Hello,
My name is Aileen and I'm a tenant renting a condo studio apartment in a pretty famous Heritage Building in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – The McLeod Building – an example of the Chicago Style of Architecture (the other one is in Portland or Seattle...) – bought and restored by Gene Dub Architects but later sold to individual owners who then formed a Condo-Strata and enlisted Magnum York property management to handle it's affairs. Apparently, the property is comprised of 99 units [sic] – 88 residential and 11 commercial units, which i never knew before and which may explain some conflicting interest$.
I have been in love with this building for years and i have always wanted to live here but i was basically the only one in the building directly affected (and by affected i mean being poisoned) by the smoke, which is why i am pretty much alone in my struggle – as the canary in the building – rather than being disdained by management and evicted by landlord for 'complaining' – i should be awarded for my bravery and for protecting, not only myself, but other residents who were also affected but just didn't realize it yet (pardon me while i toot my own horn). The other people probably didn't really care too much, sadly, because it wasn't happening to them (and maybe they were other owners or on the condo-board or maybe they just enjoyed hanging-out at Woodwork and didn't want to ruin a good thing) – although i did receive support from tenants on my floor (and then got told off for breaking condo-bylaws by putting up a notice by the elevator – but no bylaws were invoked to protect me from carbon monoxide and smoke inhalation – priorities right?!) – once the smoke was palpable in the hallways and also when there were 6 or 7 handsome Firemen from Station 1 (mad props – my heros) in my suite (although not under the circumstances that i would have preferred – yes i still have a sense of humor about it – if you don't laugh you cry and you can't get up off the floor).
This small (465 sq.ft.), studio-apartment condo unit, has a wall of four, floor-ceiling, double-hung (unsealed) windows – that face onto a 2nd floor rooftop alcove/fire exit at the back of the building – which faces onto an alleyway – they used to be the features. The vent from this posh trendy-hipster bar and restaurant that is below me – Woodwork – that many residents in the McLeod building frequent – including myself ( just prior to this nightmare but obviously not anymore – even though i've never eaten so much kale in one sitting, as i did with their Brassica salad and i was a huge fan of their graphic identity – being a designer – too bad so sad) – and even work there. I even heard rumblings that the owners have a condo in this building and it made me wonder why nothing was being done to stop the smoke? – as well as why some of my FYI notices had been removed and disappeared – and why i was being treated like a pariah instead of a victim – but i'd rather be the enemy than be a fatality.
Woodwork restaurant's 'wood-fire grill' exhaust vent was re-installed to vent, onto the 2nd floor alcove rooftop, on Jul 09, 2015, and AIMED DIRECTLY AT MY WINDOWS – with a 5ft. arm-extension and a powerful exhaust fan – and was exposing me to wood-fire smoke particles (that are 10x smaller than others) and, subsequently, poisoning me (15ft. away) daily – for 5 consecutive days, with dangerous levels of carbon monoxide gas – for 8hrs a day from 3-10pm – while I was inside my expensive rental apartment, in this prestigious Heritage Building, in beautiful downton Edmonton (the allowed legal distance from any structure is 10ft so the contractor and the owner decided it was ok and they said that the City of Edmonton made them and allowed them do it – which was later refuted in a phone call to me, on July 21st, from the Chief Building Inspector, Mark Brodgesell (another good-guy), because of a complaint that I filed with the Safety Code Council – major good-guys!) NO ONE would do anything to help me or to make it stop (except for Fire Rescue Services from station 1 on July, 13, 2015 – my Heros!). I had to keep my windows closed all day, in heatwave and drought conditions, in July – but closing windows – unsealed windows – doesn't stop carbon monoxide gas.
Several poor little grasshoppers that had found their way into the suite, due to the weather, later died over the next two days and I wondered why? I put them outside and I guess the birds must have eaten them but I managed to find one that I plan to take to a lab for analysis if I can.
All those plans were put on hold by the first Eviction Notice, that I received on July 20th, 2015. Instead of celebrating the closure of the Woodwork exhaust vent by order of Fire Rescue Services on July 13th (and the subsequent failing grade of 'UNSAFE', by City Building Inspectors on July 15th), like i deserved, and being able to finally relax, like i needed to – I haven't had a moment's peace or rest or enjoyment since the landlord wrote the eviction letter on July 16th. I've been spending all of my money on photocopying evidence for my objection response defence (to the landlord's eviction application with the RTDRS) as well as on my own subsequent counter-claim – which I never would have started if i hadn't received insult to injury – instead of humanity and decency.
Both the restaurant and the contractor (i still don't know his name) both said that the City made them do it and they couldn't do anything to make it stop – but they were really sorry for my distress and working towards a solution(blah blah blah). Finally deperate – I had to go and buy my own CO Detector Alarm so that I could then have a reason to call 911 and the Fire Department – who then evacuated me (and ventilated the premises to 0PPM with a giant fan) and made the owner's of the restaurant SHUT-it-DOWN (the vent), on July 13, 2015. I started to cry when they were here in the apartment – also in disbelief at what they saw – because someone finally saw it the same way that I did – and were helping me and agreed that AIMING A WOOD-SMOKE VENT AT A RESIDENCE was unacceptable and wrong.
A few days later, a City Safety Code Inspector failed the contractor's work as 'UNSAFE'. Duh. (even though he had a permit – it clearly states that he can't violate the Safety Code and put a person in danger). I tried to get the contractor and restaurant manager to stop installing it on day one but they didn't listen to my concerns about it OBVIOUSLY putting me in danger – which could have prevented all of my unnecessary health concerns and suffering before they began. Neither the landlord nor the Property Management, of this Condo-Strata building, did anything to help me even though the landlord claims that something was being done – really what?
The site-manager only policed my FYI notices – that I put up to inform other residents in the building about the concern and what was happening – and threw the book at me about breaking bylaws – BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT RIGHT?– and removed a conversation that was posted by myself and the other residents on my floor. If I luckily hadn't seen them before he took them down – I never would have known that others supported me, made suggestions for a solution, and emailed the manager as i suggested, if they were concerned. Apparently dissemination of information that prevents people from being put in danger is a Condo-Bylaw crime – but poisoning someone with carbon monoxide is allowable.
Property Management did nothing but antagonize me – including an incident where their site manager verbally attacked me – and since complaining about this attack (in which he called me 'fucking crazy!') to my landlord (on July 16, 2014) – the same day that she composed her first eviction letter to me (but did not respond to my email for 2 days) – I am now fighting an EVICTION by the landlord – based on alleged consistent late-payments of rent (because I refused to pay rent while I was being gassed in the rental premises), in case i had to suddenly move-out. I objected and am also filing a counter-claim with the RTDRS.
We had an initial hearing based on her application to evict me – she avoided service of my response documents by 'going on retreat all weekend and being out of range of cell phone service' – as my counter-claim was not ready to be filed and heard in time for that first hearing (because I have a mountain of evidence and photocopies to itemize). THE HEARING HAS BEEN POSTPONED AND THERE IS AN INTERIM ORDER IN PLACE – IN WHICH THE ADJUDICATING OFFICER GAVE HER, IN MY OPINION, WAY TOO MUCH POWER TO EVICT ME AND ORDER ME TO VACATE IN 48 HRS – IF I SLIP AND DON'T MAKE TWO PAYMENTS IN THE ORDER BY THE DATES REQUIRED. The first payment is today by 5pm on August 22, of rent-owed for July (the gas-chamber month) CAD $600 and the second is by September 1st, by 5pm of monthly rent, until the hearing. I don't have a lot of money left – because i have been too busy since all of this began to take on work and have been spending way too much on my defence and counter-claim – which i never would have started if she hadn't tried to evict me (ONLY 2 DAYS AFTER READING ABOUT MY 911 EVACUATION by the Fire Department (in an email – because she has been 'with her daughter' in Saskatoon – whatever that means and how it stopped her from meeting her obligations – to the safety of her tenant – instead of visiting with her daughter and expecting to collect rent on a gas chamber – i don't know).
If you can help me meet the requirements, in the Interim Order, please donate and you can be a part of 'fighting-the-good-fight' in not allowing this callous little landlord to kick me out before the hearing of my counter-claim – for not only recinding the eviction – but also abatement of rent, damages and compensation for performing the landlord's obligations (as well as violating the terms of the RTA).
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She wrote the eviction letter only 3 days after my 911 evacuation by Fire Rescue Services, Station 1, Truck 1 and Pump 1 (two trucks and lots of amazing firemen – especially the Captain – who told me that I did the right thing and it was definitely wrong and unacceptable for anyone TO AIM A WOOD-FIRE SMOKE EXHAUST VENT AT A RESIDENCE'S WINDOWS and I'm not crazy and that he was going to shut-it-down and everything would be ok – because I was crying and he could see my distress).
She wrote it the same day that the site-manager had followed me down to the basement of the McLeod Building (where he has been employed, since at least 2008, and paid a 'generous' salary by Magnum York property management and the Condo-Strata), alone and yelled at me and called me 'Fucking Crazy!'. Saying 'that he was on my side before but not anymore – gesturing next door to Woodwork – and it was that kind of attitude that left me up in my apartment disregarded with no concern – being exposed to smoke from Woodwork's 'wood-fire grill' exhaust vent and subsequently poisoned with dangerously-high levels of carbon monoxide (at least 40 PPM+ for 8 hours a day, everyday, for 5 consecutive days – until i finally had to go and buy my own CO Detector from Home Depot).
Attempting to evict a tenant after allowing them to suffer CO poisoning is heinous, immoral, reprehensible, disgusting an inhumane – just a few words to describe not only doing nothing to ensure my safety but also sitting back and expecting me to pay rent while it's happening – and then 2 days later trying to Evict me – after all of my 'complaining' – instead of doing what any decent human being should do. SO PLEASE DONATE, IF YOU CAN, AND HELP ME TEACH ALL SLUMLORDS – WHO THINK THAT COLLECTING RENT IS ALL THAT MATTERS –THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG AND THE IN-BETWEEN! Thank you! Aileen :)
