I haven't been here in months, so I return with some burning bitching.
So, yesterday my apartment complex was on fire. Not the whole building, but enough of it to ruin seven apartments, displacing the tenants.
For me, the fire was the nasty icing on a stale-ass cake. A non-profit took over the building around five years ago, and we’ve had 6 managers so far. When I first moved in, in 2012, it was a nice place ― clean, well-kept. When the owner sold the building, it was more of the same, even though the new owners raised the rent at every opportunity (Thank God for rent control here). The building got more upgrades, and the tenants were still normal. By ‘normal’, I mean hard-working, mostly blue-collar workers and a few college students. It was quiet and clean, and folks got their ‘peaceful and quiet enjoyment’.
Now? Most of the tenants are criminal and/or crazy, and at this point, I don’t give a rat’s ass about being politically correct with my terminology. On any given night, the chaos ranges from arguing to physical fights. Breaking glass—i.e. windows—and screech-cussing is the latest in modern music, and it’s generally played from 8pm to 3am.
Some highlights of the last two months to today:
* A lesbian couple was arguing on the top floor; the little one is a bully and pushed the big one down the stairs.
* Leaving for work one morning, I had to step over a homeless guy sleeping on the stairs. At least he was polite and moved some of his shit out of the way.
* There was an almost West Side Story scene going on (again ― on the top floor) between 4 to 6 people. Most of them were NOT tenants. One could hear the punches, body slams, and screams. There was a trail of blood drops on the floor when I headed out to work the next day. Cops never showed up. Some of us gave up on calling the police weeks ago, since they rarely respond. Hell, when I called 911 about yesterday’s fire, they put me on hold five minutes before transferring me to a live human.
* One night, a different set of women were arguing, with one standing in front of MY door yelling and threatening to kill the other one. Why?
* Late one night, a woman was running up and down the halls, screaming and banging on apartment doors. Then she started singing.
* Two weeks ago, I was taking out my trash one early morning before work, and a straight couple is arguing. I almost got hit with a huge glass container flying through a plate-glass window. Two days after that happened, I discovered my door mat missing. Who the hell steals a doormat? Granted, it was a nice coir mat that was given to me as a housewarming gift back in 2012, but still… WTF?
* 2 ― 3 nights ago, the cops came to pick up an elderly tenant, who was strutting back and forth in front of the complex swearing at no one in particular… naked.
Which brings me back to yesterday’s fire… the rumor is that it was possibly started by someone ‘melting something’ to inject into their veins. The fire started on the first floor and worked its way to the third. I was very lucky, since most of the damaged apartments were on the second floor—where I live—with one being right across from my place. The tenant let me peek in after we were allowed back into the building, and he lost everything. (He’s one of the ‘normal’ people). I was lucky, as I only had the entryway of my place flooded from a fireman’s hose, with the doorframe being broken by the firemen. Losing two small rugs won’t kill me. My poor neighbor, though. I assumed he was partially in shock when he started laughing.
Many of the ‘normal’ tenants have moved out, and I hope I can soon. I’ve had it with this damned place. I'm too old for this shit. It’s gone from a nice apartment complex to an institute for the criminally insane.
For me, the fire was the nasty icing on a stale-ass cake. A non-profit took over the building around five years ago, and we’ve had 6 managers so far. When I first moved in, in 2012, it was a nice place ― clean, well-kept. When the owner sold the building, it was more of the same, even though the new owners raised the rent at every opportunity (Thank God for rent control here). The building got more upgrades, and the tenants were still normal. By ‘normal’, I mean hard-working, mostly blue-collar workers and a few college students. It was quiet and clean, and folks got their ‘peaceful and quiet enjoyment’.
Now? Most of the tenants are criminal and/or crazy, and at this point, I don’t give a rat’s ass about being politically correct with my terminology. On any given night, the chaos ranges from arguing to physical fights. Breaking glass—i.e. windows—and screech-cussing is the latest in modern music, and it’s generally played from 8pm to 3am.
Some highlights of the last two months to today:
* A lesbian couple was arguing on the top floor; the little one is a bully and pushed the big one down the stairs.
* Leaving for work one morning, I had to step over a homeless guy sleeping on the stairs. At least he was polite and moved some of his shit out of the way.
* There was an almost West Side Story scene going on (again ― on the top floor) between 4 to 6 people. Most of them were NOT tenants. One could hear the punches, body slams, and screams. There was a trail of blood drops on the floor when I headed out to work the next day. Cops never showed up. Some of us gave up on calling the police weeks ago, since they rarely respond. Hell, when I called 911 about yesterday’s fire, they put me on hold five minutes before transferring me to a live human.
* One night, a different set of women were arguing, with one standing in front of MY door yelling and threatening to kill the other one. Why?
* Late one night, a woman was running up and down the halls, screaming and banging on apartment doors. Then she started singing.
* Two weeks ago, I was taking out my trash one early morning before work, and a straight couple is arguing. I almost got hit with a huge glass container flying through a plate-glass window. Two days after that happened, I discovered my door mat missing. Who the hell steals a doormat? Granted, it was a nice coir mat that was given to me as a housewarming gift back in 2012, but still… WTF?
* 2 ― 3 nights ago, the cops came to pick up an elderly tenant, who was strutting back and forth in front of the complex swearing at no one in particular… naked.
Which brings me back to yesterday’s fire… the rumor is that it was possibly started by someone ‘melting something’ to inject into their veins. The fire started on the first floor and worked its way to the third. I was very lucky, since most of the damaged apartments were on the second floor—where I live—with one being right across from my place. The tenant let me peek in after we were allowed back into the building, and he lost everything. (He’s one of the ‘normal’ people). I was lucky, as I only had the entryway of my place flooded from a fireman’s hose, with the doorframe being broken by the firemen. Losing two small rugs won’t kill me. My poor neighbor, though. I assumed he was partially in shock when he started laughing.
Many of the ‘normal’ tenants have moved out, and I hope I can soon. I’ve had it with this damned place. I'm too old for this shit. It’s gone from a nice apartment complex to an institute for the criminally insane.
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