Glargh

It's one of those days. It's been one of those weeks. It started out so promisingly! And now. I barely have enough energy to move these fronds at the ends of my torso-extensions on this here letter-tapping board.

Feel free to take a look at some of my Twitter eruptions from night, if you have the time or inclination to make sense of my jabbering. Short version: for the umpteenth time, something violent and horrifying occurred in our building. We called our old buddies, our friendly local police officers, who for the millionth time strolled in and out of the building faster than it could possibly take to glean any information at all.

We've tried to help, to make sense of this place, to see if we can't get some assistance from the landlord or the authorities so we can live safely enough, but it has become imminently clear, if it was not before, that this is not where we should live. This is not a place any sane or reasonable person should live. So I have to add on "find a new apartment" to the already overflowing list of all that there is to do.

All I want to do is go back to bed. But alas, that is not on my list.

Comments

[Rachel]

oh my. I live in California and I'm terrified of your neighbors.

[Adrienne]

Holy sweet mother of Mary, good luck and godspeed on the new apartment hunt.

[beyond]

holy cow! the only problem i have with my (upstairs) neighbors is that their high heels and stomping drive me insane at all hours of the day and night. i shall now consider myself blessed.

[Boston Mamas]

UGH. Sending good thoughts for relocation. And soon.

[a]

How frightening! I hope you can find a decent place soon.

[amigurumigirl]

wow and we thought our complex was turning towards the ugly recently. our trash areas have been getting more disgusting, people don't pick up after their dogs, lots of car break ins, stabbing victims hiding out, the single mother upstairs called the cops on her own middle school aged son a couple of weeks ago... yea, but i think you win. good luck with the hunt. we are moving out end of april ourselves.

[Amber, theAmberShow]

There are two ladies at T.B. Shaw on 7th, Mary and Melissa, who are wonderful, amazing, trustworthy real estate agents. They know Park Slope in and out and have listings no one else has. I can't speak highly enough of them!

Good luck!

[Danielle]

That sounds absolutely terrifying. Having grown up in Queens, I fully understand your reaction of "That's it? That's all you're gonna do?" when it comes to the NYPD. My unwarranted suggestion? HOA or condo. Seriously. Those housing boards would most definitely NOT stand for what just happened in your complex.

Good luck, and hang in there until you find a new place =)

[Dmom]

Why on God's green earth would you go out to tell them to go away and not just call the police in the first place???? You're lucky they didn't decide to take their aggression out on you and H.
Sorry I'm a big fan, but that was a stupid move! Don't do it again!!!!
Now...find a better appartment and then put the police number on speed dial, that's what they're paid for you know...to serve and protect!!!

[Megsie]

How awful. Both what happened and having to move (again.) Yuck.

[Christa Dahlstrom]

I was vicariously horrified while following your Twitter updates last night. Living in a place where you don't feel safe is the WORST FEELING EVER. I had that experience before my son was born and I can't imagine what it would be like to be in that situation with a child.

Hope you can find a better place, and some peace of mind, soon.

[mp]

on the upside, you don't have to worry about spending all that money on redecorating just yet...

Sorry you're having to endure the crazy people though!

[Meredith]

if it feels bad, get out. in the interim, my unsolicited advice is to pretend that you don't notice whatever is going on, even though that is a completely shitty thing to do. not to be scary but those police calls are not as confidential as you think. my own bad neighbor situation ended in him trying to break into my apt, and when he couldn't get in, him setting our building on fire. in a big way, with gasoline and death. my hobby is real estate listings, let me know if you need help scouring.

[Holly]

Ugh, that sucks! Moving sucks as it is, let alone to HAVE to move due to outside situations. I feel you.

I think you need some bloody knuckles. You can throw down I'm sure! :)

[beta dad]

Get a bigger dog? I have never encountered a suspected psychopath that wasn't afraid of a big dog. Of course, you're still gonna have to move. The dog won't keep your neighbors from assaulting one another.

[Sadie at heyMamas]

Yikes, so sorry although I don't know what happened. Good luck on finding a new place.

Sadie at heyMamas

[Snarkoleptic]

Ouch. Reminds me of a situation I had on State Street 20 years ago where the final straw was coming home to find someone had shot the lock off the front door. Break lease. If landlord is good guy he will understand and someone else will be happy to take your place, er, well, you know. The good news is that your son is already enrolled in the school so you don't really need to worry about finding a new apartment right in the zone. I mean technically yeah but I know so many people whose kids go there who no longer live in the zone. I vote you look to find a new place stat, that is if you are accepting votes. Sorry about the big suck.

[Chandra]

But I thought Park Slope was so safe?

[Jan]

It sounds like one apartment is the cause of the problems...? Maybe if enough people go to the super about them...? It would be a shame to leave an otherwise good building, if they could be gotten rid of.

On the other hand, this is a perfect example of a time when renting beats owning all to pieces. You can pick up and go if you feel like you have to.

[Emily]

I missed your Twitter feed last night but it sounds horrifying. Get out. Now. Tweets, posts, and other "virtual" things can wait. Your family can not. Hope you find a new place soon!

[Jen]

Oh my god Alice - that is insane. I'm a long time reader, first time poster and resident Brooklynite. People are totally nuts. I rent the top floor of a house with two other renters and there was once a pair of first floor tenants who were the craziest, trashiest people I have ever met. Like, sneak out of the backyard and hop over the fence to avoid the Rent-A-Center repo men crazy. Oh yeah. That happened. Mercifully their tenancy was brief and were tossed out by our awesome landlord.
Hopefully things will perk up.

[Clair]

Ugh. Hang in there. I finally had to move last year after my landlord's work crew robbed my apartment and then somebody tried to burn the place down. I didn't realize how stressed I was about my safety until I finally relaxed the first week in my new apartment. I'm still sleeping better 6 months later. Moving sucks, but it'll definitely be worth the hassle. Good luck to you.

[SGP]

At least you don't need to worry about painting the brick now....?

Right?

(Sorry - all sounds hideous, we'll all cross our fingers you find somewhere nice, and quickly).

[BlabberMouse]

I hope you didn't implement everyone's decorating instructions yet! Sending good vibes your way.

[Melissa]

Oh, Alice. :( And here I thought the worst of your problems was a small living room and mismatched shelves from IKEA. I second the suggestion about a complex with an HOA. I want you and your family to feel much safer than you do now.

[suburbancorrespondent]

Stay safe!

[Jane]

Wow. It's been almost 20 years since I lived in Brooklyn (Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Boerem Hill, um....that old Crack-haven near the museum...).

I miss NYC like nothing else. I talk to my kids (two boys, ten and eight) about it a lot. I even told my youngest (who asked) that I'd probably move to NYC if I won the lottery.

But your worries break my heart. I know how much it means to you to be back "home".

I hope it all works out.

[Deana Birks]

Oh, wow. We used to live in a neighborhood that got progressively worse over time and eventually we were able to move, but the time between realizing we needed to get out and actually being in a new place was the most stressful, traumatizing time for all of us. We heard some things I still can't think about without my blood pressure going up. It's a shame moving can't be instantaneous.

[Leslie]

It's terrible not to feel safe - you're never off your guard. Good luck!

[jdg]

this is what gets me every time I hear some uberhipster asshole lamenting the "loss of true brooklyn" or whatever. like this shit. the nostalgic glorification of crime and dirtiness and crazy neighbors is so stupid. those guys are the hipster equivalent of the old man shaking his cane at the kids these days.

keeping the fingers crossed you'll find a home that doesn't need the NYPD on speed dial. . .

[rebeccanyc]

Oh I feel your pain. I live way, way uptown in Manhattan, and this type of thing happens occasionally, thankfully usually OUTSIDE of the building, but sometimes in the hallways. Only difference is they are all speaking spanish, so I never know what is going on. We did have a problem with a large family living in a small apartment, Landlord took them to court and LOST...Rent Control (yes we still have people with rent controlled apartments here! not just stabalized) protected them. Ugh.

[Chandra]

If it were me, I'd break the lease and get on out of there. It will be a drag to find a new place but well worth it in the end. Good luck to you.

[Alexandra]

Oh, gosh, Alice, I have to agree with you on this one. I'll send out all sorts of positive thoughts your way, for you to find a safe place for your family.

Not pleasant. Good luck in your search, from the bottom of my heart. From what I've read of you, this anxiety can't be good for you.

And it does sound as awful as you said it was, I looked at the twitter comments. Awful.

[samantha jo campen]

I was reading your twitter stream the other night and was biting my fingers down to the nubs. I'm so sorry, there is NOTHING worse than a shitty living situation. It affects EVERYTHING.

Hope you find an awesome place soon. Like, the MECCA of all Park Slope apartments.

[guffo]

i got mugged entering a small brownstone in park slope (just off 7th ave at 8pm in the evening) a month ago, and had a black eye to show for it. i know how you feel to be frightened at home and i'm sorry for your scare.

[Sara -- The Football Wife]

I guess I'm lucky in the South... the only problem I have is that my neighbor's children play naked in the back yard... except for the adopted one. Go figure.

[Tinkersdamn]

A hidden room is better than a panic room. We've got some incredibly crummy council housing near us (SE London) and you def don't shortcut thru there to get to the convenience store after dusk... and if you MUST, then you buy a tin of something and carry it in a plastic bag so you have a ready-made weapon. But we're stuck where we are for the time being, and luckily it's not right outside our door.
Good luck with the hunt.

[molly]

Oh no. A few weeks ago I would have sent you immediately to my dad the wonderful park slope landlord with a two bedroom apt. w/ big backyard and only nice literature grad students living upstairs and nice me living next door with some baby chicks...
But he just rented it.
I hope you guys can find a great new place, filled with safety. Brooklyn can show you the best and the worst sometimes. Looks like you guys saw some of the worst.

[WendyPinNJ]

Yikes! You poor thing.

[Belinda Gomez]

You live in NYC. You used to live in NJ. Get used to it. You are such a hysteric.

[Ashley]

I don't think she's being unreasonable. I live in a less-than-stellar area of NJ, and while i'm used to encountering odd characters on the street, I wouldn't tolerate violence and confrontational behavior in my building. And considering there is a young child in the apartment, I don't think "getting used to it" is a viable solution. You shouldn't be scared in your own home. You shouldn't be afraid to take your dog out. People "getting used to it" is how assholes like those neighbors are created in the first place.

Home is a place where you should be able to feel secure, at the very least. Why would someone want to pay to live somewhere when neighbors are screaming right outside of your door and you've had to call the police more than once? That is stuff you only tolerate if you don't have a choice.

[Lauren Kamin]

Am not sure if you would consider buying at this point but an apt in our small (8 apt)limestone condo is about to go on the market i believe, as it was just renovated. 3 beds 1 bath, fourth floor walkup, we are on the 3rd floor and the stairs are short and its really not bad. Nice, friendly, quiet building. Park is across the street! Please email me if you want more info.

[heyjoe]

That sucks Alice. I'm sorry. Hope you're out of there sooooon.

[Megan]

Hey Alice,
uh....are you ok?
Miss you.

Megan

[moxie block]

i am a first time commenter, but felt compelled after reading your last post. i too live in brooklyn, and have, for the last few years suffered horrible harassment from a downstairs neighbor including threats of violence and stolen mail. my husbands' response is a defiant 'fuck that guy' whereas i am reduced to shaking and crying and frantic whispers at 4 in the afternoon. even without the worry of children (although i was quietly convinced he would climb up the fire escape and poison my 2 cats) i simply could not handle the anxiety. pretty much everybody's advice was 'don't be a baby' and 'fight back'.

i am with you. such a toxic environment can do you and your family no good. this is an un-winnable war, find somewhere else, leave asap. don't be sentimental about the space you are leaving. it is just a box, and nobody should be shackled to a box.

i move out next week, for somewhere half the size and 10 times the peace. i hope that your move is quick and painless.

and i totally get it

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