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?

Street Parking Enforcement

If you own a car and live at 24 Norman Street you may have noticed that parking enforcement on Norman and Holyoke streets has become more stringent in recent weeks. The sight of tickets stuck on the windshields of an entire line of cars is now becoming more frequent. Many of these are on the cars of non-Salem residents, but I have seen plenty on cars with Norman Street parking tags as well. After having received only one ticket in the entire 31/2 years that we have lived here, we have suddenly been "blessed" with 3 in one month. There was a time that you could park your car on Holyoke or Norman street and feel relatively secure that you would not get a ticket as long as your parking tag was visible.

This no longer seems to be the case. Salem also seem to be ticketing on Saturdays during the day. Although parking tickets are usually only an issue during the hours of 8am to 6pm, Monday-Friday, uneven enforcement and the general murkiness of our parking agreement with the City of Salem has made that less certain. It might be prudent to be extra cautious, especially as we draw closer to October and the usual Halloween press of tourists. Parking seems to be a perennial issue in Salem, and problematic for Norman Street residents in particular.

The opening of several new restaurants near us, the imminent opening of the new courthouse, the start of construction of a new garage at the MBTA station, and the hiring of outside "parking consultants" by the city, promise to make this an issue that will get worse over the next few years. Since parking tickets generate revenue for the city, there isn't a lot of incentive for them to play nice.

Remember that the plastic parking tags Norman Street residents are issued, that we pay for in our condo fees, are only good for the Riley Plaza lot across from the post office. That is the only area we are "officially" allowed to park without fear of ticketing (at least we have some legal recourse if we are ticketed there).

With on-street parking hard to find, you might be tempted to risk long-term parking in the dumpster-side lot of the building, but that's not recommended either as your vehicle will eventually get towed. Better a $15 dollar ticket than a $100+ towing fee.

In general, just be aware that ticketing is on the rise. Be careful out there!

A Word About Noise

If you have lived at 24 Norman Street for any length of time, you have probably come to the realization that noise can definitely be an issue.
There is exterior noise; being located less than two blocks from the fire station, and close to a major intersection. Motorcycle exhausts, trucks, beeping horns, loud bar patrons staggering home at 1:00 am, homeless men going through the recycling bins at 6 in the morning. There is little that can be done about managing this exterior noise, and we accept this as part of living in downtown Salem.
Then there is interior noise. If you live anywhere but on the top floor, there is the creak and thud of people walking on the floor directly over your head, and occasionally other sounds, everything from toilets flushing and loud TV's and stereos, to loud laughing and talking. Because of the age and the size of the building, there is virtually no insulation or sound-proofing between the ceiling of one unit and the floor of another. Most building codes stipulate a foot of space between floors, as well as sound-absorbing material. We do not have that. This means that even activities that would normally be considered OK, (watching TV, loud talking and laughing) can quickly become annoying, especially if they are taking place after midnight. This is noise that can be managed , but it means that respect for, and enforcement of the condo bylaws is critical.
Just for the record, here is an excerpt from the condo documents;

4. No residential Unit Owner shall make or permit any noxious or offensive activity or disturbing noises in the Units or do or permit anything to be done therein which will interfere with the rights, comfort or convenience of other Unit owners. No residential Unit Owner shall play upon or suffer to be played upon any musical instrument or permit to be operated a phonograph or a radio or television or loud speaker or other such device in such unit between the hours of midnight and the following nine o’clock a.m., if the same shall disturb or annoy other occupants of the units, and in no event, shall any Residential Unit Owner practice or suffer to be practiced either vocal or instrumental music for more than two hours in any day or between the hours of six o’clock p.m. And the following nine o’clock a.m.. No residential Unit Owner shall give vocal or instrumental instruction at any time.

This basically means that tenants refrain from any noise-producing activity between the hours of 12 am, and 9am the following morning. It is pretty clear-cut. It is not a perfect world, and things do happen, but generally it is not the responsibility of tenants to accommodate noisy after-hours behavior. It is the responsibility of tenants to modify their behavior to accommodate the bylaw.

If you have an issue with a noisy neighbor, the dispute is best handled through the condo association. Keep track of dates and times and keep the condo association informed. They will speak to the owner or tenant, and if appropriate, will level fines until the person or persons are in compliance.

Recycling Bin

You may have noticed a new, blue recycling bin in the front stairwell. Jeannine Matthews in Unit 209 suggested that a bin be placed there for the recycling of the many papers and flyers that otherwise end up in the trash. It's a great idea, as the trash barrel is frequently filled with other, less-recyclable stuff. Remember the new bin is for paper items only.

A Word on Smoking

Ahhh, smoking. Some people love it, some people hate it, and its getting harder to find places where you can do it. If you happen to be a resident of or visitor to 24 Norman Street, you may have noticed the new sign on the bulletin board. There is no smoking in any of the common areas of the building, this includes the stairwells, hallways, laundry room, and around the front door, inside or out. (Nothing like running a gauntlet of smoke when you come into the building). This applies to both residents, and guests of residents.
There is nothing prohibiting you from smoking inside your unit, however, given the small size of the units in this building, and the fact that the doors and ceilings are less than air-tight, this may not be your best option. Most people go to the dumpster side of the building, where you can smoke relatively undisturbed. Just remember to clean up after yourselves, and police your cigarette butts when you are done, and to keep the noise down for the benefit of the people living in units on that side of the building.

More Street Sweeping July 12 –July 23, 2010

There is going to be a second round of street sweeping later this month. Residential sectors will be swept from 8AM to 5PM. Sweep days are the next day after your trash day. To find your street sweeping dates, just locate what zone your street is in, and match it with the calendar. Monday sweep schedules are for the preceding Friday's trash day. For example, if you live on Atlantic Street, which has a Friday trash pickup, and you are located in Zone One, both sides of your street will be swept on Monday, April 26th.
Norman Street is officially Zone 2. We are scheduled for sweeping on Wednesday, July 21
* NEW THIS YEAR: ALL RESIDENTIAL AREAS WILL BE POSTED AS NO PARKING/TOW ZONE AREAS -CARS MUST BE REMOVED FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET ON YOUR SWEEP DAY. There will be a concerted enforcement effort to keep cars off the street during posted sweeping times so that our street sweeping is effective. Please remember to move your car.
(Please note: Certain weather conditions prohibit the use of the street sweepers: during moderate to heavy rainfall and extreme cold temperatures, sweepers will not be able to operate. Please check www.salem.com for weather-related canceled sweeps and more information.)
There will be a concerted enforcement effort to keep cars off the street during posted sweeping times so that our street sweeping is effective. Please remember to move your car.

Since our entrance corridors have already been swept, residents will be able to use these main streets as alternative parking areas on the day of their neighborhood sweep.
The following streets are considered entrance corridors and can be used as alternative parking:
Loring Avenue, Lafayette Street,Bridge Street, Boston Street, North Street, and Essex Street (the portion from Boston Street to Washington Street).

Window Air Conditioners

Markwood Management is about to send letters to those people who have installed window AC units to let them know that the units are not permitted at 24 Norman. They will also be posting the building. Check your condo documents, nothing is allowed to hang out of the windows or from the sills, including air conditioners. If you are subletting, let your landlord know that they will need to get this fixed. If you take a look at the left hand side of the building you can imagine what it would look like if there were more window units. Markwood presumes that the window units have been installed because the in-the-wall AC units are no longer working properly. They suggest using Preferred Air (978-750-8282) and recommend them, but any licensed HVAC vendor is acceptable.