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.
Showing posts with label maintenance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maintenance. Show all posts
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Things Are Getting Worse
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.
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.
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