After last week's reader question about finding places in the neighborhood that still have an older East Village vibe... and after assuring me that he was not pulling one over on the Griever ...
The scenario from a reader: The neighbors are new as of the beginning of September. They are recent college grads who seem fairly well off and pretty insular. (Meaning they're not the let's-meet-the-new-neighbor types.) They have some unknown office jobs. They both arrive home around the same time each night (7ish). And then just about every waking moment in the evenings, mornings and weekends, they're smoking pot. And it's likely not for medical reasons.
While the reader isn't opposed to you know, partying, he doesn't want to have to smell the weed all the time. It has become annoying.
So. Urban Etiquette Sign? An awkward knock on the door? Call the landlord's management company? 311? The cops? If you don't like pot, then move to ________?
I did a little research and found this piece from the Daily News from May 2012 on the topic.
Important soundbite:
"New York courts have recently found that secondhand smoke constitutes a breach of the warranty of habitability, which is a non-waivable obligation imposed on all residential landlords [including co-ops] to insure that the premises are fit for human habitation and do not contain any conditions that would be dangerous, hazardous, or detrimental to tenants' life, health or safety," says Ian Brandt, a real estate lawyer at Braverman & Associates in Manhattan. "The threat of habitability violations might be sufficient economic incentive for a landlord to begin eviction proceedings."
The reader wanted to know if anyone has managed a similar experience (preferably successfully). Any advice? Anyone...?
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We often get reader queries ... asking for help with, say, donating clothes or books ... or finding an East Village-based caterer... If you have a question for the masses, then try the EV Grieve email...
80 comments:
As a gesture of good will, buy your neighbors a vaporizer from one of the zillion head shops on St. Mark's. No smoke, no smell, and their weed will last longer. They will be psyched and will demonstrate their gratitude (nacho-sharing?) in ways that repay you. Everybody wins.
I would suggest knocking on their door and speaking to them. Use this approach first and then if that does not work, write to the landlord (who should write a letter to them), call 311 etc.
Wouldnt buy em a vaporizer but leaving a note asking them to use one wouldnt be out of line.
I think that is preposterous, 8:27 because it's 'feeding the devil'.
Tell management and let them know it bothers you. It's against the law and preventing you from having peaceable enjoyment of your home (language that is in my co-op's House Rules).
Don't confront them because it will likely only cause YOU grief.
Pot is physiologically addictive so it's not like they can just quit. Nor will they want to quit. So good luck there.
Calling the cops is WORTHLESS because they will tell you that unless THEY see them smoking, there isn't anything they can do about it. At least that's what a cop from my precinct told me when I made the very same complaint about my neighbor. Ridiculous, isn't it?
Good luck to you.
That is an amazingly great suggestion. Vaporizers make good neighbors, as the old saying goes (or should).
I think the real problem here is this strain of 'skunk weed' that seemingly is all you can buy these days. It really, truly smells like skunk, and that's not very pleasant. Some time ago, pot had a much less pungent and lingering aroma. You'd think they could develop a strain that gets rid of the horrible smell...
Cooking with it is the solution. But the restaurants can fill our apartments with fumes and noise without any penalty.
If they're regular well-to-do young people, confronting them won't be a problem. Just knock on their door and tell them that you can smell their pot and that they should open a window or put a towel by the door. No biggie. They'll probably thank you. I know I would if I were them (and I might actually be them, so, yea, let me know.)
From my experience you are asking for trouble asking a neighbor especially one that you do not know and have zero acquaintance history with to alter their" music volume, habitual party schedule, dog(s) barking and or toilet habits, etc... Contact the landlord and make a complaint and next time you see them act like nothing is wrong. Don't become a target or get sucked into a feud. As someone mentioned already this is a drug habit which is not easy to stop.
Remember that if you get them kicked out, you may get obnoxious beer-guzzling frat boys instead. And then the smell will seem like a pleasant memory...
Having done this for cigarette smokers in apartment below me- give a knock and have a neighborly chat first. Suggest they look into a vaporizer. If they're using that much they might not be open to changing habits, but I always think it's better to start with a conversation. If prob persists, onto landlord, etc.
oh for god's sake just go over and explain the situation calmly and politely. if they're that big of potheads, they're probably pretty mellow.
if that doesn't work, fuck em, call the landlord.
Here's a deal for users: I will support legalisation of pot if you support a smoking ban. Until we can reach that deal, I can't see myself changing my mind about pot.
Pot smoke comes in my windows if I open them. It comes through the floor if I close the windows. It's in the common hallway. It's in the air outside my building. My kids breathe it on the walk to school, and they breathe it in their bedroom at night.
In spite of all the research that shows conclusively that legalisation reduces crime, lowers cost to society, and so on, I can't support it until the smoking stops.
If you want to control what people do in the privacy of their own home . . . go join the Republican party.
Get them hooked on Heroin.
Seriously as a person not anti-pot, the smell can be very invasive esp. if it's a daily thing. Skunk so strong these days. Good luck.
My whole building wreaks of weed most of the time, esp. the third floor. Seriously, knock on their door and talk to them politely. Contacting the landlord first is more likely to create tension than a personal discussion.
Landlord here, not much we can do... Now you want to give us power? Ha!
I'm not against pot, but it sure can stink. I would try asking them to smoke by an open window and suggest a vaporizer. If the situation doesn't improve, you have to go to your landlord. Note when you speak to them that you wanted to come to them first to see if they can rectify the situation. If they want to smoke pot fine, but it shouldn't interfere with you being able to enjoy peace and comfort in your own home. Good luck.
I had a similar problem with a cigarette smoker next door. I approached him in a friendly manner and the situation improved somewhat. I think it's worth trying a friendly chat with the youngsters first, even if they are of the woo-hoo kind, because maybe they're not total douchebags. If that doesn't work, then I'd try threatening them / contacting the management company.
seriously we tell our kids to "use their words" also I agree with the landlord, you want them to solve your problem? and with everyone who said it could be worse. I have an ionizer that does wonders, I used to live with a smoker and it saved our friendship. In my opinion the most effective things are going to be done in your apartment, ionizer, weather stripping to keep smoke out and taking a deep breath and thinking about how it could be worse. (and really if they were meet-the-neighbor-types, if those existed here, and you knew about their jobs would that change anything?)
Anon 10:33
I only want to control the environment in MY home which is to have a home free of smoke & skunkypot smell & reasonable peace & quiet (not expecting total silence) at least 90 percent of the time.
I'm generally a Libertarian but know human nature is pretty self-serving.
And landlords do have a lot of power toi resolve this issue. inclination is another thing.
These comments are shocking. Call the landlord? You are all narcs. Be cool, honeybunny!
If you can't beat 'em, join and smoke 'em.
@Anon 10:05 AM -- you want pot smokers to stop smoking before you agree to legalize pot? Ha ha. I get it. You're stoned :-)
And @Anon 11:51 AM -- your solution to the person who doesn't want to inhale 2nd-hand pot smoke is to "take a deep breath"? LMAO
To the person with the original question, I'd suggest as others have to just catch your neighbor(s) in a friendly way and point out to them that the smell is really bothering you and could they please do something about it. If that doesn't work, place an ad on Craigslist with their phone number (you have it, right?) offering free delivery at any hour to any location within the 5 boros. (Just kidding. That wouldn't be very nice now, would it?)
NYC apt étiquette: Be a man and talk to them like humans first. No threatening notes or calls to the landlord unless there's no improvement. We all live on top of each other here and we should all be able to work it out together. This is how it's been dealt with til now. So what if you have no contact with them otherwise?
We have no reason to be afraid of our neighbors unless they are known criminals or violent.
Knocking on the door probably won't work, because potheads are paranoid and won't answer. I would speak to them before they get inside.
Why are some people getting so draconian? The smokers are probably blissfully ignorant that their smoke's a problem for their neighbors. A friendly knock on the door to clue them in is the way to handle it.
@11:04 AM
No. Want you to act to provide the services you are required to by contract and by law.
Nonchalantly slide a pack of incense under their door...
Kfbeau. You sound like my narc neighbor who doesn't have the balls to talk to me. I have a neighbor who does just that. If he had had the common courtesy to speak or approach me with some class or like a man (thanks IzF). I would've totally complied with him and our issue would never have escalated.
Nip it in the bud!!!!
This happened to me just last summer.
I emailed my landlord about the pot smoke coming from the neighbor, and my landlord was nice enough to bring up the issue to my neighbor. My neighbor stopped smoking pot in his apartment since. Problem solved!
I smoke weed in my apartment every night in the EV but I'm pretty conscious of how the smoke can waft from room to room and floor to floor. None of my neighbors are aware of this, at least they haven't mentioned it to me. And I have a family with two small kids living directly above me.
The way to keep it contained is to keep the smoking confined to one room only, with a towel under the door, maybe even some duct tape around the edges of the door. I use two very pungent scented candles, incense, and one of those ionizing air purifying machines. Window totally closed. By the time I'm finished smoking and I go back out into the living room, the smell has pretty much been taken over by the candles, etc. And since the smoke was kept in that rom only, it hasn't spread to the neighbors.
As someone who smokes weed daily in the apartment, I would be totally receptive to alternate methods of ingestion if a neighbor called me out on it. I know it stinks and other people don't necessarily want to smell it.
My suggestion would be to broach some of these ideas to the neighbors. I don't think they'll get agitated, usually people who smoke are fairly mellow. It's not like confronting ten pabst-swilling woo-hoos on the roof at 4 am. Anyway, good luck. I hope you can find an amicable solution to this.
It's a good question. I had a downstairs neighbor for a while that was real steady cigarette smoker, not the 2 cigarette a day type that might smoke out the window or whatever, but one after another, really busy killing herself. This old building is porous in many places, the pipe penetrations, framing, etc. The best I could do was keep my windows open and fan fresh air circulating in at all times, winter or summer, and pray for her to quit, die, or move. She moved.
Don't listen to whatever anal types told you to go tell the landlord. It is passive-agressive and nobody likes that. What is this, grade school?
Seriously, be a human being and talk to them... Tell them to open a window or something. No big deal.
Anonymous 2:10pm,
Why do you wait for your neighbors to come to you? Why not ask them if your pot smoking bothers them? Nip it in the bud!
You need to assess them before you make your move. Once you talk to them about it, your abilitity to take action, if they tell you to f#ck off, is very limited as now they know who is the source of their grief. If they seem like they might be a problem and not co-operative, your initial actions should be anonymous and direct, like calls to the police from a pay phone, discreet placement of notices in all building mailboxes that there is blatant drug abuse going on in the building, sign on front door noting the abuse of narcotics on premise, etc. IF they seem cool, vaporizer is good idea, but once you talk to them about it, YOU become the target if they are SOB's.
this should be a total non-issue. go speak to the neighbor like a normal human being. it's not complicated.
and i'm fairly shocked at the number of folks who'd run to the landlord (or the cops?!) without even the courtesy of speaking with the neighbor first.
Anyone who smokes up knows it stinks, so they are pretty inconsiderate. But it is worth it to ask them to do something about it. They might be shamed into taking some action to keep their stink from bothering other people in the building. If they aren't, take it up with the landlord.
ASK THEM DIRECTLY if they mind, can open a window and employ a fan, use a vape, etc. They probably have no idea that it's bothering you, and might appreciate you politely informing them that it is. Yes, that's an ideal situation, but I've found most people don't want to piss off their neighbors and are willing to make small adjustments when asked nicely. A note is not a great way to handle it--according to you they're home all the time, and to me that comes across as passive aggressive more often than not. Give them an opportunity to be good neighbors.
Offer them something stronger: Marijuana is just a gateway drug...Odor vanishes....
@ annon 2:10 PM
Drugs, dogs gone wild, girl and boys gone wild, nobody want's to change they way they live when you ask them "nicely". Let the landlord or the cops do the heavy lifting and confrontation work. Name calling is kind of fascist don't you think?
"Marijuana is just a gateway drug"
bullshit, alcohol is the gateway drug.
Find out what blog they read and post your concern in a reader mailbag! I wonder if this is aimed at me!?
Dry sage cuts pot and cigarette smell wonderfully. I'd suggest giving them some sage and burn some yourself. Problem solved. Xo
Toilet habits? I'm curious.. What commodal activities are there that would affect neighbors?
Anon 4:27 PM writes "Offer them something stronger: Marijuana is just a gateway drug...Odor vanishes...."
Yeah, odor be gone until the bodies start decomposing. Then you'll be sorry you were a wiseass.
Worlds smallest violin for the les dweller who doesnt want to smell weed. Get over it. If your really anal, try asking them to put a towel under the.crack in their door. Try talking to your neighbors people. Calling 311 before talking to them is wiener behavior and its being a really bad neighbor. There are a few easy ways to get rid of or greatly reduce the smell travelling, but they need to know they are bothering someone first
Names arent fascist, cops are
Wow, times have changed.
I had no idea this many old ass annoying motherfuckers lived in the EV! Are you whiners newly moved in from midtown or fidi? Or better yet jersey?? Or are you even older and constantly whine about how the EV used to be...you know when women got raped and you gotrobbed walking down the street...
Stop snitching, stop complaining and be cool... It's just a lil weed yo! Bitch
Yes, get them a vaporizer. Sure, it's going to run $50 or so but that's a small price to pay for good relations with your neighbors and it's likely they will "pay you back". You can even buy a used one on ebay/Craigslist for $10 and let them "borrow" it.
maybe they are getting buzzed for the SMOKE IN
I don't agree that weed smokers are mellow. My neighbour had violent fights with his girl friend and they both smoked weed. I complaint about the weed smoking to my landlord and ever since then I could not smell the it any more. But their fights bothered me a lot and one evening their fights got more violent than usual. I called the cops and told them what I heard. By the time the police arrived the two stormed out of the apartment to calm down. The police arrived and entered the apartment to see if their was any blood and they found a bag of weed with the vaporizer in the middle of the living room and confiscated both items. It appears that they smoke and fought. I also found out that another neighbour also called the police and described the same noises that I did. That is why that police thought that it was necessary to enter into the apartment. My neighbour is in big trouble. The landlord is also kicking him out. I think people should think twice before smoking that thing. And I am glad I never confronted this neighbour. These people are addictive and they are selfish. They think about themselves. My advice is to call the landlord first. If the issue is not resolved, call the police. I know my issue with my neighbour is definitely resolved.
Your a pussy just let them know you can smell it and that's it.you calling the cops is down right dirty what people do in their house is their bussiness.most of the world smokes you old ignorant fool.I don't drink I smoke and I don't think its any of no ones bussiness to say a damn thing other than can you stop the smell from going in the halls.
I think that if you are going to be smoking, automatically assume others will find offense with it unless you know you live in a building full of other smokers. It should be the smoker's responsibility to make sure the smell is taken care of, not the one who is suffering from the stench to try and appease the smoker.
I have this your girl as my new neighbor. She was smoking skunk and we can smell it through our vents doors walls. My husband ask her to open a vent. Our kids n my wife is pregnant they don't need the contact. She tells her boyfriend that don't live here. He starts urging with my husband. Threats n talking crap. Spoke to my landlord already. I'm guessing nothing worked because they are still doing it. I'm going to contact my landlord in the morning. If nothing happens i will contact the cops. If my health is in harm way. Can i sue my landlord for 2nd hand smoke? He knows about the situation. Any advice
btw she has a 3 year boy living with her.
These selfish low life pot smoker needs to live with a trach tube and a ventilator machine for the rest of their life since they don't care about their life or anyone else. These apartment pot smokers are the new bed bug problem. My daughter oxygen level drops when weed smoke drifts in our apartment I have to adjust the ventilator machine so her lungs won't inhale more smoke. Her eyes has a look of pure panic every time the weed get started. We have to tape up our doors and put blankets at the bottom of the door. We were told not to turn on the vent in the bathroom and kitchen as this will draw in more from the floor and cracks of the wall. Their are times I want to find a gun and shoot these people.
The tenets in our building are constantly being warned if we compliant to the landlord, that we will get hurt, so how are you suppose to tell the landlord. The landlord are also too scare to do anything. The landlord will used your name in order to protect themselves. Everyone makes believe they don't smell anything but the place is very heavy in weed smoke in the evening and holidays.
One thing that works fairly well is to get a window fan, that is, those square ones. You put it in your bathroom window and ONLY SMOKE POT WHILE YOU SIT IN FRONT OF IT. Put a towel under the bathroom door if it's not a tight enough fit because you do not want the smoke wafting into anybody's living space. That has worked for us in our apartment for nearly thirty years. We also have pets and I don't think it's fair to force them to smoke pot too so the bathroom is where we do it. And hey, in all fairness, pot isn't the only thing that stinks. My neighbor downstairs gets completely drunk every night and let me tell you, he stinks terribly. I don't know where he works but I would DIE if I had to smell him every morning after one of his binges. Oh, and he smokes cigarettes too and I have to put up with that also. But hey, this is the city where we live piled on top of each other like in filing cabinets.
You're fucking stupid. If I'm in my house and I smell your fucking weed even if your inside your own house but have your windows or door open, yes its going to be my fucking business because now I can smell shit that I don't want to smell and especially if I have little kids in the house. Just because you chose the drug life and fucked up doesn't mean you have to drag everyone down with you.
In my building I have a nice family of chronic pot-smoking Mexicans on the first floor who stink up the entire building, and another heavy pot smoker upstairs from me whose smoke blows directly into my kitchen on a daily basis. If I shut the kitchen window I get zero ventilation in the entire apartment, but if I leave it open the entire apartment fills up at random hours with skunkweed stench. I have very bad asthma and while I can usually deal with this in the daytime, allergy season leaves me very vulnerable to asthma attacks at night from triggers like pot smoke. Having to pass through a cloud of this crap every time I come and go from the building, and then periodically having my own apartment thoroughly fumigated with the stinkiest weed imaginable is wreaking havoc on my asthma and my patience.
Just want to say that legalizing pot would be the easiest solution!! lol
If it was legal, they could go outside and smoke just like if it was a cigarette. No one is unhappy!
Let's be reasonable and logical here. Pot is the new alcohol...and let's be thankful for that. Would you rather have someone smoking pot or would you rather have obnoxious drunks as neighbors. Having experienced both I can say, give me the pot smoking neighbor any day of the week.
But you need not be bothered so much by it. Pot smokers are usually quite nice about once you actually talk to them like good neighbors. Pot smokers know it is still illegal and don't want to raise red flags. It is likely they just do not realize you can smell it because they are used to the odor. If you tell them...hey...did you realize that everyone knows?..then it is likely they will take some precautionary action all on their own. You might suggest a good exhaust fan in their window to vent it outside. The suggestion of a vaporizer is a good idea as well. If you just let them know that everyone knows they will do something about all on their own.
Just be a good friendly neighbor about it and you will benefit greatly. Hey..you might even be invited in to sample some now and then....now that is a free perk that you can't get from your landlord!
Here's a cautionary tale.We used to live above a bar/restaurant in the EV.Smokers would congregate outside on the sidewalk and fill our apartment with cigarette smoke.Our teenaged son liked to invite his friends over for parties in his room and smoking was part of the festivities.Above his room was the room of an asthmatic child who was allergic to the smoke.His parents threatened to call the cops if we could not control our son's behavior.While my wife and I were out of town our son held an open house without our
knowledge or permission.Our upstairs neighbors called the management of our building and the super and the police after repeatedly phoning our
home and knocking on the door to have the party
curtailed on a school night.Eventually we got the neighbor's messages in the country and called our son's cell phone to read him the riot act.The next day a management team visited our apt. and informed our
college student son that a notice of eviction would be
served.Sadly our home of over 25 years was taken
from us.Our neighbors also were evicted.There was no legal protection available from the city since our building under 5 units was not rent controlled.
The reason so many people don't advise going to the neighbors to talk to them is twofold:
- if they don't respond well, now you're in their sights if anyone else (i.e., landlord, cops, etc.,) come after them for the same thing, and
- most of us have now enough experience with the recent post-college crowd to have drawn the conclusion that they harbor a general disdain for anyone but their immediate circle of friends and people just like themselves. "f--- you!" is the usual reply if you ask someone not to smoke outside your window, urinate on your stoop, congregate outside at 3 a.m., etc.
sorry but at this point, they would never think of ionforming the neighbors in advance that they are throwing a loud, late night party, and i don't try talking to them anymore, i call the precinct or send a message to the landlord.
sad, but true.
I have been in the same place for nearly three years. I live upstairs and my new neighbors live downstairs. They sit on the bottom of the stairs and smoke weed. To each is own but I don't think it's fair that we have to injest it when we walk up and down the stairs. They have kids too so maybe they don't want to smoke in front of their kids. However I feel the same way, don't smoke in front of my kids. I didn't say anything the first time. But this morning I went to go up the stairs with my 8 year old and she was at it again. I don't remember exactly what I said. But something to the effect: I don't care that you smoke, to each its own but don't do it where my kids have to walk by and smell it. Now I said it nicely and tried not to be harsh in my words. I don't want them to get kicked out I just want to walk up my stairs.
That's a really ignorant comment.
Why not just let them live life and get one yourself or a hobby so you don't have to be is peoples biZ. My neibor came to my fence when I was smoking weed and started threating me with cops and violence so I did what every stoner would do... I showed them my medical weed license and jumped his fence and beat his ass afterwards when he continued with threats and probs just a lil advice just live your life because I'm now a ballistic specialist for the marines if my neibors would've of got me arrested I would've never been able to succeed as much as I did not even close think about what your doing
Lol love the last answer
Totally agreed. I and my kids are sick as dogs from my neighbors and the drug traffic in tbe hallway the stench is so bad we have to maje a run for it holding our breath to get outside...it fills bedroom and we cant sleep at night...tbe liud arguenents and violence that ensues from tbeir apt would scare off anyone. The police and mgt wont respond. If smiking indoors in public areas is illegal why cant anyobe do something! NYC you have a screaming LOUD problem here ...innocent peoole kids ekderky forcex to breathe skunk synth pot air because its big business..WTF!!!!
Absolutely! We need to lobby for this!
Consider the complainant may have asthma and just as inhaling second hand smoke, inhaling second hand weed could send them into a deadly asthma attack.
Landlord here. I would LOVE to hear of these resolutions that landlords have. Short of eviction, I am not aware of any. I have spoken to the smoker twice about it. He denies or lies about it. The upstairs tenants have called the police numerous times but they can't do anything as by the time they arrive, the smell has dissapated to where it cannot be proven where it emanates from. I would rather not evict as the smoker's mother has been a tenant for 17 years. So please, do tell me what other options there are?
I might consider that suggestion myself. My downstairs neighbors sell and smoke more than just pot and I'm getting really tired of all of the ghetto bull shit at 1am because it's bound to wake up my daughter.
So what can I do when the landlord is allowing it? His niece is the one smoking pot I asked if I could move but then I'd be breaking lease and won't get my 900 damage deposit back if I do telll the police I will probably get backlash the neighbourhood I live in is low rental and was told to put up and shutup
I think the laws should change here in California. Everyone in the house next door say they have a medical card that allows them to smoke Marijuana.They sit outside and smoke this. Calling police does nothing if they have a so call card that you can get easy. When I went over to ask them to slow down a little or do it inside their home. They told me that they felt violated that I called police to have them stop outside the home and the smell comes inside my home bad. Being there is only about 20/25 feet between us. What can I do ? It make me and my pets ill. I have gone thru about 7 cans of spray in about 1 1/2 weeks to kill the smell inside my home.
I like how the stoners just think it is so ok to bog up the neighbors place and not consider opening a window. My dog has been high out of her fucking mind. You think when a little dog or a kid is in their own house all day and night breathing that shit. They will get stoned too. So just because a stoner wants to be an invonciderate prick don't mean everyone else wants to have their mind filled with paranoia or hallucinations. Consider people's kids live next to you. Would you want your nephew or kid high? If so maybe there is no hope.
It's true, taking and asking is very polite. On the other hand, it's common sense that smoke travels. If you're smoking inside a shared building, obviously it's going to go somewhere where other people are residing. Why is it their fault if a person actively endangers their homes by filling them with smoke? It's not exactly unknown that second hand and third hand smoke are dangerous and bothersome.
Couldn't agree more!
Thank you guys. Same. I tried to talk to these kids several times and just said please do it outside or on the weekends when my kids aren't home (it's filling up the apartment-we're upstairs). It's all day every day and they just won't compromise or be respectful. I have an air purifier over the vent, covered (our heating vents) etc. I wouldn't care at all if I didn't have kids (I'd probably join them ha), but it's just not good for their little developing brains. The landlord won't do anything, the little freakers won't listen (probably bc I'm a single mom with no back up so they're not scared). But to call the cops and give them a police record? That's harsh. But I shouldn't have to move and have my kids change schools because they refuse to compromise. Short of grabbing them by the hair and beating the crap out of them out in the street, what else can I do? (I like the last answer by the way ;) golden
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