Does Anyone Think This Is Acceptable?

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

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!

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?

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

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

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 !