neighbors from hell!!!

[sereia 0]

i'm living in a nightmare. i moved to new york with such high hopes. if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere...right?

i moved into this apartment december 1st. my first apartment living all ALONE. i was so happy to be free of roommate drama! but no... within the first week i was woken up constantly by my next door neighbors who fight in the middle of the night. they come home from at 1, 2, 3am and fight drunken together for HOURS and HOURS on end. screaming at each other in french. i've banged on the wall. nothing. i've called the police multiple times. they come. they talk to them. then they leave and five minutes later, they are back to their fights. its almost daily!

i've complained to my super. they said they've had written them letters and had problems well before i ever moved in. but for some reason they've never kicked them out.

now i've been calling my landlord relentlessly and he said they were out FOR SURE last month. i come home from visiting my fiance and guess what? they're still there! so i asked, and he gave me more and more lame excuses about why they are still there. he said they would be out FOR SURE by the end of this month. well tomorrow is the last day and i would put my life savings that they won't be gone by tomorrow night.

so here i am...almost 5 months after i've moved in and nothing has changed...except my life. my life has completely gone downhill because i get no sleep. this visa process is difficult enough to go through, let alone having this drama tacked on! i don't go out with my friends because i'm too tired. i can't remember the last time i've had a full nights' sleep. i wake up from their fighting and even if they stop within a few minutes, it takes me a long time to fall back asleep. i'm crabby and depressed because i'm tired. i have no motivation to go to the gym because i'm tired. and lately i've been messing up at work because i'm so tired. i'm losing my life because of my selfish piece of @!#$%^&* neighbors. i never thought something like this was possible. who fights EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for HOURS on end? who does this?????????? sometimes i can't believe this could possibly be true.

i really don't know what to do at this point. my landlord says he'll let me out of my lease if i want to move out. which is great, lovely! but i paid that ####### realtor of mine a whole months worth of rent to find me this place (and i KNOW he knew about my neighbors fighting beforehand). i've paid for movers. i've paid for the cable/internet to be installed. why should i have to pay thousands more to move somewhere else AGAIN? its so unfair... i'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

does anyone here have any advice? anything at all?

Edited April 29, 2007 by abdounjen

[kitkat1 5]

Since moving out is not a realistic option for you (and you shouldn't have to move) have you thought about earplugs, a sound machine, sleeping pills? I would continue to call the police and complain to the landlord. And read through the City Tenant's Rights Guide - maybe you'll find something there?

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/realestate/tena...e.html#contents

[archie07 0]

i'm living in a nightmare. i moved to new york with such high hopes. if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere...right?

i moved into this apartment december 1st. my first apartment living all ALONE. i was so happy to be free of roommate drama! but no... within the first week i was woken up constantly by my next door neighbors who fight in the middle of the night. they come home from at 1, 2, 3am and fight drunken together for HOURS and HOURS on end. screaming at each other in french. i've banged on the wall. nothing. i've called the police multiple times. they come. they talk to them. then they leave and five minutes later, they are back to their fights. its almost daily!

i've complained to my super. they said they've had written them letters and had problems well before i ever moved in. but for some reason they've never kicked them out.

now i've been calling my landlord relentlessly and he said they were out FOR SURE last month. i come home from visiting my fiance and guess what? they're still there! so i asked, and he gave me more and more lame excuses about why they are still there. he said they would be out FOR SURE by the end of this month. well tomorrow is the last day and i would put my life savings that they won't be gone by tomorrow night.

so here i am...almost 5 months after i've moved in and nothing has changed...except my life. my life has completely gone downhill because i get no sleep. this visa process is difficult enough to go through, let alone having this drama tacked on! i don't go out with my friends because i'm too tired. i can't remember the last time i've had a full nights' sleep. i wake up from their fighting and even if they stop within a few minutes, it takes me a long time to fall back asleep. i'm crabby and depressed because i'm tired. i have no motivation to go to the gym because i'm tired. and lately i've been messing up at work because i'm so tired. i'm losing my life because of my selfish piece of @!#$%^&* neighbors. i never thought something like this was possible. who fights EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for HOURS on end? who does this?????????? sometimes i can't believe this could possibly be true.

i really don't know what to do at this point. my landlord says he'll let me out of my lease if i want to move out. which is great, lovely! but i paid that ####### realtor of mine a whole months worth of rent to find me this place (and i KNOW he knew about my neighbors fighting beforehand). i've paid for movers. i've paid for the cable/internet to be installed. why should i have to pay thousands more to move somewhere else AGAIN? its so unfair... i'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

does anyone here have any advice? anything at all?

Total bummer, did you try ear plugs? With your fiancee arriving shortly you may want to relocate. I understand it's costly but it's your sanity too and your fiancees. You could try to talk to them but it appears to be thier way of life. My friends neighbors do the same all night long and nothing has changed in years. I'd have a talk with the realtor also.. Good luck

[sereia 0]

ive done ear plugs and drugs to help me sleep. the drugs are just not an option. this afternoon i took a big xanax and slept all afternoon but now i'm awake and feel awful.

and i hate the idea of wearing ear plugs every night. what if someone broke in? i wouldn't even know it. what if someone called for an emergency and i didn't even hear it? ugh....

[doodlebug 3]

can you like throw a sort of stink bomb at their door each night? I don't know how to do that but you're a chef so you know all the stinky stuff, like eggs, cabbage....make like a stinky casserole and leave it at their door or something.

other than that all I can tell you is that when my sister had this problem she took a valium every night to get to sleep. It worked until she could move. Not a great option but at least you'd sleep.

[eric&gen 0]

Buy a huge azz loud home theater system throw in a good action flick every night. Maybe that will drive them crazy maybe not lol.

Edited April 29, 2007 by eric&gen

[Niels Bohr 72]

Your body can build tolerance to sleeping pills. It may become lethal. Goto a home improvement store to pick up ear plugs that can cut 29 dB of audio. Those are very powerful.

I do warn that before using them you are aware you may not hear the smoke alarms.

[lion_lioness 0]

Try calling one of those news channels like 7 on your side maybe??? Just a thought.

[sereia 0]

i just took another xanax in hopes of sleeping tonight. luckily my mom is here visiting with her supply but i don't have, nor want my own prescription. i want these bastards to move out OR i want my realtor fee back/movers paid for/etc!!!!!!

[mmarlo 1]

Have you considered scorpions? You know, buying some and releasing them under their door. That might do the trick.

[Alex+R 0]

Jen, my solution to sound problems has always been earplugs, which I started using in college when I had, well, college students for neighbors. I always wake up when my phone rings (set it on a loud, repetitive ring) or if any alarms go off (happened twice by accident). As to waking up for an emergency call, why not test the earplugs and ask your fiance or someone else to call you when you should be asleep and see if you get their call. I know I always wake up if someone comes in or out of where I'm sleeping or if my phone rings.

These guys sound like totally chopfcuks. I completely sympathize, and I know missing sleep can ruin your life. It happened to me before I turned to ear plugs (hehe sounds so Lifetime Movie).

[natty bumppo 297]

i really don't know what to do at this point. my landlord says he'll let me out of my lease if i want to move out. which is great, lovely! but i paid that ####### realtor of mine a whole months worth of rent to find me this place (and i KNOW he knew about my neighbors fighting beforehand). i've paid for movers. i've paid for the cable/internet to be installed. why should i have to pay thousands more to move somewhere else AGAIN? its so unfair... i'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

does anyone here have any advice? anything at all?

been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Not a good place to be in ... btw: cost me a lot to have my own peace of mind and no regrets.

there was some sound advice given, ear plugs, make you own noise, etc.

You need to decide what your piece of mind is worth as you have already been given the "get out of jail free" card.

It's a hard call to give additional funds to find peace .... but apparently the super has legal issues to contend with and his/her hands are tied.

Not good for you ... but it's now up to you.

[William33 110]

Solution: Move!

You cannot change the azzholes behavior and it is affecting your life. So, take the loss and move.

Best of luck!

Edited April 29, 2007 by William33

[homesick_american 1]

I think you really have no option but to move. Sh!t happens.

[FutureAmerican 2]

Unfortunately the options I'd usually suggest in situations like this are the ones you've already tried (Talking to the police and landlord). I was very fortunate when I was in Student Halls that they had a zero tolerance policy on excessive noise (warnings followed by fines and possible eviction), and security were very happy to pay a visit to the room in question whenever I made the call. The other time I experienced noise was when I was in a house v close to others, and the neighbours were very heavy dope smokers. I complained to the landlord who told me that she thought pot was legal in England, and when I quoted her the Law (it had merely been downgraded, not fully legalised), she gave me a disgusted look and said "If you're a student, why do you care about this?". I let her know that if she didn't do something about it, I'd be happy to make some calls to the police/environmental health authority, and the problem was soon sorted ;-)

Anyhow, back to your problem...I'd say keep a written record of all the times they made excessive noise (if possible get the police reports from the time they spoke to them), and see if there's anyone from the local council or similar authorities who can help, and be sure to show them the track record. Although solutions like earplugs/moving out are possibilities, keep trying to get the landlord to do something about it, if necessary subtely threat about going to the media/papers about it (or try consumer rights groups, whether government ones or media shows etc). In any case keep calling anyone who can help you, and keep a record of what they said/when you called, so your complaints can't get "lost in the system".