As of Wednesday or Thursday of this week, (Mar 31 or Apr 1), Fios will begin installing their cables inside our building. There will be some drilling involved in this installation, but any drilling will be restricted to begin no earlier than 9am and on weekdays only. They will be working to run their cables inside their new crown-molding style cable-track on all 6 of our residential floors. This new style of track will obscure our view of the existing rectangular cablevision cable-track. They will also be working to run cables vertically through our building in the compactor rooms on each floor. If you have any questions for the board about or during this work, please e-mail board@616east18.com. The work should last about a week. No estimate yet on when you will be able to sign up for Fios. Stay tuned.
March 2010 Archives
Work has commenced this morning on installing a fiberglass utility pole on our sidewalk. This will eventually hold up a Fios utility box and is part of our building's imminent Fios cabling project. Stay tuned for more updates as work is about to begin inside our building as well. UPDATE: This pole is actually not just for our building. It will hold a Fios utility box that will service our entire block... it just happens to reside just north of our garage entrance.
You may have noticed that the no-parking 7am-7pm on weekdays zone has been moved away from our front entrance over to the end of our block, near our garage, and the zone is a bit longer than it was before. This was done at our building's request in response to noise complaints. Busses that need to pull over in front of our building were unable to find room, instead stopping all traffic on our street and causing symphonies of car horns most mornings and afternoons. We are hoping that the new larger no-parking zone will increase the opporunities for the busses to pull out of traffic, thus making our block a bit more peaceful. Please help by following the new parking zone rules. Thank you!
Sometimes it's not always clear how much our staff does to improve the quality of life in our building. Here is a good example. The other day, you may not have been around to see our staff (Rolando and Nasario) sealing the sidewalk in front of our building, as they do periodically, to reduce the amount of dust that we track into our building with our shoes. Check it out:
New Google Group for Building Residents
We're excited to introduce a Google Group for all
building residents. Residents can now ask questions relevant to the building or
neighborhood, sell or give away items, post news, by emailing 616east18@googlegroups.com. If you already receive updates from the board, you've been automatically added to the group. However, note this is a closed group, so spammers or people who do not live in the building will not be able to send an email to the group. If you are a resident, but haven't been automatically added, email webmaster@616east18.com and please include your name and apartment number. From now on, updates from the board will be sent through this new google group.
Verizon Fios Installation Has Begun
Verizon Fios installed some conduit from a man-hole at
Foster and East 18th under the street and our sidewalk to the south side of our
building. While this is the first step to have fiber-optic cable directly into
our building, we anticipate three more months of work before this project is
complete.Leaks in Units?
The walls of our building near our roof, and some of the structures on our roof are showing some wear and tear. Water is getting in through various cracks, and the board is preparing a project to repair these cracks and areas that look to be in danger of forming cracks. If you or someone you know has any water getting in to your walls, especially on the upper floors of the building, please contact the board ASAP so that we can include your area in this project, if you have not done so already. This project will also help to seal gaps in the building's "heat envelope", preventing warm air from escaping as quickly in the winter, which should improve our building's energy efficiency.
Boiler Replacement Project Progress
After receiving several contractor bids for the project, the board has narrowed the field down to the three best proposals and is scheduling interviews with each of the three contractors before selecting the winning bid for the work. In the meantime, the asbestos pipe insulation must be removed before demolition of the existing boiler can begin. The board has approved contractors for this project. Stay tuned for updates coming soon.Hallway Renovation Update
After receiving several contractor bids for the project, the board has narrowed the field down to the three best proposals and is scheduling interviews with each of the three contractors before selecting the winning bid for the work. In the meantime, the asbestos pipe insulation must be removed before demolition of the existing boiler can begin. The board has approved contractors for this project. Stay tuned for updates coming soon.Hallway Renovation Update
The board is receiving proposals from three designers,
and will share the options with residents in a special meeting to be scheduled
in the next couple of months. Residents will be able to offer feedback on
complete designs including wall coverings, paint colors, and patterns of carpeting.
Be Kind to your Upstairs/Downstairs Neighbors
A reminder to all residents: there is no sound barrier between floors, so try to be as considerate as possible to your downstairs neighbors and as forgiving as possible to your upstairs neighbors. A few tips:
A reminder to all residents: there is no sound barrier between floors, so try to be as considerate as possible to your downstairs neighbors and as forgiving as possible to your upstairs neighbors. A few tips:
If some of your high-traffic areas are not covered with carpeting or rugs, consider taking of your shoes more often when walking around in your apartment.
Remember that dropping shoes or moving chairs can seem like no big deal, but they can sound shockingly loud to the person below you.
If your upstairs neighbor is making distracting noise, consider politely knocking on their door and introducing yourself. Try to work together to figure out what activities the problem noises are coming from and potential solutions.
Avoid retaliating or knocking on the ceiling.
Although the board can sometimes help mediate noise disputes, the best course of action is to develop a relationship of mutual respect and understanding with your vertical neighbors.