NYT: Orwellian Crackdown on Luxury Tenants

Apparently, paying $2,715 a month rent for a two-bedroom apartment doesn’t even come with the slightest bitching privileges.

That’s what Katy and David Griffiths paid to live in a luxury apartment owned by Rockrose Development Corporation. But they were asked to leave, the lease not renewed–apparently because they tried to ask some pretty basic questions in a public forum, like why they were being assessed $600 per year to pay for a gym that wasn’t yet open. When David Griffiths’ post on that topic was refused by the building’s Internet forum administrator, he started a Google group for tenants; he suspects the company was monitoring.

The company claims he was one of only about 10 problem tenants out of 6000 units it controls around the city–but the action created a climate of fear. One tenant is quoted as saying,

Another tenant has circulated a petition asking Rockrose to keep the gym open later. It closes at 10 p.m., too early for some tenants, who pay a mandatory $600 annual amenities fee.

But she is unsure whether to deliver the petition. “I’m scared,” she said. “What if I need to renew?”

Ironically, the building was supposedly set up to encourage community. But this heavy-handed action makes you wonder.

Hmmm, almost sounds like Facebook.