Caught on Camera: Respecting Shared Space

This morning I started reviewing some security footage our custodian had flagged. She's been dealing with a bad smell in the stairwells for days and suspected someone was urinating in there. I wasn't looking forward to watching it, but I had to see what was going on.

Our custodian's been struggling to keep the stairwells clean, and it's not just a matter of tidying up - it's a health issue. I've worked with her for a while now, and I know she takes pride in her work. It's frustrating for her, and for me, when we've got incidents like this that make her job tougher.

By the time I got to the part of the footage where you can see someone urinating in the stairwell, I was already annoyed. It's just disgusting. And it's not like it's the first time we've had issues with people respecting the shared spaces. I've had to deal with trash not being taken out, vandalism, and now this.

What really caught me off guard, though, was when I realized who it was - the son of one of our long-time tenants. I've known her for years, and we've always gotten along. She's a good person, and I was surprised to see her son's behavior was causing these problems. I decided to talk to her directly, see if we could figure out what was going on.

When I spoke to her, she was mortified. I mean, really mortified. She apologized right away and promised to deal with it. I tried to keep the conversation straightforward - this isn't just about her son, it's about everyone who uses that stairwell, including our staff who have to clean it up. She got it, and I think she was genuinely sorry.

Around noon, I was talking to my maintenance guy about what had happened, and he just shook his head. He's been working here for years, and he's seen it all. He said it's just another day in subsidized housing, where the challenges go way beyond just keeping the building running. I don't know what the solution is, but I do know we'll keep dealing with it, one incident at a time.

Later, I ran into the tenant in the hallway, and she stopped me to thank me for not calling the cops on her son. I told her we're not in the business of getting people in trouble, we just want to resolve the issue. She seemed grateful, and I hope she follows through on her promise to deal with her son's behavior.

What happens next, I don't know. I'm waiting to see if the behavior changes, if the stairwells start smelling better, and if our custodian can finally get a break from cleaning up after people. This one incident is the easy part. What's harder is getting people to actually care about the space they share with 80 other families. That's what I'm hoping for, anyway.

What happens next, I don't know. I'm waiting to see if the behavior changes, if the stairwells start smelling better, and if our custodian can finally catch a break. I hope she follows through. That's all I've got right now.

It's been a long day. I'm exhausted, but I'm also thinking about all the other stuff that's been going on in the building. There are always issues, always something that needs to be fixed or dealt with. But days like today remind me why I do this job - it's not just about managing a building, it's about the people who live here.