Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Where i live, (lefrak city) they told me when i moved in that i would be able to move freely through the complex, in order to get to the nearby stores. I live in one of the buildings towards the bottom where it says Horace Harding, and most of the area stores are on the top, where it says 57th ave. (See photo below.) I used to be able to come out of the back of my building, and cut through the parking lots between buildings to get to those stores. Recently, they built gates connecting all the buildings, and installed locks on all the gates. The gates have no emergency exits to get out, and the key i have will only open the gate next to my building, which doesn't help me at all, because that gate leads out to the highway, and there are no stores on that side.
They are claiming this is a "security" issue, but what they are doing is only creating dead ends where people cant get out. If you live here, you should be able to get out any exit you want. When i moved in, my lease doesn't say i live in "mandaly" or "bali" it says i live in "lefrak city" which implies i am taking up residence in a community of buildings. Someone was stabbed last summer, and they are trying to avoid bad press, so they can charge more for their apartments, so they are locking down the complex like a prison. They figure if nobody can move through the complex, no crimes can happen there. Because the tenants are mostly lower income, they know people cant afford to hire lawyers to fight them, and they can get away with it.
I got a free consult with a tenants rights attorney, and he said this sounds like a reduction of services, but the problem is it would cost me thousands of dollars to actually hire him to pursue this. I feel like i am being ripped of right now, because i would never have agreed to pay what i do for rent, if I wouldn't be able to get to those stores easily. It might not look like a big deal from the picture, but they are turning a 3 or 4 minute walk, into a 15 minute walk, and in the middle of winter when its 15 degrees and the streets are a sheet of ice, it will take me forever to go get groceries.
Any idea how to fight this? I have complained to the building multiple times, and they basically told me they dont care.
I'm sure that if you brought this to court, Lefrak would argue that the increased security from the locked gates is an INCREASE in services, not a decrease. So it might prove a hard case to win.
Anyways, why would you sacrifice a safer complex with controlled access--where strangers/hoods/miscreants cannot walk through at will--for walking an extra ten minutes to the store? That's not the trade-off I'd want.
If you have a halfway decent city council person, you can approach him or her and ask for help. Also, do you have a tenants association? You must not be the only resident who's being inconvenienced.
I'm sure that if you brought this to court, Lefrak would argue that the increased security from the locked gates is an INCREASE in services, not a decrease. So it might prove a hard case to win.
Anyways, why would you sacrifice a safer complex with controlled access--where strangers/hoods/miscreants cannot walk through at will--for walking an extra ten minutes to the store? That's not the trade-off I'd want.
But i'm not arguing against having gates; the problem is i'm a tenant and i cant open them. In addition, if you were my guest and you left out the back of my building, you would be locked inside a courtyard with no way to get out. Anyone who lives in lefrak can go into their building, and come out back into the common area, the gates don't prevent anyone from accessing this. They prevent you from leaving, and the area i'm locked out of, is the city street, that anyone can get to from the sidewalk. All they do in their current setup, is prevent the tenants from moving freely. If anything, it creates dead ends where you can get stuck, and that certainly isn't safe. There is no reason we shouldn't be able to exit through them.
Gates don't "connect" buildings, they SEPARATE them.
If safety is a perceived issue call 311 and the fire-department for an inspection.
They dont separate the buildings, because there are 20 buildings that take up a huge lot. You can get to any of the buildings from the street, but the spaces between the buildings that you used to be able to leave through are now blocked.
I do think safety is an issue, because it prevents you from leaving in the event of a dangerous situation, but that's not my primary concern. That being said, i did try 311 but I think it falls into a grey area as far as legality. Its not preventing you from exiting the building in the event of an emergency, so as far as the fire department is concerned its ok. What it prevents, is you from getting to the street once you have already exited.
The part about it that bothers me, is that i would never have agreed to pay what i do for rent, in a neighborhood like this, if i couldn't get to the nearby stores. Its not a "nice" area, so the longer i have to spending walking around the streets, the less desirable the building becomes. I wasn't warned about this change, and i wasn't given the option to move out. I was locked into a lease, and they said hey guess what, ********* now, you cant have what our leasing agent told you was available to you when you moved in. And i'm not sure how to fight that without hiring a lawyer.
As a resident, can you get out through one of the other buildings? Or are the back entrances to them locked for anyone except those who live in a particular building?
They dont separate the buildings, because there are 20 buildings that take up a huge lot. You can get to any of the buildings from the street, but the spaces between the buildings that you used to be able to leave through are now blocked.
I do think safety is an issue, because it prevents you from leaving in the event of a dangerous situation, but that's not my primary concern. That being said, i did try 311 but I think it falls into a grey area as far as legality. Its not preventing you from exiting the building in the event of an emergency, so as far as the fire department is concerned its ok. What it prevents, is you from getting to the street once you have already exited.
The part about it that bothers me, is that i would never have agreed to pay what i do for rent, in a neighborhood like this, if i couldn't get to the nearby stores. Its not a "nice" area, so the longer i have to spending walking around the streets, the less desirable the building becomes. I wasn't warned about this change, and i wasn't given the option to move out. I was locked into a lease, and they said hey guess what, ********* now, you cant have what our leasing agent told you was available to you when you moved in. And i'm not sure how to fight that without hiring a lawyer.
Just for your information, Lefrak is rent-stabilized. If your safety is a legit concern all that you need to do to exit your lease is to write a letter stating that you will vacate the property at least 30 days in advance. So if you would like to move to a safer neighborhood you can do so and once you find a place just give Lefrak 30 days notice. Sorry about your safety concern, hope things turn out well for you!
I have a very good friend that lives in lefrak city and was told way in advance that changes were being done before things happen. Did you miss the memo?
There is no way to fight this. If you hire a lawyer you'll spend thousands of dollars and you might not win.
Basically deal with it and if you are still upset as your lease runs out you always have the option of moving out.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
