- The kitchen window is broken (though only one of the double panes, so it’s still closed).
- No change.
- The security gate on the kitchen window was removed and not put back up.
- I spoke with management. They said it's the resident's responsibility. I told them I understand that I don't have a right to one as a tenant in general, but I was told it would be left up and it wasn't (i.e. they are in breach of contract). They said to take it up with leasing. Leasing continues to ignore me. I've given up. I suggest anyone who sees a pre-renovated place, add to the lease a written statement that there will be a security gate. I may or may not install one myself, and if I do I may or may not sue for breach of contract, but I'm definitely done wasting time asking for it.
- The entry light has no cover on it.
- Fixed on 7/22.
- The front door is missing two locks.
- There is no phone-jack in this apartment.
- I paid Verizon $50 to install one.
- The dinning room electric outlet does not work, and one outlet in the living room barely works.
- The bottom hinge of the smaller bedroom is not properly installed, which means the door does not close.
- Fixed on 7/22.
- The bathtub is missing the drain ring and stopper.
- Fixed on 7/22.
- I requested that the child proof window guards be removed.
- I spent $45 on a tool to fix this myself.
- The radiator in the small bedroom is missing the control knob.
- Fixed 9/17.
- The bathtub does not drain.
- Emergency maintenance fixed on first day.
- Dirty laundry was left in the built in hamper thing.
- I cleaned on first day.
- Debris was left in the bathroom.
- Emergency maintenance cleaned on first day.
- Was not given a mail key.
- After several failed attempts, finally received my mail key on 7/13. (Ex-roommate's key was ready sometime after 7/13 and before 7/20, and she picked it up on 7/20).
- Elevator broke on 7/7.
- Working again on 7/13
- Broken again on 8/12
- Working again on 8/13 (fast!)
- Broken again on 8/16
- Working again on 8/18
- Broke sometime between 10/3 and 10/5 (I was out of town)
- Working again on 10/7
Repair timeline:
- Moved in July 3rd.
- Gave them a list of things wrong with the place July 6th.
- Asked why no one has called yet on July 20st. Was told I would be called tomorrow.
- Asked why no one called as promised on 7/21, was told I'd be called by the end of the day.
- 7/22, still no one called, but someone came by and fixed a few things.
- 7/25, left a message in the morning asking why no one has ever called, and asking that someone call because I need to know if there is anything on the list they are refusing to eventually do so I can hire someone. I've now paid a month of DSL and yet do not have a phone jack in my apt. No reply.
- 8/5, called again, left a message at 10am. They replied fairly promptly at 3pm-ish. They now say that Management/Maintenance deals with all that, not leasing. I'll call them later.
- 8/6, wrote letters to management, maintenance, and leasing outlining the remaining issues, and asking that above anything, please just call to tell me what will or will not be done.
- 8/12, USPS returned leasing office's letter. Apparently, the mail people (who likely only work the FBG complex, can't find the giant sign that says "leasing office" on the 1403 building. I, unlike most, think the post office does an absolutely fantastic job, but they dropped the ball on this one. No response from FBG.
- 9/1, Wrote another letter to be included with my rent check. No reply.
- 9/9, Home sick today, so I went down there. They didn't give a crap that they've ignored me for 2+ months, and wrote down my problems. Wouldn't say when they'd be fixed, refused to take keys, and said I'd have to be home. I envision many days wasted at home with no one showing up. I went back to leasing and left a message.
- 9/17, (0ver a week since last reported, 2.5 months since first reported) fixed radiator. I suspect that I'll have to sue over the remaining issues if I want further repairs.
6 comments:
Please post an update. I went to an open house today and was a little disappointed but if its decent living I don't want to rule it out. But if you still have not had anything fixed, I will cross it off my list. And please comment about your feelings about the neighborhood after dark now that you've lived here for almost 2 weeks. I'm a single female too and would appreciate your experiences. Thanks for the great blog!
They did have the ex-roommate's key today (7/20), and it may have been ready sooner, but she's been busy in the evenings for a few days now. We went to the leasing office today to pick up the key and ask what the deal with the repairs is. The girl at the desk, Amy, is very nice, and seemed quite surprised no one has called us yet. Perhaps they misplaced our complaint letters/lists. It is a huge complex. I won't fault them for a few mistakes. She said she'll look into it tomorrow when the repair/renovation guy comes in, and personally call us to let us know when we can expect him to call. So, so far nothing is fixed, but I'll decide how annoyed I am with that tomorrow after an update from them. Had I been following up with them on a bi-weekly basis, I'd be pretty annoyed right now, but nothing is urgent, so I just let it go for two weeks, and maybe they just lost my letter and will be responsive once they're reminded I have issues. We'll see, and I'll post.
As for safety. I'm a single guy, so that's a little different. I feel very safe. I feel like everyone is super nice. People say hi. People offered to give a hand when we were moving, etc. Most evenings the courtyards are full of kids playing, and parents socializing. I rode my bike home from Manhattan Thur. night at about midnight, and wasn't concerned at any point. I'm mostly hang out in my apt., but I go to church, the subway stop, the store, etc. and feel very happy with the area. I've noticed a higher rate of people failing to "curb" their dog, so you shoes might be less safe if you don't watch your step, but that's it.
My ex-roommate is a single female. Perhaps I'll solicit her opinion for posting.
I was wondering, is there crowds of people hanging inside of the hallways. Is it noisy all the time in the complex.
Not mine. Because of the plus shape of the buildings (i.e., from the sky looking straight down on them), the "hallways" are very very short. More like a cluster (which is probably more conducive to hanging out in though). Anyway, a couple of teenagers (guy and girl) were hanging out one night at 10, talking in a normal voice that I could not hear from inside my apt. Otherwise I haven't noticed anything. Maybe a few loud conversations in the courtyard at night at 11pm or so. However, that was before the A/C units arrived. If you want A/C (meaning you buy your own window units and pay a $285/year utility fee) then you won't hear anything outside over the hum of your units. I won't say it's dead silent, but it's certainly quieter than my brooklyn heights place, that seemed to always have a fire-truck or ambulance drive by. I'll say this. The walls seem very thick. I hear some foot-steps above me sometimes, but nothing terrible, but I never hear through the walls. There are like 40 buildings though, and 6 floors each. That's a lot of hallways. I can't speak for them all. This has not been a problem for me or my ex-roommate though.
Thanks so much for posting this. Can you please tell me why your ex-roomate is so quickly an ex? Can you also tell me why you broke your lease at your "luxury apt"? I'm considering moving to FG and would love to know more.
Thanks a bunch!
Oh, nothing bad. We've been friends for over a decade and continue to be. We thought about living together, but the two-bedroom at Flatbush Gardens is 150-200 sqft smaller than our previous two bedroom. We though about getting a three bedroom at FB together, but apparently those almost never become vacant (and of course there's not waitlist). So we decided to get two separate units for a number of reasons including (in no particular order):
1. She REALLY wants a dog and I'm allergic.
2. She always pays her rent, but that takes a significant chunk of her monthly earnings. She chooses to do this with her money, and that's none of my business, but unfortunately for her, she doesn't make enough money to meet every building's 40-50 times the rent in salary requirement for renting a unit. Thus, without my signature, she would basically be evicted from NYC. So, she was additionally excited by the stability, because though I had to co-sign her lease this year, she'll make enough next year to sign herself. Rent stabilized place that she can sign for herself means she's in control of how long she stays in NYC, and that's less stressful I guess.
3. I enjoyed a roommate for 10 months, but I think I prefer to live alone. I'm kind of a recluse.
As to why we broke a lease:
No particular reason. The old place was great, but:
1. I am much happier with cheaper and functional than expensive and "luxury". I don't want to get into some philosophical debate, because it's a personal choice and none of anyone's business, but I don't care to pay an extra 1-2 grand in monthly rent to have a view of the statue, high end appliances, and a doorman, when that same money sent to a charity could feed an entire village somewhere (or with the weak dollar, half a village). "Luxury" to me is almost the same as just throwing money down the toilet, so the sooner I could get out the better. (Finding an apartment from Florida as a person who has spent less than two weeks in NYC and less than 2 hours in Brooklyn was terribly difficult and this is the place I ended up with).
2. I was supremely confident they could re-rent my place, so why not save a little money getting this move underway asap. That may not have been the greatest idea, but they covered August (my last month on the lease) so I saved a little (eating July's rent).
Hope that answered your question.
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