Miles from Fenway: Without Heat and Without Hope

I’ve mentioned before that my landlord does not live in the country. I’ve mentioned before that while he sits, warm and happy in the Dominican Republic we have gone without heat on numerous occasions. This weekend, it went much much further than that.

On Friday I received a call from Grad Student Roommate saying that the women from the office under our apartment had called Keyspan because they smelled gas. Well, that can’t be good, I thought. It wasn’t.

When Keyspan showed up to check for the gas leak they found that though there wasn’t a leak, there WAS a problem with our ventilation system. They immediately shut off our gas. To the entire apartment building. Why? Because if they hadn’t we all ran the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Ok, good reason.

But what this left us with was NOTHING. We have no heat. Ok, that I’m kind of used to. But it’s in the mid-thirties right now. And all those little tricks we used to use to get through the heatless days? Namely taking hot showers and baking a lot to warm up the kitchen? Useless. Why? Because no gas also means no hot water and no use of the stove. That’s right, I can’t be warm, can’t shower, and can’t cook anything other than stuff I can make in the microwave. Let’s just say I am less than happy.

Oh and to add insult to injury? Our bathroom flooded yesterday.

With both roommates gone all weekend I was left in a very cold apartment all day (and well into the night) on Saturday trying to coordinate the various efforts of Keyspan, our super, my landlord, the plumber, etc. I was and am so freaking bitter, you have absolutely no idea.

So for now I am living out of a backpack that is sitting on the Twin’s floor. I went back once Sunday to spend time with Tessie and to get clothes for work today, but that was it. Tonight I am going to brave the cold if only because I HAVE to get stuff done. I can’t just not live in my apartment for God knows how long!

But you can bet this: no way in HELL am I paying rent for this shit.

And if anyone knows how to track people down in the Dominican Republic and very quietly get rid of them, I would appreciate an email.

Labels: apartment, misc.

posted by FINY @ Monday, December 12, 2005

6 Comments:

At 12/12/2005, Esther said…

I don't know how to get rid of people in the Dominican Republic, but I'm so sorry this happened. This happened to a friend a couple of weeks ago - their carbon monoxide detector was going off late Thursday night, so the fire department came and then proceeded to shut everything off. It was damn cold in there. My apartment and extra bed are available if you need it...
At 12/12/2005, Anonymous said…

My sister had something along those lines happen with her apartment except her's was the fact the guy's screwed up the radiator that they left a section of steam pipe uncapped and it filled her entire apartment with steam. It was pretty damn cool to walk into an apartment to see a cloud of steam from the waste up, but it also damaged all of her stuff. She ended up going through housing court and the housing department for that and other stuff. She was able to get her rent reduced and fixed because of a lot of stuff that had been going on.

She became an expert at doing that stuff so if you are interested in trying to force this guy's hand my sister would probably be more than willing to pass on any tips, hints, or strategies if I ask her for them. Just let me know.

The only thing is you need to document everything and stay on top of everything that's going on. It's hardwork, but it can payoff.
At 12/12/2005, Jack said…

Damn girl!

I don't have any advice, but I'm here for moral support. Good thing you got the twin. Cold showers = no fun.

Stay warm!
At 12/12/2005, WelshSoxFan said…

Damn right you shouldn't be paying any rent. I'm going to the DR in Jan, so if you want me to stop by and put some hurt on the guy, you just let me know ;-)

and you really should have called if you were stuck in a cold apt all weekend, kid!
At 12/12/2005, sethro said…

I do know how to track down people in the Replubica de Dominica, and make them go away. I'll need a name and last known address. Because I've bloglarized from you in the past, this one is on the house.
At 12/12/2005, Meredith said…

I really feel your pain on this one. It sucks having an unresponsive idiot landlord. Good luck, I hope everything's working again soon!!