34 Complaint 2002 3/20/02
Dear George Smarz Sr.,
cc: The Taylor Agency (Lee-Ann Derwicki Conner),
This letter is to let you know that on April first, I will be vacating the apartment on
34 Woodbine Ave., first floor, because of the substandard conditions the apartment
was in when I moved in, and is still is in, on this day, 3/20/02.
The day I moved in, March 15th, I was met by George Smarz Jr., who spent two and
one half hours going through the apartment, trying to put together a "condition
statement". He refused to take my input. For example, in one of the rooms, there are
water marks and cracks - on the "condition statement", he marked that the ceiling
was "in good condition" and "clean". I stopped him after a while, convincing him
that the apartment was in such had shape that it was impossible to accurately
appraise the condition. He eventually agreed with me and left before and 1 did not
sign any papers but the rental agreement, which he did not provide me with a cop}
oL In lew of the "condition statement", I went around the apartment on March 15111
and took photographs of the condition of the apartment, for my protection, which I
could provide.
On the afternoon of 3/15/02, I called Lee-Ann Derwicki Conner from The Taylor
Agency, on her cell phone and told her my dissatisfaction over voice mail. I left four
messages for her and she did not return my calls. The next morning, I called her
again and she told me, "our business is over". She told me that I was on ntg own, that
she would not mediate or call the landlord on my behalf. She told me my only
recourse was to give thirty days notice.
According to Dorothy Smarz, as of 3/19/02, the Taylor Agency had still not given the
landlord, George Sr. and Dorothy Smarz (1 Primrose Path, Hatfield, Mass 01038) any
monies. Since the Taylor Agency was still in possession of my money, I feel that our
business was not over, and that The Taylor Agency has a responsibility to me, their
client. I feel they did not hold up their end of the bargain.
Lee-Ann Derwicki Conner placed me, her client, in a substandard apartment with a
landlord who is not holding to his end of the rental agreement, and was completely
incommunicative (if not downright rude) when I asked for her help, I am asking to
receive back the commission I paid to The Taylor Agency.
he apartment is infested with bugs. I have seen bugs in all of the rooms, especially
in the kitchen and the back room. The refrigerator is filthy inside with crumbs of
rood and grime from the previous tenant. There are shoe marks and hand prints on
the walls and there is a patch of one of the walls where a large portion of paint has
been scraped off. The kitchen and bathroom are filthy with grime and garbage from
the previous tenant, and belongings of the previous tenant were thrown behind a
door in one of the rooms. The screen door (front door) is broken. The toilet was
broken (George Smarz Sr. fixed the toilet), and, as of today, 3/20/02, at 12:03 pm, the
Dil tank is just below three-quarters full.
Fhe landlord told Inc and it is in the rental agreement, that the oil tank must be full
vhen i vacate the premises. The tank was not filled before I moved in, and this is a
)reach of the rental agreement. As far as the bugs go, George Smarz Sr. took a bug to
in exterminator and came back telling me that there was nothing he could do about
he bugs. I can not use one of the rooms, the room that i had planned to use as a
yedrootn, because of the amount of bugs that are crawling around in it.
[he upstairs neighbors are extremely loud, until all hours of the morning. The
afternoon I moved in, the upstairs neighbor warned me that this would be the norm.
the told nie that her husband comes home very late and they are awake and would be
making noise every night. On the night of March 15th, I was kept awake until well
after four am. This disturbance will be an ongoing problem, as the woman actually
(yarned me that it would be.
As of 12:00 pm, 3/20/02, I still have not been given a copy of the rental agreement
that I signed, by George Smarz Sr. I have called and asked for it every day since I
moved in, but I still have not been provided with my copy.
Dorothy and George Smarz Sr. agreed with me that the kitchen, front entry and back
room needed painting, but when I pressed George Smarz Sr. to tell me it he was
honestly going to repaint the front entry, kitchen and back room, he would not
commit to actually saying that the rooms would be painted. He said "I'll do what I
can". They agreed with me that the apartment was filthy, but would not agree to hire
a cleaning service. They told me they would clean it themselves, but they still
haven't.
So far, George and Dorothy Smarz Sr. said that they would clean the apartment, and
they haven't; They said they would fill the oil tank, and they haven't; They said they
would get rid of the bugs, and they haven't; They said they would provide me with a
copy of the rental agreement, and they haven't.
I feel that, for all of these reasons, I need to vacate the premises on the grounds of
breach of contract on the landlord's part, inadequate service from the Taylor
Agency, and substandard condition of the apartment. I am asking for my money
back, except for the 5400 for the period that I occupy the apartment (March 15th
April 1st).
On 2/19/02, I paid out to Taylor Agency:
1. $400 - First Month's Rent
2. $800 - Last Month's Rent
3. $800 - Security Deposit
4. S400 - Taylor Agency Fee "Deposit to Reserve Rental'
Sincerely,
M; e La
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BOARD OF HEA
CITY HALL
COMPLAINT REC
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DARD OF HEALTH
MEMBERS
DOURMASHKIN,R.N.,Chair
aRD P.BRUNSWICK,M.D.
EMARIE KARPARIS,R.N.
J.McERLAIN,Health Agent
(413)587-1214
FAX(413)587-1221
1
CITY OF NORTHAMPTON
MASSACHUSETTS 01060
OFFICE OF THE
BOARD OF HEALTH
210 MAIN STREET
01080
R TO CORRECT VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER II OF THE STATE SANITARY CODE
"MINIMUM STANDARDS OF FITNESS FOR HUMAN HABITATION AT:
34 Woodbine Avenue, r Floor, Northampton, MA 01060
DATE: March 21, 2002
ORDER ADDRESSED TO:
El COPY
COPY OF REPORT TO:
George Smarr Sr.
1 Primrose Path
Hatfield, MA 01038
Michael Marisi
34 Woodbine Avenue, 1° Floor
Northampton, MA 01060
This is an important legal document. It may effect your rights You may
obtain a translation of this form at:
Isto 6 um documento legal muito importante que podera afectar os seus
direitos. Podem adquirir uma tradgao deste documento de:
Le suivante est un important document legal. II pourrait affectar vos
droits. Vous pouvez obtenir une traduction de cette forme a:
Questo a un documento legale importante. Potrebbe avere effectto sui
suoi diritti. Lei pub ottenere una traduzione di questo modulo a:
Este es un documento legal importante. Puede que afecte sus direchos.
Ud. Puede adquirir una tradccibn de esta forma en:
To jest wazne legalny dokument. To moze miec wplyw na twoje
uprawnienia. Mozesz uzyskac tlumaczenie teo dokumentu w ofisie:
NORTHAMPTON BOARD OF HEALTH
City Hall, 210 Main Street
Northampton, MA 01060
Tel#: (413) 587- 1214
The Northampton Board of Health has inspected the premises at
34 Woodbine Avenue. 1" FI. Northampton, MA(assessor s map 25C parcel 44.),
for compliance with Chapter II of the State Sanitary Code.
This letter will certify that the inspections revealed violations listed below,
which are serious enough as to endanger or materially impair the
health, safety, and well-being of the occupants.
Under authority of Chapter III, Section 127 of the Massachusetts General
Laws, and Chapter II of the State Sanitary Code, you are hereby ordered to
make a good faith effort to correct the following violations
within FOURTEEN DAYS of the receipt of this order.
1TION
VIOLATION
REMEDY
Refrigerator/freezer has not been
adequately cleaned by owner prior to
renting of apartment to current tenant.
Soiled surfaces and food debris still
apparent on the inside of unit.
Clean and disinfect all interior
refrigerator/freezer surfaces
thoroughly.
(1) Entry foyer walls soiled, smudged;
in need of re-finishing.
(2) Kitchen upper walls with cracking
plaster and some small holes; Lower
tiled walls soiled...with smearing.
(3) Bedroom walls with a few cracking
areas; ceiling also with cracking and
peeling surfaces.
(4) The top surfaces of all decorative
upper interior window cornices are
caked with dust.
(1) Re-finish foyer walls in an
approved manner which will render
them clean, uniform and easily
cleanable.
(2) Repair cracks and holes and re-
finish upper kitchen walls in an
approved manner which will render
them clean, uniform and easily
cleanable. Clean lower wall tiles
thorough/v.
(3) Repair cracking /peeling surfaces
and re-finish surfaces in an approved
manner.
(4) Clean all upper decorative window
cornices so as to remove all dust
accumulation.
Insect infestation throughout the apt.
Live and dead bugs noted which
appear to be in the Hemiptera or
Coleoptera family of insects.
Take whatever action is required to
eliminate this insect infestation.
Inspection of the premises was made on March 20, 2002 at approximately
3:30 p.m.
NOTE: This apartment was not properly or adequately cleaned and
prepped prior to occupancy by the current tenant who informed me that he
moved in last week.
If you have any questions regarding this abatement order contact the Board
of Health office.
Very truly yours,
David E. Kochan
Sanitary Inspector
Northampton Board of Health
This inspection report is signed and certified under the pains and penalties
of perjury.
CERTIFIED MAIL# 7001 2510 0004 8173 5044
1
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)ARD OF HEALTH
MEMBERS
DOURMASHKIN,R.N.,Chair
RD P.BRUNSWICK,M.D.
RIE KARPARIS,R.N.,M.P.H.
I.McERLAIN,Health Agent
(413)587-1214
AX(413)587-1221
CITY OF NORTHAMPTON
): George Smarz Sr.
1 Primrose Path
Hatfield, MA 01038
MASSACHUSETTS 01060
OFFICE OF THE
BOARD OF HEALTH
a COPY
2OM: Northampton Board of Health
City Hall, 210 Main Street, Room #8
Northampton, MA 01060
210 MAIN STREET
NORTHAMPTON,MA 01060
May 14, 2002
Re-Inspections of Premises at 34 Woodbine Avenue, Northampton, MA
At your request, I made a re-inspection of the premises at 34 Woodbine Avenue, 1st Floor
rartment on May 13, 2002. I was accompanied by Dorothy Smarz. Violations noted in the
lard of Health Abatement Order (Certified Mail # 7001 2510 0004 8173 5044) and dated
arch 21, 2002 have been corrected to the satisfaction of the Board of Health.
Since you are in litigation and expressed concern that the complaint order seemed to
Mect violations more serious then they actually were, I feel that I should qualify exactly what
is ordered corrected.
My interpretation of code violations is based on over 30 years experience involved in
;pectional services. While there can be varying opinions, it is the opinion of this inspector
3t all the violations noted in this order could be deemed minor, including the insect
'estation. This type of bug infestation commonly occur during warming spells when there
a ongoing weather changes, and which usually runs its course as a little time passes. (The
ipty apartment also facilitated this minor infestation). This statement is also made with
me expertise in the field since I have a BS degree in entomology from the University of
3ssachusetts. If need be, I am sure the exterminator hired could verify this.
All of the violations abated could have been corrected through cooperation between
cant and owner and while the premises were being occupied. The premises were certainly
bitable at the time I made the inspection. It was obvious to me that the premises had been
Bpped for occupancy but it could have been done in better fashion, especially with regard
visual and structural elements which are in no way serious health hazards (smears, soiling,
ipping, cracks).
Should you have any further questions regarding this matter, please contact me at the
iard of Health office.
Very truly yof 7s
Yid
David E. Koc. -n
Sanitary Inspector
Northampton Board of Health