Yesterday, I blogged what I expected to be my last words on living in Marina City. I didn’t expect to be called home from the office today by our management company to attend what is our third apartment flood in 12 months. Silly me. After seven years of blogging about state-of-repair disasters in both towers–including numerous fires, floods, drunken attempted apartment invasions, and at least one interstate prostitution ring abetted by former board member and local dentist Gary Kimmel, I really should have known better.
If you think I’m kidding, please (oh, please) browse through my Marina City archives–from beginning (in June 2005) to end (this month)–or read this recent coverage of the Gary Kimmel scandal from Chicagoist. Sadly, it doesn’t get any better. At least not in these corncobs. If you look at an apartment here, either to rent or to buy, ask the person showing it about these issues. If they–or anyone else–tell you things like this don’t happen here, they aren’t telling you the truth. Do your you diligence. One word: Google.
Today’s events just bolstered my sense of relief about finally leaving this place. But as with everything, there’s always a blessing if you look for it. As I wait for the residual dripping from our newly damaged window-wall ceiling down directly into our electric baseboard heaters to putter out, one comforting thought keeps coming to mind.
At least we don’t have carpeting.
(Can’t see this video in your news feed? Watch it here.)
Categories: Marina City Should I Move to Marina City? VIDEO BLOG
Mike
I’m an #OpenlyAutistic gay, Hispanic, urbanist, Disney World fan, New York native, politically independent, Jewish blogger in Chicago. I believe in social justice, big cities, and public transit. I write words and raise money for nonprofits. I’ve written this blog since 2005. And counting...
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You must be cursed, Michael. I’ve lived in the same apartment on the 21st floor for almost nine years, and I’ve never experienced any serious problems – just the occasional self-flushing toilet (the videos of which on YouTube have had over 48,000 views!).
We did have that fire that practically gutted 2105 several years ago, but since that careless couple moved out, it’s been pretty quiet down here.
Well, that’s not entirely true. There’s the couple directly above me who have loud sex. They remodeled a few years ago and neglected to install sound-absorbing material beneath the hardwood – which means I can pretty much tell what position they’re doing it in. She likes to wear high heels during sex. And I can hear the guy peeing afterward. And earlier tonight they had a pretty loud argument that lasted for at least an hour…followed by loud sex…and urination…
And I get a front-row seat to the crowds of teenyboppers (does anyone use that term anymore?) lining up for the latest [overrated, untalented] teen heartthrob [with bad hair] screeching lyrics they’re too young to understand on the House of Blues stage.
Oh, and the drunk people urinating off the Dearborn Street bridge. (My voyeuristic side tells me to stop complaining and buy binoculars instead.)
OK, so it’s a crappy place to live. I’m just too lazy to move. You’ve motivated me, though – maybe this will be the year. Check back in 10 months.
@ Charles M.
Did you move? I cant help but be curious as I have now moved into the Cobbs and based off of what I am reading fear that might have been a bad idea? I have no complaints thus far minus the random wind/vibration? sound that apparently comes from the elevator shoots. But I am up on the 40th floor and the view is very attractive however downstairs is a concert parking lot every night which makes me rent parking up the street and the lobby is still being remodeled. Funny because I actually moved from Edgewater where I was in a condo with a private beach right next to the Malibu East. Not crazy about the area but that’s maybe because I remember it when it was ghetto or because Kenmore (one block off of Sheridan) still is. I do miss Metropolis coffee though.
Make that four floods. Tonight, coming home from (ironically) our successful admission interview at the Malibu East in Edgewater, where we talked about all the floods we’ve had at Marina City, we opened our front door and walked into flood number four. The same unit flooded us this time as during flood number three: #2711, which appears to have no one living it (absentee landlord.) This time it was a clogged drain, and maintenance had to snake an emergency drain pipe down seven floors to stop the deluge. Ryan and I are both in the middle of really bad colds, so it made a stressful evening worse. I can’t tell you how much I’m yearning to finally leave this hellhole building behind for good.
Your question is its own punchline at Marina City. No one cares. Fully half the units here (450 out of 900) are rentals owned by absentee landlords who contract with third parties to manage them. That includes both my unit and (I believe) the unit that flooded us on the day of this post.
ewwwyuck.
So Michael, I have to ask, what did your landlord say about the incidences?
I called my landlord the moment I heard water trickling from the upstairs bathroom of Miss “Drunkface McNoisy” Smart, #19-G of Bel-Harbour Condominiums, into mine. My landlord was in the manager’s office within an hour to ask heated questions about any damage Miss “Drunkface McNoisy” Smart might’ve caused.