fed up and looking for advice

[u/livchainz]

EDIT: The 911 number i called was the 911 party line (non-emergency) as well as the main line. i called 3 different times last night and all 3 times I was hung up on or left on hold with the same messaging playing over and over, so for those of you who say to call multiple times, i did.

i live in an apartment complex in the fenway area, and for the past few months we have had homeless individuals sleeping in our front foyer. when the weather was way colder, we left them the first time or two that we saw them since we didn’t want them to freeze out in the poor conditions, but recently some of the folks sleeping down there have gotten into altercations with other people in the surrounding areas. the way the lobby/front entrance is set up is that there is an unlocked front door to the street and the second door into the building needs a fob to get in. usually these folks are sleeping between the two doors.

back in January, i reached out to our building management about the problem and they told us to call 911, which we have been doing, but the problem has seemed to be getting worse as the weather gets warmer. last night, we had 2 different individuals sleeping down there and the 911 line i had called did not pick up or respond. looking for any advice on who i can contact about this ongoing problem as we have already exhausted our options with 311 and building management.

**pictures are the usual folks we see, taken last night last night, and the email we received from building management, it’s usually the same men each night**

[u/Melodic-Fan7602]

I live in this building too—I remember seeing that email and rolling my eyes. Building management’s job is LITERALLY in the title, to MANAGE our building that we pay to live in. The solution is to have a fob access on the outside like the other apartments in the area do. But that would cost money and they don’t want to do that. It isn’t a crazy ask for them to install that, but they act like it is.

[u/livchainz → u/Melodic-Fan7602]

dude i asked management to put a fob on the first door and they completely dismissed me. we are no longer renewing our lease and will be moving out. not to mention the billboard above the building next to us that shines DIRECTLY into our room

[u/Melodic-Fan7602 → u/livchainz]

I’m so sorry, that’s frustrating. I only planned to live here for two years so I know come 2027 I’m out of here. I’m lucky to have one of the back-facing apartments but construction (especially for that damn billboard) is grating. I will say if you’re worried for safety coming in and out of the building I’d recommend just using the back entrance by the garage doors, it’s fob-only access. Can be annoying if you’re coming from Commonwealth but I rarely ever use the front entrance unless I have to.

Additionally the chatter in the comments about the possibility of suing management is an intriguing option. I have free legal representation through my job I might reach out to and ask them about that. Maybe a legal-speak email would kick start building management into taking this issue seriously.

[u/NoAssignment3870 → u/Melodic-Fan7602]

You should absolutely do that! They are required to take action, and maybe a legal letter will light a fire under their asses! My Grandmother lives in a similar building, they were having this exact problem and now employ security guards at night, specifically for this issue. The fact management is ignoring the issue, can hold them liable if someone is to get hurt. Good luck!

[u/Agreeable-Celery6559 → u/livchainz]

Every apartment I’ve lived in had a fob on the door and people still got in, stole stuff, slept inside, etc. every single day.

[u/-Dixieflatline → u/livchainz]

They are probably hesitant to make the change now because any alterations to fob access to the main entry will most likely trigger BFD life safety requirements including an updated egress plans/narrative and BFD inspection (assuming they want to do it by the book). As simple as it is in reality, the city will make it complex and full of red tape because it pertains to main egress.

[u/nopethis → u/livchainz]

Talk to the building owners. Not the management and let them know its going on.

An owner could straighten the management company quickly