BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – One resident of the Stuyvesant Apartments in Buffalo says the building’s security key fob system has been broken for months. He called for action and now — it just so happens the security system is being repaired.
Residents at this one particular apartment building have been fed up with ongoing safety and security issues. Finally action is being taken to help alleviate those concerns.
“I don’t feel safe sometimes in this building,” said Richard Deinhart, a resident of the Stuyvesant Apartments.
It’s hard sometimes for Deinhart to get a good night’s sleep. The building’s key fob system has been broken for the past two months. When residents go out the front door, many times they’re forced to go around to the back door to get back in.
“It’s been awful because you don’t know if you go out in the evening and you go down the driveway you don’t know if someone is lurking behind the building,” Deinhart said.
It’s been even more difficult for those with mobility issues, like Richard, who got stuck in the snow. Residents here are fed up with this and with random people who don’t live here being found in hallways and doing drugs.
“I have heart problems, I got cancer in my lungs, I got to carry heavy bags from over there walk around the whole damn building to get to the back,” one resident said.
BMHA officials, including the agency’s executive director Gillian Brown say two months ago when the Christmas Blizzard hit, a water pipe burst.
Flooding caused a circuit board in the basement to malfunction and for the building’s key fobs to stop working. News 4 found a local alarm company, Amherst Alarm, finally making repairs.
“100 percent,” they said on the repairs being done by the end of the day Tuesday.
But residents won’t believe it until they see it. And, the key fob system isn’t the only issue for residents. Because of damage during the blizzard, residents can’t check security cameras from their apartments. Only managers can from the front office.
“The cameras are a separate issue, I understand that we’re working on Spectrum to do what they have to do to connect the cameras to the system,” said Sam Smith, the president of the tenant council.
News 4 has contacted Spectrum to see what’s taking so long for the security cameras to be fixed. If you have a Call For Action complaint give us a call at: 716-879-4900.
Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.