Saturday, February 12, 2011

Still Snowed In

A reader sends us the following pic and info:
"Wanted to share a photo of the uncleared sidewalk that residents of the Voice of the People building on Clifton are expected to navigate by their management in order to get to their dumpsters (which are also drifted in, more than a week post-blizzard). This is the same organization that has gotten tens of millions in tax subsidies to buy new buildings, re-roof and re-window and re-point and install new porches and stairs and solar panels on old ones--including this one--and they can't manage to do the most basic building management functions like clearing snow and maintaining safety. THIS is how our taxes get spent for 'affordable housing'."

6 comments:

  1. They don't take of snow removal in the parking lots along the alley behind the two buildings on Magnolia, either.

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  2. Some folks who live in Section 8 housing aren't really in any physical condition to be shoveling snow (specifically the elderly and the infirm - hell, a lot of people NOT on section 8 probably shouldn't be shoveling snow, either)

    As such, there's no excuse for any management company (public or private) not clearing the snow in a timely manner.

    Having said that, I would woldn't be surprised if one or more of our aldermanic candidates show up with shovels in the not too distant future.

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  3. There is no real positive incentive for any company given a subsidy to do extra work. Revenue is fixed and expenses are not, to make a profit they need to do the least amount of maintenance, service, management and capital improvements. For businesses like this, the model is to drive the building into the ground while not causing an uproar from the people that gave you the money (that is not the tenants).

    RANT ON

    This is why Shiller model, having others pay for other people things) will never and never has worked. Shiller, criticizes the people that gave the money and never said thank you. We never really heard, thanks taxpayers for paying higher taxes to help others. All I heard is, if you are not happy YOU move.

    If you live in these units, I hope you understand that the people that pay thousands of dollars of a year understand that you are getting poorer service and never will get better. We also know that what we pay to the well connect contractors and management companies that give you a poor place to live at nearly many times the going rate of LUXURY apartments. Even if we give your landlords more money, we know that you will never get what we pay to them.

    RANT OFF

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  4. I will bet the same people complaining about the sidewalk have their cars all sholved out. To lazy to lend a hand to clean their own building. Used to be a building owner.. never again.

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  5. Wait and see what these buildings look like in a couple of years under VOP management. The one building on the 4400 block of Magnolia actually looks well maintained now, but since the owner sold and Helen "nabbed" it with TIF money, VOP will run it into the ground.

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  6. Well since she will not be Alderman anymore, I would like to think that all landlords will be held to a higher standard. At least she will not be around to yell at the City Housing Attorneys outside of housing court right before they attempt to hold landlords accountable for their violations of housing code.

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