To Housing Management:

As a 22-year resident of the Island, I have seen many improvements and many disheartening worsening conditions. I feel compelled to address one of the worsening conditions in writing to you.

What is Management's plan on addressing the growing problem of children playing in the public hallways of the buildings? From loud radio playing to basketballs bouncing on the hallway floors (i.e., my ceilings) to scooter riding, the noises are getting louder and more frequent. There are also resulting physical damages to our buildings - torn up and stained carpets, broken windows, food crumbs that encourage both bugs and rodents. When I have attempted to ask the children to move, I have been spoken back to (sometimes even by the children's parents, if they are also in the hall), and am now afraid to deal with those situations personally. Although Public Safety is responsive to my nearly daily complaint calls, merely telling the children to go away is not addressing the real issue - making these children's parents aware that their children are impacting the quality of life of other tenants.

Correct me if I am wrong, but is it not management's responsibility to guarantee each tenant a certain level of quality of life? My husband and I chose not to have children for our own personal reasons - we should certainly not have to baby-sit and discipline our neighbors' children.

What about "No Loitering" signs, or signs that say, "This is not a playground!"? What about assessing fees to the children's parents if there are more than three complaints that are tracked back to their households? What about insisting that Public Safety escort these kids back to their homes so that the parents can be aware of the trouble that the kids are causing? Just a few suggestions.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Karen P. Bdera
cc: Director, Public Safety