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.

Break it Down!

We recently had an overflow of the recycling bins. On Monday, paper and cardboard boxes were blowing around the side parking lot, sidewalk and street. Although much of this was due to the abundant volume of Christmas wrapping and boxes, some of it was due to the fact that someone had placed a large cardboard box in the bin without either removing the foam packing inside it or breaking it down so it was flat. This kept the lid from closing, and so we had the "storm of paper". Although we have two recycling bins for paper, there is a limited amount of space, and it is important to remember to break down boxes so that they take up as little room as possible. And don't just throw them in the dumpster either. In general it is a good idea to compact your trash and recycling into as small an area as possible. Thanks!

Do Not Park In Front of the Dumpster

There are two rules about the parking area on the side of the building. One is never park in front of the dumpster on Tuesday morning. The second is never park in front of the dumpster on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday, is our trash collection and our recyclables pick-up day. Sear that into your memory banks. If your vehicle is parked in front of the dumpster, or is in anyway blocking access to it, the trash collection people, who have a tight schedule to keep, will go away without emptying it, and we will be stuck with an ugly, smelly and overflowing dumpster, as we were a few weeks ago.
You are also begging to have your car towed away by Bill's Towing Service.
If your car is in the side lot between the hours of 6:30 and 8:30 on Tuesday, you are definitely at risk for being towed, and making yourself very unpopular with your neighbors.
Make sure you inform your visitors about this as well. Thanks!

Chestnut and Norman Streets circa 1860 and 2010

In case you were wondering what this part of Salem looked like during the Civil War, I thought I'd post a picture taken at the corner of Chestnut and Norman Streets around 1860. Next to it is a picture I took at virtually the same spot 150 years later (give or take a month or two).
I was surprised at how much of the area is still recognizable from the original photo.
Note that the railing and staircase of the building on Chestnut street has barely changed at all, while Norman Street has been transformed from a pretty residential neighborhood, into a commercial zone. Notice also the widening of Norman Street to accommodate what is now Route 114. I believe the post at the corner is the remains of the former gas lantern in the first picture.
History is all around us, especially in Salem.

SHUT the DOOR!

If you are going outside to load or unload your car, dump your trash, talk on your cellphone, break up with your girlfriend/boyfriend, or have a smoke, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT THE DOOR IS SECURELY CLOSED BEHIND YOU.
This has been a recurring problem and is a security concern for the building. The door does not always close on its own, especially in cold or damp weather, and sometimes appears to be closed, when in fact it is not. (see picture above).

Not to be an alarmist or anything, but we live less than a block from a homeless shelter, and near several court buildings. Homeless men regularly go through our recycling bins, and last week a convict escaped from custody at the Salem District Court and was at large for more than an hour before he was recaptured. If you want to run the possibility of strange people wandering the halls of our building, then by all means keep leaving the door open, otherwise take an extra two seconds to check and make sure that the door is indeed securely closed behind you the next time you go out or come in.Thanks!

The Great American Smoke-Out

The other night I was witness to a group of young people standing outside 24 Norman St., in the cold, smoking. I had to laugh. It reminded me of an editorial by Robert Moran that ran in the Salem Gazette last week, titled "The state of Smoking in America". Every year, on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, the American Cancer Society encourages American smokers to quit smoking, if not forever, at least for the day. Since there are several smokers living at 24 Norman Street, I thought I would take this opportunity to post a kind of "public service message"and quote some of the statistics about smoking and especially secondhand smoke. Smoking is the most common cause of preventable death. Approximately 450,000 people die from tobacco-related causes each year.
"According to the National Toxicology Program, there are more than 250 poisonous gases, chemicals and metals in tobacco smoke. Eleven of them are class A carcinogens. By definition, Class A carcinogens are pollutants known to cause cancer in humans.
Research has shown second hand smoke causes cancers and cardiac disease in nonsmokers and is associated with a host of diseases and disabilities. In June, in a lengthy editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, health policy professionals called for a federal ban on smoking in public housing."
Although many of the smokers in the building smoke outside, some do not, and you can smell it clearly in the hallways of the floors that they live on. if you can smell it, then you are being exposed to secondhand smoke. They are not only killing themselves, but they are also killing their neighbors and friends. So how about it? Why not quit? Your lungs will thank you, and if you live in this building, mine will too.

Cafe Polonia Opening in Salem

A Polish restaurant located in South Boston has opened a second location here on the North Shore. Cafe Polonia located at 118 Washington Street next to the Upper Crust Pizzeria, is in the heart of the downtown area. The restaurant opened October 6th.

The original Cafe Polonia, which is located on Dorchester Avenue just outside of Andrew Square in South Boston, features a variety of Polish and East European fare, including beet soup, pierogi, Hungarian goulash, crepes, potato pancakes, and kielbasa.

The new location features an expanded menu featuring Polish, German, Hungarian and Czech specialties.
Their website is here: http://cafepolonia.com/index.html
"Zapraszamy"