Comments from Concerned Residents

A number of Elizabeth residents have emailed me comments about what project they would like to do next. Some are responding to the message Maurice Trebach sent and so I include it here. This will give a snapshot of what people are thinking.


On 3/26/11 8:34 PM, "Maurice & Mildred Trebach" wrote:

Dear Karren, Thanx for the work you do to keep us informed .

After we got our report from Mendoza, and he suggested that we do the windows and doors first,and we paid him for his opinion, it seems that we are not going to take his advice and we are going to spend lots of money without getting any real benefit. We're giving our bldg a dressup job with no concern for getting anything in return.

It's time that we did things to benefit all of the people who live in the bldg. Doing the windows and doors first will result in a big saving in the cost of heating and air conditioning the bldg.In addition to this saving (20-30%) in costs. There is still a rebate available to the owners for having this work done now. The price of doing this work will not be cheaper in the future. The cost of getting loans is only going up now. It makes much more sense to do it now. Doing the halls is not a good idea because there will be some wear and tear on the new floors when they do the windows and doors.

What do you think of putting this information at the desk in the form of a list for the owners to sign and see if they prefer to do the windows and doors which will result in cost savings or fix up the halls to make the bldg look good?

Maurice Trebach 1407



I agree; lets democratically have a vote, including residents out of town if that is feasible. I personally prefer to do windows and doors first, because I'm colder here than in my 1917 non-insulated house. Helen Secrest


It is time the owner occupants had some say in what is done with their money. Doors and Windows are much more important than hall carpeting and more "fashion" in the halls. Carolyn Thayer


As an owner of two apartments in the building, I think that we need to replace the windows and doors first before any other cosmetic work is done ( and yes, I consider the hallway work more cosmetic than practical, although the ceilings seemed to be falling down in some places.) I think that the cosmetic work that was done for the lobby is lovely and gives an initial appearance that the owners care about the building but now we must address the not so glamorous but energy efficient necessities that we will have to face for the long term. Claudia Taskier


The costly refurbishment of the lobby was, in our view, more than financially irresponsible – it was scandalous (including the piano purchase). Such scandal would continue if the Board decides to proceed with a similarly lavish refurbishment in the towers. A decent course of action would be to try to recover some of the excessive cost of refurbishing the lobby (including returning to suppliers some items) and applying the savings to cover part of a more modest refurbishment in the towers, once the more urgent structural needs, such as replacement of windows and balcony doors, have been completed. Cesar and Marcia Queiroz, Unit 1613


I agree totally with Maurice, and have nothing to add, except that the windows should come first. There is no point in having beautiful hallways when our homes are drafty and utility bills go up and up. Ilo-Mai Harding