Vantage to Restore Supers
Vantage Properties, a residential real estate company that owns many buildings in Sunnyside and Woodside, removed 14 superintendents from buildings it owns and replaced them with 24-hour call in numbers. The reason: cost cutting.
But tenants were upset because Vantage failed to respond when tenants called in with repairs and other concerns. The following is the latest development.
By Vladic Ravich
http://www.queenstribune.com/news/1254415470.html
In a letter dated Sept. 3, the Department of Housing Preservation & Development revoked Vantage Properties’ exemption to provide 24 hour janitorial services through its phone hotline. Critics have charged the method was unresponsive and unable to deliver the same results as a live-in superintendent.
The letter gives Vantage 30 days to provide the names and addresses of the superintendents for 14 different properties. The letter goes on to mention that Vantage is also not in compliance with this requirement in 28 other buildings.
Vantage has long argued that its call-center model was a step forward for convenience and cost-cutting, touting the centralized model as a far more efficient and accountable than individual superintendents.
In a previous letter written to Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) on May 6, HPD said it would approve Vantage’s proposed system as an acceptable alternative to the superintendent requirement. The letter outlined the extensive testing done by HPD and concludes that the system function as it should.
Do not rent in a vantage bldg. The 800 number is a joke – after biz hrs it is only answered by security. While it’s good they’re restoring the supers, there are far too many other apts out there to put yourself through the hassle of dealing w. Vantage.