Neighbors who steal

Call 311, ask for the Department of Buildings. They handle stuff like this.
Also suggest you discuss this with the managing agent. The board doesn't like to get involved in this stuff, but this is the type of low risk incident that the managing agent likes to get involved in because for them it is low risk but potentially helps them up their contract, both time and annual fee, until the problem is resolved.
Good luck.

"I sent a letter with all the facts to the board, and because I have no proof..."

These volunteer board members deserve the letter because they did such a bad job at filtering.

is this a joke post....?

Sunday raises a good point.

Have you considered inviting the board (make sure that a majority responds - you need that to be official) to a séance, officiated by a voodoo priest. This is a delicate situation because the neighbor has something of yours, so in order for this séance to be effective, you'll need something more substantial than the umbrella from the neighbor (e.g., is there a garage in your building? can you get your neighbor's car?). The voodoo priest should be able to help you if you make sure you met all of the other criteria in advance.
Good luck.

Not only did the volunteer board members approved an umbrella thief, but they also approved someone who would write them a letter accusing a neighbor of stealing without any proof!

So who's worse, the board members, the thief, or the accuser? I'm leaning toward a tie. A perfect coop.

> I'm leaning toward a tie

wait a minute. I thought this was just about an umbrella. Now a tie's thrown in? Ridiculous. Was it a Brooks Brother's tie or something more European?

SRZ, you've already put more time into this than an umbrella could possibly be worth.

If you don't want to just chalk it up, as we all do over our umbrella losses, then get a motion-activated video camera for your door's peephole, and lure the neighbor with another attractive umbrella or newspaper. That'll get you your proof, or if not, help cement your good-for-a-laugh reputation with the board and agent.

SRZ, by any chance, is your building on west 67th street? If so, I might have a lead for you.

For SRZ:

Safe Horizon’s Crime Victims Hotline:
866.689.HELP (4357)

NWT, some crocodile skin umbrellas can be quiet expensive.

Not that I condone taking something that isn't yours, but I'm afraid you're asking for it when you leave anything of value outside your apartment in any common area.

If it's so valuable, you should have let it dry off in the bathtub. And if it's not so valuable, as a board member I would tell you to get a freaking grip, hand you a $20 myself, and ask you to leave us all the hell alone please.

> hand you a $20 myself

What if a doorman had his umbrella stolen?

What makes you think it's the neighbor? Things tend to disappear from hallways. Could have been a guest, a cleaning person, a food delivery guy... It was pouring rain outside and someone gave in to their baser instincts. I honestly wouldn't bother the board with this one, but reporting it to mgmt is fine if you really feel compelled to do something.

Not to sound like a scold, but you really should not leave your personal belongings in the public hallway. Some buildings enforce strict 'no property in the halls' rules (for liability reasons) and will remove stray items. Doesn't sound like this was necessarily the case here but in the future, you might want to let your wet brolly/shoes/boots dry out in the privacy of your own home.

SRZ, do you have a housekeeper or maid? If so, they would definitely need to be investigated before you can say that this case is solved.

You should consider hiring a private detective if you are going to pursue this serious matter further with your board (also to look into board members' dealings with the suspect; there may be bias or someone acting to protect the thief from justice)

personally, I think the coop board should have fined you for leaving something in the hall. no doubt this is against house policy!

Eh, a delivery man stole my umbrella once.

>also to look into board members' dealings with the suspect; there may be bias or someone acting to protect the thief from justice

Maybe the president of the board took the umbrella?

Libel. Lawyer. Now.

Next time you come home with a wet umbrella, hang it in the bathtub. You need not display your items outside the door in the hall. Second of all, in a civilized society one does not accuse anyone of anything unless there is 100% proof much less a letter to the board accusing someone. Your board would be fools to get involved especially if you named someone without proof. It is this kind of finger pointing that reminds that these coop conversions are not the genuine white glove buildings that were operational before the craze. Many of these conversions in the last thirty or so years are rife with suburban mentality. Funny, this all started in the Regan years.

Next time they're wet, please leave those new black Prada pumps in the hall; I need a new pair of shoes!

Stupid, if you don't want something stolen, secure it in your apartment and don't accuse someone of something without proof. I'm convinced you're an idiot.

this isn't real...

you should just kick in the door and beat the piss out of your neighbor

Yup, do it the Wtushy way.

wait a minute. are you a different color/race/ethnicity/religion than your neighbor? he might have stolen your unmbrella bc of your color/race/jew/catholic/gay/straight/etc. this could be definitely be a racial thing!

Jaesee, this co-op doesn't let that sort in.

SRZ, are you in the habit of leaving things in the hallway and/or have you recieved complaints? This may have been "street justice" as neighbors can be annoyed by people who leave their stuff in the hallways.

"I sent a letter with all the facts to the board, and because I have no proof they say there is nothing they can do."

what kinds of facts did you include in you letter? how long was the letter? was it a strongly worded confrontational letter suggesting with its tone you plan to hold the board morally and financially responsible for your loss and expect them to pursue the matter to your satisfaction? please let it be this kind of letter. is there any way to convince you to post the letter here? may i suggest including in your subsequent written communications with the board as well as individual board members something along the lines of "these coop conversions are not the genuine white glove buildings that were operational before the craze. Many of these conversions in the last thirty or so years are rife with suburban mentality. Funny, this all started in the Regan years." because that would be nothing short awesome. good luck!

"I recently bought a co-op"

like the guy with the $6000 umbrella is gonna drop this anytime soon. come on!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Nl7VYFEaI

board memebers: we've made a huge mistake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY0vMZl8vUY

please mail all your subsequent letters in this dramatic fashion. your umbrella's dignity deserves nothing less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I51aM8cWUj8&NR=1

Maybe the "thief" was sick of somebody cluttering up the hallway with wet crap.

Lucille, LOL! I stand behind my conviction and urge anyone to pass it along to their johnny come lately board.

Well, my welcome matt (it was a humourous one with a poison symbol on it) was stolen the first week I moved into my doorman rental building. So I sympathize.

Don't leave your junk in the hallway. Your space begins on the other side of your door. There's nothing more annoying than people plopping down tacky welcome mats (e.g. with a poison symbol;), wet umbrellas, their stincky dirty shoes, giant strollers, bicycles, etc in common areas. I wouldn't have stolen your umbrella but I very well may have tossed it in the trash closet just on principle.

if you don't have proofs then you can only have assumptions, not facts.

I love it! I have always wanted to throw the umbrellas in the garbage when self-entitled a$$hat$ leave their big, open umbrella in the hallway after it rains. Ditto to:

1. The personalized, ugly doormat on a carpet hallway!
2. Shoes and boots - especially in the winter time.
3. Religious idols on doors.

The Bicycle Thief
A man and his son search for a stolen bicycle vital for his job.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040522/

Maybe the umbrella was vital for his job? Or maybe a Jean Valjean thing?

Did you hear the one about the lady who was caught on camera stealing her neighbors snow shovel?

http://youtu.be/hkAJ-CQvkwA

Poetic Revenge.

Race. Please. Element.

Stolen.

my neighbor leaves shoes, umbrellas, water bottles, baby carriage in the hallway...

I liked the "Snow Shovel Thief" short film. It was like a silent film with a contemporary sensibility.

I live in a RENTAL building and bought a doormat at BB&B. So that gives someone the right to steal it if they find it unappealing?

If you see a piece of garbage in a ***common area / public space*** and decide to throw it in the trash, is that consider stealing or being a good citizen?

Not sure who that is directed to, but I have seen several posts that suggest that my doormat, bought at BB&B, in a rental building, somehow SHOULD have been thrown out because another TENANT might not have liked the style.

jason, some buildings do not allow things in the hallway. Even doormats. Now the proper channel is complaints through building management. However, if you are being unresponsive to this channel, a neighbor may take matters into their own hands.

What's so important about the doormat being from BB&B that you had to repeat it twice?

Thanks to all for reminding me why I'm glad I no longer live in an apartment house. Our problem is people stealing plants -- even big ones like rose and peony bushes -- just digging them right up out of the ground in the middle of the night.

""What's so important about the doormat being from BB&B that you had to repeat it twice?""

Yeah, BB&B junk is some of the tackiest crap out there.

Was the doormat from BB&B made out of hemp? Or some other hippie west coast crap?

THREAD OF THE YEAR!!!!

Pure GOLD, Jerry!

My goodness once again the post has gone off topic. I would think that a delivery man stole the umbrella. He came with none or a bad one and snagged yours. How can anyone accuse a neighbor of stealing an umbrella. Anyway, if you don't want something stolen take it inside and lock your apartment door. Some would think anything in the hallway is free game. I never did hear of a stroller being stolen though..Those shouldn't be in the hallway though.

>How can anyone accuse a neighbor of stealing an umbrella.

Good point. Makes for a strange scene next time it is raining - the neighbor has to sneak around with the stolen umbrella when near the building, in the elevator, etc.

Welcome mats in the hallway are a violation of the fire code. Your building probably threw it out. What would entitle you to decorate the hallway in the first place though?

It's like the a-holes who think they're entitled to park their double-wide baby buggies and kids' trikes in the hallway as though it were an annex of their apartment. Then they get pissed when someone puts the crap into the trash room or removes it altogether. Why should I have to navigate around your f'ing BOB Sport Utility Stroller every time I try to leave or enter my home?

Re: Welcome mats in the hallway are a violation of the fire code.

Here are the relevant Fire Code sections (doesnt actually mention floor mats specifically so a bit open to interpretation -- easy for a landlord to use this to ban floormats tho):

1027.3 Unobstructed and unimpeded egress required. All required means of egress, including each exit, exit access and exit discharge, shall be continuously maintained free from obstructions and impediments to immediate use in the event of fire or other emergency.

1027.4 Furnishings and decorations. Furnishings, decorations or other objects shall not be placed so as to obstruct exits, access thereto, egress therefrom, or visibility thereof.

Squid, your comment deserves a platinum star. Love it!

I find them to be "Welcome, But" mats.

but, before you come in, please mister. or madame dirty person, stand out in the public hallway and remove your shoes without a chair neaby, a shoe horn, a bar to hold on to, or anything else polite or comfortable, just like at airport security.

And if the hallways in your building are carpeted , the dirt's been wiped off in the walk to and from the elevator. So the "welcome" mat is sort of a vanity thing, which also makes it more difficult for the staff vacuuming the hall. They have to pick it up just to get at the carpet underneath? Otherwise you complain about all the dirt around the edge of the mat?:
Ridiculous to have one unless you're the only one on the floor.

And no, I don't have one.

>So the "welcome" mat is sort of a vanity thing,

Vanity? From BB&B?

Okay Hunter, where would a classy one come from? ABC, Gracious Home, Frontgate?

The "welcome mat" is so not Manhattan apartment that I would have no idea where to get a "classy" one.

A doormat doesn't have to have a design or saying.

Mine's plain coir cut to fit the little 31"x48" alcove in front of the door.

The hallway floor is tile, so need something to wipe feet on. As far as I know the porter doesn't have to move it to mop.

*Other* people's doormats are a different story. I'd like to replace my neighbors', but don't know how to pull it off.

Maybe just buy one for each of your neighbors as Christmas gift? Hall beautification ?

NWT - you really need one ?

After all they've walked through the building, into and out of the elevator to get to you, how much dirt is left?

It might be just habit. The floor inside the front door is more beat-up than the rest as it is, so I just assume the mat outside catches some dirt and salt and slush. The mats they put down in the lobby on wet days might be enough, I guess.

Actually it sounds as if you need a small mat INSIDE your front door .

Fortunately these things aren't on our permanent records. When funeral eulogists lightly allude to some annoying habit of the deceased's, just to temper things, they never say "...except for her dubious taste in doormats."

lol!!!

What, so *I* have to look at it? But unless it was too thin to be any use, the door would catch on it.

No the sill is definitely high enough to clear a thin rug. I am totally enamoured of the Home Depot area rug in front of one of my terrace doors .

that must be a really big terrace to have more than one door. perhaps you should refer to yourself as penthouse lady squared.

"Jason, some buildings do not allow things in the hallway. Even doormats. Now the proper channel is complaints through building management. However, if you are being unresponsive to this channel, a neighbor may take matters into their own hands."

Doormats are ALLOWED in my bldg. The libe-in super has one. All my neighbors on my floor have one. The super did not take me doormat. No one had complained about it. It was taken by drunk fratty friends of my drnk fratty neighbors.

"What's so important about the doormat being from BB&B that you had to repeat it twice?"

Someone above said I had a "custom-made doormat". I clearly had a run of the mill one.

Got it, jason. Time for you to mete out some street justice of your own on the drunk fratty neighbors. But what? Watch Animal House for inspiration.

>that must be a really big terrace to have more than one door. perhaps you should refer to yourself as penthouse lady squared.

And you can be window in shower lady. Or window in shower man.

Whichever.

my neighbor leaves shoes, large water bottles, umbrellas, etc. outside their door which is right opposite the elevator..

Hey CC you crazy old coot- I thought (hoped) you'd joined AR on her hiatus from SE. Guess even she doesn't want you.

but ph41, you love the platform CC gives you from which to lauch about your penthouse and it's terraces and your worry that you be "classy"

we're all soooooo jealous...you must be rich

""my neighbor leaves shoes, large water bottles, umbrellas, etc. outside their door which is right opposite the elevator..""

Put 'em in the trash. Your neighbor will get the message.

I am amazed at the *passion* everyone is showing for doormats and shoes in hallways. Wow. I mean, really? Who cares? Makes you seem really small minded. I'm sure you were the 'holier than thou' types telling on your friends in grade school.

What a hypocrite!

Also, OP is the only tattletale in this thread.

Oh please. Get a life.

Re: I am amazed at the *passion* everyone is showing for doormats and shoes in hallways. Wow. I mean, really? Who cares?

I am really amazed that people are so inconsiderate and selfish as to leave their personal shit in communal areas. And until this market starts to do something, I'm gonna care. ;-)

grunty: "Oh please. Get a life. "

Again, what a hypocrite!

Squid...I thought of that but just shake my head and move on...

Heil hunters burg.

Who the hell would get an alligator skin umbrella??? Batman??

columbiacounty is having flashbacks to his time in the Hitler youth again.

Oh, and his hiccough are back too to add extra personality.

Penguin, not Batman.

I picture columbiacounty about 30 years ago as Penguin.

"I am really amazed that people are so inconsiderate and selfish as to leave their personal shit in communal areas. And until this market starts to do something, I'm gonna care. ;-)"

Good for you West34. Have too much time on your hands. Really.

Even if its not part of the fire code, common sense dictates that you do not leave stuff out in the hallway. During the 2003 blackout I had to walk up 19 flights of stairs without a flashlight (lesson learned, now have one on my key chain). Despite the fact it was broad daylight, both the stairwell and the hallways were pitch black. I'm just glad no one had left anything in the hallways or stairwells for people to trip over.

Recently, one of my neighbors left her Pilates Reformer in the hallway and was told to remove it. When she didn't someone decided to liberate it for a few days to teach her a lesson.

It's going to be raining a lot this weekend. We may have blackouts. Please leave hallways and stairwells free of items and remove everything from terraces and balconies.

For newcomers to New York 1010WINS Radio (1010 AM on the dial) is one of the best stations for updates.

Stay safe.

The Rabbi said, "Definitely place the mezuzah on the inside of your apartment - on the outside it may be vandalized or worse thanks to what I read about 1OneWon had to say about what he'd do to religious items!!!!! (Good to know)

My neighbors have 1 child, yet leave 2 strollers in the public hall & surrounding both are discarded Cheerios, which neither nanny, nor maid nor parents have any inclination to clean up. Disgusting & entitled.

Dwell, just complain to building management & they will take care of it. It might take some time, but the building should follow through.

"The Rabbi said, "Definitely place the mezuzah on the inside of your apartment - on the outside it may be vandalized or worse thanks to what I read about 1OneWon had to say about what he'd do to religious items!!!!! (Good to know)"

the rabbi was obviously wrong. the great sage larry david said to put it outside so that people know where the jews live, should they want to burn down their house. it's all about being considerate, which is one of the 15 commandments.