We have a dumpster at the street side of our parking lot, obviously it is intended solely for our use, but too often, we have discovered that some contractor has filled it up with his debris. This means that our tenants will leave their bags of trash on the ground around the dumpster; eventually these bags will leak, seagulls or squirrels will spread the contents around, then we have to clean up that disgusting mess.
A few years ago, the super next door was doing some repairs and his guys dumped their lumber and debris in our dumpster, again, but this time I was there to see it. I ran outside and had a few words with him, he ignored me. Yeah, I know, I am just a girl. Wrong!
I pulled out the lumber and everything else that I could reach, and threw it back on his property: Broke a nail doing so. Now I’m mad. I went inside and called his property management company, like that got any satisfaction.
Not too long afterwards, I told a friend of mine to dump the debris from her work van next door. Fair is fair.
Upon seeing her do that, the super stormed up my stairs, banged on my door and angrily pointed at the guilty van that is now in my lot, and that he was calling the police.
In fact, the owner of that van was at my kitchen table having coffee.
No problem, I had this one.
I reminded him about that work he did on the front decks, I reminded him that I threw the boards back on his property, but there was plenty more debris in the dumpster, plus he, his workers and his tenants use our dumpster daily.
He sputtered some more.
I stood my ground.
He left. I called his management company, again.
Eventually that super was replaced. Yeah.
Again, someone has been placing construction trash in our dumpster, quite a bit of it, but always very early in the morning so we could not catch the culprit. However, one afternoon I got lucky. I just happened to glance out my door and there is a neighbor with a large trash can over one shoulder and he was holding the lid of the dumpster open with his other arm.
I yelled. He looked up, and then turned to continue dumping.
Wrong move, I know this guy, I also know the tenant that he is friendly with, I got him cold.
We had words.
I couldn’t hear him, but I sure can read body language: Arrogance and testosterone does not scare me. I clearly let him know that he does not have permission from us, that his friend does not have permission, that I will call the police and press charges for illegal dumping.
He left.
Yes, his tenant friend got an earful, and of course, he played dumb.
Let’s just be good neighbors.
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