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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2015 23:47:24 GMT
Well, I want to impotently complain and couldn't find a place. It's more than a blahblah, more than a pet peeve. I'm sure each one of us everyday finds things that affront us and make us mad, but we can't do a single thing about. Here's mine for today: The elevator in my apartment building has been alternately broken and misbehaving for three years now. I've been told there is nothing that can be done about it as it's old, they've had the electricians in, they can't find anything wrong, blahblahblah. The owner is simply too cheap to find a real solution. "Hold the button for 2 minutes and the car will come - maybe", I'm told. I live on the third floor and don't appreciate having to lug heavy laundry or groceries up, especially as the breakdowns are random and I never know when they'll happen. Today I had enough, and put "Out of Service" signs on all the elevator doors. The manager came into the laundry room today to tell me she appreciated me putting up the signs - she saw me on the CCTV. What the hell! We can't afford to get the elevator fixed, but now the building is wired with cameras? I'm outraged!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2015 23:52:11 GMT
Fucking hell! I am totally outraged for you. Did the manager bitch offer any sort of solution?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2015 23:56:11 GMT
She's not a bitch, really, just caught in an awkward position. She wants things to be better, but she's hired by a cheapskate. Still, thanks for your outrage, K! It makes me feel better!
If the elevator situation doesn't improve, I'll move. I don't want to live in a broke-ass building, it just makes me depressed.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 0:09:09 GMT
Is it the same building as in The Big Bang Theory? Their elevator has never worked.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 0:10:54 GMT
Huh. I don't think so.... That would be OK, I guess. At least it would be funny.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jan 15, 2015 18:04:36 GMT
Impotent rage coursing through my veins for you Lizzy...
Just think of the calories you burn off >ducks behind sofa<
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 18:07:46 GMT
I'm going to have a tremendous butt!
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jan 15, 2015 18:12:49 GMT
mine is certainly tremendous....but only in the large sense....maybe I should visit
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 18:17:37 GMT
Forget about the elevator -- all of your big butts will never fit in it. *runs and hides*
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 18:21:58 GMT
Surely there must be some kind of commission, agency or whatever that you can appeal to. It seems to me that the rent you and the other residents pay includes proper services that should be monitored and maintained. What about handicapped persons who are residing there dependent on that particular service they are paying for not being able to safely take full advantage of an elevator that is part of their lease? It seems to me they are liable in violating this particular clause of the lease the residents have agreed to.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 18:26:34 GMT
There are no leases, we are here month to month, like many apartment building in the West End. The provincial government has moved the tenancy advocate's office to the suburbs and they are not reachable by phone or email. The occupancy rate for rentals remains at well under .05% and finding one-bedrooms for under $1,500 is a nightmare. Basically, it's a landlord's paradise. Welcome to Vancouver.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jan 15, 2015 18:27:26 GMT
Forget about the elevator -- all of your big butts will never fit in it. *runs and hides* twas ever thus Casimira has a point...altho these days there always seems to be an excuse because of 'the financial situation'
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 18:27:38 GMT
There are no handicapped people in the building, the three stairs at the front door ensure that. Old building. Old elevator. Old me. And I have a negligible bottom, so the stair climbing will do me good. But the elevator is only able to take 2 at a time, regardless of the cheeks involved.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 18:33:26 GMT
I live on the top floor of my 3-floor building (4 floors American), and we will never have an elevator.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 18:38:58 GMT
There are no handicapped people in the building, the three stairs at the front door ensure that. Old building. Old elevator. Old me. And I have a negligible bottom, so the stair climbing will do me good. But the elevator is only able to take 2 at a time, regardless of the cheeks involved. There may well be handicapped residents lest they address this situation.. Perhaps, circulating a petition among the residents will rattle their cage a bit with the veiled threat that should an injury occur due to their negligence they are liable to a law suit. For instance, "I have a bad knee and any undue stress to it could cause further damage" is not an unreasonable appeal. The potential for damage is heightened and therefore perhaps prompt them to address the situation.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 19:01:00 GMT
I like your optimism, casi, but it won't work that way. We can't sue anyone, really. There is a thing called "ronovictions" here. It happens a lot in old buildings where the rents are low and the tenants long-term. The only way you can get rid of troublesome tenants is to say you are renovating the suite for x period of time, and the tenants are evicted. The the suites are upgraded and the new tenants pay twice the rent as the old. I'm one of the "oldest" tenants in the building, and I've only been here 4 years. The building was sold in the meantime and a lot of the longtermers moved because they didn't like the new owner. I'm also one of the oldest age-wise, as the place has filled up with transient young people (20-somethings) who stay a couple of months until they find something cheaper. I have probably the second-lowest rent in the building, and I won't find anything comparable if I move. On a handicapped note, I broke my ankle the first month I moved in, when I went to do laundry and forgot there were steps down the ill-lit hallway. Oh well. That was my stupid fault. However, I'll never forget the pattern of the old carpet as I lay there in a daze, waiting for someone to find me.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 19:02:53 GMT
I live on the top floor of my 3-floor building (4 floors American), and we will never have an elevator. I wouldn't mind no elevator, I've done that before, just a broken elevator I won't put up with!
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Post by htmb on Jan 15, 2015 20:43:15 GMT
In NYC my daughter is temporarily residing in an ancient 7 story building where a lot of elderly folks live. There is an elevator, but it's being replaced in a process that is expected to take at least two months. I believe the two months is almost up, but have no idea how close they are to completing the job.
DD knew about the elevator situation before she moved in, and she's young, so hauling a car load of clothes, computer, television, and other belongs needed in the short term wasn't so bad. However, she said that many of the older residents are struggling to get through the replacement period.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 20:59:26 GMT
Yes, elvators breaking down often means that people really become shut-ins, with no way of going outside.
And looking back now, my outrage really isn't the elevator, but being filmed without my knowledge in my own building.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 21:39:08 GMT
In France it is the law that there must always be a very visible sign stating if video surveillance is being used.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 21:45:46 GMT
I'm going to research the law here.
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Post by mich64 on Jan 16, 2015 0:26:11 GMT
I am almost certain that is the law here in Canada as well Lizzy.
We have an 11 storey building downtown that is a senior living complex. It is one of the tallest buildings in the city. Now that I think about that, the other two tall buildings are also for senior living. The past few years the elevators have become difficult to repair, between hard to find parts and hard to find repairmen. For many weeks last year when both were out of service and the repairmen were on strike, firefighters were dispatched to carry up and down the residents needing to get out for appointments and volunteers were organized to help carry up groceries.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2015 1:17:03 GMT
Well, I have pals within the BC Civil Liberties Association, so I'll ask them.
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Post by bjd on Jan 16, 2015 6:58:50 GMT
My mother lives in a senior's residence in Toronto, on the 6th floor of 8. When I went to see her last year, one of the 3 elevators was being replaced or repaired. When all the people got on the two working elevators with their walkers (and they are all in a hurry despite being 85 years old) it was a mess. I walked up the 6 floors to go see my mother, but she refused to even go out figuring she would have to wait to get on an elevator.
Our Paris apartment is on the 4th floor (US 5th) in a building that couldn't possibly put in elevators even if there were hopes of doing so. Above the 3rd floor, the stairs get narrower. It's tough the first day or two, but afterwards you get used to it. The main problem is moving furniture or heavy objects.
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Post by mich64 on Jan 16, 2015 11:44:53 GMT
Bjd at your mother's residence are they allowed those motorized scooters into the elevators? That seems to be a concern here and I would think the added weight has added to the problems with the elevators. There are very few housing options for seniors here so it is not like they can easily move when they transition to these scooters from their walkers.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jan 16, 2015 11:49:53 GMT
On the last cruise we went on the elevators were always full so we took to climbing the stairs all the time.There were 10 decks, we were in a cabin on deck 8, the 'entrance' was on deck 5 and the restaurants, gym (as if) casino etc were on decks 5 and 10. The stairs were those horrid ones that are just treads so that you can see through them. At the start of the cruise OH had to hold my hand...but by the third day I was bounding up and down the stairs like a mountain goat. Halcyon Days....*sigh*
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2015 16:51:06 GMT
Well, my husband has informed me that, in the US, cameras are being installed in all apartment buildings now as a matter of course. If it's a public area (as a lobby is) and the camera is in plain sight, no civil rights are being violated. I'll still be asking for Vancouver, though.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jan 17, 2015 20:21:02 GMT
Surveillance cameras are everywhere...it must be creepy having them in your building tho.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 21:31:29 GMT
When I visited someone in Toronto once, in a high rise apartment, there was a channel on TV to watch people entering the building.
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Post by mich64 on Jan 17, 2015 22:04:26 GMT
Yes, those are quite common, especially in condo buildings.
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