Emergency Engineering Services

WHEN DID THE ELIZABETH STOP HAVING WEEKEND & AFTER-HOURS EMERGENCY ENGINEERING SERVICES?

Several residents have reported that they have been unable to get assistance in the evening after normal work hours or on the weekend when they have had problems in their units.  They have been told by the Concierge that there is no engineer available.  Alternatively the Concierge has said that he or she does not know who is on call and cannot get in touch with the engineer, or that the engineer said he was not to be called, or that a stopped-up toilet or sink is not an emergency if the complaining caller has a second bathroom. I have also heard about and experienced instances when malfunctioning elevators are not dealt with during after hours and weekends,  but must wait until the next business day!

Recently an older resident who had weekend guests was told to call an outside contractor when her toilet, tub, and shower spewed fecal waste!  Not only does this pose a health issue, but it could be a symptom of a plumbing blockage in the tier all the way down to the street level and thus have the potential of damaging many apartments and the common areas. 

Since its inception, The Elizabeth has provided emergency after-hours services whenever they have been  needed. It has been standard practice when a resident called the Concierge to have the engineer call them back within 10 minutes, and if necessary, go to the apartment and determine if the service needed is immediate or could wait until the next business day. 

As a condition of their employment, our engineers are required to live on site so that they are available to address all emergencies that arise after the regular hours of work. This has always been one of the benefits of living at the Elizabeth (as opposed to many other condos) and certainly makes it a more desirable place to live. 

To support this practice, we provide each engineer with a two-bedroom two-bath unit and  a parking space. This benefit alone is worth about $30,000 per year to them and is not taxable.

As a matter of policy, the Elizabeth requires that our engineers hold a third-class license. Using the concierge service to determine whether an engineer can be called, or to refuse to call or identify who is on standby is foolhardy, especially in an old building like ours with multiple problems. It should not matter whether your problem is lack of heat or air conditioning, an electrical issue, an elevator malfunction, a structural problem, odor of smoke, or the like, and it should never be a  matter of how many toilets or sinks a resident has. All calls for engineering services should be responded to within 10 minutes. 

In 2014, significant damage to six apartments on two floors as well as the common area corridors (costing the Association approximately $220,000), was caused by a sewage backup in a toilet.   It cost The Elizabeth a great deal more since we almost lost our insurance after a second large claim and had to go to the secondary market to get insurance.

Elizabeth policies can only be established by the Board, through a process that includes discussion at open board meetings, and a 30-day comment period for owners, followed by a vote by the Board of Directors.  Elizabeth policy cannot be arbitrarily  changed. 

If you are concerned by this arbitrary change in policy, please come to the next Board meeting on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, at 7:30 pm and let your concerns be heard.