Reduced hours for package room.

The Flatbush Gardens Package Room has established new hours. I'm a little late on the news that was effective April 18th, but I don't check my mail very often, or do laundry, or get packages.


"Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds" . . . . . . but economic downturn can apparently do it.

Remember:
1. You need ID.
2. All packages you must sign for are held at the Nostrand and Ave I station.

So when you get your certified renewal leases, even though the brown sheet says it's in the package room, it's not. (Though I did hear that they hand deliver eviction notices. Evictions are apparently more important than renewals).



Anyway, new hours:
Wed. 12pm to 5pm
Sat. 8am to 12pm

Renewal time!

So my ex-roommate and I both got certified letters with renewal leases a couple weeks ago. As I'm never home during the day (who is?), I got a "we missed" you brown slip from the USPS. I waited until Saturday to go to the package room and pick it up, but FYI apparently all articles requiring signature are held at the post office at Nostrand and Ave I, despite the paper indicating it's held in the package room.

1. My stabilized rate is below the "new tenant market rate" advertised on the website, and thus, my renewal lease is being offered at the legal limit. However, the ex-roommate's legal limit is $75 over the current "new tenant market rate" advertised on the website. So to answer the question we've speculated about for a while: her renewal lease is being offered at the legal limit. No preferential rate, just the legal limit which is $75 over what new tenants are paying for a 1-bedroom.

2. NY Property Law requires renewal leases to be sent to stabilized tenants no more than 150 days before expiration and no less than 90 days before expiration. They sent ours 84 days from expiration. The penalty/remedy for this is that the old rental rate will be in effect for all rent due dates occurring prior to 90 days from the mailing date. In other words, July 1st, which will be my first rental payment under the new lease will be on the old scale, and not the new one. I should have signed a 2-year lease, and then all 12 months would be on the old scale. Oh well, that's just hind-sight. I strongly considered moving, and still am not 100% for renewal. BTW, I plan on exercising that right to save $100 in July, but the ex-roommate (who would save $150) is just going to pay whatever they ask for. Some people just don't like a good fight.

Anyway.

In other neighborhood news. I went to 11am mass. While at mass I noticed that it was full, with people lining the side walls, and people packed into the back as full as possible. However, when I left I noticed about 75-100 people standing on the steps and the sidewalk "attending" mass, who couldn't fit in. It was a busy Easter for the Catholics in Flatbush.

Update on the Newkirk Metro Stop stabbing.

http://flatbushnyc.blogspot.com/2009/02/1010-wins-new-york-1-source-for-local.html

NY Post reports:
* A Catholic Charities employee was charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing a co-worker at a Flatbush subway station, authorities said yesterday.
Rodwell Austin, 32, allegedly knifed the 32-year-old victim in the neck in the Newkirk Avenue station on the No. 2 line at 12:15 a.m. Tuesday.
The two had argued at work earlier, police said.
The wounded man was listed in critical but stable condition at Kings County Hospital.
As he was busted, Austin claimed he had attacked the victim in self-defense, sources said.


Ditmas Park Blog reports the death, with some user comments, here.

Where are this summer's apartment hunters?

So, everyone moves in the summer time, and those wonderful May/June months are not that far off. Are there any apartment hunters out there considering Flatbush Gardens? How do you feel about the current rental scale? Anyone?

Rent Increase Alert! Rent Decrease Alert!

So, as mentioned earlier, the increased rental numbers are back up on the website (www.flatbushgardens.net).

However, I have a rent decrease alert for . . . EVERYWHERE ELSE! (duh, right?)

I was looking around craigslist, and quality units are available in the most desirable places for 1600-1800. Ok, yes, $500-$700 is A LOT of money, but come on. There has to be at least a few people who think prime rib at $1700 is better than lipstick on a pig for $1100. Thus, I am hoping that this pressures FBG in reverting back to the old scale, or somewhere in between. Heck, maybe I'll move to the fancy borough and someone else can ramble here about their gussied up pig of an apartment.

Laundry.

I'm happy to report I did my laundry on Presidents' day, and the standard 55-70% of the machines were working. No, that is not sarcasm, anything above 50% is ok with me. It's the 80%+ broken that is annoying.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that they've raised the prices a nickel a wash (regardless of size), and a nickel per 15 minutes of drying. I believe this is abundantly fair. The machines (when working) are already much less expensive than the local retail operations.

Dogs, or no dogs; that is the notice.

Notice about dogs. See attached. I have two things to say about this.

One, ignore the first sentence for a minute, and I believe this is a shockingly reasonable, professional, typo-free document. If this was posted in a "luxury" building, it would not seem out of place. Good job management.

Second, what is up with the first sentence? As you know, you're not allowed to have pets, but here are three paragraphs about the proper care of your pets. It's almost like they had a perfect document, and said "wait, we better start it with a completely out of place and incompatible sentence so people know we were the ones that wrote it. I can't even guess how that sentence should have read to fit with the rest of it. "As you may be aware, it is stated in your lease that Flatbush Gardens has a no pets policy." I guess, if you change "no" to "defined." Because I am not aware of that, because my lease does not say that, and in fact says the opposite. Anyway, good try management, you almost had a competent notice posting.

Breaking news of violence at Flatbush Gardens.

1010 WINS New York's #1 source for local news, traffic and weather - Man Stabbed on East Flatbush Subway Platform

The thing about this is, FBG won't report this as a violent crime committed at the complex, when they say "we've reduced violent crime by X%". Even though, everyone who lives at FBG uses the Newkirk metrostop. Oh well. We'll wait for the full details. From a selfish safety standpoint, random violence = big deal, pre-existing relationship = less of a big deal.

Image update!

Ok, ok, I'm wicked lazy about moving pictures from my camera to computer (I guess that's a consequence of huge and cheap memory cards).

But, I've finally posted them.

Laundry:
http://flatbushnyc.blogspot.com/2008/10/laundry-day.html


Leaking ceiling:
http://flatbushnyc.blogspot.com/2008/11/rainy-days-in-my-bedroom.html


Also, see previous post regarding the maintenance department sign.

The fine service offered by FBG maintenance.

So I guess they moved the maintenance office from the security office to the area just before the mailroom.

I think this might capsulate the fine service one gets from the Flatbush Gardens maintenance department:

Let's start with the ridiculous fact that they have this notice. Ok, granted, it's good advice, and Flatbush Gardens may have an above average number of people who go immediately into adversarial mode (i.e. holdover tenants). However, it's still absolutely ridiculous that they post this sign. I mean, maybe try running the maintenance department with some degree of professionalism and competence.

Though, to be fair, the prior location of the maintenance office was located behind protected safety-"glass" such as you would find at a movie theater or gas station. Ostensibly, one could imagine that was not by design, but because the office was located in the security office, but in truth, it was likely designed that way.

Here are some suggestions to help you not need a sign:
1a. Try to give people a time window of when you'll be there.
1b. At least tell people what day you're going to be there. I mean for the love of Elmo, even the phone company can tell you what day they're coming.
2a. Accept people's keys so you can enter the apartment while they are at work.
2b. Do whatever is needed to do 2a, such as not hire criminals, or pay a few extra bucks for real insurance.
3. Insert more in comments.



Also, why is "Welcome to the FB Maintenance Office" in much smaller font than the message telling you to relax?