Between dead body residue (seriously, what could be worse?) and a nunnery-turned-hooker-haven, we've heard some pretty terrible tales from the Curbediverse this week. Of course, we only relayed eight of them. The following morsels may not have qualified for the brass ring, but are worth a dishonorable mention nonetheless. Sit back, relax, and be glad you don't live in Moscow.
When Good People Live in Falling-Over Buildings
"Close to when my lease was up (I had about 3 weeks left before I moved into a much nicer, less slummy building in Williamsburg) there was a storm. Some facade and bricks fell off the building near the second floor and landed on the ground. The next day, I went for a bike ride, and returned home to fire trucks. Turns out, they were inspecting - and condemning - the building. And the jacked up exterior wasn't even the biggest issue.
The whole basement roof was sagging and was about to collapse at any point. EEK! I had to get my cats and my stuff out that day, and would be able to return later for more (maybe). I was basically instantly homeless. And to get the rest of my stuff out, I had to do it during daylight hours and quickly because the power had been shut off. And I had to leave my ID with the police officer who was stationed in front of the building, so that if the building collapsed while I was inside, they could easily identify by body. He told me that!"
The Flip Side: Dispatch from a Midtown West Property Manager
"A couple of years ago I rented a unit to a couple of chinese exchange students. They were head to toe designer and the girl had a little dog. They rescued another little dog while they were living in the apt. Then their neighbor complained about yelping. Turns out the two students abandoned the apt and left the puppy. It starved to death stuck under a coffee table. The super, a former marine, still cries about finding the dog. They also left a freezer full of meat. The con ed had been shut off and the entire fridge was FILLED with maggots. They also had a guarantor who lived in queens. Turned out it was a forged co sign. There is an arrest warrant for the two of them because of the dog."
From Further Afield...
"Not long ago I was living in Moscow (which is the most expensive city in the world by many standards) I was very happy to have found a tiny studio apartment overlooking the river which offered my girlfriend and I great views and some fresh(er) air. We had a month-to-month lease which allowed us to break the lease at anytime with 30s day notice. After 6 months we we were sick of living in such a small space and decided to move. We contacted the owner of the apartment to tell him we were moving in 30 days, as per the terms in our lease. He said that he would come by the apartment after work the next day to pick up the current month's rent and to discuss the details. At 8 AM (!) the next morning the owner came with his brother (who looked like he had come straight from prison) and made it clear that they would not allow us to leave the apartment, irrespective of what was written in the lease.
The reason why was very simple: pulling out his police badge he assured us that he was a top-ranking police officer (and a member of interpol) and promised to follow through with any of the following if I did not pay him damages for "breaking the contract": First he threatened to call the police to report that my girlfriend (who wasn't on the lease) was a prostitute and that I was using his apartment as a sex den, second he promised to do bodily hard to me and my girlfriend, and third, if that didn't work, he would call his friend at the Russian tax authorities to begin an "investigation into my company's activities" (which means in russian that they will put you out of business). Knowing that calling the police was not an option, I agreed to pay him a large sum of money and leave the apartment within 3 days (which was something he insisted on). He escorted us to the ATM, where I paid him his filthy money and he rode off into the sunset with his ape-like brother."
See the results of our local horror story competition here, and head over to Curbed National for the best of the worst across the country.
· Vote for the Renter With the Worst NYC Horror Story [Curbed]
· Raided residents at 35 Market Street forced to vacate [Curbed National]
· Renters Week 2011 coverage [Curbed]
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