YouTube!

Kenmore Hall has a YouTube channel now - go to YouTube and open the Kenmore Confidential channel. 

If you (or anyone you know) wants to share a story or be interviewed, send an email to kenmoreconfidential@gmail.com 

videos about the building...

There's a new YouTube channel called Kenmore Confidential. Videos about the building are being posted on a regular basis. Open YouTube, and type Kenmore Confidential in the search bar. Check it out!

The Sky Is Falling...

On April 11th, maintenance staff at Kenmore Hall started removing the ceiling tiles throughout the lobby. A memo had been posted the evening before informing tenants that part of the lobby would be off-limits during the morning hours on the 11th, 12th and 13th. By Friday the 13th, most of the tiles were gone from the ceiling throughout the lobby, and what's visible in the dropped ceiling area is a nasty, dusty collection of wires and pipes. This mess was left exposed over the weekend.

A similar memo went up referring to a closure for the lobby on Monday, April 16. 

A tenant allegedly saw maintenance workers shaking an assortment of dust and dark dirt loose from the exposed areas - and then the area being swept but not mopped - around 8:15 Monday morning. And we haven't seen any memos about WHY the ceiling tiles have been removed, what kind of work is being done, and when the tiles will be replaced...

But I wonder if the Department of Buildings is aware of the situation. Kenmore Hall still has two active Stop Work Orders in place: one is for electrical work, the other is for plumbing work, and I'm just curious because, you know, there are all those wires hanging out - and what appear to be plumbing pipes...

In late July, 2017, the rear of the Kenmore Hall lobby was modified so that tenants couldn’t use it - a “temporary” shed was erected, allegedly to accommodate tools and equipment needed for modifications to the elevators. According to a memo that was posted on bulletin boards throughout the building at the time, the shed was only going to be up for a week.

As of April 18, 2018, the shed is still blocking off the rear of the lobby, and work on only ONE of the elevators has been completed.

Work is currently underway on a second elevator. Elevator #1 (the one that work has been completed on) is not accessible to tenants; only staff is allowed to use it. This means that - in a building with over 320 units and tenants - only two elevators are available for tenant use. On many days, during business hours, tenants have to make due with just ONE elevator. At other times, the two working elevators often “hang” on one floor or another midway up the building while some inconsiderate tenants hold the doors while they chat with neighbors, or worse yet, put objects like bicycles or bags in the doorway of the elevator to hold the elevator while they purchase loosie cigarettes or drugs from their neighbors.

Obviously, this creates an intolerable situation for other tenants who need access to the elevators. It’s impossible to anticipate how long tenants will have to wait to be able to get to the lobby or the floors they live on. It’s frustrating to be delayed getting to appointments because of this. It becomes a very serious issue if a tenant has called an ambulance due to serious illness and the EMS workers cannot get to them in a timely manner. In addition, the building has many disabled tenants who use wheelchairs; they clearly do not have the option of using the stairs, but when only one elevator is working, this often translates into additional delays for many while the wheelchair user gets to their destination and frees up the elevator (only one or two slim people can get on while the elevator is occupied by a wheelchair user). This is not meant to be a criticism of anyone using a wheelchair, by the way: the elevators are very small.

H.S.I. staff and management hasn’t seen fit to let tenants know how long the situation with the elevators is going to continue. And tenants are expected to continue putting up with paying full rent even though building services have been reduced for an indefinite period of time. Anyone else see a problem here?

Fwd: Kenmore Confidential

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kenmore Confidential <kenmoreconfidential@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 17, 2018 at 4:16 PM
Subject: Kenmore Confidential
To: emilyholiday@gmail.com

https://youtu.be/nBxOvsG4U34

Check out Kenny Clown

Fwd: You fought — and you won.

This is a very important issue for tenants across the city (especially since HSI likes to threaten tenants who don't cooperate with trivial bullshit - the "go to" threat is eviction). I'll post any similar announcements for Manhattan events.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: IMPACCT Brooklyn <info@impacctbk.org>
Date: Friday, April 13, 2018
Subject: You fought — and you won.
To: emilyholiday@gmail.com

Learn more about your Right to Counsel!

You fought for the right to a free attorney in Housing Court... and you won. Learn more about your new Right to Counsel at a special town hall event! Wednesday, April 18 @ 7 p.m. St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf 260 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn NY 11225 Food, Childcare, and Translation Provided New York City's new program offering legal free representation for New Yorkers facing eviction is being rolled out by ZIP Codes starting with 11221, 11216, and 11225. RSVP below to find out more! Right To Counsel Town Hall LOCATION 260 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn NY 11225 DATE AND TIME 04/18/18 7:00pm - 04/18/18 8:00pm I'll be there! Maybe I can't make it In partnership with... Help #KeepHousingFair! Send a message that our communities rely on economic, racial, & cultural diversity to thrive! In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, sign our #KeepHousingFair petition demanding our leaders commit to fully fund programs that prevent housing discrimination and strengthen all members of our communities. Your support helps IMPACCT Brooklyn continue its work in the community. Donate ‌ ‌ ‌

IMPACCT Brooklyn | 1000 Dean Street, Suite 420, Brooklyn, NY 11238 Unsubscribe emilyholiday@gmail.com Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by info@impacctbk.org in collaboration with Try it free today

Having trouble breathing?

Here's a short (less than 5 minute) episode of Kenmore Confidential about air quality inside the building.

It's just a draft... the issue may be revisited later in more depth and with better production quality.

Here's the link: Kenmore Hall's Toxic Air Quality

Kenmore Confidential is launching a series of podcasts and videos this month on YouTube. Here's where to see more:

Kenmore Confidential (click on this link)

Got a story about life in Kenmore Hall that you'd like to share with the public? Got a beef with H.S.I.? Can you document / show proof that what you're talking about is true? Kenmore Confidential is recruiting tenants to participate - and help change the lousy conditions in the building.

Contact them by email at kenmoreconfidential@gmail.com.

MOLD

Tenants have been expressing concern about mold in the building again lately. I've posted plenty of information about mold over the years (all you have to do is scroll down through the blog to find it) - but here's a handy shortcut: here's a list of the molds you need to be worried about. 'Just so you know, mold is everywhere in our environment, and many of them are harmless - or even beneficial (we wouldn't have wine, yogurt, cheese or even penicillin if it weren't for mold, ok?) The molds listed below can cause a wide range of symptoms that can become BIG problems if left untreated, though:

• Stachybotrys
• Penicillium (not penicillin)
• Aspergillus
• Alternaria
• Cladosporium
• Helminthosporium
• Epicoccum
• Mucor

Get tested by an allergist for this group of molds. It's a start toward seeing how sensitive you are to them. Some people have said that they want to see a toxicologist about this, and that may be the way to go, but my hunch is that it's going to be very difficult to get an appointment with a toxicologist right off the bat, especially if you're working with Medicaid or Medicare - but if you see an allergist first, and get an allergy panel done, that's a step toward getting a REFERRAL. 

You can go online and find recommendations of local allergists using ZocDoc or a similar website, or ask your insurance carrier about who's in your networik. Here's on allergist who's pretty good:

Dr. Mary Lee Wong

Beth Israel Medical Center, Allergy and Immunology Department, Office 3F, 

10 Union Square East New York, NY 10003

212-420-4013     212-844-8108  

Of course, getting treated for mold poisoning is going to be fairly futile unless you're also able to get the mold cleaned out of your immediate environment, because of the issue of being constantly exposed to the mold. Look into getting your "apartment" tested for mold as a first step. Getting it cleaned out is going to be challenging because H.S.I. doesn't take this issue seriously. However, that may have to change dramatically in the near future because of this;

The New York City Council recently voted to pass the Asthma-Free Housing Act (Intro385C), a bill that allows renters to live safely in homes free of mold, pests, and indoor health hazards. Councilwoman Rosie Mendez (D-2) worked for ten years alongside advocates, including New York Lawyers for the Public Interest as part of the Coalition for Asthma Free Housing, to pass the bill that mandates landlords clean up dangerous asthma triggers inside city apartments. 

   

The Asthma-Free Housing Act (Intro 385C) requires New York City landlords to annually inspect and correct indoor allergen hazards, including mold, pests, and underlying symptoms that may cause hazardous conditions, such as water leaks and pest entryways (holes and cracks), in the homes of residents diagnosed with asthma, COPD, or lung cancer.