New Front Door Handle

Residents of 24 Norman Street may notice a new door handle on the front door this week.
On Wednesday, Trustee Anna Zabierek had the inside front door knob come off in her hand. No one could exit the building from the front door because of this, and the only way out of the building was the back entrance. Anna contacted Markwood Management and Secure Lock and Safe was at the property by 8:30 Thursday morning. We were very fortunate that this happened with a trustee present. This might be a good time to remind people that if you experience a maintenance emergency like this, to please call the Markwood Management emergency line (781-669-4080) immediately. You do not need to check with one of the trustees first or have them call for you, you can call directly. Markwood is very good about getting back to you within minutes of calling and leaving a message. Residents who use their key for entry may also notice that although your keys still work, since it is a new lock, the action may be a bit stiff. The code entry system is not affected by this change.

Get a Key

The front entry access panel was replaced and re-programmed this week. It turns out that it was a nearby lightning strike that caused an electrical surge that overloaded and burned out part of the entry system. We were extremely lucky that the main part of the code entry system continued to work, but it underlines a potential issue. One of the things that was so surprising about the panel failure was how few tenants in the building actually have a key to the front door of the building. If the electronic entry panel fails for any reason (lightning strike, power failure, vandalism) you may not be able to gain access the building. For this reason, Markwood Management strongly advises that you have an entry key in your possession; obtain one from your landlord, or Markwood Management as soon as possible.
The front entry panel is meant as a convenience, but not as a total replacement for keyed entry, and in the case of a total power failure, it will not work. For security purposes we prefer that you have a key available to use in such emergencies. This may also reduce the incidence of people propping the door open because they do not have a key.  So again, if you do not have a key to the front and back door, get one as soon as possible.

Door Code

You may have recently noticed that the old access code for the front door no longer works.
Markwood Management decided to change the general-access code for security reasons, especially since the old code had been the same for many years. The code will continue to be changed on a regular basis so that only authorized people will have general access rights to the building. You can obtain the new code by contacting Markwood Management.
You can still access the building with your own personal code, which is the last four digits of your phone number, or with a key. If you don't have a key, Markwood recommends that you contact them and arrange to get one, as a panel malfunction,  such as the one we had last year, or a power-outage, can make it difficult to get into the building any other way.

The Front Door

The front door key coding system broke earlier this week. Pinanski Electric was here on Wednesday to check it out and discovered that the electronics are completely fried and the entire system is broken beyond repair. Markwwood management will be replacing the entire system with a new one, but this may take several weeks to implement.
This means that you will not be able to get into the building unless you have a key.
This also means that you will not be able to buzz people in, and will have to let them in by going down and opening the front door for them in person. If you do not have a key, contact your landlord, or if you are an owner, Carol at Markwood Management. Also, frantically punching the entry code over and over again will not have any effect. Do not prop either the front or the back door open. This is very much frowned upon by the building management and will only cause more problems. thank you for your patience while we get this fixed.

A Recommendation From the Fire Department

Sunday night there was a bit of excitement on the second floor of 24 Norman Street. About 10:30 a smoke/carbon monoxide alarm in unit 202 started going off. The alarm was loud enough to hear clearly in the hallway and in other units. No one was occupying the unit at the time and efforts by Markwood Management to contact the owner were unsuccessful. As a result, the fire department was called, and arrived shortly thereafter to investigate. As there was no key available to unlock the door, the firemen (after trying to gain access through an outside window) were required to break the door to gain access. They quickly determined that there was no smoke, and CO levels were normal. The alarm was apparently faulty. No fire, or leaks..that is the good part. The bad part is that the unit owner now has to replace the door and the lock.

I mention all of this for several reasons, one being that if you hear an alarm going off inside the building, or smell smoke, you need to pay attention, and call someone. Don't just go in your unit and pretend that everything is fine. If this had been an actual emergency or fire, critical minutes could have been lost in getting people out of the building.
Another, is that bad things happen. Even if your unit is fine, what happens in units above and and below you can affect you. Leaking water heaters, overflowing toilets, smoke, various alarms going off, these things can all lead to unpleasant surprises for tenants and owners.

If you are going to be away from your unit for any length of time, or are generally unreachable, and don't want the fire department breaking down your door, you may want to consider providing the fire department with a spare key to your unit. They keep them in a locked box here in the building so that in the case of an emergency, they can actually access the units without having to smash up the place. You can contact Markwood Management to find out how. At the very least you may want to consider giving a key to a trusted neighbor. This is completely voluntary, but which would you rather pay, $3 for a duplicate key, or $200 for a new door?