I've been talking with a longtime resident about an ongoing problem in her building... where the resident and other tenants are at odds with the newish commercial tenant on the ground-floor ... and an outlandishly loud ventilation system. There are a lot of details. But quickly. The landlord won't do anything, saying that it's not his responsibility. Meanwhile, the business owner has been unresponsive, in part because he's been having an ongoing fight with the landlord about a leak.
"It's been a nightmare and I finally have the energy to take it to the next level to fight it. I want to join with others in the community if possible," the resident said.
The DEP has already issued five noise violations against the business owner, and the case has apparently been working its way through the courts/enforcement control board since last August.
"We have no way of checking on where this matter stands — no records anywhere. A phone no one ever answers. We feel helpless."
The resident is interested in hearing how other people how dealt with similar situations, which seemingly are becoming more commonplace as more franchises take over spaces previously held by mom-and-pop shops (i.e., Papa John's on First Avenue) ... or carve out space in buildings (i.e., IHOP, where neighbors suffered from bacon-related problems).
"This influx of chains to our neighborhood has meant that they have expectations of being able to do whatever they want regarding ventilation and A/C — they aren't always used to dealing with mixed-use buildings," said the resident.
Anyone had advice to leave in the comments? You can also send a note to the EV Grieve email ...
[RANDOM photo via]
