructions given to those scheduled for treatment. No apologies for the disruption and expense, no visit from management, nothing. What does that say to the residents? It says to me that management (and the company as a whole) doesn't care..... Now that I think of it there's been NO communication from CATCH either. Of course they hired MB Management to manage their properties, and naturally expect that job to be done competently. This situation is a difficult (if not impossible) one to avoid totally, but the gauge will ultimately be how it was handled.

- I would think that 'best practices' in a situation like this would be immediate contact by management, first by a quick note, and followed up with visits by management. Asking what assistance is needed if any to prepare for the pest treatment, informing the resident what help is available, and what the resident should expect as far as future communication both by management and the pest company. Also what's entailed in the treatment of their apartment both initially and in the future. Empathy for what the resident is going through and assurance that the situation is being taken seriously (followed by prompt and effective action). Apologies for the resident having their life disrupted shouldn't even have to be listed here.. CATCH should be involved in most of the above too..
_____________________________________

Other questions that need to be investigated/answered:

- Were there inspection procedures in place to identify this issue?
- When was it first noticed?
- Who noticed it, a tenant or employee?
- Was it reported by a tenant or employee?
- Once the issue was noticed what was done?
- Was the problem recognized and treated as a serious one that required immediate attention in order to avoid a full-blown infestation? The company rep quoted in the paper said that they were relying on the advice of the pest company they have used for years.
- What was the pest company initially told?
- What was the advice given to MB from the pest Co.?
- Was MB given 'options' ?
- Did MB accept the full recommendations/plan of the pest Co. ?

OR

- Did MB decide on something [less] after consultation w/ upper mgmt.? (No accusation, just wondering..)
- Did the pest Co/MB act promptly/responsibly?
- Did the pest Co. use the best/most effective treatment available?
- Was MB given the correct information in order to recognize the seriousness of the problem and what would happen if it wasn't addressed immediately?
- What was MB's [legal] responsibility regarding communication to CATCH, residents of the Endicott, and state agencies? Was it done?
- What local, state, and federal laws apply to this situation?
- Was proper consideration given (by MB) to the impact on residents, financially, physically, and emotionally given the varied conditions of the residents?
- Should MB Management or CATCH pay to replace discarded items of residents (morally/legally)?
#######################################
- (What is the law regarding this and all of the other issues? There should be plenty of precedent set in this area as it's certainly not a new issue!) #######################################
- What assistance is [required] for disabled residents to deal with this? (*is* any required?)
- What assistance is available from local organizations and agencies?
- Are there any local organizations that could assist with furniture for residents who have to throw theirs away (like Harold)? ------------------------------------------------------
Potential expenses incurred by residents:

Mattress, box spring, and pillow allergy covers.
Bags (for discarded items and for cleaned items).
Laundry.

Loss of:
Discarded items (bedding, clothes, cushions, furniture, rugs)

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In the future:

- Should apartments be required to be [fully] inspected monthly by a pest company?
- Should residents be required to have all used furniture inspected/treated before bringing it into the Endicott?
- Do new laws need to be written?
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Questions about Bedbugs & eradication/control treatments:

- What does the latest research tell us about the most effective methods to control and/or kill Bedbugs?
- Who is doing the research?
- Is the treatment used at the Endicott safe? ------------------------------------------------------
When thinking about everything required AFTER the fact, what mandates might be adopted to compel landlords and/or property management companies of apartment buildings to do everything possible to identify & treat pest issues like this? And what guidelines should be developed and provided that would assist them?

This issue is something I've heard and read about, but in 52 years have never experienced. I'd think that by now there would be established and effective treatments for Bedbugs. I'd also think that those involved in the hospitality and apartment rental businesses would have both the identification and treatment procedures in place as well as trade publications communicating the latest news & information.

The infestation at the Endicott is likely a failure on multiple levels. I expect that after a full assessment it will be found that the problem should have been identified sooner, taken more seriously, treated sooner and more comprehensively.

Whatever agencies are responsible for oversight should at the very least re assess their procedures to check whether there were any failures and to see if any could be improved.

If negligence is found the appropriate penalties need to be enforced.
Unfortunately it seems that most businesses only follow mandated practices when compelled* to do so and when the penalty is sufficient to have the desired effect.

It's also unfortunate that low income housing (especially when there are a number of psychiatric out-patients as residents) is all too often treated* as less important than higher income apartments. Even more unfortunate is the reliance (by some landlords*) on the fact that low income and disabled residents are much less able or likely to protect their legal rights.

I want to be fair, but I also want the responsible parties to be held accountable where it is called for, and for everyone involved to use this as a learning experience to improve actions in the future. There has to be a better way..

*[I want to make it clear though, that I am not saying that this is necessarily the case in this instance.]

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

2009-08-27T10:46:00.024-04:00

Above is the three page document I was given (on Friday) with the time of my pest treatment (the following Tuesday) and the preparation instructions required. The attached bugs are some that I captured with tape as I saw them and wanted to save to show management/pest personnel. If you click on the individual images they will open up into a full-sized (and clear) image.

It was bound to happen.. When The Hodges Co. was replaced as the property management company for CATCH's properties one of the things that changed was our monthly pest inspections. I was promised by the new property manager that they would be resuming the apartment inspections at some point. That was at the end of 2007 and now the Endicott is experiencing a Bed Bug Infestation.

I've lived at the Endicott for just under seven years and have never had a problem with pests of any kind. After spending 1994-1997 in Ft. Lauderdale it's been a welcome change! Frankly I was surprised that such an old building didn't have any noticeable pest problem.What I'm not surprised by however, is the fact that we developed a problem after the apartment inspections were stopped.

When Hodges was our property manager we also had quarterly safety inspections. Now those inspections are few and far between, and the items checked are much fewer. I tend to notice things like that because I worked for Concord Royal Gardens inspecting apartments.

Now I'm no 'Mr. Clean' but I keep my apartment generally free of leftover food or anything that might attract bugs. I vacuum and dust when I get ambitious and generally keep things clean, which isn't easy when you've inherited your father's belongings and live in a one bedroom apartment. Through my experience inspecting other people's apartments I know how bad conditions can get, and I can only imagine what can happen if the inspections are stopped or reduced.

When I heard about our bed bug problem I did some research on the Internet, and one of the first things I noticed was news articles about 'the recent increase of bed bug infestations'. I wonder if the issue was covered by the property management trade publications. I haven't asked around but if the subject hasn't been covered it should be.

What I learned on the first web site I checked for information about the little buggers was not comforting. Once an infestation gets going it's very hard to stop. Bed bugs can live for up to 18 months without food. It only takes one male and one female to survive somewhere in the building to quickly repopulate, so they're really hard to totally eradicate. They're small and fairly flat (especially the young ones!) and can crawl through some stitching holes in furniture and things like mattresses. The one [fairly] good thing I learned was that they don't transmit diseases when they bite. That's a small consolation to ponder while you try not to scratch the bites..

Climbing into bed and going to sleep isn't something to look forward to when you know that during the night these little blood suckers will go to work, and the next morning you'll likely have groups of bites somewhere on your body. The itching usually takes a while to start and once it does it lasts for days, although regular applications of something like hydrocortisone ointment or Bactine™, or one of the many other 'bug bite' products can help quite a bit (depending the location of the bites).

The history of my experience started with a visit from our maintenance man and a guy from a pest control company. They asked to look under my mattress and the subsequent inspection turned up no bugs. That was a number of weeks ago. Recently I started to see what looked like ticks crawling across the carpet. One, then another until I it was almost daily. Each time I'd grab a piece of tape and catch it then tape it to a sheet of paper (originally to show to a pest specialist but quickly became a 'collection'!). I started hearing about people's apartments being sprayed for bed bugs here and there and soon I started feeling the itching and seeing groups of red bumps on my feet and legs.

In the last 2-3 weeks it hit my floor. The first apartment I heard about was my former neighbor Hazel. They treated her apartment, and I'm not sure about the exact time frame but [days] later she couldn't be contacted by friends or relatives (the Concord Police knocked on my door asking if I'd seen her) and later unfortunately was found deceased in her apartment (I'm going to miss Hazel).

Then Tony in the apartment across the hall from me told me (after asking him if he had any problems with bed bugs) that no, he hadn't seen any but that pest control had come in and 'bombed' his bedroom. He said that's the only room they treated and that he had to leave for several hours.

That brings me to last Friday when our maintenance guy knocked on my door and handed me three sheets of instructions regarding preparations required before the treatment of my apartment the following Tuesday at 9:30 AM. He emphasized that all the instructions had to be followed precisely prior to the appointment, I had to arrange to be gone for 3/6 hours (I'm not sure which, and the instructions said 3 hrs on one page and 6 on another) and that they were 'doing the entire building' instead of the previous approach.

I wasn't able to even start the massive preparation until Monday evening. I literally worked through the night and thought I was almost done by the 9:30 AM appointment time. The instructions included stripping the bed, discarding and/or washing everything then securely bagging the items, emptying all drawers inspecting and bagging everything, vacuuming, and removing every outlet cover (among other things like moving all the furniture away from the walls, oh and also make sure there's room for the pest control folks to work!).

Did I mention that this is a one bedroom apartment?

The way I read the instructions and the fact that the guy across the hall only had his bedroom 'bombed' led me to believe that just the bedroom & closet was to be treated and that the room had to be empty except for the mattress and box spring (and the cloth removed from the bottom of the box spring). Thus everything from my bedroom (and packed BR closet) was in the living room area.... 9:30 arrives and the maintenance man shows up, looks around, and tells me that the entire apartment is being treated and that the bedroom didn't have to be emptied just things piled in the center of the room!

By that time I was so tired and soaked in sweat I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I looked around in disbelief trying to figure out how that was even possible. After working frantically all night and being so tired my disbelief started turning into mild rage. He said "keep on working", he now had to call the property manager and talk to the pest control guys who were on the floor below to figure out how to proceed, then he left.

Did I mention that I have heart problems including high blood pressure, Type-2 Diabetes, and Chronic Depression? - Yep, and right about then I wasn't sure if I was going to have a stroke or a nervous breakdown or both..

I decided to sit down and ponder the situation while I drank what must have been going on 3-4 gallons of water by that point. The temperature was fine, the A/C was set at 68 degrees but I'm so out of shape that I was sweating buckets and my back was hurting just standing up straight. After a while I started to think about how all of this might have been prevented if the monthly inspections hadn't been stopped, and started yelling out loud "How do they expect people (with all sorts of various conditions including age, physical/mental, etc.) to get all this done in such a short time?". "Damn it! This isn't my fault, if anyone's it yours/CATCH's, and if you hadn't tried to manage this property on such a low budget this might not have happened!". @#$%^&%*!

After a few minutes (and more water) I cooled off, got up and started moving things back into the bedroom, cursing only occasionally when the sweat blurred my vision or my back twinged. I slowly worked away and around noon I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was also wondering why neither maintenance nor the pest guys were there yet.

The maintenance guy never returned but around 1:30 PM the pest control guys showed up dressed in their space suits. I explained that I'd done the best I could but couldn't empty one closet because there was simply no space. They were cool with that and said that they were going to be returning (every week?) for a while anyway. They told me to leave and come back at 5:30 PM.

When I returned at around 5:20 they were gone. There was no note/paper work regarding safety instructions regarding treatment residue or their return date(s) and my door was left unlocked. After a while the apartment seemed to be unusually warm so I checked the A/C unit and discovered that the filter was totally clogged with a white powder. Elsewhere there was a very light amount of residue on surfaces and the floor was slightly tacky.

I'd forgotten to call in three of my prescriptions and ran out the day before so I picked them up while I was out. I took my meds, had a bite to eat, then I started the whole process in reverse....

Today I'm happy to say so far so good. I've only seen two bugs and both of them were dead! It was nice to wake up and not see or feel any bites! I do however feel like I ran a marathon yesterday. My body is sore as is my mind. This morning I finished up returning things to their places and by noon I was relaxing watching TV. I started to nod off and was just getting up to take a nap when there was a knock at the door.

Now I rarely get visitors, or even people knocking at my door aside from maintenance and occasionally Concord Police looking for someone, so the last one I expected was a reporter and photographer from the Concord Monitor.. and guess what she was asking about?
[UPDATE 8/28/09]: The article "Bedbugs infest Endicott" [by Amy Augustine] was on the front page of the Concord Monitor Online today. Thankfully there were no photos of me..

Evidently another resident in the building contacted the Concord Monitor and they were knocking on doors and asking about the issue. When they asked me if I had anything to say I was more than willing to tell them my experience and thoughts to date (even though I'd answered the door unshaven and in my boxers and a T-shirt).

Afterward I did wonder what the reaction from the property management company might be, but I have to hope that they will handle the situation maturely and professionally. Frankly I was impressed when I spoke with the new property manager on the phone. He was congenial and professional, and as opposed to the manager who preceded him seems in control and not hurried. Situations like this can generate a defensive response especially when it's an organization. Then multiple egos are at play and a lot depends on the management style of the company and how far that extends down the ranks.

This is a serious situation for everyone involved, from CATCH to MB Management, and also the residents of the Endicott. With an infestation the State of NH officials could get involved. Here's a quote from the New Hampshire Department of Justice web site 'DOJ > Consumer Protection & Anti-Trust Bureau > Consumer Sourcebook' >

Landlord Responsibilities: "[...]

RSA 48-A:14 sets minimum health and safety standards for rental property in towns that do not have ordinances that establish housing standards. An apartment does not meet these minimum standards if:

It is infested by pests and the landlord does not conduct regular inspections and pest exterminations [...]"

Now it's my understanding that from this point forward regular inspections have been resumed which is great news. Lets hope that the pest control company can gain control of the infestation and ultimately eradicate all the bed bugs. That goal is going to be incredibly difficult to achieve from what my research into the subject tells me, and frankly won't be achieved without the residents active participation. Attentiveness and strictly adhering to the instructions provided are essential, as is frequent and open communication between management and residents. Assistance needs to be provided to residents who need help understanding what needs to be done as well as those who need help moving items. It's also a good idea to double check to make sure the required items have been done, well before the actual appointment. I realize that's not easy when you only have two maintenance personnel who I'm sure have a pile of job tickets to attend to.

Keep in mind that the efforts required of the residents for the treatment(s) are difficult for those in good health, and this is not our fault! Communication is so important in all facets of life and the lack of communication and outreach in this case is a perfect example. With it this could have been caught in time and stopped before it turned into an 'infestation' and a major disruption in the lives of the residents affected not to mention a giant and potentially legal headache on the management/landlord side.

The Endicott has a number of residents who have special needs and require additional assistance and monitoring. The man in the apartment below mine is in a wheelchair, and I learned yesterday his mattress was covered with literally hundreds of bed bugs. I don't know what kind of living assistance he has (if any) but I have to believe that his bug problem would have been caught much sooner if someone was at least checking in on him weekly. Others have psychiatric issues that affect their ability to recognize and communicate problems such as this. All this has to be taken into consideration, not just in this situation but to prevent other issues that can crop up in buildings that house people with special needs.

I realize that the current financial situation has an effect on everyone and that budget cuts have made an already under-resourced care system even worse. I expect that CATCH hasn't escaped the effects of the economic downturn and various budget cuts either. I think it's important to keep that in mind. But in some areas (like outpatient/independent psychiatric care & supervision as well as home health care for disabled low income people) some basic needs of our most vulnerable citizens aren't being met, and this incident is one example of that failure. Whether it's state agencies or whoever, nobody should be left to wallow in a bed full of bed bugs.

I'll try to update this post as I get more information from both residents and management. To date the only communication from management is the 3 pages of instructions delivered to me last Friday. I seriously hope there is much more to come. Back when Hodges Corp. managed us there was a steady stream of letters and other communication as well as a extremely friendly and welcoming staff. I wish that could be the case again.
I should note that yesterday afternoon I called Hodges Corp. to ask our former property manager some questions connected with this issue. She was evidently busy so I had to leave a voice message, but at the time of this post/3rd edit [3:33 PM] she's not returned my call.

[Update 8-29-09]: It's been nice not waking up with bites since they treated my apartment. I now have both the mattress and box spring enclosed in dust mite/allergy covers (@ $28 apiece..) and new [white] sheets. The white sheets will make it much easier to spot the little buggers if/when they return. I'm on constant lookout when I move around the place and wonder how long this respite will last. I'm also hoping that we're provided with instructions regarding future visits from the pest company, claims for expenses incurred, and maybe even some kind of letter from management or perhaps a visit from the property mgr.?

We'll see.. and I'll keep updating this post as events unfold.

___________________________________________
Here are a few links to information about Bedbugs:

"Bed Bugs - Description, Life Cycle, and Habits of Bed Bugs" [About.com]
"Getting Rid of Bed Bugs - Why Is Getting Rid of Bed Bugs So Hard?" [About.com]
"How to Kill Bed Bugs" [About.com]
"Bedbug Bites" [About.com]

What's That Smell?

2009-07-20T23:47:00.008-04:00

On the drive back from shopping, somewhere around Dunkin Donuts on Loudon Rd. I began to smell smoke.

As I continued down the hill towards the arena the smell was so strong that I had to close all the car windows. I can't be certain because it's dark but I'm pretty sure there was the haze of smoke. As I drove on I was looking around for emergency lights or the light from a fire but nothing was visible.

The smell reminded me of a trash fire or something of that nature and the large area that I could smell it made me think it was serious.

Somewhere around the intersection of 93 a Concord police cruiser passed going the opposite way so at that point I figured that they might be going to check things out. Actually I thought (due to the intensity of the smell, etc.) that someone must have reported it to the police/fire dept. by that time so there was no need for me to call.

When I got home I decided to call anyway, mainly to ask what the source was, so I called the regular police number (not 911). When I did the woman who answered didn't seem to be aware of the situation and transferred me to the Fire Dept..

Strangely they didn't seem to know anything about it either which was troubling because it had now been close to 15 minutes since I saw the police cruiser driving into the area!

I find it hard to believe that the officer couldn't have smelled the smoke/fumes even if his windows were closed. I also find it disappointing that I was the first one to report something so obvious.

Since then I haven't heard any sirens, which doesn't necessarily mean much, but does mean that there's nothing big going on anyway. I'll be interested to find out what the source was and though I'm tempted to call the Fire Department now I will wait until daytime.

Wait.... my brain just clicked into gear.. (D'oh!) I have a scanner stored [somewhere] that I haven't used since the police started using that 'trunked' system or whatever it's called (you could only hear one side of the conversation, which is annoying). Last I knew the fire communications didn't have that issue. OK, time to search the closets and hook that up..

I'll get to the bottom of this one way or another.....

UPDATE [8/27/09]: Since this incident I've noticed the same smell (albeit not as strong) when passing the Fire Dept. training area next to the Everett Arena, so unless I find out differently I'm going to assume that it's connected with that.

What Does The Future Hold For The Endicott?

2009-07-20T08:41:00.009-04:00

The future is uncertain for residents here at the Endicott. This recent article in the Concord Monitor Online is the second that talks about what might be in store for this old building and it's residents. More to come as I speak to some of the people involved.

Same Old Story

2009-03-11T12:02:00.005-04:00

Listening to the Diane Rehm Show this morning I hear some great discussion about the future of print journalism. Unfortunately it's obvious that some of the same attitudes that are contributing to their failure are still held.

I agree that a large percentage of quality investigative journalism is done by print. And what I put a lot of value in is persistence and continuity of a story. You rarely get that on TV.

The views expressed by one of the guests that some online blogs only repeat something that they heard somewhere else is entirely true. But while that's obviously true, there are millions of "Blogs", and they cover the entire spectrum from children to professional journalists.

Using that same criteria the same could be said of many "professional" news organizations.
I call it 'parroting', and it can be seen every day from TV news to online news to print. Sometimes it's checked for accuracy and sometimes it's not. Which makes me ask myself "what are all those researchers they have being paid for?". In the rush to compete, the 24 hour news cycle has done more to dilute the quality of the news than anything.

Add to that the consolidation of news orgs to the point that the small amount of "news" the average citizen makes time for is controlled by so few that the job of 'the 4th estate' is far from being served.

The reluctance of the 'dinosaurs' of journalism to change with the times is the greatest factor in their potential demise than anything else. By clinging to their arrogant and conceited attitudes regarding what they like to generalize as "blogs/bloggers" they're demonstrating that they just don't 'get it'. So much of the industry reacted in a defensive manner instead of thoughtfully and with open minds.

As I'm now learning personally and have observed with my father in his later years, (of course I'm generalizing here) the older you get the more resistant to change you become.
Things are changing so fast, plus, the perception of the speed at which things appear to change increases the older you get.

So is it inherent that organizations headed largely by an older generation are resistant to change, especially at the rate that's neccessary to change with the times and technology?

Trust in the accuracy of reporting is essential. Unfortunately that trust has been eroding for many of us that really pay attention to these things. Political influences have in all too many instances been injected into the process. 'Fair and impartial reporting' is hard enough to maintain through the process of delivering news. From the first person to tell others what happened on a hunting expedition to today it's a constant struggle to keep personal bias from unduly influencing the report. From the headline to the bottom line there are so many ways to influence a reader or viewer. I see too many similarities between the tactics of the advertising world and news organizations being used today.

If the majority of Americans were aware of the sloppy reporting and intentional deception as shown by people like those that run and contribute to "Media Matters" their trust would sink!

So as I hear these dinosaurs expressing the same ignorant attitudes today I'm not surprised one bit that their part of the industry is going the way of their namesake. It's a shame that they're taking a lot of good people below them down with the ship.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

2009-03-04T08:21:00.007-05:00

I'm not sure how to describe what happened early this morning so let me start at the beginning....

I left my apartment to get some groceries and drop off my rent check a little before 5 AM.
My car was parked in the new parking garage. As I started to exit (I needed to go left on Storrs St. towards the intersection) I stopped because the road was blocked by a solid barrier of snow preventing me from going across to the proper lane and plows were plowing in the other.

In the lane closest to me there was a plow coming my way.

That plow driver went right by, oblivious to my dilemma. There was another plow around the intersection of Pleasant St. extension and Storrs St..

Still unsure what to do I pulled out and braced to blast through the pile of snow to get into the correct lane. Once I got further out into the road I discovered that there wasn't a lane on the other side of the snow pile.. just more snow!

By that time the other plow was coming towards me. I was in the center of the road, (semi-stuck) and the plow just continued on by, literally plowing snow within a foot or two of my car and scaring the crap out of me.

I yelled and waved for him to come help me. He backed up and basically yelled at me (something like 'what are you doing in the road!').

Stop and think about that for a moment.... I was leaving a city parking garage, they clearly saw me sitting at the exit wanting to get out but drove right by. They had snow piled up in a solid barrier blocking the north-bound lane (Storrs St.) and part of the intersection, no signs or any direction for drivers trying to navigate their maze of snow piles, and instead of stopping and providing me with some direction the driver yells at me? Then he makes my situation worse by plowing more snow around my car! All I could see was a pair of bright headlights coming at me, a huge plow, and I literally didn't know if I was going to get hit.

After that I managed to gun the engine and plow through the snow (that the plow had just made deeper) into the wrong lane and made it to the intersection. I headed up to Main St. hoping to find a Concord Police cruiser somewhere, drove by the police station but it was closed, drove towards the south end a ways but seeing no police I headed back towards Storrs St..

Why?

Well first of all I was fairly mad.... Though 'incredulous' would be a more appropriate word.

Second, I had a video camera (which [thankfully] had been recording since exiting the parking garage*) and I wanted to get more shots of the road including the entrances to the shopping center which were inaccessible.

Third, there is a part of me that seriously dislikes mean people and especially ones on the public payroll!
----------------------------------------------------------------
If I just blew the incident off nothing would be learned and the same dangerous situation could repeat itself, possibly with disastrous results. This kind of behavior has to be punished and corrected so hopefully it doesn't happen again.
That is my goal.
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- So to continue.. I went back down onto Storrs St. and tried to see if the entrance to the shopping center down by the state liquor store was accessible. It too was blocked but not as badly as the others, so I made my way through the snow (almost getting rear-ended by some guy who stopped, honked, and yelled at me, failing to realize that he was going too fast and following much too closely for the conditions).

After that I got shots of the plows at work and the road conditions. At one point I tried to flag down one of the plow drivers (to ask why they hadn't assisted me) but he ignored me and drove right past!

At that point I decided to go on my way and do my shopping but there was one problem.. all the exits were blocked by the barrier of snow the plows created. After sitting at the northernmost exit (while the plows were driving past ignoring me) I had to get out of my car and gesture to one of the drivers to plow a spot in the snow so I could get through.

So there's your tax dollars at work....

And please don't get me wrong.. as I've said on this blog before, I have great respect for the plow drivers and other workers working long hours clearing the streets.

That said, some common courtesy, and a recognition of the need for public safety while they move the snow around is crucial. Ignoring drivers, yelling at them, and scaring them by plowing dangerously close to them is negligent and borders on criminal behavior, and I for one won't tolerate it.

I'm exploring different options at the moment, and I'm preparing (and making copies of) the video** for potential public display on the Internet, and/or as evidence to show relevant public officials/representatives if need be.

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Plus there are additional issues concerning the city's care (or the lack of) of the stairs next to the dumpster which (too many times) have been left unshoveled/icy, and extremely dangerous (as my sore tailbone can attest to!). Also the adjacent stairs leading down into the new parking garage have been left in a similar condition. That says to me that the safety of the citizens using that area isn't important to those whose job it is to maintain it.
Seriously, how much time and effort is required to clear the snow and/or spread some sand on the ice?

If necessary I'll suggest a meeting of all the people involved at some point this spring including CATCH/MB Management, relevant city department reps, and our Councilman Allen Bennett.

But that really shouldn't be necessary, should it?

I just want to nail down who's responsibility it is to keep the area clean and safe and have someone lite a fire under their butt to make sure it stays that way.

If there are city manpower/budget issues then some form of shared coverage by MB Management, The Green Martini, and The Lighting Place should be looked into.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

* I recently started taking a video camera every time I go out
(for many reasons).
So fortunately in this case it's not my word against theirs....

**For the moment I'm not going to post the video here
(or anywhere else) but that could change....
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Does Anyone Think This Is Acceptable?

2008-05-29T08:36:00.007-04:00

How long before someone takes responsibility for this area and starts keeping it clean?

Does the person responsible for this area have any reasonable excuse for letting this disgusting mess persist like it has? Do they have any pride in their job, or the city of Concord?

Is it a matter of money or personnel?

I for one would like to know the answer to all of these questions, and I'd like to see it cleaned up and kept that way.

Would it be left like this if the Mayor, City Manager, or other officials had to walk by this every day? I doubt it..

People using the dumpster or the stairs next to it frequently have to avoid stepping on garbage, trash, broken glass, etc.. The source of the garbage/trash not disposed of properly is mainly from certain residents of the Endicott, and the nearby restaurant-bar.

There's no doubt the area needs to be cleaned up and maintained. All the parties involved including the sources of the mess and those responsible for maintaining the area need to get together and come up with a solution. This disgusting and frankly embarrassing situation can't be allowed to persist any longer.

The above images are all recent and show the varying states of the area surrounding the dumpster next to the new parking garage's north side.

Dangerously Narrow City Roads

2008-03-04T14:08:00.008-05:00

Yesterday I noticed it up on Loudon Rd. by Applebees Restaurant. Today as I was driving over by Franklin Pierce Law Center it was even worse.

I'm talking about the narrow roads people are forced to navigate in Concord.

I'm trying to figure out why some roads aren't being plowed to a reasonably safe width, and why cars are allowed to park on both sides of many streets. In some places there's barely enough room for two cars to pass each other, and other streets where there isn't even that much room.

Up on Loudon Rd. if you're in the right-hand lane heading east you are forced into the left lane in places because literally half of the right lane is taken up by the snow bank.

Someone needs to explain to me why the plow drivers don't plow the snow the full width of the road [everywhere]. I'd also like to know why this situation is allowed to persist for so long. I would hope that as the Concord Police and/or the supervisors from the Highway Department drive around Concord they would see this (it's hard to miss) and report it. It shouldn't ever get to the point where it is now.

I hate to say much concerning the plow drivers this year. They've had it rough. But now it's become a safety matter, especially when combined with the fact that the sidewalks are impassible and pedestrians are forced into the streets.

Narrow streets, cars parked on both sides, and pedestrians forced to walk in the road is a recipe for accidents and possibly even fatalities. I can understand that on some streets where houses are close to the side of the road it might be impossible to push the snow back any further, but on the streets I've mentioned that's not the case. There's no excuse for letting the snow banks encroach into the road to the point that cars have to cross into the opposite lane. That's unacceptable and threatens the safety of drivers.

I didn't see a single car ticketed that was parked on the sides of any of the streets over by the Law Center, or anywhere else for that matter. Isn't that the job of our Police department? To maintain safety on our streets and in our community? From the dangerous drives around Concord I've had lately I'd have to say they've dropped the ball, as have the supervisors in the Highway Dept.

*UPDATE [2/23/09] - Almost a year later and I see the same thing happening (in the same places). On top of that, I reported unshoveled and icy steps leading to the new parking garage to a young Concord Police officer I saw at D'Angelos afterwards only to be told to "report it myself"!
Not in a mean-spirited way, but all the same I was under the impression that the police were there 'To Protect and Serve' and this was a 'public safety issue' was it not?

I immediately thought about what the City Atty's office would think of this. I've personally slipped more than once on those steps and the ones by the dumpster and I'm relatively fit. What about older folks?

At the end of the day shouldn't someone from the city make sure ALL city property is safe and kept that way?

Update 2: - I want to add that overall the great majority of Concord Police officers have been helpful and professional, and it's not fair to them to be tainted by the actions of [the inevitable few] 'bad apples'!

The Endicott Building Needs Help!

2008-02-15T16:57:00.012-05:00

Here a couple of shots of our front entrance. When it comes time to start fixing this place up, the entrances would be a good place to start. Why no one has put forth the effort to even wash the dirt off in the five years I've lived here is troubling. The trim next to the door needs to be replaced and then the whole entrance needs to be painted. The entrance to Butter's restaurant/store just north of the Endicott on Main Street would be an excellent color and look to copy.

Below is one of the side entrances and the surrounding areas. Someone please tell me who chose this color! Unfortunately this section of the building is separately owned, so getting the whole exterior of the building repainted is going to take some consultation and all parties working together to make happen. I understand that assistance is being sought from a historical preservation fund (possibly the NHPA?) by the owner (Peter Shapiro?) of this part of the building that includes Pachamama and The Green Martini.
Lets hope that he is successful.
I know that everyone concerned, from the business owners (and their patrons) to the Endicott residents, other business owners in the neighborhood, and Concord residents who want to see a rejuvenated downtown, want to see this building renovated.

Has it been THAT long?

2008-01-31T13:04:00.000-05:00

I know, I know.... I haven't posted for a while, but I didn't realize that it's been over two weeks!

That's one of the things pain does to me..

A while ago I broke a molar, and being one to bitch about something and at the same time put off doing anything about it as long as possible, I've been dealing with the on again - off again pain.

You see, while the pain isn't constant, and over the counter meds can take care of it 95% of the time, the procrastinator in me (and my avoidance of doctors in general) dominates. The other 5% of the time when the pain feels like I've been shot in the face, I put my hand on that side of my face and moan like a wuss.... until I take more Ibuprofen than I probably should and contemplate taking one of the prescription pain meds I was prescribed. I've only done that once. (I don't want to get used to using them, and too many people get hooked on them)

I can hear those yelling "just get off yer butt and get it fixed!" (like my brother). I know they're right, and I have made an appointment with Dr. Binder (the dentist my father went to), but the memories I have of painful visits to the dentist in my youth, and the fact that I have no insurance and live on a small disability check each month, doesn't help!

So forgive me for the lack of posts lately. The times that I've been able to concentrate and get some writing done have been taken up by my BlogsNH blog "TechAlert". And even there I went a week between posts.

As for things here at the Endicott, I got a nice visit from our property manager Kathy who updated me on some issues I'd been wondering about, and we now have a new maintenance man Ray who promptly located and installed the window screen that I've been asking for!
He's going to be a great asset and hopefully MB Management will find more maintenance people just like him to take care of CATCH's properties!

My upstairs neighbor has been a bit quieter (except for playing the music a bit too loud a few nights ago around MIDNIGHT, and the next night starting around 11 PM!). The occasional thuds and 'heavy walking' that ~~shakes~~ my apartment is still going on, though less than before.
I think that he's making an attempt to be more respectful (most of the time), but I don't think he realizes how much it really shakes things down here!

Sometimes, when I'm writing or engrossed in a TV show, the [sometimes] sudden THUD makes my (already bad) heart skip a beat!

It's really a shame that due to the fact that this is such an old building without the sound barriers that new* construction incorporates, like poured cement floors, padded carpeting, and wall insulation and/or concrete firewall barriers between apartments, his just walking across the floor can create the effect of a train going by. Thank goodness it usually a short train!

On another note, I'm really starting to make use of the new parking garage next door, especially during snow storms. I've noticed others are too, and it's really nice to not have to scrape ice and snow off the car after a storm! They really should position a Pay Station down on the ground floor though. Having to drive up to the Pay Station before being able to leave doesn't seem to make much sense. Granted it's not a huge deal, but others have noted the lack of Pay Stations and commented on that issue in the paper. That issue aside, the Concord Parking Department is doing an excellent job attending to the garage and it's patrons!

And finally, I heard recently that our resident caretaker (and keeper of the keys) Bob recently suffered a broken hip. Let's all hope he has a quick and successful (oh, and relatively pain-free) recovery!

'till next time, be safe folks.

* Within the last 50 years or so.

Nothing's Changed

2008-01-14T12:20:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been sleeping during the day, so things have been relatively quiet.

I find that getting up after midnight and reading Internet news and blogs, then writing and/or compiling material for future posts allows me to really focus without a lot of distractions. The down side is that it's hard to get normal things done that can't be done at night.

I'm trying to avoid being awake during the day and evening when my neighbor has friends over that have crying babies and unruly young children.

Unfortunately the young guy upstairs has odd hours and does things that literally shake my apartment frequently. There's one part of his floor that if he walks heavily it rattles some pipes in my ceiling. And when he gets out of his recliner it's like something hit the building. Many nights (around 2 AM) when he returns (from work?) it's like he has a full 'sea-bag' and throws it on the floor.
Doing this, knowing that he's disturbing me greatly, shows such a lack of respect and utter contempt for me and management.

Yet it continues with no end in sight....

Ah the joys of living in a sagging old hotel with thin carpets (with no padding underneath) and tile flooring.

Hey at least there's no kid riding his Big Wheel up and down the hallways yelling "redrum!", right?

All kidding aside, it makes my quality of life intolerable at times, and the worst part is that no one seems to care enough to do anything to fix it. For someone who suffers from chronic depression this is anything but helpful.

As I write this he's banging around over my head, literally shaking me in my chair at times, showing an absolute lack of respect for me and the management.

As far as the Endicott and the issues I've written about in past postings, nothing has changed at all. January 3rd when I took my rent check up to the MB management office one of the maintenance men was there and I asked him for the screen for one of my windows. It was taken by one of the maintenance guys from Hodges (the previous management company) when my air conditioner went in. He said that he'd have to look for it and would be over sometime that afternoon. He asked for, and I gave him permission to enter my apartment if I wasn't there. I returned from my errands around 5 PM but saw no evidence that he'd been there, and no screen. There was no note, and no communication to date regarding the status of my screen.

MB also has a list of repairs that need to be done in my apartment, not the least of which is the bathroom ventilation system that was messed up when the company "Energy Improvements" installed new bathroom light/fans and kitchen ceiling lights in all the apartments . The fan pretty much has to run 24/7 or the cigarette fumes from my neighbors fill my apartment.
[None of the other repairs are 'emergency' repairs.]
Not a single word has been communicated to me about this or any of the other concerns I brought up to our new property manager.

And zero communication regarding the upstairs neighbor who's received 3-5 written warnings/complaints, and as far as I know still won't answer his door for management (or me), and still refuses to contact the office as requested. Yet he's still living here and hasn't been served with any papers as far as I know. And I haven't been contacted regarding it either. All the communication has been instigated by me.

The building is still dirty and dingy, nothing being cleaned other than a quick vacuum once a week. The entry ways have the same dirt they've had on them for years. The walls get painted once in a while, and I don't think they've ever been washed in between paintings.
The exterior paint has needed scraping and new paint for years, especially the two doorways on the side of the building. Of course since there's multiple owners of different parts of the building it's that much harder to coordinate things like that. I hear that the other owner (besides CATCH) has been trying to get a grant or something from the historical preservation folks and/or the city to pay for external renovations.

In the mean time what would be a beautiful former hotel sits here neglected and uncared for. Now that I think about it, I'm feeling pretty neglected too.

After Tomorrow

2008-01-07T23:17:00.000-05:00

Things will be quieting down here in New Hampshire (until November).

For me (and my neighbors here at the Endicott Hotel on Main St. Concord) that means figuratively and literally. Over the past several days (since the Iowa Caucus) the political supporters have been out on the streets like I've never experienced since I moved here in 1979.

The morning of the Iowa Caucus I was awakened by someone beating a snare drum out front. I assume it was a Ron Paul supporter as they were the only ones out that day. It was a frigid day but sunny, and the Paul faithful were out en masse here in Concord.
Since then it's been crazy and noisy, starting around 8 AM and lasting all day long. Horns honking, sometimes blaring all the way down Main Street, groups of supporters chanting or yelling, sometimes to cars going by, other times at each other.

As I said, I've never seen enthusiasm like this here in Concord before the primary, or before the general election. Despite the noise I think it's great to see so many (mostly younger) people out participating in the political process and working for their candidate.

Much of this enthusiasm is undoubtedly due to the unprecedented failure of President Bush and the torturous last seven years. The combination of an unnecessary war that many were fooled into supporting until the truth became evident, an unduly secretive and deceptive President and Vice President, seemingly endless scandals in the Republican party, and a Republican leadership that either looked the other way or was complicit in a plan to dominate and marginalize the opposing party. All the while rubber stamping everything the President asked for, whether legal or not.

With the price of oil and gasoline tripling, real estate in trouble, the NSA allowed to spy on Americans uncontrolled, billions of dollars spent in Iraq but unnaccounted for, New Orleans neglected, incompetant political appointees heading critical agencies, the Justice Department politicized, and much of the rest of the world now fearful and wondering how far down the road to crazytown Bush will drive the war wagon. Oh, and I almost forgot the disregard and obvious contempt for the Constitution, the Geneva Convention, and the rule of law in general as it pertains to Bush's imperial presidency, and the disdain for the poor and the social programs that help them, not to mention the neglect of the veterans that Bush needlessly sent into harms way. Is it any wonder that there is this massive call for change?

As I've heard others say, the President promised to unite the country, but it didn't happen the way he said it would (did anything?).
In the end he did succeed in uniting 80% of the country.... in opposition to him and his failed policies.

After all that has happened over the past seven years, why would any sane, caring person even consider voting for another Republican?

Now for those who need information on where to vote, registration information, absentee voting, etc. here's a link to the City of Concord's "Elections" web site.

Now VOTE !

More Snow - Still No Parking Provided For Residents

2007-12-31T04:42:00.000-05:00

Oh Look, It's snowing AGAIN....

The crews that clear the snow must be wondering if this pace is going to continue all winter!
Come to think of it, their families must be asking the same thing.

Personally, since I've decided to park in the parking garage whenever it snows it's costing me a lot of extra cash. At $4.00 per day (opposed to the $2.00 it was before the city doubled their rates!) it adds up fast for someone on a small fixed income. There should be some way for the city to make this less of a burden on low income citizens as it's essentially a flat tax, which is inherently unfair to low income citizens if it isn't offset somehow. And for the residents of the Endicott who for some terrible reason aren't provided with any place to park by our landlord (CATCH) it's doubly troubling. For residents who are mostly low income Section 8 recipients it's truly unconscionable for an organization like CATCH to neglect this issue. In the 5+ years I've lived here the additional money I've had to spend for parking adds up to hundreds of dollars per year!

The extra cost isn't the only thing either. The daily threat of getting our cars towed is one more unnecessary burden we have to live with. To try to ease the cost, and because most of us just can't afford to pay to park in a metered spot every weekday, we park across the street in the parking lot for the strip mall on Storrs St. despite the signs warning that it's for store patrons only. I've been towed once and it cost me $150 to get my car back!

Take a minute and picture yourself having a small fixed income where every single dollar is budgeted. Then picture yourself having your car towed and held (for ransom) unless you can somehow come up with $150. Don't forget, they're also charging you a daily storage fee, so the longer it takes you to get the money (if you even can) the more it costs you. Imagine if you had to wait the better part of a month until you get some money again to be able to get your car back. How much is that going to be? Will you have enough left over to pay rent or buy groceries? What about getting to work, going to doctors appointments, or if you have kids?

These days unless you have someone you can borrow the money from you might be forced to go to a 'Payday Lender' and pay a huge interest rate (20%?) to get your car back.

Before I moved into the Endicott I sat down with the property manager from Hodges (our former management company) and when I asked about parking she indicated that 'they were in negotiations to try and procure parking for us'. That sounded hopeful, and because I'd already spent over a year on a waiting list I wasn't going to refuse the apartment!
Since that day (in addition to the property manager) I've contacted Dave Florence in the parking department, Allan Bennett who represents Ward 6, Matt Walsh, the city planner, and even the property manager (Heritage Realty in Mass.) for the strip mall to try to get us some parking, all to no avail.
Well, that's not entirely accurate. Dave Florence did offer Endicott residents first dibs on reserved parking in the new parking garage. In case you're wondering, the rates for leased spaces in the Capital Commons parking garage are "$1,344 per year for a covered space and $1,044 per year for an uncovered space". While that offer was better than nothing, personally if I could afford to pay that I wouldn't be on Section 8!

It's bad enough that this situation has existed as long as it has, but to let it continue to without some relief for people who already have more than enough to worry about will be callous and unnecessary. C'mon CATCH (and the city of Concord), please step up to the plate and put an end to this situation ASAP.

Holiday Thoughts on Christmas Eve

2007-12-24T23:05:00.000-05:00

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.

I'm celebrating a traditional but solitary New England Christmas here in New Hampshire, missing my father greatly but recalling wonderful Christmas memories from childhood.

The traditional reading of "The Night Before Christmas" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", remembering how hard it was to get to sleep on Christmas eve listening for any faint sound that might actually be Santa on the roof and the rush of anticipation in my belly. Also waking up early on Christmas morning, wondering if it's too early to wake mom and dad to get the day started, then feeling like it's taking them forever while they make their coffee and have a bit of breakfast before finally gathering around the tree to see if your wishes had been answered by Santa.

I'm also thinking of all the people who might not be having a 'merry' Christmas for whatever reason, including those not able to be with their loved ones for the holidays and those who can't afford to get their kids what they've been asking for the past year. And most recently, the employees who have found themselves suddenly without their jobs just before Christmas.

To many of those folks, remember that there are people out there who care, and tomorrow's always a new day.
And as my father would always say to me when times were tough, "this too shall pass", then he'd remind me to "keep smiling".

Bless you Dad.
And bless all of you, one and all..

My Favorite Card

2007-12-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

The title of this card is "Frozen Thung", and inside it says
"Hathy Holidayth".

The first thing I like is that it looks a bit like I did back when I was a little kid.
The other thing is his resemblance to the younger brother in the classic Christmas movie "A Christmas Story" who also froze his tongue to a metal pole. The only thing missing are the kids gathered around him laughing.

So here's to wishing everyone "Hathy Holidayth"!

Here's the info from the back of the card (with my comments added):

Contemporary American Photographers

Photograph [Copyright] 1994 Joe Lampi (<- This guy is good)
Dublin Productions (<- really neat site w/ Flash, check out the photos)
Frothen Thung
[Copyright] Palm Press, Inc. 1995 (<- Interesting cards)
1442A Walnut Street #120
Berkeley, California 94709

Whoever Shoveled The Alleyway, THANK YOU!

2007-12-20T15:59:00.000-05:00

Whoever did the shoveling in our alleyway this morning was great!
Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like they were trying to do it without disturbing the residents up above.
If I could afford it I would have 'tipped' them for being so conscientious! And if I wasn't half-asleep (and trying to remain that way) I would at least have thanked them [quietly].
It's much easier putting up with the seasonal noises like clearing snow if you know someone's at least trying to minimize their part.

Readers should keep in mind that those of us living on the south side of the Endicott building have endured over a year of construction noise, dust, and at times extreme vibrations while the Concord Commons building was being built.

As I've written before, I've gone through two air conditioners that have prematurely died from all the fine dirt that settled on our building during the construction, and what used to be (when I moved in) a nice bright apartment, is now dark, with a view of a brick wall and the unfinished floors of the Concord Commons building.

On another note, I thought I'd share my latest experience with the new parking garage.
I've been parking my car inside the new parking garage every time it's snowed to stay out of the way of Brochu's snow plows in the Market Basket parking lot where most of us park. After having Lenny(?) (he said he was Red's son) plow snow into all four sides of my little hatchback one time, and then curse me out* when I asked him about it, I've decided to pay the cost of parking instead of going through that again.

That experience aside, during the last big storm several days ago I parked in the new parking garage over the weekend. When I went to leave (Tuesday I believe) I had a envelope on my windshield containing a letter from the parking department and a parking stub to use.
You see the parking gate had to be left up during the storm, so there were cars inside that didn't get a stub/ticket when they entered. I thought it was great that the parking division went to the trouble of providing a parking stub and letter** explaining the situation. What they might not have accounted for though, were the folks like me who didn't leave on Monday morning.

When I took their supplied ticket stub and tried leaving, the system wouldn't let me. So, I went up to the 3rd floor pay station and stuck the ticket in to see if I had to pay something. The ticket popped back out with a message telling me to "See the cashier". Huh? I thought what 'cashier'?
I then tried calling the Concord police/parking department, twice, no answer, the phone system just sent me back to the beginning of the automated message....

By this time I was really frustrated. I had a doctor's appointment at 1 PM and it was 12: 55! My car and I were being held hostage inside the garage! Finally, thanks to another resident of the Endicott who was there paying he suggested that I try the 'call-box' down at the exit gate. I'd forgotten all about that in my panic so I thanked him and rushed down to the exit and pushed the button. After a short delay a helpful woman listened to my plight but had never heard of the "See cashier" message I'd received when trying to pay (I wish I had my camera so that I could have taken a picture),
and finally lifted the gate manually (by remote from PD). She was great and wished me good luck as I sped off to my appointment.

When I returned later that day to park inside again (because of ANOTHER expected snow) there was a serviceman already there to check the system! I must say even though there are obviously some bugs to work out with the new garage (and hopefully some additional pay stations) the parking department is staying on top of the situation. Now they need to work on their phone system! It's not good when you can't get someone on the line and you're caught in a unending phone system circle.

I'm sure Dave Florence (of the parking dept.) will adjust his procedures accordingly for the next big snow storm that will surely come. Every time I've dealt with him (and everyone else in the parking division for that matter) he's been pleasant to deal with and quick to respond.

* The younger Brochu said that if I continued to complain that he'd "make sure nobody from the Endicott could park there"... and since it was about a week before Christmas he added "Merry F****** Christmas!". Nice, huh?
---------------------------------------------------------------

**Copy of parking letter:

Monday, December 17, 2007

Due to the fact that the entry gate was left in an open position it is likely that you do not have an exit ticket for the parking garage. Please use the ticket enclosed with this note as you exit ticket from the garage. This ticket DOES NOT need to be processed at the Automatic Pay Station - simply insert into the exit gate verifier and the gate will open.

Thank you for your use of the Capital Commons Garage. Please contact the Parking Control Unit with any questions about the facility.

Sincerely,

Dave Florence
-----------------------------------------------------------

Things Are Getting Worse

2007-12-17T15:54:00.000-05:00

In and around the Endicott things have been going downhill in the past few months. Part of it is the season, since winter for pedestrians in Concord is notoriously bad. Another part of the problem is some of the residents here at the Endicott.

Today was a perfect example of the former. I had to go to the grocery store across the street. The trip there was pretty good. The sidewalk was relatively clear in front of and beside the Endicott, and the only area that wasn't cleared was the area with the benches down by the corner.
The other side of the street was where it turned bad. The snow banks completely cover the sidewalk so people parking there have to walk in the road after they park their cars, and what's worse, pedestrians crossing the street from the side of the shopping plaza have no way of getting to the signaling button for the lights because there's 4-5 feet of snow surrounding it. Because of that pedestrians are left to cross the street while traffic is going by!

That's the 'pedestrian' part of the trip. The 'resident' part started with the elevator, which still hasn't been serviced (the doors sometimes open violently, then close about 1/3 of the way), and the elevator certification certificate (and it's Plexiglas cover) was hanging from one screw. The screw I installed the last time it was like this was gone. That means someone took the time to unscrew the extra long screw I put in over a month ago. Who would do something like that? Maybe the same type that has covered the area with graffiti 'tags'? I don't know, but it's just another sign that this beautiful (or what could be) old hotel and it surroundings are uncared for and deteriorating.

There is a huge crack in the ceiling near the elevator on the third floor that I just noticed the other day reminding me that no one has ever returned to inspect the building after construction was complete (as they said they would). I have a big crack in the wall of my bedroom next to my window also that I've mentioned previously.
The residents are still being exposed to second-hand smoke ever since "Energy Improvements" installed new lights and bathroom fans....
[Interesting note]: According to a "Breathe New Hampshire" representative I spoke with, there are absolutely no state or federal laws protecting residents of apartment buildings from this health threat!
How can that be, with all the legislation that's been passed lately? So much for our representatives working to protect us.
So as of now, it's perfectly legal for tenants to be forced to breathe second hand smoke (and in my case it's so strong that I've been awakened twice because of it when I didn't keep my bathroom fan running) unless they keep their bathroom fans running 24/7 (something they're not designed to do, not to mention a huge waste of ENERGY), and isn't that a potential fire hazard?
"Energy Improvements" company? Indeed!
- Please note that before the bathroom fans were replaced there was no problem whatsoever.

The two bags of trash I wrote about previously were still sitting in the snow down by the corner (I put them in the dumpster), the box spring and mattress were still sitting down in the alley (as of Saturday), and now there's a piece of old furniture sitting down by the ground floor elevator door.

The long list [of mainly plumbing repairs] I submitted weeks ago hasn't been responded to in any way.
My upstairs neighbor continues to clomp around shaking me and my apartment to the point of things actually falling off the wall, and ignoring the numerous letters sent to him from management telling him to contact them to discuss the matter.
The phone number he gave them is out of service, and after MB management and I had agreed that I was going to update [her] as to his compliance (or 'non') I call and hear from the secretary that she's off on vacation for "a few weeks"? Huh?

I've been trying to give them time, but three months in and things are getting worse, not better.

There are two men hired to do the maintenance for all of CATCH's properties, does that sound like enough? I worked for Concord Royal Gardens in the maintenance department as an apartment inspector and we had three times that number of maintenance personnel for just the two complexes and they were barely able to keep up with it!
I feel sorry for the one who has to answer the night-time 'emergency' calls! It's totally unrealistic to expect two people to handle all that in any kind of timely and responsible manner.

How long does this go on before the obvious conclusions are drawn by CATCH?

My conclusions are:

Bob the guy responsible for cleaning the building continues to slack, but is still getting a free apartment and stipend.

MB Management is not committing enough resources to responsibly care for the buildings and tenants they contracted for.

Promises/commitments made by construction-related people aren't being kept.

Residents continue to defy rules and management with impunity.

The condition of the building continues to deteriorate

CATCH needs to rectify this situation quickly.

What A Difference!

2007-12-14T15:26:00.000-05:00

I just spoke with a woman in the City Clerk's office who epitomizes what a thoughtful, caring, public employee should be. I wish I'd remembered to get her name but nonetheless she is to be commended. She was pleasant, helpful, and actually seemed to care about helping me!

Imagine that!

The Concord Police Dispatcher who hung up on me early this morning should take notes from this wonderful woman as to how you deal with a citizen with a problem.
(As I said in my previous post, the officer I spoke with when I called back was a professional, took the time to hear me out and explained the situation)

In calling the City Clerk's office for the phone number of my City Councilman she also helped me with other suggestions, such as who to speak to in the General Services Dept.. She emphasized that my Councilman and the great people over at General Services would want to know about my concerns.

I always try to look at both sides of issues, and I know that people have good and bad days, but in jobs where you deal with the public (and Police Dispatch is NOT an easy job by any measure) you have to have people who maintain their professionalism at all times.

I do have to wonder though, what kind of leadership the police department has lately. In the 20 years I've lived here I can't recall so many negative incidents involving the department. I realize that they're short-staffed, and that could contribute in some ways to this behavior. I have maintain hope that the leaders in the department are working to reverse this trend of unprofessional behavior.

We want to be proud and supportive of our police force, not embarrassed or fearful. Police and Fire men and women have incredibly dangerous and critical jobs to do. Anyone who opts for those professions is to be commended and supported, but they have a responsibility to remember who they're working for, and to maintain the highest standards possible. In my experience that has been the case most of the time, but this latest experience has left me concerned.

To conclude, this woman I spoke with today in the City Clerk's office restored my faith that there are good, caring, professional people working for the city of Concord. That level of excellence is what all departments should strive for.

What Has Happened To Concord's Police Department?

2007-12-14T02:05:00.000-05:00

This is hard for me to understand. Especially with all the negative press they've had lately. But unfortunately this morning at around 1:50 AM another representative of the Concord Police department has given them a black eye when dealing with the public. About fifteen minutes before that someone woke up everyone in the building who lives on the side facing the new Concord Commons building when someone from the city crew that was clearing snow used a snow blower to clear the alleyway between the buildings! If that wasn't bad enough, after they were done they continued with shoveling (that's what they should have done with the small amount of snow in the alley in the first place), but the person doing it kept banging his shovel on the wall of the building to knock the snow off. I finally opened my window and yelled at him that there were people trying to sleep up here, to which he yelled something belligerent! At that point I decided to call the police to make a noise complaint.

I called their non-emergency line, a woman answered the call and I proceeded to explain what the problem was. She immediately stated "there's nothing we're going to do about that"....
I started to say "but I thought there were noise laws...". The next thing I knew she had hung up on me. I just sat there, still holding the phone to my ear for close to a minute, trying to contemplate what had just happened. Just a few minutes before I was sleeping soundly, and now I was literally shaking with disbelief. I sat there for another minute or so and called the police back. I wasn't sure what I was going to say, but I couldn't, and wouldn't stand for that kind of rude behavior from people who work for the public!

When the phone was answered it was by someone who identified himself as the shift supervisor. I explained what had just happened, along with my original complaint. This time I got a courteous person who took the time to listen to my complaint, and even though he also said there was nothing they could do, he explained that it was because because the snow removal crews weren't subject to the same noise laws that everyone else is.
He apologized for the behavior of the previous person and listened patiently as I continued to go on that I was able to understand the need to clear the streets at night, but that the job could have been done by shoveling alone instead of a snowblower, and also that the person doing it should have been more thoughtful towards the residents and definitely not belligerent like he was when told he was waking people up.

In all my dealings with the Concord Police over the years 99% of them have been professional and courteous. Every one of them was polite and helpful (except for that one rookie who treated me like a criminal after my late father's car had been towed away and I was distraught). That 99% seem like genuinely nice people. I have the utmost respect for them and the dangerous job they do, and the last thing they need is another example of one of them being rude to the people who pay their salary. What this woman who answered my call did was take a bad situation and compounded it by being curt and rude.

I'll be speaking to our local and state representatives about this latest episode and we'll find out what they have to say about it.

And one last thought.... The episode I just read about in the police log regarding a man who had just been released from prison after 30 years and was homeless was troubling. Sure he had been told to leave the building and was technically "trespassing" , but instead of arresting him, the human thing to do would have been to find him shelter for the night and steer him towards a public assistance program. Instead they sent him back into the system. How cold and heartless can you get? That's not the kind of society I want to belong to, and it's not the kind of society I believe we should strive for. Shame on the officer who made the decision to arrest him instead of giving him the help he so obviously needed.

Winter And The Holidays Are Upon Us

2007-12-12T09:05:00.000-05:00

Well the ground is now covered with snow and it freezing outside. Cars are sprayed with salt or whatever they're putting on the roads these days, and slush builds up around our tires.

The car washes are busier than ever and for a while now there's more than one car wash in Concord! For too long (since the one next to KFC on Hall Street closed) you had two choices, the car wash on Loudon Road, or drive to Thirty Pines in Penacook. Now the addition of two on Manchester Street makes it much easier, and for me just seeing them more often gives me a needed reminder to stop and wash the salty winter sludge off.

Unfortunately for some here at the Endicott, winter apparently means leaving your trash somewhere other than in the dumpster. I've been seeing bags of trash left down by the entrance to the Green Martini, on the first floor by the elevator, and this morning two bags down on the corner by the sitting area (unfortunately the city didn't clear that walkway). That's only a few steps away from the dumpster!

I'm hoping that it's one of the more elderly or infirmed residents that find it especially hard to get around in the winter, and not someone who's just lazy. I grabbed the bag I saw by the door last week and took it to the dumpster myself, but something needs to be posted or somehow communicated to the residents by management. There is also a mattress and box spring that was left in the alleyway leaning up against the fence by the back door of the Green Martini.
And while I'm talking about the alleyway, Bob needs to make sure that when he parks his company truck in that alley he leaves room for people to get through with trash and whatnot. I was barely able to squeeze by with my trash the other day!

It needs to be made clear to all the residents that they can call MB Management if they have something large to dispose of or they find it difficult to get their trash to the dumpster. We have someone who is paid to keep the building clean, and the maintenance people should have trucks to remove large items that residents can't dispose of on their own.

I hope MB Management produces a distributes a new Resident Handbook soon as the old one from Hodges doesn't apply anymore (or does it?). I seem to recall that we were informed by CATCH that there would be a new one coming out with the change of management. So far there hasn't been any communication from MB since the initial letter with address and phone number.
Speaking of which, I tried calling the office of MB Management Monday and got a message that the number wasn't in service! A subsequent call to CATCH informed me that Marie Poole was on her way over there to find out what the problem was.
Thank goodness for Marie. She's so attentive to our needs and is so pleasant to deal with!

(Update: In speaking with Tiffany (who works for Kathy at MB) she said that the phone situation lasted for about three hours before it was resolved.)

And so is our new property manager Kathy at MB. So far she's been very receptive to some issues I've brought to her. Nothing has changed yet, but I'm trying to be patient. She told me that she was excited that the old Endicott Hotel was one of the properties they were hired to manage and that she hoped to get it looking better soon.

I plan to do whatever I can to [both] help that happen, and keep the fire lit (as it were). It's sad to see the condition of this historic old building, unkempt and dirty with peeling paint in the entryways, lights that haven't been replaced in years, with the old and I must say ugly paint on the upper facade and the beautiful bowed windows that overlook the street. This wonderful old building has been badly neglected for too long and it deserves better. Especially now that it has a brand new building next door and the city is focusing on development of the South Main Street area.

It's a bit discouraging to look out my third floor window across at the uninhabited floors of the new building, and especially when I walk by the empty space on the ground floor adjacent to the new theaters. I picture a busy coffee shop-bookstore or casual dining restaurant there, but I'm told that because of Gibson's Book Store across the plaza the former isn't likely. The lack of occupants to date concerns me, as I'm sure it does the owner and the city, but I'm hoping that the current situation will be but a distant memory as the downtown comes to life.
It will be a welcome change.

What's up with Concord and it's city workers?

2007-12-05T00:57:00.000-05:00

It's 1 AM here at the Endicott and just now someone started up a snowblower outside!
Now I'm all for cleaning up the sidewalks after a storm, but in the five years I've lived here this is a first.
Aren't there noise ordinances in Concord anymore? What are they thinking?

The snow cleanup that normally goes on isn't bad (and has to be done at night) but this is exceptionally loud and undoubtedly woke some people up!

I have to say the crews do an excellent job clearing the snow that piles up after storms, but whoever OKed the use of a snow blower next to a residential building at 1 AM needs to be re-educated.
(It wasn't long ago that I called Jeff Hoadley the Director of Public Properties and left a message/complaint about a city worker running a leaf blower in the alley between our building and the new building at around 7 AM.)

I also have to say that overall the condition of the streets and highways (and other 'Public Properties') of Concord is embarrassing. Weeds growing up untouched, trash strewn along the sides of streets, and most recently trash left untouched around the dumpster beside the brand new parking garage and in the freshly landscaped sitting area down at the corner of Storrs Street and Pleasant Street extension.

On most days (before the snow came) if you walked by the dumpster behind the Lighting Place you'd see broken beer bottles, food and trash from the restaurant, and other trash scattered around from the stairs by the dumpster halfway out to the street. I have dozens of photos I've taken of the trash left scattered around. It remained there unless I picked it up (which I did every time I saw it) or people from the bar/restaurant cleaned it up.

I assume that much of the mess is caused when the trash truck empties the dumpster, and god forbid the driver from getting off his butt to clean up anything that falls out in the process! And not once have I seen any city workers cleaning the area or picking up trash scattered around the public seating area. In the mornings they have someone check and empty the trash bag in the trash receptacle, but in the process they walk right by and ignore any trash in the nicely landscaped area around the benches.

Once when there was part of a sandwich roll and it's contents smeared around at the bottom of the stairs (directly in the middle) next to the dumpster, I asked the server inside the restaurant [politely], then later one of the owners if they could have someone go clean it up. After both of them arguing with me saying "How do you know it came from us? It could have been from anyone, it could be from someone living in the Endicott..." she eventually said that they would take care of it. (The only reason I didn't take care of it myself and avoid the nastiness was that it was a gooey mess that required a hose or other cleaning supplies).

Does it really matter how the mess got there? Shouldn't we all take some pride in our block and keep it as clean as possible? People walking that way shouldn't have to jump over food and avoid broken beer bottles!
I certainly try to do my part, but shouldn't the city take the same pride in keeping the public areas clean and looking good? Who's responsible for that area between the Lighting Place and the new parking garage where the dumpster is? Why has it been ignored and collecting broken beer bottles, cigarette butts, and other trash?

I haven't spoken to Mr. Hoadley or others in person yet but I plan to at some point. Until then I can only guess as to the reasons the city looks so unkempt and some of it's workers seem to lack common decency and sense at times. Maybe part of it's money, maybe some of it's being able to find and keep good thoughtful workers.
I just know that when I walk down many city streets seeing the same litter sitting there day after day and see the same weeds growing higher and higher along the highways, and especially when I see the city spend millions of dollars on a new parking garage and landscaping, then see it not being cared for, I'm disheartened.

Close Call For Nativity Display

2007-12-01T18:35:00.001-05:00

Gusty winds brought down the Christmas Tree in front of the Concord, NH State House today somewhere between noon and 1 PM, narrowly missing the Nativity display. Luck, or divine intervention? I guess I'll leave that up to you.

The gusty winds we've been experiencing the past day or so were strong enough to snap the big pine tree off at the base.

This could be just the start of a stormy start to the week as the National Weather Service puts out this alert:

"[...]THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE THE FIRST MAJOR WINTER STORM OF
THE SEASON FOR MUCH OF THE REGION. SNOW WILL SPREAD FROM SOUTHWEST
TO NORTHEAST SUNDAY NIGHT...WITH SNOW LASTING INTO TUESDAY AT MANY
LOCATIONS. SINCE THE END OF THIS EVENT IS STILL SEVERAL DAYS
AWAY...SOME UNCERTAINTY STILL EXISTS IN SNOWFALL TOTALS.
HOWEVER...THIS STORM DOES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE GREATER
THAN A FOOT OF SNOW ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION.[...]"

I don't know about you, but I'll be taking advantage of the new parking garage next door and parking under cover for the next few days.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, But...

2007-11-22T07:50:00.000-05:00

But, remember the indigenous peoples who don't share the same feelings. Their experience was entirely different from the English settlers. For one group it was the beginning, the other the beginning of the end.

I have mixed feelings about the day as my family was to follow these pilgrims path in 1630 when the Winthrop Fleet brought them to the shores of Massachusetts. I hate to think that Daggetts or Purintons (or any settlers for that matter) were in any part responsible for the downfall and destruction of the local tribes' way of life. Of course they were, in the most basic sense by being part of a group of people who thought that they had a right to 'settle' on someone else's land. I'd like to think that they were at least cognizant of that fact, and were possibly ones who at least tried to have a mutually beneficial relationship.

These days those issues aren't what most people think about on Thanksgiving day. Come to think of it, on the original Thanksgiving most were thinking of themselves and the fortunes of their group and little of the people whose lives and lands they would eventually dispossess.

This Thanksgiving while we are giving thanks for family and friends, the bountiful feast, and the fellowship of the day, it would be good to give some thought to those whose lives were
irrevocably changed by our forefathers. I certainly will.

New Parking Garage Elevators Out Of Action Again

2007-11-11T15:11:00.000-05:00

Anyone who needed to use the elevators in the new parking garage either for convenience or necessity Sunday were out of luck. This isn't the first time I've noticed this condition. The last time I went to use them they were turned off also.

Personally, I parked on the top level and was only inconvenienced by having to take the stairs to the top level, but anyone in a wheelchair or with any other type of medical necessity wasn't able to. After I shot a couple of photos for this blog I went over to the Red River Theaters to see if the manager was aware of the situation. As she hurriedly came to speak with me she was obviously already on top of the situation and was in a rush to deal with it.

Now I don't know the reason for them being turned off this time. I would hope that there aren't maintenance issues already, they were just installed! I do know that along with some of the other issues I've read about in the Monitor having to do with the layout of the parking pay stations, the new theaters are already swimming upstream to gain some traction with patrons.
The theaters now need a nice comfortable restaurant in the ground floor space next door as soon as possible. What they don't need are elevators that are shut down and other problems that should have been foreseen in the design and planning process.

On a brighter note, there were lots of folks coming and going in the lobby of the theater and nice friendly employees to help them, and of course the wonderful smell of popcorn.

I'll be speaking to the parking people this week to ask a few questions and will posts back with the results. In the mean time go see a movie! Here's a couple of links to the S.N.O.B (Somewhat North of Boston) Film Festival including their MySpace page.

Do you wonder why voter turnout is so low?

2007-11-10T05:21:00.000-05:00

I had the date set on my calendar. I also had it set as a reminder on my computer, in more than one place. But just to be sure I had the day right (my mind is a very confused place) I went to the Concord Monitor's web site. I thought for sure they would have some mention of it on the 'front page', probably somewhere right near the top of the page. After all it's a very important day is it not? It's one of the foundations of civilized society, electing local leaders who will debate and decide important matters that affect our communities and our lives. But I saw nothing there at the top of the page. I scrolled down and still nothing. "Has it been changed?", I said to myself. Who knows these days, but I thought no that's not likely, and I surely would have heard something if it had.

I don't get the paper version of the Monitor, it's one of the things I do without now that I live on a severely limited income. Besides, I have an internet connection and I get most of my news from there. Maybe there was something in the 'paper' version about getting out and voting but I saw nothing in the "Concord Monitor online".

Why is that? Did a major news story happen that day and there wasn't enough room?
Of course not. Getting out and voting should have been the lead story of the day.

Wasn't it deemed important enough, or did the Monitor figure that everyone already knew so it wasn't necessary? Maybe because they had already done multiple articles about the candidates running for the various offices there wasn't anything left to say until after the votes were counted. But it was important. It is important. On a national level it's as important as it's ever been. But locally it's important too, and it seems that so few take it seriously enough to change their normal routine or drive a few extra miles to the polling station.

Instead of writing articles after the fact about how low voter turnout is these days shouldn't we be re-emphasizing the importance of being involved and encouraging as many people as possible to get out and vote for the best person to represent their district, town, state, or whatever?
Shouldn't we strive to increase turnout and participation more and more each election cycle?
Shouldn't people be reminded how important voting is?

Yes, and yes, and local papers like the Concord Monitor (and that includes the online version) should lead that effort. There should have been a headline reading "Get out and vote!" in large bold letters for all to see with maps detailing the polling places for each neighborhood and summaries about the candidates. As busy as many people are these days some need the prodding and encouragement, and the reminder to exercise their right (and privilege) to vote.

Every time an article is written about voter apathy and low voter turnout, news organizations should ask themselves "did we do everything we could have to get citizens to the polls?".

Why Am I Being Forced To Breathe Cigarrette fumes? (and why has it been allowed to go on for so long?)

2007-11-06T00:08:00.000-05:00

I just got up from the computer and went into the bathroom. As soon as I opened the door I was hit with the stench of cigarette smoke. Big problem -- I don't smoke.

This is an ongoing issue ever since we had some "Energy Improvements" company come in and replace the bathroom fan-light combination and kitchen ceiling light with what I assume were touted as energy-efficient florescent units (which are much dimmer than the previous lights). I didn't notice the ventilation problem until the apartment directly above me was rented. Soon after that I noticed odors in my bathroom that weren't mine. Now the cooking smells were fine, but the first time I opened the bathroom door and smelled a strong odor of cigarette smoke I almost threw up. And just the other night I was awakened by the smell of tobacco in my bedroom and realized that I hadn't left the fan on in the bathroom. Something must be done about this! It's unhealthy, annoying, and I'm betting it violates state and/or federal laws.

Since I brought the matter to the attention of the Hodges management and maintenance personnel I was told that "there's nothing we can do about it", and another time "just run the fan" (of course that's saving energy now isn't it?). The former quote was during a quarterly inspection in which someone from maintenance, and the property manager were present.
Since then I have learned from another resident down the hall from me that she's had the same issue, she brought it to the attention of CATCH, and was given (by Hodges) one, and then two air filter/fans similar to the expensive ones you've seen on TV but much cheaper (and I do mean cheaper). And finally, I brought this issue up again recently to our property manager and pretty much all I got was a shrug. I wasn't offered any air filter or any other solution. At that point I mentioned that if this issue was brought to the attention of state or federal authorities someone would be in big trouble.
Q: Is it possible that this issue had something to do with Hodges not managing CATCH properties anymore (as of November 1st)? TBD

Q: Did anyone from CATCH or Hodges contact the company that replaced the fans to find out what they did to create this unhealthy and illegal condition and rectify it or hold them accountable in any way? I haven't seen any evidence of that.

Q: Did CATCH/Hodges Development Corp. do anything to rectify the problem themselves other than to provide cheap air filters (and only after a resident complained to CATCH)? No.

Q: Do I still have to breathe cigarette smoke coming from another apartment? Yes.

Since that time Hodges Development Corp. has been replaced by "MB Management" for reasons unknown to me at this time. I will be speaking to CATCH directly about this and other concerns but it shouldn't be contingent upon me to go to them to rectify this existing and known issue. They know about the unhealthy (and illegal?) situation and they've done nothing [to date].

Some of the questions I have for them are:

1. What were the reasons for the management change?

2. Was there any communication between the Hodges maintenance staff and the new maintenance staff at MB management, concerning among other things any specific quirks/issues relating to specific properties (like the steam heating system and the mis-configured wiring in the Endicott, or where the cable/telco access rooms are)?

3. Who was the energy improvement company that replaced the bathroom fans/lights (and the kitchen lights that are much dimmer than before) and are they going to be held accountable?

4. What did [that] company do to the ventilation system to cause fumes/odors from one apartment to flow into other apartments?

5. What is CATCH's plan to remedy the [illegal] situation?

6. Why haven't the people who videotaped the condition of our apartments prior to construction returned to inspect the apartments for potential damage done by the construction vibrations?
There's a crack in my bedroom wall next to the window [now] that they should take note of.

7. When is the exterior of the Endicott going to be painted? Heck, when is someone going to bother to even clean the entry ways of the building?
I was told by a manager of the Pachamama store on the ground floor that the owner of the sections of the building that CATCH doesn't own was trying to secure a grant to fix the exterior.
- Does CATCH have any similar plans?

8. Does CATCH/the construction company feel any obligation to the residents whose air conditioners died prematurely (like mine) from all the construction dust/dirt (and mortar that ended up sprayed onto our windows and A/C units when it was being finished) to provide some form of compensation?

9. Why do (or do) they have a resident getting a free apartment plus a stipend for cleaning the building and being the resident contact who works full time, when the carpets are stained, the laundry room is disgusting, and even after he supposedly vacuums the carpets are still dirty? Plus I mentioned the entry ways, which haven't been cleaned [ever that I've seen].
- When I spoke to our [Hodges] property manager about spills/dirt in the elevator that sometimes remain for a day or more before being cleaned up, I even offered to clean them myself if they could provide a mop, bucket, and ringer in the maintenance closet adjacent to my door, to no avail.

10. Referring to #9, Why don't they have someone who is on-site all the time? Residents complain that he's not there during the day, and after he gets home is tired and frequently sleeping and unavailable. I'd be willing to bet that there's someone living in the building right now that would love to get a free apartment and stipend that would be there during the day/night, and actually care about keeping the place looking good (inside and out).
- I'm hoping that he's not being shielded from responsibility because he's a CATCH volunteer...

I frequently make coffee and take it with me while I walk around the block picking up trash, brushing away cigarette butts from around the new benches in front of the building, picking up [some of] the trash left around the dumpster behind the Lighting Place and next to the brand new parking garage, and also trash scattered around the nicely landscaped section just built down at the corner of Pleasant St. extension and Storrs St.. If I'm out walking around and I see trash I usually pick it up and put it in one of the nearby trash cans. I'm frequently cleaning up trash strewn about when the dumpster driver empties the dumpster or food and/or broken beer bottles from the Green Martini are left lying on the pavement (and sometimes in the middle of the stairs) next to the dumpster.

If I could afford it I'd buy one of those dustpan/trash containers with a handle and a broom to take on my walks around the block (I don't know how I'd carry my coffee though).

Why does it seem that I'm the only one who cares enough to at least try to keep the block clean?
I guess that most people think that it's someone else's problem.

Another thing I can't understand is why can't the city of Concord have it's workers clean the area? I see them changing out the trash bags in the early mornings but they walk right past trash strewn about the brand new sitting area on the corner that was so nicely landscaped. All that nice new construction and landscaping and it was just a matter of days until the trash started accumulating.

For that matter, why has the city of Concord let it's streets and highways get so neglected with weeds growing out all over the place, and other unsightly areas neglected until someone complains loudly enough to the right person? And why do we frequently have to wait until the day after a snowstorm for the downtown side street sidewalks to be cleared and sanded?

And why don't the residents of the Endicott have any parking spots provided for them so that we aren't threatened daily with towing ($150.00 ransom I've been forced to pay once already) because we park in the big parking lot across the street?

And finally, will I ever get a response to my email request to Clay McCuistion who's the "blog wrangler" for the Concord Monitor online's "blogsNH"?
A while ago I wrote to him (following the instructions at the top of the page for people wishing to "blog here") and haven't heard anything back.
I just checked the date I sent the email and it's been eleven days! So I guess I'll send it again in case it got lost, and if I have to I'll go to the Concord Monitor offices and hand deliver it.
Hopefully you'll be reading blog posts from me at blogsNH in the very near future!
-UPDATE [11/10/07]: I got a brief email from Mr. McCuistion the other day informing me he's on vacation and wouldn't be back until November 2oth.

All those questions and more will have to wait for another day and another post in The Endicott Dispatch. Stay tuned...

2007-10-29T12:31:00.000-04:00

They're still putting the finishing touches on the new parking garage and the other morning I enjoyed the protection from the rain while I got some fresh air and drank my coffee.

Today the workers from Galaxy Glass in Manchester are out there finishing up with the caulking in the sub-40s fall chill.

I for one will be glad when the project is done. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a beautiful building and it's a huge improvement over the vacant lot (although I had a nice bright apartment and a view before it went up. Not so now.).

The residents of the Endicott, especially the ones whose apartments face the construction site have put up with the noise that started daily at seven AM, and the fine dirt that clogged our air conditioners and covered our window sills with a fine powder. By the way, I had to buy a new air conditioner because the previous one which was only a couple of years old couldn't handle the dirt and died a squeaky death.

At the start of the construction when the piles were being driven to hold back the street, the vibration was so bad I had to open up all of my cupboards so that they wouldn't rattle all day long, and important pictures had to be taken off the walls for fear of them coming down. Even then it was like living inside an ultrasonic cleaner.
The construction company had seismic equipment to monitor the shaking and they had to inject some kind of material into the foundation of the Endicott to shore it up before starting.

Now all that disruption in our lives is over for the most part and all we're left with are memories, and speaking for myself a big crack in my bedroom wall next to the window. Prior to construction some people came in and videotaped the condition of the walls in our apartments. They said they'd be back to check things out after construction was done, but to date I haven't seen anyone.

So it's been a long noisy expensive experience for this resident.
At least the building didn't fall down. There were times when that seemed like a real possibility. Now lets hope some businesses fill the building and the theater is supported. It would certainly help the Red River Theaters if a successful restaurant moved into the space on the first floor next to their sign. There's plenty of parking now in the attached parking garage. Let's fill it up!

Welcome

2007-10-26T09:54:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the first post of The Endicott Dispatch. The name refers to the building where I live which is a century old former hotel in downtown Concord New Hampshire.

I want to cover local topics ranging from what's happening inside and around the Endicott, to issues concerning the city of Concord and the state of New Hampshire.

I welcome comments as long as they're polite and relevant. Do to the scourge of 'comment SPAM' I have to use the challenge option to weed out automatic SPAM bots to the extent possible.

I also will be using "Jiglu" (at least initially) to help with 'tagging'. If you have any issues with it please let me know. And since I live solely on a single Social Security Disability payment each month I'm going to explore Google AdSense and possibly a PayPal [link] to help pay for things like my medications (and coffee, which currently is my substitute for the Ritalin/Concerta I can't afford because the drug company Novartis wants to pawn me off onto Medicare Part-D [which I can't afford). *See my blog post that includes more detail about the situation on this page.

I hope to produce an informative and entertaining blog that people will enjoy and support.
My thinking at this early stage is that some of the posts will be similar to a 'Letter to the Editor', and in my case that would be the local Concord Monitor newspaper.

This is my second 'real' blog. The other is called "Inside Tom's Brain" and is also hosted by Blogspot-Google. To this point it has been primarily political and media commentary with some personal issues posted every once in a great while. I, like I imagine many people, have started and basically abandoned several blogs over the years. You've seen it I'm sure, every large web portal wants you to start a blog on their site. Microsoft's "Live Spaces", the Opera browser site, your ISP offers a free web site, and the list goes on.

OK I admit it, I'm weak. It seemed like a good idea at the time, right? But especially for people like me with serious ADD, the last thing you need are more things you need to attend to. The internet is distracting enough. All I have to do is start reading the news or my daily email and I'm off on a tangent that continues to split further and further from what I'd originally intended (or needed) to do. So even for those without ADD I bet this sounds familiar. If the standards of all these sites allowed it and applications like Windows Live Writer could post to all of these disparate sites I'd be able to write the post once and if I wanted to then distribute that one post to all my blogs.

I must say though, that I haven't done an exhaustive search for applications of this type, and for all I know someone has developed just such an application. As far as the ones I've seen, some can distribute what I write to the major blog sites but not all.

So there it is, the traditional first post of a new blog, and as my mind has drifted and my attention span has been tested (I have the TV on also [with the sound off], and I stopped to write a post about Mika Brzezinski and MSNBC's "Morning Joe" for Inside Tom's Brain just now..) I think I should stop before I lose any more focus.

Thank you all for being here and please come back soon!