Complaint Review: Forest City Housing - Select State/Province

This is a letter I wrote to Forest City back in 2011. The purpose is to document our experience as there was little to no resolution while residing in these substandard homes. In response to my complaints, Forest City called the Master Chief of the Navy for the purposes of silencing my husband. I'm not in the Navy, and my civil rights cannot be denied. The experience with Forest City Management is detailed below:

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REF: 2862-D KOKIO LOOP, AIEA HI 96701

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is in regards to our current living conditions of which assistance is greatly needed. I am prepared to contact several entities who may take interest in this situation and have the capacity to act. The decision to move in such a fashion was not made in haste. My husband and I have been tenants of the *Halawa community under Forest City Management since July 2009. For the duration of this two-year period, we have encountered substandard service of which I had not previously considered possible. My sincere reaction is profound disappointment in how Forest City Management interacts with their residents. It is also disturbing to witness how comfortable management appears to be with disregarding our concerns. Please consider this correspondence as a request for escalation.

(The properties are also INFESTED with insects, inside and out..."Living in Hawaii" is the automatic go-to excuse for lack of pest control)

Our initial complaint regarding the electrical service began prior to Spring 2010. Strange occurrences began taking place, i.e. television shorting out, regular outages and inconsistent power flow, etc. My husband and I visited the Pearl City office around this time to discuss this matter. We had a face-to-face meeting with Ms Kainoa Aitaro. She set an appointment for an electrician to visit our home on 03-31-10. A light fixture was changed which temporarily made the issue appear to subside. However, there has been numerous reoccurrences since. The ongoing electrical problem required an additional visit on 06-08-10, with no different outcome. A maintenance problem of this severity continuing without resolution is unfathomable. That in conjunction with other problems makes residing in Halawa housing a dangerous prospect. Our unit cannot possibly be the only one plagued with these issues. Other residents may be unaware of such warning signs possibly showing up in their homes. The events occurring are a material noncompliance potentially affecting public health and safety. Forest City has egregiously failed in their obligations to maintain buildings in good and safe working order. Not limited to electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, facilities and appliances. I have compiled a list detailing our experience for excess of one year:

• Lights flickering throughout the day & night (Video available/Can email)

• Hot walls

• Burnt/shorted out cords & equipment (See enclosed receipt for replacement television verification of any burnt cords can also be obtained by Oceanic Time Warner Cable)

• Recurring problems with cable, internet, T.V. static/fuzziness

• Inoperable power outlets (Some of which have been simply been removed without ascertaining the source of malfunction)

• Tingling when handling the metal ends of coaxial cables and other connective wiring

• Burnt odors periodically emanating from electrical sources

• *Community-wide outages 2x month on average which are not necessarily always weather related

*These incidents may also be related to the frequent brown-outs in our area

Another disturbing trend is the stonewalling, excuses and other obfuscation tactics tenants are subjected to when problems are brought to Forest City’s attention. Examples of which are not limited to the following:

• Leading the tenant to give descriptors which allows Forest City an “out” from performing any detailed diagnostic. To further expound, when advising maintenance that a third party technician indicated a possible building problem, the derailment would begin. We would be asked questions like “So it’s the outlet, right?”(No…the ENTIRE structure), or “This is the light that’s flickering?”(Yes, along with every other light in the house for a year). When asking Forest City technicians to probe further, highly condescending interrogation often takes place. In one instance when lacking the expert proficiency to describe the root cause of our electrical problems, maintenance would simply profess ignorance. On other hand, if prior research was done in relation to the “symptoms”, there would be not-so-subtle inquiries about my credentials (As if electrical problems were not commonplace subject matter in real estate). Our ongoing electricity issues were always met with patch jobs i.e., changing a light fixture and utilizing the GFCI Receptacle Tester on one or two outlets. A common response would be “Our tester doesn’t show anything wrong…” The maintenance man would then leave without ensuring said service issue was taken care of. Inspection should go further than relying on a device anyone can purchase from their local hardware store. On occasion, surveying the property would be a necessary course of action.

• Implications by Forest City staff/maintenance that lights’ flickering constantly throughout the day is a normal occurrence. Ironing and using the dishwasher simultaneously should not cause every light in household to flicker heavily. Replacing a bulb or removing an outlet does not fix the root cause. The problem resurfaces at a later date. Each time my husband or I call for the same issue, we have to go through the process of re-explaining our problem as if no records exist. Please understand this differs from bringing the technician ‘up to speed’. It appears that each technician who’s come out had received no briefing prior. When contacting management, we’re often told that the problem was resolved. To the contrary it has not been.

• Sent on a “wild goose chase” by John Pittman to Time Warner Cable after the cable technician’s visit 02-09-11. This was after the TWC tech (Lester) called Forest City directly that day to inform them of electrical problems with our unit which causes repeated interruptions in service. Time Warner informed us on several occasions that the problem was not on their end. These findings were also relayed to Forest City each time. We met face-to-face with Mr. Pittman the day after on 02-10-11 after the technician’s findings, in addition to producing a burnt electrical wire. My husband and I were told to arrange the physical meeting between TWC and Forest City maintenance. As a result, Norman, a maintenance supervisor arranged to meet with the same TWC representative Lester Oka on 03-04-11. The lack of ownership displayed by Forest City is downright appalling. A business to business conference call to initiate the process would have been more appropriate. My honest assessment is that this was another ploy to further stall and frustrate us. Nonetheless we cooperated in good faith with no reciprocity on Forest City’s behalf. As of 06-15-11 another TWC technician serviced our home due to the same service issues. Results were the discovery of another burnt wire and connector. It was documented and the damaged pieces were subsequently replaced.

• Denying the problem exists despite evidence right before them. EX: On Wednesday 06-01-11, we requested maintenance to repair the broken caulk around our sink and faucet. This causes a constant leak even when the sink is not in use. When pointing this out to “Mike”, it was as if he neither observed the water puddle surrounding our faucet; nor the corroded seal. I had to point the sitting water on top of the sink. He re-caulked the top of the sink, but advised us there was “nothing else he could do”. At present the faucet and sink still leaks.

• We also suspect the presence of black mold as our A/C unit occasionally leaks and freezes over; activity conducive for mold breeding ground. Preliminary was testing was done in our home. The results will be verified by an independent lab and should be back in a couple of weeks. The maintenance man was called out May 11th to check for a possible occurrence (Making Forest City aware and requesting an assessment and rectification of the issue if necessary -as per Section 64(a) & (b) of the tenant/landlord handbook). Since moving to Halawa, I’ve been diagnosed with asthma and my husband was also experiencing increasingly worse flu-like symptoms. Consequently, I’ve had to enroll in the EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program) mandated per MCO 1754.4B and SECNAV INST 1754.5B. The A/C ducts were vacuumed out and covers replaced. The air quality has improved some, but is still not great. We still experience otherwise unexplainable ailments i.e., sneezing, itchy/watery eyes, headache, frequent headaches, nose bleeds, fatigue, chronic cough, nausea, affected memory, swollen glands, hoarseness, chronic sinus problems, development of respiratory ailments and increase in asthma attacks. The correlation was not obvious at first, as I have been a patient of the pulmonologists clinic since around January 2011. At present, Forest City insists there is no mold present in our home. It is indisputable that the presence of such a toxin would severely affect our quality of life.

The time has come for a permanent resolution, as the problem has apparently not been resolved. Serious liability issues can and do arise from these situations. This incident possibly violates HRS 521 of the Residential Landlord/Tenant Code; namely failure to act. Forest City has been advised of the situation on numerous occasions. There are also serious implications as it applies to homeowners and business insurance. We have either had to endure abusive treatment from maintenance staff or patch jobs which have yet to this day rectify the issue. At the present, there has been no change. Our repeated reminders, inquiries and entreaties have not yielded any results. My husband has visited both the Lehua & Bougainville offices on several occasions seeking remedy for this ongoing issue. He also sought counsel from his command and was advised to make another attempt to discuss the matter with management. The response (or lack thereof) was indeed puzzling. Not quite sure if whether it was ignorance or blatant disregard, but reduced rent for occupying an older property does not absolve Forest City of liability. Neither would it cancel out nonfeasance, compounded by other forms of negligence.

Suffice to say that we have given up on the futile task of appealing solely to management for resolution. Specifically as it relates to quarters, we are demanding an immediate move to different housing area at Forest City's expense. We also trust that any fees associated with relocating to a different neighborhood will be waived (A $500.00 fee is assessed for a tenant moving to another Forest City community). A portion of our rent for the past year should also be refunded for living under such unacceptable conditions.