In support of Leaside Life
As an architectural historian and tenant in the Garden Court Apartments, I am responding to Wayne Rosenman’s letter in August’s Leaside Life. He feels that Geoff Kettel’s June column was too hard on our landlord.
First, Mr. Kettel’s column was written after he toured our site and spoke with several tenants – including me and the co-chair of our Tenants Association. We appreciated his support and effort to draw attention to our difficulties.
Mr. Rosenman has admired our complex, as many of us did before living here. Being a tenant is a very different experience. Construction has gone on for years, subjecting tenants to noise, smells, and dirt, as well as depriving us of many parts of the property (even our mail delivery at times). We are paying for these changes – some of which are the result of poorly executed work and neglect under the same owners. Several elements contributing to the Art Moderne architecture have been, and are continuing to be, replaced, and major landscaping elements have been removed.
All this has gone on while many tenants’ requests for repairs or maintenance in their units have been ignored and rents have increased every year. It’s naive to expect that the law is always followed with respect to landlord-tenant relations, and the time and expense of pursuing justice for tenants is substantial.
We love the uniqueness of Garden Court and hope that we can all continue to for many years.
Marta O’Brien