Woodhaven Apartments... on the outside looking in from Onondaga Blvd the property maintains a quaint and cozy appearance and in winter fireplace smoke can be seen dancing at the chimneys like ballerinas dancing to a melody only they are privileged enough to hear. Once you park your vehicle you come to to a set of double doors which welcome you home... that's about as far as I can extend the sappy romance of this complex...
(The account of the property from here on out is going to be based off of the building that utilizes the address of 4600 Onondaga Blvd and drawing from testimonials from tenants who I personally spoke to and was able to receive information from on the poor shape their units were in plus extensive in depth descriptions of my own unit which was number 38(I have no fear of repercussions in this)
I moved in in the summer of 2009 and at the time the property manager was named Aaron. From the beginning there were issues. 2 hours prior to my assuming occupancy to the unit (originally unit 28) I received a call from him(Aaron) telling me he decided to change my unit to the more expensive 3rd floor unit. The calls to National Grid proved to be the most stressful half hour of my life as I battled back and forth explaining the situation... Anyhow I digress when I took the keys to the apartment unit I discovered that the previous tenant had only vacated the unit at most an hour prior to me moving in (yes this does indeed mean no repairs were done and even the basic cleaning was neglected.) In an unrelated side note my requests for a temporary rent reduction were summarily shot down without hesitation. Over the next year and a half we battled both and Aaron and Mark over various issues from bug infestations to our very serious security issues ranging between security light bulbs burned out and street thugs taking refuge in the apartment because doors didn't close properly. The unit itself was very cramped and had a high number of safety violations ranging from improperly placed carbon monoxide detectors to holes in the wall in which ants, german cockroaches and other bugs could center through.
The reports I received from other tenants included complaints of leaking ceilings, property loss due to neglect of the management and illegal usage of handicapped parking spots. Aaron and more notably Mark both turned a deaf ear to suggestions on improving the property despite claiming to being actively interested in receiving said feedback.
When we had been notified that the property was being foreclosed on Mark had stated all previous arrangements would be honored with no need to contact the temporary receiver of rent. My gut said not to believe this and I began attempting to discuss payment options to make sure everything was agreed on. These attempts at communication failed.
We received our 72 hour notice to vacate the property however no action was taken until January 7th. I stayed in that apartment standing strong and defiant and my defiance was rewarded when I successfully retained possession of the unit to the end of the lease. Fast forward to March 1st we returned to the complex with our haul and we encountered Mark while emptying our stuff from the 2 storage units we had borrowed from other victims of the complex. He told us that as a courtesy he had decided to keep our apartment intact until we had found a new place. (If your getting that feeling he had a change of heart please wipe that thought from your head now.) The reality of the situation is he was in no need to hurry to do anything with the unit as he was unable to fill the empty ones.
In conclusion I will tie this up with a oft used and sometimes abused quip that Mark and Aaron would do good to learn and hold onto in the future... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you... or for the more brutally honest types... words can be like cotton candy or habenero peppers... if ya keep your words sweet and gentle it will never burn your ass on the way out.
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