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Please Help With Upstairs Neighbors!!!

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Please Help With Upstairs Neighbors!!!

Postby Alina N. » Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:37 am

Can anybody please help? Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm at the end of my rope.

My upstairs neighbors are the most inconsiderate, loud, obnoxious people I have every encountered! They make so much noise! It's been like this for some time. I have no idea if they have rugs/carpets but it sounds like they don't. They are an elderly couple with kids and grandkids. The grandkids tend to run around w/shoes on, POUNDING over my head. The couple themselves are always very loud. It sounds like they are moving furniture around. This goes well into 2am/3am. I've gone up to talk to them. The first time, about a couple of years ago, the man slammed the door in my face. Since then, I've written numerous letters to the management (who do absolutely nothing), called the police (who sympathize, but also, can't really do anything), slept w/earplugs (which lead to ear infections) and gotten prescriptions for sleep aids (I don't want to continue taking pills over this!)

Two days ago, I went up again. The man opened the door. I didn't get a word in yet before he started screaming for me to get the F*** out of there & cursing me out. He's like "it's a holiday!" I'm like, it's holiday for u, but not for me! And it's after midnight already! He just cursed me out some more & started swinging his arms about like he was going to hit me & slammed the door again. I called the police, again, they felt bad for me but they couldn't really do anything but go upstairs & tell them to keep it down. The noise just got worse b/c they were probably pissed I called the cops.

I am so upset. I'm paying so much for this apartment. But I can't sleep. Can someone please suggest something? I read somewhere about going to a precinct &filling out an extensive noise complaint - will that work in this case? And silly me signed a two year lease in Dec. 2009! Would the management company allow me to break it?

Please help! All suggestions are welcome & very much appreciated. Thanx.
Alina N.
 
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Postby queensborough » Sat Apr 03, 2010 8:35 pm

This information is from a book, NY Tenants Rights. It has what I think you're looking for. Look at pages 3, 4 and 5.

http://books.google.com/books?id=FoZCo6 ... se&f=false
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Postby Alina N. » Mon Apr 05, 2010 12:44 pm

Thank u, queensborough for your reply - I looked over what u referenced & there are good suggestions in there.
I also looked over my lease & found out that if a tenant "is committing or permitting a nuisance" that these could be grounds for eviction - which i believe is the case with my neighbors.
The continuing noise is one of the main issues, yes (& since i have a heart condition, lack of sleep could really deteriorate my health in the long run - for this I am getting doctor's letters & health history, etc.) But also - my neighbors have an illegal washing machine - they flood me every 5/6 months. I have pictures & documentation from all the times the management company has provided me w/repairs.
I'm also considering recording the noise at 2/3am, etc. & bringing all this to the Management Co.'s attention.
I also found out that the family above me has lived in another building nearby before & had the same issues with other tenants. I can probably get statements from these other tenants if I were ever to go to mediation/court.
I think my next step is finding a decent lawyer. What do u think?
Alina N.
 
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Postby lofter1 » Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:16 pm

I think you'll find that you have no standing in court to try an eviction.

That issue is between the Landlord and the other tenant. Only the Landlord can bring an eviction action. You can try to convince the LL to do so, but if the other tenant is paying rent LLs often have no strong reason to act against such a tenant, no matter the disturbance the tenants' presence is causing.
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Postby queensborough » Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:48 pm

I think a consultation with an attorney may be helpful if you want the landlord to take some kind of action against this tenant.
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Postby TenantNet » Mon Apr 05, 2010 6:00 pm

These cases can be very tricky. You need to make sure the problem is fully documented and the LL has been notified of everything. Be careful - in similar situations the LL and offending tenant team together to claim that you, the complaining tenant is doing something wrong. And to be honest, in some cases, tenants are overly sensitive. In older buildings, walking might sound like heavy footsteps to the overly sensitive.

You need to ask the LL to take reasonable steps to cure the problem. That might include his going after the offending tenant.

If he doesn't then you might decide to go after the LL for allowing a nuisance to be maintained.
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Postby Alina N. » Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:11 am

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'm not sure what will happen at this point because I'm still waiting to hear back from Mgt. Co. about the last letter I sent.
I don't want to go to court, but it was the Mgt. Co. that told me it probably will. They probably meant mediation.
I don't want this to be such a big deal. I know the walls in my building are very thin - there's been a couple of occasions when my downstairs neighbors complained to me about noise/music/etc. And what did I do? I apologized, turned the music down & tried to keep them in mind after a certain time each night. I don't slam doors in people's faces & curse them out as soon as I open the door. I'm just trying to get some sleep. If my neighbors above continue being inconsiderate after the building agent steps in, I just hope they allow me to break my lease without any financial responsibility. I doubt any of that will happen. I doubt anything will work out in my favor. Thanks for all the suggestions though.
Alina N.
 
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