Pissed Off in Prospect Lefferts Gardens
A couple Prospect Lefferts Gardens are fed up with the condition of their building and aren’t gonna take it anymore…so they’re blogging about the offending edifice. The blog’s name, 10 Midwood Sucks, pretty much sums it up: The writers say they impulsively signed a lease at the beginning of the summer and want to portray…
A couple Prospect Lefferts Gardens are fed up with the condition of their building and aren’t gonna take it anymore…so they’re blogging about the offending edifice. The blog’s name, 10 Midwood Sucks, pretty much sums it up: The writers say they impulsively signed a lease at the beginning of the summer and want to portray a poorly managed, under-maintained, out of date, dirty, smelly, bunker which makes the worst college dorm seem like the Governor’s Mansion. The posts mostly document waste of uncertain origin left in 10 Midwood’s hallways, which ranges from urine (If piss were oil, 10 Midwood would be Saudi Arabia) to feces (a nice steamy dog turd) to weaponry (Free rusty knife + shady neighborhood = crime). The bloggers claim they set up the site to warn potential renters away from the building and its landlord, Lincoln Five Realty. Any readers have first-hand experience with these hands-off owners?
10 Midwood Sucks GMAP
I get it from the tenant’s and landlord’s perspective. I support dragging the tenant into court even if you cant win just so they have to go through it.
Or tell the tenant he is no longer welcome b/c of his misbehavior. Even if its not (precisely) legally viable, nothing really bad will happen.
I don’t think either Mr. B. or the author of “10 midwood Sucks” are picking on PLG.
Maintainance has improved greatly in many PLG apartment buildings lately, but not, it seems, in this one. Having tenants care enough to blog about conditions might help. Having tenants care enough to help form a tenant association might help considerably more.
BTW, my son has had a one bedroom for the past year in a rent stabilized building further south, near Brooklyn College, for about the same rent as this studio. His building [and the others on his block of Glenwood Road] is VERY well maintained, so it seems that rent stabilization and [relatively] low rents don’t prevent DECENT landlords from maintaining their buildings.
Hello to blogger if you are reading. Have you looked into forming a Tenant’s Association? Here’s just one place to get information http://www.tenant.net/Organize/Lenox/lh-1.html
I’m sure you’re not the only resident who cannot tolerate the conditions.
Of course the LL has the responsibility of cleaning up the mess.
BUT
you can only clean up so often (based on the blog it seems like it is being done daily – and then new stuff is deposited).
At some point if the LL/management is cleaning up daily and constantly fixing the locks (tenants often break or prop them open to allow people w/out keys easy access) then it sint fair to call the LL a slumlord?
If your LL gives no heat or hot water and/or doesnt fix repairs timely or clean the halls regularly then sure you can call the LL a slumlord but if the management is doing what he/she is supposed to and instead the problem is abusive, disgusting tenants – then it is ridiculous to call the LL names.
This blog (pictures show ‘new’ filth surrounded by relatively clean halls/common areas), clearly doesnt justify calling LL names – and certainly based on the regularity of the filth – points to horrendous neighbors.
Now no one should have to live with that – and the blogger can move (and no court will force you to pay LL lost rent) – but w/o more information/evidence (what is LL response, how often are the halls cleaned, are the locks broken or simply being proped open by tenants, how often are repairs made, etc, etc) I think condemning the LL in this public way is shameful. This is not a matter of pro-LL or pro-tenant; its a matter of decency. For all we know this LL is working constantly to clean up/fix up the building and is being thwarted by a deranged/filthy/abusive tenant (there are many and the law does NOT give LL much power against them)
The ‘power’ to blog is wonderful, but just like with regualr ‘journalism’ it is easy to paint a distorted picture of reality – remember this same blogger seems to be pretty hostile overall (see comments regarding West Indian Day parade)
This guy is totally off base here. If you move into a nabe like PLG, you should expect to live amidst grime and human waste. It’s incredible how naive some people are.
Yeah, but this guy goes beyond complaining about the building. He has attacked a parade simply because there was gargage left behind it. I mean get a grip!
12:55 here. I may have not been clear, but I meant to say that the management, ie the super, as well as the landlord, is responsible for cleaning up. I’m in no way excusing tenants who are pigs or worse, but at the end of the day, the landlord is responsible. I’m a landlord, albeit only 2 tanants, but the responsibilities for cleaning up trash or worse, fall to me, like it or not.
I used to live in a 160 ft studio in PLG for a rent-stabilized sum of $500/month. It was overrun with roaches and mice (one time I caught 3 mice in one day) and the front door to the building never closed or locked properly. The best part was a handwritten sign the super put on the front door one day: “LAST NIGHT THERE WAS A NAKED MAN IN THE BUILDING DOING THE NASTY. PLEASE CLOSE THE FRONT DOOR BEHIND YOU.” Well, maybe if the door actually locked when we closed it, this could be prevented.
I lived there to make it on my meager salary, and whenever I got fed up with the place I’d tell myself, “I’m paying $500.” So while I appreciate how all you commenters pointed out the couple’s probable low rent, this rationale just doesn’t cut it. Since when does not having enough money to live in a luxury condo in Manhattan make it okay for a person to live among feces? And I disagree with the lot of you–the couple in 10 Midwood does not have any control over their pooping and pissing neighbors. What kind of leverage do they have? Only the landlord has any kind of power to work with here, and it is their responsibility to keep up the building.
I’ve never a more pro landlord group. No Psensitivty for the renter. people live in the building (and similar buildings) because that’s probably all they can afford. With the explosion of blogging the tenant has a bit more power to shame a landlord into action.
I think it’s a great idea and it should keep slum lords from leaving buildings in such shape just because the people whom live in them can’t afford high rents.