Poverty Is Not an Accident

Poverty Is Not an Accident
Nelson Mandela

Monday, April 05, 2004

letter to slumlord

You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com

I've still received no confirmation that I have no "past due" rent charges, nor that I won't be taken to court for eviction proceedings, as stated in the note I received regarding the matter.

Your maintenance man looked in my bedroom window the other night. I was in bed, nude. He would not move away immediately, even though I repeated, in a loud voice, several times, in both Spanish and English, that I didn't want him looking at me in the privacy of my own bedroom.

He was concerned for his employment, apparently. He said he'd received a telephone call a half hour previously, instructing him to measure the space for my air conditioner. He was trying to explain his reason for being there, and was far more preoccupied with its impact on his employment than on my privacy.

I don't fault him, although I'm very disturbed by this method of communication with me. I'm entitled, by law, to 24 hours notice when repairs are to be done, unless it's an emergency, which this was not.
Arrangements should have been made to schedule an appointment with me.
I am a survivor of both rape and incest. I have NO tolerance for violations of my privacy, my person and my dignity.

I am tearing out the weeds along the alley. The people in the basement don't seem to be concerned about them, although they attract vermin, such as cockroaches and rats, and they complained bitterly about cockroach infestations last year.

I will be planting marigolds in their place, as an insect repellant and toxin.

No comments: