Following up on last week's scrum about living conditions at downtown development The Crest, our inbox overfloweth with more reports, pro and con, about the building. (We'd run them all, but there's pressing porn news to attend to in this space.) After the jump, the building's tenants association presents its response to this. In summation, this is one of those special disputes that makes us glad we failed the LSAT.
Dear Curbed,· The Crest Update: Citi Habitats Responds [Curbed]Thanks for taking the time to report on the circumstances we find ourselves in at The Crest. Let me apprise you of some things.
1. There will be a Press Release issued soon regarding our circumstances. This will cover all the relevant information from the Tenants' Point of View. Right now, management has a crack marketing and PR team, while we're all busy professionals trying to live our lives, do our jobs, and take on the misinformation spread by management at the same time. While we may be a bit slow getting information out, it will become available.
2. There is a lot more going on at The Crest than "one tenant with a personal agenda." A formal Tenants Association has been formed to deal with our issues, which would not have happened if the problems were not persistent and untenable. A formal letter was sent, by certified mail, to the owner of the building, noting our concerns and complaints and asking for response and resolution. Management did not effectively respond to our letter. Saying "we want to address each apartment individually" is not an answer, it is a tactic. And we are far from "a small group." On the contrary, I would submit that the Tenants Association represents a plurality of the currently occupied apartments, and is growing each day. While there may be "200 leases signed" there are not 200 occupied apartments. There have been a number of residents who sign a lease, move in, and then immediately look to join the Association because of the conditions of the building.
3. CraigsList is in no way responsible for, nor the forum for, a dispute with management. Some residents have taken it upon themselves to inform CraigsList when there is false information regarding the Crest posted in advertisements on the List. Specifically, advertisements promise amenities that are not only not yet available, but which aren't even planned to be available until the unforeseen future. If management is concerned about "false information" on CraigsList, management should read their own advertising first.
4. Yes, there were a number of incentives (moving costs, free months of rent) offered to get us to live here. They are great, and we're glad that management used them to bring us into the building. But the act of accepting these incentives does NOT remove our rights to live in a functioning building, receive the basic necessities when we move in, and not get stuck in elevators with construction workers every day.
5. The fact that management has been meeting with tenants individually does NOT mean that the problems are being resolved. Meeting is with individuals is a very effective way to make it look like you're doing something, when in reality, you are not.
6. Many residents are owed reimbursements from management for living costs incurred due to the move-in delays. These reimbursements are well over 30 days late. The statement that management put people up in hotels when they did not have to is only half true. Management told people to find their own housing in many cases, promised to pay us back for our costs, and has not fulfilled that promise. While they have been holding our first month's rent, we were unable to live in our apartments during that first month, and have yet to receive any kind of compensation.