Tuesday, June 1, 2011

Dear Franklin Park Owners and Administration:

We, the concerned residents of this establishment would like to address a few matters that have come to our collective attention. While we appreciate the effort you put forth on a daily basis to accommodate our living conditions, there are a still a number of issues that you should be aware of.

Maintenance of the facility has been nothing short of abysmal. During the current A/C outage, temperatures have reached and exceeded 100 degrees during the day and 89 degrees at night. One building suffering through this outage includes 2 pregnant women well into and past their second trimesters; approximately 12 children under the age of 8, including 1 newborn; and 3 elders over the age of 60—all of whom have spent the last 7 days attempting to acquiesce with your every mounting exculpation. We regret the solutions you’ve neglected to offer to your residents during this time.

Between the 200+ residents inconvenienced, thousands of dollars have been spent on multiple fans, hotel rooms, and gas to run car A/Cs in order to make accommodations that were not expediently fulfilled by our lessor and could not have conceivably been resolved by one schoolhouse cooling station for the duration of this crisis. While your initial corporate response suggested that the repairs taking place were a one-time ordeal, some faithful, long-time residents indicate this is actually an annual occurrence for Franklin Park that could very well exceed the 2-week outage your offices communicated as we’ve approached 7 days of code orange and red heat.

We understand that the maintenance department is likely taxed and overburdened by the extent of these issues, however, the heat has only exacerbated other problems that must be addressed by management. Despite the volume of outgoing calls to your maintenance offices for reportings of mice, roaches, rats and other pests, the problem has not only persisted but has escalated to an untenable degree. Personal items have been eaten through (shoes, clothing, etc.), but it has come to affect the health and safety of the children of the Franklin Park community as well.

Three-year-old Ryan’s parents pay rent faithfully every month to provide shelter for their son. Yet, there is no other trace to the bites appearing on his little body besides the pests his parents have collected from your apartment over the last two weeks.

All this being said, you must understand our outrage—especially when no consistent outlet exists to voice our concerns, build up our community or know our ownership. We believe the following concessions are reasonably in order:

1. Compensation to all affected units during the air conditioning outage

2. Monthly residents’ town hall meetings with members of your executive team present

3. Thorough investigation of maintenance issues (including repairs, washer/dryer maintenance, pest control)

4. Issue improvement updates to indicate what action has been taken in this regard

5. Thorough evaluation of maintenance response time AND professional evaluation of services rendered

We know these issues are as important to you as they are to your paying residents. We recognize the vast improvements you are trying to make to the grounds. We would hate for news of this nature to delay or overshadow those efforts.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Section 6 Residents of Franklin Park Apartments at Greenbelt Station