ANGELA W
I've lived at 42-12 28th Street in Long Island City and this building is home to people of all walks of life; families with young kids, elderly residents, working adults. And right now, management is trying to remove all full-time concierge staff from a 450-unit building and replace them with cameras, Amazon lockers, and automated doors. Let me tell you what that actually means losing. When I moved in, my concierge helped carry my heavy boxes without being asked. When I had mail issues, they solved them on the spot, the kind of problem that requires human thinking and real personal connection, not a ticket system. My concierge knows me by name. When I forget to put my apartment number on a package, they see my name and immediately know it's me. Can a robot do that? Or do I wait 3–5 business days for an admin response? This building has families with strollers, elderly neighbors, people who need real help in real time. I think about what happens if something goes wrong in the lobby and there is no human being present. A camera cannot intervene. A locker cannot call for help. An app cannot make a judgment call. What luxury building has no human presence at the front door??? The answer is: none that deserve the word luxury. Now here's what management isn't telling you publicly: they filed an application with NY State's Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to make these cuts. In that application, they cite a legal case to claim cameras and lockers are an adequate substitute for front desk service — but that case was about PART-TIME lobby attendants. Our concierge staff are FULL-TIME. That is a completely different legal standard, and they used it anyway. There is also direct DHCR precedent where an almost identical proposal; removing doormen and replacing them with cameras and electronic doors was denied because it did not provide adequate substitution of services. Our building is nearly ten times the size of that case. They want to spend $550,000 on a door app and $45,000–$55,000 cutting the people who actually keep this building safe. They're also converting bike storage into only 26 individual storage units for 450 apartments, mind you, a benefit that 94% of tenants will never see!! If you're considering moving here, know what management is willing to take away the moment they think they can get away with it. And if you already live here, you have rights. Look up DHCR tenant objections and file one. This is a home, not some office building. Love the staff and the staff are what makes this place wonderful. I will not delete this until this ridiculous idea is thrown in the trash