The Crescent at Fells Point Community Blog

The Crescent continues to receive Poor Reviews

2008-07-16T12:39:00.001-04:00

The Crescent at Fells Point apartments continues to receive horrible reviews from it’s tenants at ApartmentRating.com. Previous reviews have said things like:

Overpriced Ripoff - The folks who manage this place you be in jail for false advertising

The latest review is even more scathing:

I would strongly caution anyone who is looking into renting here-I am actually surprised that no reviews have been left in a few months. We were happy at first-until the Leasing Office staff began to show their true colors.But first of all, this complex is grossly overpriced,they do NOT provide services mentioned on the website yet our rent never changed(no bikes,no trainer,few events and the ones they do host typically suck),the hallways are hot and stink of cigarette/cigar smoke [Ed: and dog urine],the hardwood floors are cheap,they did a shoddy job on the paint,the pool is TINY and usually taken up by one of the Leasing Staff's friends (that probably do not even live here),and there is dog poop EVERYWHERE.You are pretty much paying to be on the water-so if this is important to you I suggest checking the Eden or Harbor East.As for the staff-with the exception of Andre and the Maintence guys (Dan and Kevin),I have never met more unprofessional people-one of the leasing girls shows up drunk all over town and has no sense of customer service what-so-ever.She makes this company look so bad.At this point in the ballgame, you can probably BUY in Baltimore for about the same you will pay in rent...

Ouch! I am suspect of anonymous reviews that say things like “a little piece of Heaven!”. Were these posted by the staff?

You can read all of the reviews (good and bad) and decide for yourself on the Apartment Rating website.

A Perfect Place to Live (if you like being treated like a 5 year old)

2008-04-07T22:49:00.001-04:00

This weekend I attended a private party in the clubhouse room in The Crescent (over where the pool tables and big screen TV is). I was slouched down in one of the over stuffed couches with my feet on the table conversing with a friend and enjoying a glass of wine.

It wasn't long before an employee of the Crescent came over and said "This isn't your home, would you please remove your feet from the table". Other party goers who witnessed this could not believe what they had just heard.

I'm sorry, but I don't care if this is my home or not. Residents of The Crescent pay WAY to much money to live here (in some cases 50% more than comparable apartment complexes in the Baltimore area) and they don't like to be treated like children. I will put my feet up on the coffee table if I want to.

Bush the great orator

2008-01-09T12:44:00.001-05:00

For what it's worth...

This morning while at work, I was half listening to president Bush's live press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert when something caught my attention. I grabbed for the DVR remote and rewound.

He was asked a question by and Israeli reporter about the Israeli people's concern about Bush not taking action again Iran. He started to make his point with a series of bullet points. His responses (along with a timeline) goes like this:

11:50:14 Bush: "Let me remind you what the NIE actually said..."

11:50:54 Bush: "Secondly. There are 3 aspects to a weapons program..."

11:51:15 Bush: "Secondly. The knowledge of how to convert materials..."

11:51:29 Bush: "Third. They have missiles..."

11:51:42 Bush: "Secondly. I have always told the American people..."

That's right. Bush had five bullet points to make. Three of them started with "Secondly".

Got a Complaint?

2007-12-07T12:39:00.001-05:00

I found this article on MSNBC.com titled "Got a Complaint? You can air it and get results" that talks about ways to manage complaining when you are wronged by airline flight delays, dry cleaning mishaps, etc.

Of course in our case it is The Crescent at Fells Point apartment complex sold us a bill of goods about amenities like an on-site social director, mountain bikes, etc. Not to mention that we have grossly inadequate security and we lack a full time concierge like any half respecting apartment complex has. Check out The Eden or Spinnaker Bay apartments for example. They rent for about 2/3 the cost of The Crescent, yet the concierge services make this place look like the YMCA.

Why don't we have a concierge or on-site social director? The answer is simple economics. Look at the number of open parking spaces in the garage and you can see that this place is so under leased that it isn't even funny. Management simply wont make that kind of expenditure when this place is so unoccupied.

But I digress..

Still you may be able to use the 10 tips in the MSNBC article to deal with issues that bother you. In my dealing with The Crescent, I've tried many of these, including (very recently) filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

But, if you have a specific complaint with The Crescent, you should start by writing a letter. Address your concerns to:

The Crescent at Fells Point
Rebecca Paxon, Property Manager
951 Fells St
Baltimore, MD 21231

You can also email Rebecca at her direct email address prop85304ap@earthlink.net or crescentfellspoint@metricproperties.com.

Do NOT think that simply verbally mentioning the problem to the office will get it corrected. If I've learned anything about my dealings here at The Crescent, it is to document everything in writing (of course even then management here has disputed the facts).

Of course if all else fails, there is always small claims court or even a class action lawsuit. Good luck!

Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!

2007-11-11T18:01:00.001-05:00

Last night at about 4am, as my girlfriend and I were sleeping, she was awoke by a noise and then she heard our dog whimpering. She walked out the the living room to see if maybe the dog was hurt. That's when she saw a man standing in the entryway bent down petting the dog. She immediately ran back to the bedroom to get me.

I woke from a dead sleep to hear her say "there's a man in our house". I ran to the living room and cautiously peered around the corner, fists drawn. I saw a shirtless man standing there in what appeared to be boxers, babbling "is this 495". My assumption was that he was asking if this was apartment 495 (we live in 485).

I wasn't sure if he was drunk or sleepwalking or what, but at this point I didn't really care. There was an intruder in the house and I wanted him out. I pushed him towards the door with one hand as I kept my right hand fisted and cocked, ready to strike if I was given any resistance. Luckily I was able to get him to the door and open it without too much trouble. I gave him one last shove into the hallway and quickly closed and locked the door. Apparently, I had forgotten to lock the door last night before bed... never again!

My girlfriend and I returned to the bedroom, now completely awake, hearts racing and reflected on how lucky we were all to be alive and well. After about 10 minutes, we realized that we should probably contact security here in the apartment complex, so we called the apartment's main number.

A voice answered and we asked how we could contact the security guard on duty at the front desk. We were told that they we an answering service and that they could only get us in contact with 24 hour maintenance. Then she said that she could also contact Nicole (the apartment complex's assistant manager). We told the woman on the phone the whole story, gave her our contact information (i.e. name, apartment number and a telephone number) and she said that she would contact Nicole.

We both were under the assumption that Nicole would contacts us and/or the front desk security to have them patrol the 4th floor looking for this man. We didn't receive any phone calls from The Crescent.

The next day, we stopped in the office to ask WTF? The woman on duty (name withheld because she had nothing to do with the incompetence of the night before, and we like her) said something about there being a message from Nicole asking them (the people on staff today) to look into what happened the night before.

That was Nicole's response?!? A half naked man was forcibly removed from our apartment in the middle of the night and Nicole was content to let that wait until morning? Even if she didn't have all the facts, why not call to see if we were OK? And if she didn't have our phone number for some reason, why not call one of the staff that lives on-site and ask them to go to the office to get it. I'm amazed at the incompetence. Now maybe she did something "behind the scenes" that I'm unaware of. If so, Nicole, please let us know or reply to this post so that others can see that you did something useful in response to this situation.

We've written many times in the past about various security issues here at The Crescent, but this one takes the cake. If you are considering leasing an apartment here at The Crescent and are concerned about security, I suggest that you read the posts on this blog carefully before signing your lease, then draw your own conclusion.

(Notes: apartment numbers have been fictionalized and last names not used to protect the innocent and/or guilty)

Alyssa's Marathon Supporters

2007-10-14T14:44:00.000-04:00

Crescent residents Lance, James and Bizbee came out to cheer on Alyssa Carlberg as she ran in her very first marathon. She finished the race in aprox 5 hours and 40 minutes and was one of 4000 marathoners who ran the grueling 26.2 mile race. Great job Alyssa!

The 2007 Baltimore Marathon was held on Saturday October 13 (yesterday) and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Today she dined on scrambled eggs, bacon, Dunkin Dounuts, mimosas and whatever else she pleases.

China, Myanmar (Burma) and now The Crescent

2007-10-03T18:33:00.001-04:00

The government of Myanmar has shut down the Internet. Communist China restricts what web sites it's citizens can visit. Now the management at The Crescent is censoring what YOU can read online.

If you go to one of the computers in the Business Center to try and read this blog, you will find yourself re-routed to http://www.crescentfellspoint.com/, the company's web site.

Technically what they have done is this (skip this paragraph if you don't know or care what TCP/IP stands for). They have placed two entries on the "hosts" file that re-route the domain name lookups for www.CrescentFellsPoint.net and blog.CrescentFellsPoint.net to the IP address 208.112.58.87 (the server hosting The Crescent's web site).

When you type in the address of this blog, you are hijacked and sent to their web site instead. They aren't restricting any other web site, just the one that presses them on the things that they don't want to hear.

I'm not a lawyer, but there may be a free speech lawsuit there somewhere.

Movie Night

2007-10-03T15:47:00.001-04:00

This last Tuesday was once again movie night, featuring the comedy "Knocked Up".

The prior movie night was canceled as a total of one (or was it two) people showed up. I believe this was because of the violent nature of the movie (I don't remember what the movie was, does anyone remember?).

If we had a professional events coordinator (like the one that is advertised and we are paying for), he or she would probably have known that violent movies don't play well as social events. People want an escape from the hectic work week with maybe a light hearted comedy (like "Knocked Up").

So I hope that they now "get it" and next time around we might see more people show up for movie night. Or better yet, hire a professional events planner (again, like the one you advertised).

Security Woes Continue

2007-10-03T15:40:00.001-04:00

I've blogged about the egregious lapse of security here at The Crescent before. Well it seems like Management is finally doing something about it. They have implemented a plan that should allow you to rest a lot easier at night.

What is this new form of ultra security? It comes in the form of a visitor registration book placed at the front desk (you know, the desk where from 6am to 6pm no one is stationed at).

What we need and have needed for over a year is this:

The front doors need to be locked at all times.
Guests would have to use their key fob for building access at all times (like we do now at night).
Visitors would need to request access to the building (even during the day) by pressing a buzzer.
A 24 hour concierge would answer the buzzer and grant access (like ALL of the other luxury apartments complexes in the area).

There are many instances during the day where the office personnel are busy with guest (or ordering shoes online) to monitor the front doors. Unauthorized visitors are thus allowed to walk right in the building and into the elevators unchecked.

But instead of implementing real security, we have a voluntary visitor log book.

Remember when...

2007-09-18T08:39:00.000-04:00

I remember when I first moved into The Crescent about 6 months ago. It was probably within the first week or two. We were stepping out for dinner and it had just starting to sprinkle.

I was standing in the doorway when I looked over and saw that there were umbrellas that said "The Crescent" resting in the umbrella stands. I thought to myself, "Wow, this is really a cool place to live".

One by one the umbrellas slowly disappeared (as things tend to do) and were never replaced. Unfortunately so did my "Wow" for the amenities here.

Bag lost/stolen

2007-09-13T13:33:00.000-04:00

I received the following email from Rick a few weeks ago. If you know anything, please send an email and I'll make sure to inform Rick. Thanks!

On Labor Day, September 3rd, at about 10:30am, I left a white plastic bag with various clothing items from Marshalls next to my car (2nd floor). It was left alone no longer than 30 minutes. Upon return, it was gone. I checked with the leasing office and maintenance and nothing was found. I would guess it was picked up by someone. If anyone has this bag or knows of its whereabouts, I would appreciate it being returned. Thank you, Rick

Comcast Nissan Waterfront Tour

2007-09-13T11:48:00.000-04:00

I received the following email and thought I'd pass it along in case anyone was interested:

"Your Morning" on CN8, The Comcast Network will be wrapping up our 4-month "Nissan Waterfront Tour" by broadcasting live from Fell’s Point at Broadway Pier and Broadway Square on Wednesday, September 26th. We would like to reach out to local organizations to invite local residents to come out and be a part of our live audience. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at Lauryn_thornton@cable.comcast.com.

The Crescent: Out of Order

2007-08-20T11:34:00.000-04:00

For what it's worth, there seems to be a lot of things in need of repair here lately...

The laser printer had a flashing report (on the display) that the drum needed to be replaced soon. That was 2 weeks ago. The drum should have been ordered then, so it could have been replaced the day it went out. But that would mean that management was proactive in maintaining the building for it's residents, which I believe we have shown they are not.

And another big WTF...

The poop bag dispenser has been empty for about 2 weeks (again) causing waste to pile up on the grounds (I keep a private stash of bags for such a case and always pick up after my dog).

How hard would it be to have someone walk around the property once a day (God, even once a week for that matter) and look for things like this? It's just common sense. We pay so much for rent and get sub-standard service like this!?! (I know... broken record).

How often should The Crescent provide social events?

2007-08-06T22:18:00.000-04:00

So, there is chatter. Chatter is good. Here is a question. Is two social events a week too much to expect?

I'll argue on the side of no, it is not. I offer two reasons. First, most people don't go to every event that is thrown. Mostly because we DO have lives, we are busy and we have events to attend outside of the Crescent. Usually, most of us are busy with our lives. The argument here is that we will all probably be able to make it to one or the other event, if there are a couple a week.

Second, for those of us who moved in on the heels of the previous live-in social director, we were told how nice it would be to have these things going on for those times when you were at home, say, when you weren't out with your friends. The following schedules (from the "events" tab on the crescent website) show what we expected to be available to us. Blue indicates social events, green fitness events:

Don't these sound like fun events? Wouldn't these events make you choose this building over another? From October-February there was a live-in social director as is advertised on the web site and in the Crescent brochure. As you can see, there were, on average, about 2 events a week, which, for those of us with lives, means we might get to a few a month. What a nice way to meet some people when you move to a new city, make some professional connections, find a dog walker. All good things. With our busy schedules, we might not be able to enjoy such times if they were too infrequent, right? Which might be one reason why the Crescent thought two a week was a good number in the first place. Oh, as of March, when Metric took over management from Hanover, the social director moved out, the calendar goes empty, and our rent stayed the same.

Does it really matter how many social events we have? Well, I can also argue no, as a single issue, that it isn't the end of the world if someone doesn't plan our play dates. But when you realize that this blog, and the issues of those of us whose letters and requests went ignored before you moved in, are part of a big picture, it matters. Those of us who speak up, even about the smaller things, do so because there is a trend of misrepresentation and incompetence. It all adds up.

More People Speak Out About Security

2007-08-06T13:48:00.000-04:00

Here is the text from an email we received today from Monica, a concerned resident of The Crescent at Fells Point. It was a follow-up to the original post regarding security and the recent garage break-in. She asked that we post it for her.

"I am very concerned about the door that goes to the garage from the elevators on the first floor. In the last several times I came through it, coming or going, it has been open. And when it slams behind me, whether my arms are full of groceries or not, it closes less than 30% of the time. This is a real security risk, especially given the recent pedestrian break-ins in the garage. I would like to know when this will be fixed!"

Another resident said this:

"You've got me sufficiently fired up to write to her as well. (Though I may not be as restrained, as eloquent, nor as positive!) It's great you are doing this. Thank you."

We've forwarded a copy of both of these emails to the Management in hopes of getting a response. So far they have said nothing about the matter.

*** UPDATE ***

Monica received this response a few minutes ago:

"Thank you for informing us about the door leading from the garage not closing properly. I will have our service team take a look at the door today to ensure its closure. We will monitor the door and its performance over the next few days to see if further steps have to be taken."

If Management knew of the problem over 5 days ago, why is it just being looked at today? I hope that they aren't simply paying us lip service?

"Climate Controlled" Hallways?

2007-08-04T17:42:00.001-04:00

It seems like the "climate controlled" hallways (or at least that's what they are called on the web site) are finally at a somewhat comfortable temperature. They're not "ahh this feels good" cool, but at least they are no longer "New Orleans in August" hot and muggy either.

This climate change didn't happen on its own. It took a little prodding from James the other day as he gave the property manager a piece of his mind (Go James!).

What makes me think "excuse me?" was what he told me of her response. She stated something to the order of "unless the residents tell management of issues, we don't know that anything is wrong".

While I agree with her that we need to point out certain things, we shouldn't have to tell them of blatantly obvious matters like "it's 85 degrees in the hallways".

I'm pretty sure that people from the office wander the hallways every day. If not giving a tour to potential new tenants or maintenance people fixing problems in apartments, then surely they know how hot the hallways are because some of the management staff actually live here.

Please get your head out of the sand and take some responsibility for things that go wrong around here. And I shouldn't have to tell you this either, but there has been a light bulb out over the island in the gourmet kitchen for about a month now.

If it weren't so serious, it would be laughable

2007-08-01T11:31:00.001-04:00

I was leaving the garage last night when I noticed this (see picture below). The door was open again! Why is it so hard to keep the garage area secured?

Residents of The Crescent at Fells Point (a luxury apartment complex managed by Metric Property Management) have had many issues with management over the lack of security in the building. So many that I'm getting sick and tired of writing about them, but someone need to hold their feet to the fire.

In fact a week or two ago the same pedestrian door was pried open as someone forced their way into the garage. No, management did not inform the residents of this break-in, but we thought that you should know.

Here is the step-by-step account of what happened:

Saturday 07/21/2007, around 7pm - A concerned resident found the pedestrian door to the garage pried open and took the picture above (click on the imageto view larger). In other words: we had a break-in at The Crescent garage.
He immediately reported the incident to the courtesy patrol officer on duty.
The officer (who had just come on duty at 6pm) looked in his log book and told the resident that the pried lock had been noted by someone on the previous shift. As this was Saturday evening, the "last shift" would have been the Fri-Sat overnight shift. Management from The Crescent were in the office from 10am to 6pm (albeit intermittently, which is a security issue for another blog post of its own) on Saturday, indicating that they either a) did not read the note in the log book or b) were aware of the broken lock and did not fix the problem.
The resident then sent an "emergency maintenance request" via the web site where he was relieved to read that someone would contact him within the hour.
An hour passed and with still no contact from maintenance, the resident calls to report the matter (luckily no one was hurt and nothing was stolen or vandalized during this hour).
Shortly thereafter a maintenance person showed up to fix the problem.
Maintenance secures the door with plastic zip-ties (see picture to right) and put a sign on the door that read "Gate closed until Monday, sorry".

Questions for management:

If the break-in was on the security log books early Saturday morning, why wasn't it corrected by Crescent management during the day?
Do you think that someone who broke in earlier by prying open a steel door would be deterred by a plastic zip-tie and handwritten sign? The pool area is more heavily secured from it's own residents using a steel cable and padlock.
Management has proudly announced that stronger springs were put on the door so that it closes, but the problem of open and tampered locks remains? How many bikes need to be stolen, cars vandalized or heaven forbid someone mugged or raped and how little common sense do you need to realize that the garage entry is so conveniently located down a quiet, recessed driveway with no foot traffic that this door is a serious target for crime? Once you realize this, what are you going to do about this security risk?
Did you report this break-in to the police and did you give them a copy of the security video from the camera monitoring the area?

Sure, residents should take responsiblility for making sure the door closes behind them and if we leave it open, we are to blame. But I'm guessing that it wasn't a resident who pried open the lock and it isn't always a resident who has left the door open (employees use this door too and need to use the same care). After all, our front doors are open all day (unmonitored) allowing anyone to stroll in and go through to the building and garage. Furthermore, there IS crash door technology that residents, employees and criminals can't leave open.

But more importantly, we need true 24 hour security. You know, the kind you find at other luxury apartment complexes where front doors are always locked and they take security seriously. We need more than one courtesy patrol on duty: one patrolling the grounds and one at the front door at all times. We need effective video surveillance of entryways. Even if a resident, employee or ne'er-do-well leave that door open, patrols and video would help prevent trespassers and thus, potential crime.

After all of this, I have to wonder - why should we need to tell management how to secure its residents? Will it take a serious crime and lawsuit against The Crescent before they respond to the security lapses?

Second Crescent Community Wine Tasting

2007-08-01T01:27:00.000-04:00

Join Karen as she hosts the second Crescent Community Wine Tasting. Those of you who attended the last tasting event hosted by James know that it is a fun time. This month's promises not to disappoint. It wil be held this Thursday (Aug 2nd) at 8pm in the Crescent Billiards Room.

Oh, I almost forgot, the theme will be Cabernet Sauvignon!

Also, we ask that you bring $10 per person to cover the cost of the wine. Please RSVP so Karen knows how much wine to purchase. Hope to see you all there!

We pay for better fun than this

2007-07-31T20:22:00.000-04:00

Today we all received a letter from Management (Rebecca Paxton) regarding Social Events and some other good news. This letter and the promise of social events are encouraging. Management is responding to the frustrations many of us have voiced regarding the lack of both events and the advertised "on-site social director". Unfortunately, they are taking on the task themselves instead of hiring an expert for said dedicated position. The management office gets points for trying, but many of us signed here because an on-site social director meant a LOT (at least twice a week?) of great (mimosa brunch) events. Plus, if management plans events, doesn't that take away from their time and energy to tackle other problems in our building? While their effort to provide events is noble, it is not what we were promised. It is not up to the expectations many of us had when we decided to live here.

Included in today's letter was a survey for us to fill out, informing Management of the kinds of events we hope they will provide. This survey is an ideal opportunity to remind Metric of their responsibilities while providing your feedback. If you agree that the upcoming events are nice, but not an adequate replacement for an on-site social director, this is your chance to be heard by Management. If you are frustrated that they are trying to get away with charging us the same amount of rent without providing an on-site social director, they are making it easy to tell them so with this survey. Or maybe you feel otherwise. Whatever your opinion on this major resident's issue, letting them know through this survey is an excellent way to shape their understanding of what the resident's expect.

Crescent Sponsored Social Events

2007-07-30T13:43:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed the flyer posted in the elevator, but if not then check this out: On August 1st, we are having a Yappy Hour that is actually sponsored by The Crescent Management. I'm not sure if this means that they have hired a full time social director or not (you know, like the one that you are paying for each month).

The dog friendly nature of The Crescent was one of the contributing factors leading me to sign a lease here. What sealed it, however, was when I was told by management that they had a monthly Yappy Hour. You can imagine my dismay when after I moved in (5 months ago), The Crescent has had only one Yappy Hour.

But Yappy Hour is not the only social event on the horizon. If you look at the events calendar on the the official Crescent website (I know the music is annoying), you will see that there are 4 social events planned for the month of August:

Aug 1 - Yappy Hour
Aug 9 - Movie Night
Aug 13 - Resident Pot Luck
Aug 23 - Movie Night

Pretty impressive considering that the last management sponsored social event that appears on their calendar way back on February 26th. BTW, all of these events are also posted on the Community website. Just click on the events tab.

Also interesting is the fact that as of this posting, there are no fitness events on the calendar. I'm not sure if the fitness director just hasn't posted them or if they have been canceled. I'll try to find out and post a comment.

The Community Blog Made The Paper

2007-07-21T12:48:00.000-04:00

The following article appeared in the July 14, 2007 issue on The Fells Pointer about the Community Blog. You can pick up a copy of The Fells Pointer in many locations around Fells Point.

No Movie Theater For You!

2007-07-20T17:42:00.001-04:00

The 25 seat movie theater is one of the coolest amenities that The Crescent at Fells Point has to offer. It's the one thing that you see when touring the complex that makes you say "where do I sign?". I've used it several times in the past and have had nothing but success.

However in the past few days, I've heard from two new residents who have told me similar stories. Both said that they had friends/family in for a visit. They reserved the theater with the office and were told that the key to the "DVD room" would be left at the security desk.

They picked out a DVD, ordered food and got the wine all ready. It was certain to be a lovely evening and a point to pride to enjoy with friends. But, that night when they enquired about the key at the security desk, the "courtesy patrol" on duty told them that no key had been left.

Like I said, I've had no issues with the theater. On the other hand, I've always gotten a "key in hand" from the office before they closed at 6pm.

So, I'd like to call out they people in the office and say shame on you for ruining the evening of these two new residents. It has certainly soured their opinion of leasing at this "distinguished new address".

A better system needs to be put in place as far as the theater room is concerned. Why is the equipment room locked anyway? It's behind an electronic key fob locked room and with the top notch security in this place, we all know that peopl can't just walk in from the street. I'm going to send this in an email to the new property manager and will post her reply here if/when I receive one.

An Outsider's Perspective on Security

2007-07-20T17:05:00.001-04:00

I received an email from someone who works across the street at Belt's landing. I posted it here as I thought you might be interested in hearing an outsider's perspective on security in our building:

Hello- I saw your blog mentioned in the Fells Pointer paper and was interested to see what The Crescent was like. [...] Henderson's Wharf and The Anchorage Tower have a 3-shift 24-hour desk. [...] Anyway, we agree that you do need to monitor the front door. Over the years there have been incidents where anything can happen, especially after the bars close in Fells Point on the weekends. [...] I like your idea of a resident blog and will suggest it for this building.

I'm sure that the emailer was referring to this blog post titled Security, What Security? It's interesting that more and more people on the Internet are reading about the issues that we are facing here at The Crescent at Fells Point. I'm sure that this is exactly what the management here doesn't want, but until they are fixed, I will continue to let the world (including potential new customers) read all about them.

Out of curiosity, I thought I would stop by Belt's Landing this afternoon, but found the front door was locked. There is a buzzer that all guests need to push in order to gain entry into the building. I've spoke with many residents here at The Crescent and they all agree that we need a similar security measure in place here (before something terrible happens).

I'm excited to see that the Community blog was mentioned in the Fells Pointer newsletter. There are no more copies of the July issue here in our lobby (or did they mysteriously disappear?). If you happen to have a one, please send me an email. I'd love to see a copy.

Crescent Community "Pool" Party

2007-07-13T13:24:00.001-04:00

This Saturday evening, July 14th, join us for a Pool Party, except it won't be at the pool. On the Crescent 4th floor Outdoor Living Room 2, we will have our own blow up pool, like you had when you were kids! Come grab a fruity umbrella drink and lounge around in the "pool" or just dip your toes in.

We will be mixing a couple of special party drinks, including Lance's signature Mango Margarita. Otherwise it is BYOB, so please bring some wine, beer or soda to add to the bar. We will also have some light snacks and the outdoor fireplace glowing in the background.

As usual, we don't have everyone's email addresses so please help spread the word. Friends and family are welcome!

Iceberg Right Ahead!

2007-07-13T13:12:00.001-04:00

It's Friday the 13th, so it seems appropriate that I talk about gloom and doom. However, in the few short weeks that our new property manager Rebecca Paxton has been at the helm, it would appear she has been able to steer the ill fated "USS Crescent" away from disaster.

Lets go through the list of "issues" that we at The Community have risen and give management a PASS/FAIL grade on each:

Recycling - It took almost a year from the time The Crescent opened, but yes Virginia, we finally have recycling.
Grade = PASS
On-Site Social Director -In know that management is actively interviewing an individual for this position, but nothing has been announced to date. I hope to be revising this blog post in the next few weeks with some good news.
Grade = FAIL
Guest Suites - For all of you that were disappointed (OK, even down right furious) about the disappearance of the guest suites, I'd like to be the first to break the story: WE HAVE GUEST SUITES! Details will be made available by management in the coming week, but here's what I can tell you. There is one corporate suite and one guest suite, available on a first come basis for $75/night. These are completely furnished one bedroom units with cable television, sheets, towels, a phone, etc.
Grade = PASS
Security - I have been told that a stronger spring was placed on the pedestrian gate in the garage, so at least that's a move in the right direction. But, we still have no one at the guard desk from 6am until the office opens in the morning and I doubt that the "holiday lapse" has been corrected, but you can bet we'll be checking it on Labor Day.
Grade = FAIL
Towels in the Gym - Not only to we have towels in the gym, but we have TOWELS IN THE GYM. So many in fact, that the towel shelf is bursting at the seams.
Grade = PASS
Dog Waste Bags - The jury is out on this one. I ordered a box myself and gave them to the office (they did offer to reimburse me), but I haven't seen any more boxes show up.
Grade = ???
Color Toner - If you've seen the flyers for this weekend's "pool" party then you can tell that color toner has been installed in the business center's color printer.
Grade = PASS
Game Room - The shuffleboard table in the game room needed a little maintenance. A can of powdered shuffleboard wax (like the one that I suggested they order) is now available. It would also appear that whomever was "cleaning" the table has been told not to do so anymore.
Grade = PASS

Now that we have someone capable at the helm, hopefully we will see even more improvements at The Crescent on the not so distant horizon. Communication is key to any situation and we feel that Rebecca is going a great job of listening to our concerns and getting her people to "Make it Count".