hello - a reply.

here is my reply email to our building management company - crosby.

hello,

thank you so much for the letter today letting me/us know that there are specific channels that i/we are to go through in regards to issuing complaints against/about the no frills grocery store below my/our suite(s). i looked for the bylaw you referenced and could not find it on your web site, if you could forward it to me for my perusal that would be great - because i surely wouldn't want you to have to take further action if i was to keep corresponding with alfie and no frills.
and while we're on the subject of correspondence, it would be lovely if you, as a strata management company - who we employ as owners - would return some of the correspondence that comes your way. it pains us as owners to send emails in which we ask repeatedly what measures are being taken in regards to the noise - and get nothing in return. is it any wonder i/we have become frustrated as owners who are constantly ignored. and really, nothing has been done to help with the noise. we are constantly told things are being done, or that things are in the works and it's just not true. jxxx bxxx, who lives next to me, is selling her unit because of the noise. another has said they may do the same come next summer. if i was them and lost money due to the noise from no frills, i would be taking no frills/alfie to court to recover my losses - this is not without precedent.
so, as i see it, unless we get regular updates as to what is going on and what things are taking place to lessen the noise, i am going to continue to stay the course - i can not speak for others who are also frustrated. they will do what they will and i will not stop them, but i am here as support for them. when you do something for us, then i will do something for you. honestly, the fire extinguisher sign on the second floor is still upside down after repeated emails asking that it be turned right side up. if this can't be done, why should we think anything else will be done?
i have the knowledge and connections through my work for sound suppression and have passed on suggestions re: rubber matting, softer wheels on the carts - when they move along the cement floor the sounds travels through the building, different types of sound insulation, etc. and none have been acted upon. in fact, there was to be some spray insulation applied but it has yet to happen. this was months ago.
if you read any of the initial correspondence you will see that we, as owners, were polite and were, and still are, willing to work with alfie and no frills, but we have been met with deaf ears or it's proved fruitless. so? if you were us, what would you do? i don't think you would sit idly by and listen each day as pallets jacks unloaded trucks and carts moved along the floor with the sound being such that you can track their path from one part of the store to the other and other forms of crashing and banging.
no frills and alfie don't seem to care about being good neighbours, i could be wrong, but that's the optics. sure he came to my suite, shook hands, we talked and he said he understood, but really, he seems to be done making any changes to his store. loblaw's has washed their hands of it. so, we carry on. and if need be i will employ council on my behalf and see what my/our options are. maybe nothing, but you have to explore all avenues and exhaust all options before giving up. i've said it before and i'll say it again, i was happy when i found out a grocery store was going in below us. now, not so much.

regards,

postman.

the postman left me a letter today that is very interesting. seems i am being told to stop contacting alfie, owner of the no frills that rests below me. that i should only address issues i have with the store with the condo management company, crosby property management. i can only assume that no frills, alfie and, probably, michael corday - owner of the space no frills occupies and a member of the strata council for the building (which is also interesting because the letter was not only sent from the management company but also 'sent on behalf of and at the direction of the strata council'. so it's kinda like getting a letter from michael himself.), are unhappy with this blog and emails i have sent re: the noise no frills generates on a daily basis.
the letter goes on to say that i am to abide by specific bylaws within the building and if not, there could be further action taken. what could that mean? fines against me for emailing the noisy neighbours? for looking out for my best interests? i should stop trying to get them to stop making noise? unlikely.
and the reason i am going to stay the course? because no one else is doing anything.
emails have been sent. and some emails have been received. and in some of the emails received there have been mentions of things that will be happening to, hopefully, help with the noise. but nothing actually happens. crosby has been less than proactive and it often takes many emails to gain any responses back from them.
i replied to the letter via email earlier today and stated that until such time that i felt crosby was getting things done with our interests in mind, i would keep doing what i was doing. we rarely get updates and when we do it's the same statements over and over and nothing actually changes with the situation.
so there's a protocol i am meant to follow. and to that i say no. i am not one to flip the middle finger just because. but i will when i feel it's appropriate. now is one of those times.
of course, as always, if i am presented with better reasons to stop emailing alfie and/or no frills and loblaw's, i sure will. if i get a legal cease and desist, i sure will, but until such time, i won't.
so the good times continue.

regards.

one of the first.

here is the response to one of the first emails sent to loblaws.

..........

Thank you for taking the time to write to us.

Please accept our apologies for any undue concern and inconvenience this matter has caused you and your fellow tenants.  I have forwarded your concerns to Alfie, the store owner for review.  As Alfnesh Baran is the owner of the property, he must handle any property complaints.  Unfortunately, as Loblaw Companies Ltd. does not own the property or the store, we do not have influence over proprietary concerns.

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and sincerely wish I could be of more help. We hope you will contact us in the future with any other questions or comments.
Regards,

Erin Bristlon Senior Customer Relations Representative I LCL Customer Relations

1 President’s Choice Circle | Brampton | Ontario | L6Y 5S5 T: (905) 459.2500 x.621945|

Sent: Monday, August 13, 2012 3:44 PM
To: CR Email Agent 5
Subject: NoFrills-Contactus-[0006843C-1003-000ABA12]

Customer Comments

Response:  Yes
Contact by:  Email

Subject:  

Comments:

hello, i have written you before re: the no-frills store that moved in below us and the problems we were having with noise coming from below in the warehouse - both long before the store is open each day and, sometimes, long after the store has closed each night. the sounds are still there and the owner of that no-frill, alfie, appears not to care very much - initially he gladhanded and smiled and said he would fix things but the noise still persists. i am writing on behalf of a few concerned tenants, not just myself, and want you to know that there is a move afoot to institute a boycott of the store and try and get the entire building on-board. one owner has even said that she was thinking of selling her place and any loss she would incur due to the a: selling in this current climate and b: due to the noise from below, take no-frills to court to get what she feels she would be owed. (that is of course a matter for another time) we need things to be taken care of and we're tired of waiting. we had a great life before no-frills moved in, not so much now. a crowded, often dirty, parking area, noise from the warehouse, trucks unloading before seven am and work often happening well after the store closes. our politeness is wearing off. thank you

and so the story goes.

no-frills - a grocery store chain owned by (sort of - more on this a little later)  loblaw's, moved into the mantra building at 1680 west 4th ave, vancouver just short of two years ago, and ever since that time my neighbours and i have learned to hate the grocery store nestled below us.
for a year and a half (ish) before no-frills moved in below (owned by alfnesh baran), we had a pretty good life going here. it was quiet with just the usual noises you would expect living in the city. we, my neighbours who - like me - live on the backside of the building, heard garbage trucks collecting trash, binners in the alley collecting bottles, cars, etc. what we didn't hear was 40 ft. trailers being unloaded at all hours. then came no-frills. and alfie. and really, before alfie's name even made its way to our ears, we heard him coming.
alfie's no-frills rents the commercial space in the mantra building from marco properties which is owned in part by michelle corday (also of westbank projects) and her uncle michael. no-frills decided they wanted an elevator put in for their customers to use to get from the parking garage to the store. once that work started we were subject to over four months of drilling and coring to accommodate the new elevator shaft. add to that many more months of hammering and drilling while they built and re-fit the space downstairs for the incoming requirements of the no-frills, and we had nearly a year of construction below us that started every day at 7 a.m. and often went past 7 p.m.
add to that the fact that to get to our secured parking two levels below we had to navigate garbage from construction and its workers and pallets of work materials it made for a less than great life at the building.
i have to admit that i was happy to know there would be a grocery store so close to home - literally below me. but shortly after it opened my happiness turned to anger. trucks below unloaded in the loading bay in the back often before 6 a.m. all days of the week, pallet jacks running up and down metal ramps until late in the evening, carts with hard wheels moving along the floors that were and are so noisy you can follow their path as they move from the back warehouse area of the store to the front. banging, clanging and other unknown noises come at all hours.
we have tried, very politely to address the issues but have been met with, amongst other things, disdain, questioning of whether there really is any noise at all, visits from michelle corday and her uncle, alfie and various others who feel it's 'all within reason'. alfie has done some glad-handing but really shows very little concern for the nosie he and his business makes below us.
the noise below has caused one owner to out her condo up for sale and will in the end lose approx. 50K when she finally does sell. if she can sell it. who wants to buy a condo that has a bad neighbour below it?
our building management company has listened to our complaints but had proved toothless in the end. we have suggested thin matting for the floors in the warehouse to reduce the vibration through the cement flooring, replacing the wheels on the carts with softer wheels, more spray on insulation on the ceiling, adding a drop ceiling, etc. all to fall on deaf ears.
they just don't care.
and beyond that - loblaw's doesn't care either.
we have sent emails to loblaw's (that will be posted in future posts) and the replies have stated that while they do own the no-frills name, they are not responsible for the actions of the stores themselves. they wish they could help but it's really out of their hands. sorry.
so in the meantime we are subject to continual noise every day and often nights until after 11:30 pm - while the store itself closes at 9 pm. we have suffered more break-ins since they opened their doors as it's easier now for thieves to get into the underground - gates that they have control over, that were never suppose to open before 8 a.m. have often been open at 6 a.m. and closed later than 11 p.m. leaving an wide open door for thieves.
also the underground parking area is a dirty, eyesore that never seems to get cleaned up or the floors power-washed.
again, alfie just doesn't care.
we have sent email after email after email and to no end. aflie never responds to emails, and has no intention of doing anything to make the lives of the ones above him any better - or at the very least try and make our lives as they were before he got there.
we will be posting the emails that have been sent back and forth to help illustrate the problems we are having in the hopes something gets done and also to show that we are not making any of this up.

regards.