Advancing Your Interests

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January 2007
In December 2006, Waterside Management posted in our buildings proposed new policies regarding Guest Registration and new Use Procedures for the Card Access System.

The WTA is vigorously opposed to the imposition of these rules because we believe they intrude on our right to privacy and because they are unreasonable and unworkable. No provisions have been made for nights or weekends, so complying with these rules would be impossible in many instances.

Please carefully read these new rules carefully to be sure you understand the implications. Click here to read a copy of these new rules. In brief it imposes the following:

1. Advance registration with and approval by Management of all guests who you want to have access to your apartment when you are not there, even those you have given keys.
2. Advance registration and approval by Management of ALL OVERNIGHT guests with their arrival and departure dates, EVEN if you will be there during their stay.
3. All entry and exit from the building will be by Card Access only for all tenants. This includes the Lobby level. The doorman will not be allowed to buzz you in.
4. Settling tenants will be required to secure and use Photo Access Cards, contrary to earlier statements made by Waterside Manager Arthur Zabarkes in his letter of December 27, 2004 and statements made publicly to tenants. Click here to view the letter.
5. Only tenants and visitors with a disability will be allowed to enter at the "A". Permission for this entry by disabled visitors must be arranged in advance. Visitors to the 10 and 20 Building will have to walk up the ramp, no matter what the weather is. Visitors to the 30 and 40 Building will have to walk up the stairs during the frequent times when the escalator is out of service.

Waterside is implementing an Access Card System now, contrary to the public statement made by Arthur Zabarkes of Waterside Management that this system would be “voluntary”. This statement was made at an open WTA meeting including the WTA attorney and the press. Arthur later wrote the WTA to say that his statement had been made for “Settling Tenants” only and that those tenants who chose not to have an Access Card will, nonetheless need to need to be issued a card for the laundry room. Click here to view letter

Despite this statement Waterside will implement the access card throughout the complex as posted. It imposes very significant limitations on movement through the complex on tenants who do not get the card.

For instance, a handicapped person who today parks and enters the building on the C level, will now have to get to the A level and use the escalator to gain entry to their apartment. As we know, this is impossible for someone in a wheelchair. The escalator is out of service every day for cleaning at noon and is frequently not working, necessitating someone to walk up 3 flights of stairs to gain entry to the building. This system imposes serious hardships on the infirm, the elderly and parents with children in strollers. Since the playground is being moved to the second floor promenade, children and their caregivers will not be able to use the playground without the card.

 These limitations are neither reasonable nor practical. In our view, the Access Card system does not serve the stated goal of increased security.

The WTA opposes to the access card system for these and other reasons.

• Reduces security – Doorman no longer required to monitor who is
  entering the A-level. We lose the security of visual identification by the doormen for all 'A' level entries. This also makes the entering tenant responsible to confront someone trying to enter behind them as they go through the A-level door, as the doormen will not see who enters. .


• Loss of Privacy – Individual tenant movements through the complex will be recorded in a searchable database. The information collected in the database would enable a person that accesses it to determine what a tenant’s schedule is, when they are home and when they are not.


• Increased Vulnerability to Identity Theft and Other Crimes – If this access card database and network is penetrated by a third party, this personal data and patterning information makes us more vulnerable to identity theft and other crimes. This could make a tenant less secure not more secure. It identifies when you are not home or if you are home alone.


• Data Security – No information has been provided regarding who is keeping the data, who will have access to the data and how the data will be handled. Will the data be shared with our landlord's attorney? This is a serious issue given the problem with identity theft and poor handing of secure data as was seen recently with Bank of America and Choicepoint. These organizations employ teams of sophisticated data security experts and even so, they had theft and leakage of confidential information.
  
• Surveillance Mechanism - This system provides less security, not more. It is a system that will provide surveillance on tenants and record this information in an easily searchable database.


• Lawsuits Against Settling Tenants - Waterside Management has used information about purported tenant movements to file suit and bring eviction proceedings for alleged violations of primary tenancy. In this situation, the tenant is required to bear the legal costs of going to court to prove their primary tenancy. This system will provide more information to enable Waterside Management to bring more lawsuits against tenants.


• Photo ID – Waterside is requiring that each tenant be photographed for placement on the access card and for Waterside’s database. Yet the access system does not use a photograph at all for entry.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO – WHAT WE ARE DOING

• Do not get access card at this time . Tolerate the inconvenience while we work to solve this matter.
  
  The WTA prefers to settle this in a reasonable manner. Assemblyman Steven Sanders was to meet with Arthur Zabarkes on April 21 to discuss the access card system however he required a heart bypass operation. Our thoughts are with him for a speedy recovery
  
  We are now considering all options. The WTA will advise you immediately after the meeting as to the outcome and next steps.



• Send a letter or email to your elected officials. Tell them your opinion regarding this system, your concerns re security, identity theft, loss of privacy, and any specific hardships this it will cause you. Click below for names and contact information.

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