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We've all had annoying neighbors: the ones who get drunk and forget what an indoor voice is, the ones who think blowing an airhorn at any hour is appropriate behavior and others who have shouting matches with an ex standing below their window just hours before your alarm is set to go off. Most of the time, we quietly endure it until we reach a breaking point and write a passive-aggressive letter. But sometimes it's the letter writers who get the whole complex whipped up into a frenzy.
One of our readers, who asked to be unnamed, sent us a photo of this letter that he found by the mailboxes in his apartment building in Los Feliz. He gave us a rundown of the situation:
The tenant this is directed to has been in a years long war against the rest of we residents, harassing us and our guests anytime someone comes or goes via the iron gate that serves as our building's entrance. We're subjected to constant fliers, chalk art, and angry letters impugning our "parents' poor child-rearing skills" begging people to not "slam the gate" -- aka, close the door.
He says he didn't write the following letter, but another very angry, very fed-up neighbor did and signed the letter on behalf of everyone else:
TO THE TENANT LIVING IN APARTMENT #4 No one cares about your strictures regarding how we as fellow tenants should behave around you.
There's a fine line between others being inconsiderate and niggling over every little thing. And you cross it all the time.
We'll close the door(s) however we'll close the door(s). And if it's "too loud" for you, that's tough. You can stop writing in chalk, because no one is listening to you.
Not everyone operates under the same schedule as you do, so your fellow tenants are not going to do things at the times you'd like them to be done.
Have you noticed that no one else in the building complains about noises?
If common, everyday noises bother you so much then perhaps you might wisen up on day (hope springs eternal) and choose not to live in an apartment next to three doors of public egress. One might get the impression that you actually love doors. You made that choice to live in that unit. Take some personal responsibility for the consequences of that action. We certainly do—living in our units, minding our own business and being forced to put up with you.
If noises bother you so much, perhaps you shouldn't live in a semi-major thoroughfare. There's this amazing invention called earplugs—you might want to look into this new-fangled contraption.
Please speed dial the landlord (or better yet, the police) and tell them about how your fellow tenants are closing doors too loud. We think you haven't called to complain, because they would laugh in your face.
XOXO
EVERYONE IN THIS APARTMENT BUILDING
PS—We were delighted when the landlord chopped down your unkempt plant overgrowth that you absurdly called a "bird sanctuary."
