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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsSuccess! Sometimes you just have to speak up.
Last edited Thu Jan 27, 2022, 05:09 AM - Edit history (1)
I live in a senior complex that consists of 3 multi-storied apartment buildings. For insurance and safety reasons, our fire alarm system in the halls and inside each apartment have to be inspected and tested once a year.
Last year it was done in May. On Monday, we were notified that the annual inspection would be done on Wednesday. Huh? It had not been a year. They were here just 8 months ago.
The infection rate in this area is 20%. Hospitalizations and deaths are going up. Breakthrough infections with omicron are common. Some people in these buildings are not vaccinated. These inspections, going from one apartment to the next sounded like a spreader event to me.
Sure, omicron is supposed to be not as severe as previous variants - if you are young and healthy. But we are all over 65 and there are many who have the range of health issues you can expect among seniors - diabetes, asthma, COPD, cancer. Breakthrough infections among us could be very serious.
I fumed about it and then called the management office. They didn't know anything about it, said that the maintenance manager handles the inspections. I read off the local infection statistics and reminded them of vulnerability problems among us. The complex manager agreed that January was early since they were here in May. He said I could refuse to let them in IF I signed a statement that it was due to covid concerns.
I expected a communications SNAFU with inspectors demanding to be let in. I was prepared to stand my ground. I am tired of avoiding bare-faced people and naked noses in public. I am tired of people who violate my space in public instead of distancing. I am tired of people who say that omicron is mild as I watch death and hospitalization statistics rise among seniors. I am tired of my doctor's receptionist on Monday whose oversized, loose mask kept slipping off her face while I checked in. I am tired of the doctor and her PA who wore their surgical masks at the tip of their noses without fitting the nose clip for a seal.
I need ONE SPACE in this world where I can feel safe - my home. I do not want strangers coming into it who might or might not be vaccinated, who might or might not wear a mask or wear it correctly, who might have picked up omicron and carried it from one apartment to the next. I do not want to risk that some stranger might carry the virus and leave it behind in the air of my home for me to inhale when I take my mask off after they leave.
But, my phone call worked beyond my expectations. After speaking to me, the complex's manager told the maintenance manager to reschedule the inspections for May, like last year, in the hope that things will look better then. Whew. I am relieved. The magats who live here won't care that I got a postponement, but I didn't do it for them. I did it for the rest of us.
MLAA
(17,282 posts)SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)brush
(53,767 posts)as I do, that some money crossed palms somewhere...probably from the inspection company to the maintenance manager...for the benefit of the inspection company some way.
No way they'd take that job on four months early for no reason.
Deuxcents
(16,190 posts)Good on you✊
secondwind
(16,903 posts)bucolic_frolic
(43,133 posts)but contacting another can change the world.
Congratulations!!
Wild blueberry
(6,623 posts)Thank you.
LoisB
(7,202 posts)wnylib
(21,432 posts)the inspectors were two young men. I met them in the hallway to check on masks. I was wearing mine but neither one of them even had one with them. They each said, "It's ok. I'm vaccinated." I said, "So am I. You still need a mask to enter my place." I reached inside where I had surgical masks ready, with the ear loops knotted to eliminate cheek gaps. I stood in the hall with them while they put them on to make sure that they sealed the nose clip before letting them in.
One of them had a thick beard, so there's no way he could get a proper seal. But that was before delta, when everyone thought the pandemic was over after the vaccinations.
This year is so different with omicron. If it was the same attitude and bearded guy, no way was he coming in my place.
LoisB
(7,202 posts)yardwork
(61,595 posts)Now, what about your doctor? I'm shocked about the office's lax approach. Time to switch doctors?
wnylib
(21,432 posts)ever since my appointment on Monday. There are other things that have had me thinking of looking for a new one. So maybe now is the time.
packman
(16,296 posts)PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,848 posts)will be inspected in May. Good for you for speaking up.
I get tired of people who don't understand that a simple twist of the ear loop will shorten it enough so that the mask won't keep on drifting down. I have a small face, and quickly figured out the twist solves the problem of a too-large mask. It's hardly rocket science.
llmart
(15,536 posts)She doesn't live in NY though. She is a very educated, outspoken person, and has never given two hoots what people think of her. She lives in senior subsidized housing apartments where these sorts of inspections happen for various reasons. I spoke with her a couple days ago and she said they got a notice that it was time for termite inspection. She immediately contacted the building manager and said no one would be allowed to enter her apartment at this time. They tried to give her a little flak but she isn't easily intimidated, so she went above the manager's head and gave them her reasons for not letting anyone in. They backed down. She is as fierce as they come and she is very articulate and a retired medical librarian.
Her usual line is "I'm retired and I have all the time in the world to hound these people. I did not get to this age only to have some bozo bring Covid into my place."
wnylib
(21,432 posts)would grit my teeth and put up with it, but covid has made me more assertive since I keep running into situations where I have to take a stand to protect myself.
I have become an assertive old geezer.
wnylib
(21,432 posts)takes good care of his investment in them. Repairs and upkeep are done regularly by the maintenance people, under the supervision of the management office. The fire inspections are required by the owner's insurance company. That's why the manager told me that he wanted a signed statement from me about my covid concerns. He was covering his butt if questioned. NY has some good rental laws and covid rules, but sometimes you need to make sure that they are enforced. So I was prepared to contact a state agency if necessary. But it wasn't and I was glad to see it resolved by a phone call.
niyad
(113,264 posts)Evolve Dammit
(16,723 posts)left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)Everyone wore masks.
No big deal here.
There was a fire in an apartment of my building a couple years ago so we're very concerned about fire protection.
Sometimes you have to walk and chew gum at the same time.
That's life with covid.
wnylib
(21,432 posts)when I was a teenager. Intense heat and smoke everywhere, but fortunately, we all got out OK. So I take fire safety very seriously.
But the buildings were all thoroughly inspected less than a year ago. The next inspection was not due yet. There was no need to do it early during the height of infection rates among the type of vulnerable population living in the buildings. The inspections were not permanently cancelled. They were rescheduled for the appropriate time, one year after the last inspection.
Sometimes you have to read a post and think at the same time.
Response to wnylib (Reply #23)
left-of-center2012 This message was self-deleted by its author.
LisaL
(44,973 posts)Hopefully covid is much lower in May.
calimary
(81,220 posts)Excellent work!!!!!
Yep. Sometimes you just have to speak up!
mahina
(17,646 posts)Plus the safety factor, all that stuff costs money and shouldnt be required double time 🙌✨🤙🏼🤙🏼
KS Toronado
(17,201 posts)come May to wear N95 masks, I'm sure you'll twist his ear when the time comes.
wnylib
(21,432 posts)If necessary, I will meet them in the hall with N95s in hand and wait until they mask up properly before letting them in.
But I should not have to do that. They should have their own N95s.
One reason why the infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are rising here is that people ignore the state mask mandate for public places. There are a lot of anti vaxxers here, too. The county vaccination rate is 53%. So I am constantly dealing with people who do not take covid seriously. I have to advocate for myself.
I think that my phone call where I read off local health department statistics made the manager concerned about his own liability if an outbreak occurred. NY has good rental laws to protect renters' rights and good covid precaution rules, including a mask mandate (which many locals ignore). But the laws and rules are only as good as the enforcement of them.
LittleGirl
(8,282 posts)Nobody comes in our house without masks, not even friends visiting!
pandr32
(11,579 posts)We need to advocate for ourselves reasonably and clearly. Someone has to be the grown-up in this society.
AllaN01Bear
(18,159 posts)however some manditory things like fire systems must be done but they can do remotely at the main panel. they mainly test the hall annunciators , etc .good for u
BobTheSubgenius
(11,563 posts)...of the job I used to do. Maybe an official from the muni building department or the fire marshal does that job there, but here, it was done by private companies.
We had an excellent reputation and worked to keep it that way. Still, things like your situation have happened. Unwilling tenant, missing key, whatever. All I had to do was make a notation on the checklist, and I was legally protected, and so was the company.
An "inspector" representing a company is more than willing to skip a device or two, but they have to keep careful records. It kept "us" out of court on a couple of occasions. All the damage was to structure, and none to humans or pets, thankfully.
Good job on your part!
malaise
(268,943 posts)Keep on speaking out my friend
wnylib
(21,432 posts)Response to wnylib (Original post)
malaise This message was self-deleted by its author.