I'm running into that today with my apartment management company.
On a Saturday afternoon not long ago my family and I were sitting in the apartment trying not to melt during yet another hot, sticky NYC day. All of a sudden the doorbell rang.
The ring was followed shortly by another ring. My wife and I looked at each other, perplexed; we didn't order anything. We weren't expecting anyone from the maintenance department. The way the building was managed, I didn't even try to get deliveries. Who the hell could it be?
Before I could get up, the fucking door unlocked.
Yeah. We keep the door locked and chained when in the apartment. And whoever was at the door unlocked it. The door started to open, only to have the chain go taut.
A 20-something year old guy and his companion peered in, mumbled something about, "Oh, someone's home," and closed the door.
I grabbed a shirt...like I said, it was hot...and opened the door. The hallway was empty.
I went down to the front desk where "security" is stationed. I explained what happened, and he made a phone call. He said that maintenance didn't have anyone there. He didn't know why anyone would be on our floor. "They shouldn't do that...that's like an invasion of privacy or something." Yeah, thanks Security. I'm feeling more secure knowing how sure you are of the rights of your tenants not to have intruders barge in. "The super has a master key, and some keys that are good in certain apartments. But access to those are controlled." Well, that's good, I guess. If this was an employee they should know who has access.
He asked if I wanted to file a report.
"Well...yes." I just had someone with a copy of my key open the door to my apartment. If I wasn't there, would he have stolen my laptop? Would he have used the toilet? Maybe kick back and watch my non-cable-connected TV?
Security said he'd sent the cop up to my apartment, since I said I would head back up there and my wife could help with the description of what happened. After a few minutes the doorbell rang and a uniformed cop...think he has a "special patrol" badge sewn on his uniform?...is standing there. He takes down the description of what happened on a piece of what seemed to be scratch paper plucked from the corner of a desk he passed on his way up.
We're short on details. Male. No uniform, so he's not maintenance...t-shirt and shorts, my wife said. Early to mid twenties. Maybe 5'9" or so. I wanted to say Asian, but wasn't entirely sure...it happened pretty fast and I'd rather say nothing than give the incorrect details. Second guy standing behind him in the hall.
The cop says that sometimes lock keys work in multiple apartments. "Someone could have gone into the wrong apartment," he says. "Got on the wrong floor, or something. It happens." I wanted to remind him of the detail regarding the doorbell. I don't know too many people that are like, "Home at last! I'd better ring the doorbell a few times before going in. In case, I don't know, my wife is banging the neighbor. They'd appreciate the heads up that I'm home."
"You should get a top lock," the cop continued. He's referring to getting a deadbolt that the resident installs, instead of just the door lock the super has access to.
We thank him and he leaves. I'm wondering if they're going to follow up using the security footage from the elevators.
At this point I'm uncomfortable leaving the apartment, since that means the chain would be undone and Heckle and Jeckle might come back. I give my wife some cash and ask her to run to a store to find a lock we could install; she's had experience with lock installation and the door has a pre-drilled cylinder hole in it from another resident in a bygone era. Surely we can figure this out.
She gets the lock, and after an hour of trying...it won't work. The holes already in the door from a previous resident are too large for the screws in the lock kit, and the bolt doesn't readily fit into the frame in a way that allows the door to shut.
I go online and file a maintenance ticket marked "emergency" priority explaining what happened and asking for assistance in getting the lock mounted. I mention that at this point, my son is disturbed at the idea of sleeping in the apartment without periodically checking that the door is chained so "bad men" won't come in during the night.
"Dad, is it okay to stab people that come into the apartment if we don't know them?"
He's such a kidder. But I tell him that yes, he can stab people that break into the apartment.
On Sunday I get a call from the super saying he got an email about the incident. I'm not entirely sure, but I think the super for my apartment building is also the head of maintenance for our building, so...did he hear about this from security? The management office? My maintenance ticket? I'm not sure. We had convinced ourselves that this incident was weird enough that we could go out for awhile, since this was our last weekend together in the city and we'd been promising Lil' Dude we'd take him to Coney Island for a walk on the beach and a trip to Nathan's famous hot dog stand. Plus talking on the phone is not my favorite activity in the world, so making out everything he was saying was taking extra effort.
What I did get out of the call was that he didn't know who it was, he didn't know of any reason for it to happen, and once again, we should get a top lock. He also promised to send a recommended locksmith contact information to me via email.
Monday morning came and my wife sent a message that the maintenance guy came, only to be told they won't install locks or have anything to do with locks. Considering that we needed this to get done on Tuesday at the latest since I was leaving town...yay, school starting plus doctor appointment/lecture time...this was not news I wanted to hear. We bought the lock. We just didn't have a way to get the damn screws to fit into a door that was already fucked up from a previous tenant.
Well...fuck it.
My wife found a recommended locksmith, available 24 hours, with high ratings on Yelp...we never got a recommended locksmith from the super. My wife insisted I had to contact them ("Your name is on the lease!") and they made an appointment for early afternoon.
True to their word, they arrived, and $160 later, we had a new top-lock. Their lock, plus they drilled into the frame area to get it all fitted properly. My wife was impressed. I was relieved to get this crap out of the way before having to leave.
I can understand why the building would have a policy against installing locks since that can imply some kind of liability if someone still broke in after the fact. At the same time, I haven't seen too much action taken in regards to actually trying to figure out who the fuck opened my door.
It was most likely not another apartment-dweller who happened to have a key that accidentally fit my apartment lock. As I said...they rang the doorbell and were surprised we were home.
It wasn't building maintenance...they were out of uniform.
They had a key that may likely have been an access key...the super is supposed to have it, or the main office. Someone that has access for building work or in the event of a lockout. Supposedly these keys are locked up, and possession is tracked.
So far all I've heard is a lot of head scratching, like "That's not supposed to happen..." Well, no shit.
I haven't even heard if someone checked the security cameras on the floor. They knew approximately when it happened. I was told no one else reported a disturbance. More to the point, my neighbor has papers sticking out of their door...they're obviously not home since the papers have been there awhile. So...why my place? And why aren't the security cameras being checked for two guys, in that approximate time frame, riding the elevators after I said they had disappeared from the hallways? Are the cameras nonfunctional (I should hope not...little corner dome cams suddenly appeared in the elevators recently...) or are they only consulted if someone is assaulted in the elevator?
The entire feeling I get is one of lackadaisical malaise from people involved. Like, "Well, these things happen. You should get a better lock."
We have "security" at the entrance of the building and the only thing they seem to guard against is me getting a Dominoes delivery (or any other package delivery, for that matter, if it doesn't fit in my mailbox...) Any stranger can walk in if they wait long enough for someone to walk through.
We have cameras, but I still have no indication they're going to check it.
There are supposed to be secured keys with limited access to each of the apartments. But I've heard nothing of them being audited. Does someone have the key that shouldn't? And what about the whole "Tenant keys sometimes fit other doors" thing. That's a bit of a worrying thing, don't you think?
I feel like my car broke down, smoke pouring from the engine, fluids spurting out like a fountain, and the mechanic...the people who should know what they're doing...is standing there, scratching his chin and ruminating, "Well, that ain't supposed to happen..."
No shit. Such is life in the city, apparently. And another reason to think landlords just hate their tenants.
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