KRF on-line bulletin board

KRF has only one apartment still available for the 2009-2010 academic year. A medium size one-bedroom (available September 1). Check out a few photos at:

www.krf.icodat.com/images/220%20Buckingham/.

Then e-mail us at krfapt@aol.com or call at 215-349-6500 to scehdule an appointment or ask further questions.

And, keep in mind, September 1 may seem like is far off in the future. But the longer you wait, the slimmer the pickings get.

Safety experts have convinced municipal officials across the country that equipment capable of sensing and alarming the presence of carbon monoxide (CO) should be installed in residential buildings along with the smoke detectors already proven to save lives.

An ordinance has recently become effective in Philadelphia mandating the use of CO detectors at key locations in specified dwellings.

KRF is in the process of installing alarms sensitive to both smoke and CO. In some instances, these are replacing the smoke detectors already in use. In other cases, the combination smoke-CO detectors are being placed in new locations consistent with the latest safety standards and codes, and the older smoke-only detectors are being left as-is for added protection.

The devices selected by KRF are powered by the electrical supply lines and also have battery-backup. To alleviate problems sometimes encountered with nuisance alarms – such as those caused by cooking odors – all the new units have pushbuttons that will silence the alarm for a short period to give a known temporary condition a chance to clear.

A detailed information statement has been distributed to every tenant. This gives instructions about use of the "hush" feature, explains how to test the devices, and explains tenants responsibilities with respect to damage of the alarms, replacement of the batteries, and so forth.

• For convenience, this statement is also available online at the krf website: http://www.krf.icodat.com/smoke-CO detector instructions.pdf.
  
  
• For interested parties, the city's ordinance mandating use of these devices is also posted on the KRF website, at: http://www.krf.icodat.com/CO detector ordinance.pdf.

Testing
Every unit will be tested on the second Tuesday of each month - at the same time we are in your apartment to do preventive extermination. In addition, we would encourage you to test these devices yourself occasionally. All you have to do is press the button on the unit and see whether it "beeps." If it does, everything is OK. If it doesn't there's a problem and you should call us immediately to check the unit, the wiring, the battery (if any) - remedy whatever is wrong.

Sources of fires
Some fires start in kitchens or are a result of faulty wiring (or foolish overloading of circuits, use of frayed extension cords, flammable items in contact with auxiliary heaters, etc). However, the greatest cause of fire fatalities in the home is smoking in bed or on a couch and falling asleep without fully extinguishing the cigarette, cigar, or pipe.

Carbon monoxide hazards typically result from "incomplete combustion" of fossil-fuels. Instead of the products of combustion being largely carbon dioxide, some carbon monoxide remains. This is what happens in an automobile because of inherent inefficiencies. It can also occur if a furnace or fuel fired space heater does not get enough oxygen or is defective in some other way. The furnaces in KRF buildings are checked annually so these are not likely to be sources of problems. You shouldn't be using portable space heaters – but, if you are, be sure they're located away from walls or other obstructions that could block the flow of the air they need to operate efficiently.

The confusion about the weeks on which recyclables will be collected along with trash has ended. Philadelphia has taken another step into the 21st Century and is now picking up recyclables every week. And the city is continuing with its "single stream" program, in which all recyclables can be placed in the same containers.

Here's what is recyclable at the present time:

• metal: tin, aluminum, and steel cans
  
• glass: food & beverage jars & bottles
  
• mixed paper: newspaper, magazines, mail, phone books, food boxes, computer paper, and similar materials
  
• plastic: containers marked #1 or #2
  
• cardboard: empty and flattened
  

Here's what's not recyclable at the present time (and can foul up the system)

• metal: aluminum foil, pots & pans, paper clips
  
• glass: light bulbs, window & mirror glass, plate glass (e.g., tabletops)
  
• plastic: bags and containers other than #1 or #2
  
• other: polystyrene foam, chemicals, rubber, wood
  

Recycling bins are provided at all KRF buildings. If yours is missing, or isn't big enough for your needs, please call the office and we will get more. We are using the blue bins provided by the city, along with the white 5-gallon plastic pails in which paint, plaster, and other construction materials are packaged.

Please use these for your recyclables – and do not put nonrecyclable trash into them because this will contaminate the recoverable stream.

To facilitate recycling and also keep the alleys from getting too messy between collections, we have started bagging twice a week. Regular trash will be placed in opaque bags and recyclables in clear bags – which will be moved to the rear of the alleyways – on Friday afternoons, so containers will be empty over the weekend and will have enough capacity to handle last-minute disposal on Monday.

If you have trash or recyclables on Tuesday mornings, and the material at the curb has not yet been picked up by the Streets Dept, please bring your new waste to the curb rather than leaving it in the containers in the alleys where it will be around for an entire week.

Lock the doors to your building when you enter and exit. That's what the locks are for. And all of your outside locks work on the same key so it's easy.

Crime does not run rampant in University City. But there are, indeed, people around with evil on their minds and in their hearts. And many of them wander around seeking targets of opportunity.

---

The following is excerpted from the Daily Pennsylvanian concerning a disturbing crime that occurred at 4400 Spruce Street on Friday, December 19. Note that the perpetrator of this crime was inside the building, in the hallway.

At about 3 p.m. Friday, a 22-year-old Penn student was leaving her apartment on an upper floor of an apartment building located on the 4400 block of Spruce Street. An unidentified male approached her in the hallway and forced her back into her apartment at knifepoint, according to Capt. John Darby of the Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit.

Inside, he produced a handgun and robbed her of her iPod, cell phone, laptop and cash. He then bound, blindfolded and gagged her, Darby said.

The woman was tied for more than an hour, when her roommate, a 24-year-old Penn student, arrived. She was robbed of similar items and then sexually assaulted several times by the perpetrator over the course of several hours.

Darby said the perpetrator went to great lengths to hide his identity - he wore gloves and a ski mask and also forced his victim to take a shower to try to eliminate any evidence left as a result of the assault.

The women called the police when the man left the apartment sometime after 7 p.m. They were taken to the hospital but did not suffer critical injuries, Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said.

The following items are from the University's Public Safety website

12-20-2008 Message From President Gutmann: Dear Friends, I'm writing to inform you that two female students were assaulted -- one sexually -- yesterday afternoon in their apartment near 44th and Spruce Streets, one block outside our Penn patrol area. The perpetrator is still at large. The Philadelphia Police believe the attacker may also be responsible for other recent sexual assaults in Philadelphia and are conducting a press conference today to bring this to the attention of the public so people can be on the alert. We are all deeply disturbed and outraged by this horrific act. We will do everything in our power to support the students through this event, to guard their privacy and enable them to recover from this trauma. Both students received medical treatment at a local hospital and have returned home to their families. Penn Police will continue to work closely with the Philadelphia Police Department as they pursue this case. It is our fervent hope that this criminal is apprehended as soon as possible. Penn Police have increased patrols in the vicinity of the attack. In addition, we took the precaution of issuing a UPennAlert to our campus community last night. Even though violent crime within the Penn patrol area has decreased by 39 percent year-to-date, this situation underscores the importance of our number one priority of protecting the safety and security of our students and our entire university community. I will keep you posted. Sincerely, Amy Gutmann

12-20-2008 The Philadelphia Police Department's investigation revealed evidence that leads them to believe that the attack on community members fits the same pattern of at least two sexual assaults that occurred in Center City Philadelphia. Philadelphia Police Department forensic investigators and detectives, with the support of the Penn police Detectives are working tirelessly on this investigation. The goal is to quickly identify and apprehend this dangerous felon. Any additional information and updates will be shared with the University Community via the DPS website.

12-19-2008 Philadelphia & Penn Police have responded to the area of 4400 block of Spruce Street for a report of a home invasion and sexual assault. The incident is being investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department with the assistance of the Penn Police. The Division of Public Safety has deployed additional targeted police and security officer patrols in the area of 4400 block of Spruce Street.

SUSPECT INFORMATION: The suspect is described as follows: A Black male, Mid 20's, 6 ft tall, slender build, with a goatee. Suspect was wearing a tan shirt and boots possibly carrying a blue book-bag and a blue umbrella. If you observe anyone fitting the description of the suspect, contact the Penn Police at 215-573-3333 and/or Philadelphia Police by dialing 911 immediately. Do not attempt to approach this suspect, as he may be armed.

SAFETY TIPS: Penn Community members are advised to be aware of their surroundings when approaching their residence. Always lock your home or apartment door. Do not hesitate to contact Penn Police at 215-573-3333 or via our over 250 Blue Light Emergency Phones located on the streets and on campus walks if you observe suspicious behavior. Do not allow anyone to piggyback behind you when entering a locked building. Call Penn Police 215-573-3333 to alert police to someone attempting to gain unauthorized entry. Do not open your door to any unknown person.

All KRF buildings are equipped with exterior lights that are supposed to come on automatically when it gets dark. They are safety features:

• to help you see where you're walking
  
• to illuminate alleyways as a means of discouraging — well — people who need to be discouraged.

If any of the lights on your building are not coming on, please let us know so we can remedy the situation.

All KRF units have either straight line-powered or combination line-powered/battery smoke detectors immediately outside or inside all bedrooms.

We have been testing these occasionally for your safety. However, after reading about a few disastrous fires around Philadelphia where the authorities found either no smoke detectors at all or no working smoke detectors, we have decided to increase the frequency of testing.

Every unit will be checked on the second Tuesday of each month - at the same time we are in your apartment to do preventive extermination.

In addition, we would encourage you to test these devices yourself occasionally. All you have to do is press the button on the unit and see whether it "beeps." If it does, everything is OK. If it doesn't there's a problem and you should call us immediately to check the unit, the wiring, the battery (if any) - remedy whatever is wrong.

You should also be aware that although some fires start in kitchens or are a result of faulty wiring (or foolish overloading of circuits, use of frayed extension cords, flammable items in contact with auxiliary heaters, etc), the greatest cause of fire fatalities in the home is smoking in bed or on a couch and falling asleep without fully extinguishing the cigarette, cigar, or pipe.

KRF is in the process of building an improved website at a new Internet address.

The new address is krf.icodat.com; this bulleting board has already been transferred (as you must know because you're here) to krf.icodat.com/news.

New features will be added during the coming few months.

We'd welcome suggestions about sections that would make it more useful to people looking for apartments as well as our present tenants. Just e-mail us with your ideas.

A project has been proposed to build a 10- or 11-story hotel running west for about 120 ft from 40th Street, between Pine and Baltimore. Besides creating parking, traffic, and noise problems in a residential area, the building will be visually out of scale with the rest of the neighborhood - destroying what the purists call the "visual aesthetics." And, if you think getting sunlight into your apartment is (or would be) nice, consider what would happen if you were in the shade of a high-rise.

And, although 40th and Pine/Baltimore is a few blocks from any KRF properties, allowing this project there can ultimately lead to similar things here.

Take a few seconds to register your opposition to this proposal - in a form that can be presented to city officials. To do so, Click Here.

Note:

This project is opposed by KRF Management. Even if you think you won't be living in the area by the time anybody proposes to put a 10-story building next door to you, register your opposition for the sake of the people who will be occupying your quarters in the future.

Trash
Trash is normally collected at the curb on Tuesday mornings, in the neighborhoods where KRF buildings are located. Our staff sets it out late on Monday afternoon, to ensure that it's ready if the Streets Dept comes by early in the morning. (Note: When Monday is a holiday, trash will be set out on Tuesday afternoon for pickup on Wednesday morning. This also holds for recycling, when it is scheduled that week).

The process will be most orderly and least messy if you make it a point to take all the trash out of your unit and place it in the areas designated for your building by mid-day on Monday. Second best is to carry it to the street on Tuesday morning and place it at the curb.

It makes no sense whatever to put trash in the alley or other storage area on Tuesday – either:

• when it can be set out at the curb because what's out there hasn't been picked up yet;
  
• when it will sit around for a whole week attracting scavengers.

Trash is an inherent problem in a high-density neighborhood, with no infrastructure for proper storage. Some attention to the times and places you set it out can avoid making the situation worse than it has to be.


Recycling
The neighborhood has single-stream recycling every week, on the same day as regular trash collection. Single-stream means you can mix your recyclables in one container. You can do your part by separating items such as #1 and #2 plastic (generally beverage and detergent containers), newspaper, flattened cardboard cartons, and metal cans from the rest of the trash and place it in the recycling buckets in your alleyway. Also, please be careful not to throw regular trash into these buckets because it makes the items other people have separated un-recyclable.

KRF staff will continue to take trash from the alleys to the curb for collection. You may bring your recyclables out yourself the evening before or the morning of scheduled pickup. Or, you may place them in the alley during the week - but please keep them apart from the non-recyclable trash.

Click here for more details about recycling specific to KRF buildings: www.krf.icodat.com/krf recycling.htm

For more information about the Philadelphia recycling program in general, call the Streets Department hotline at 215-685-7329 or visit the website at:
www.recyclingPAYS.phila.gov.

[Note: for reference, one floor of a typical 3-story Philadelphia row or twin house is about 1,000 square feet]

---

From BusinessWeek.com, January 10 2007

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You wouldn't want to be a landlord in Oklahoma City right now.

The most expensive apartments in the Oklahoma City area rent for an average of $8.68 per square foot—or $723 a month for a 1,000-square-foot residence — the lowest rate of any metropolitan area with a population of 1 million or more.

Compare that with New York, where a comparable apartment costs more than $4,000 per month, and the Great Plains of Oklahoma start to look pretty golden from a renter's point of view. Tornadoes notwithstanding.

"It's affordable both ways, for people who want to rent and people who want to buy," says Frank Mazella, broker and owner of Pointe Property Management in Oklahoma City. Mazella, a Bay Area native, began investing in Oklahoma's capital 18 years ago, when foreclosures became routine in the city due to its dependence on the slumping oil industry.

"I got out a map, figured out where Oklahoma was and went down there," Mazella jokes. He now shows apartments — including brand new, 1,500-square-foot apartments for $800 a month — mainly to hourly workers, the military, and college students. "Most people are just looking for housing, not luxury," he notes.

Rental Bubble
In other words, Oklahoma City, despite its relative affordability and emerging downtown scene, is unlikely to become a hot spot for relocating New Yorkers and San Franciscans any time soon. With rents rising radically across the U.S., native residents of Oklahoma City, who make a median of $22,924 annually, are probably just fine with that.

Rental rates for high-end apartments in major metropolitan areas were up an average of 6.3% in 2006, according to Global Real Analytics, a San Francisco-based real estate research firm that helped BusinessWeek.com compile its list of the biggest metropolitan areas with the lowest rent. In the New Orleans area, rates rose 27.2%, the largest increase in 2006. In San Francisco and New York, rates climbed 10.5% and 8.6%, respectively.

"The past year has been very healthy for apartments, from a landlord's perspective," says Global Real Analytics' Paul Wildes. "Prices of homes are out of reach for most people, and that's good news for apartments."

In general, price trends in the apartment sector are inversely related to those in the housing market. When home prices increase, as they did between 2001 and 2005, rental rates decrease. After the price runup, which made homeownership unaffordable to many, renting became a better option and rates skyrocketed.

At the same time, the economy has improved and the employment rate has increased, resulting in more people with jobs looking for apartments. In addition, the condominium conversion craze of the housing boom reduced the supply of available apartments, sending rates skyward. Immigration, increased mobility in the labor market, a higher divorce rate, and aging baby boomers complete the perfect formula for high apartment demand.

Of course, most of the rent appreciation over the past year has occurred in highly desirable locations and immigration hubs, such as the Northeast, Florida, and California. Eight of the 20 major metropolitan areas with the lowest rent are in the Midwest, which has seen the lowest growth of any U.S. region. Cleveland saw just a 2.9% increase in apartment rental rates last year, and Detroit saw a negligible 0.6% increase.

City on the Edge
Not all metros with low rent are immune to the current wave of rate appreciation. Austin, Tex., barely making the cheapest rent list at No. 20, saw rates climb 8.1% last year as hip San Franciscans and New Yorkers flocked to the "Live Music Capital of the World" (the city's official slogan).

"People are moving here left and right, so it's keeping us busy," says Tony Brown, an apartment broker at agency Austin Downtown Living. A 1,000-square-foot, high-end apartment in the Austin area rents for an average of $924 a month, but one-bedroom apartments just a few minutes from downtown can go for as low as $545.

Unlike, say, Birmingham, Ala., Austin—home to the University of Texas' main campus and the site of major technology corporations like Dell (DELL), Apple Computer (AAPL), and Sun Microsystems (SUNW)—has a strong job market and a trendy downtown with restaurants, theaters, and more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city. Add cheap housing to its list of attributes and it's no wonder so many are flocking to the area.

Cooler Future?
Natives of Austin, however, are less fond of their city's newfound popularity. "The high demand is good for us [brokers], but Austinites are forced to pay higher rent," says Brown, who has luxury lofts in downtown that rent for as much as $1,700 a month for a one bedroom.

Rents in Austin will probably keep rising in 2007, bumping the city out of the top 20 cheapest, but other cities could catch a break this year. As the housing market adjusts and homes become more affordable, rent appreciation should eventually slow.

According to the National Association of Realtors, U.S. multifamily housing should see vacancy rates average 5.4% in the fourth quarter of 2007, which would be unchanged from a year earlier. The rise in average rent is expected to moderate to 3.9% next year from an increase of 4.3% in 2006.

"We think apartments are now comparable to other sectors and the relative outperformance will not likely continue," says Richard Wollack, chief executive officer of Global Real Analytics. "They should generally track other sectors going forward."

KRF Management has found a free automated service that will back-up your computer files at whatever frequency you desire, and will also allow you to trigger a backup whenever you want. They give you 2 GB of secure storage with the free option — which is more than enough for most people's word processing, data, and photo files. It's even enough if you have some videos and music you want protected this way.

Hopefully, your computer will never crash, become hopelessly infected by a virus, get destroyed by a natural disaster, be left in a taxicab, or whatever. The chance of such a thing is small. But the cost in terms of the work you have on the system may be enormous.

Learn more at www.iconworldwide.com/free-auto-backup; if you like what you see (it would be hard not to), there's a link to the registration page.

The University of Pennsylvania is investing $1 MM in new streetlights in the area. This program is a reaction — indeed, according to KRF president Alan Krigman, an overreaction — to some unfortunate incidents close to the Penn campus around New Year's.

The fact is, statistical analysis of a large number of studies involving street lighting and street crime shows no significant effects whatsoever. While crime did decrease with new lights in some cases, it actually increased in others. One thing of interest that did emerge from the analyses was that people had the perception that better lighting meant the streets were safer at night. This means they might be lulled into complacency, rather than take precautions such as walk on streets where there are other pedestrians, don't leave bicycles unlocked on sidewalks or porches, and put items such as laptop computers or cell phones in the trunk of your car if you park it rather than on the seat where every passerby can see them.

Al Krigman discussed the folly of thinking streetlights ward off evil in an op-ed column in the University City Review of October 11. You can read an on-line version at www.nonid.blogspot.com; it's the item entitled "How many college presidents does it take to change a light bulb?"

KRF is having the roofs of all buildings inspected and repaired in preparation for fall rains and winter snows.

If you live on the top floor, please let us know of any water stains you've seen on your ceilings that you haven't already reported. These stains appear when there are small leaks, often so small that you won't have any actual dripping. And small leaks eventually become big leaks, so we'd like to get them as early as possible.

Call, send a note, or e-mail to let us know about these. Be sure to indicate the room or rooms in which you see them. We'll not only double-check the roof in the problem area, but will patch and paint the ceiling for you, too.

Occasional bugs and mice are inevitable in older inner-city buildings.

KRF therefore performs monthly routine extermination of all units. This service will be done on the second Tuesday of every month. If you are having a particular problem, you can notify us at any time and we'll take appropriate action. Also, if you notice a problem, be sure to advise us a day or so before the second Tuesday so we can give your unit extra treatment on our regular visit.

We'd also appreciate:

• Your letting us know if you have a pet we may not see when we come into your unit, so we can be sure we don't leave anything that will endanger it.
  
• Your being especially diligent during the hot, humid days of summer to take your trash out of your apartment every day and not leave it under the sink or in other places where it will attract pests.
  
• Your keeping your cooking equipment free of grease.
  
• Your not leaving dirty dishes around.

If you keep your trash inside your apartment rather than take it outside to the receptacles every day, you're asking for trouble. Especially when the weather is hot and humid. One person in a building who does not pay attention to the above precautions can cause problems for everybody else.

Also, we would rather you contact is than try to spray or set out poison yourself. We will send someone to exterminate the whole building. If you only cover your own unit, chances are that you'll just drive them to other places in the building — aggravating the problem for someone else and leaving yourself vulnerable to their returning when the coast is clear.

More than that, the insecticides and rodenticides you can buy at the usual retail outlets are relatively ineffective in older buildings like ours, where the critters have lots of places to wait it out. KRF utilizes formulations especially developed for these situations.

Of course, one roach does not make an infestation, as Aesop would have said were he in Philadelphia today. But don't be shy about alerting us if you do spot one.

If you're renting in University City — whether from KRF or any other housing provider — you should be concerned about the plan to create a NID — a Neighborhood Improvement District in the area.

It will contribute unnecessarily to escalating cost of rent in the neighborhood by imposing a tax surcharge on housing providers for services we don't need or want, and about which we will have no voice.

Here's the lowdown:

Some rent increases are, unfortunately, inevitable. The costs of heating, water, and insurance have been rising sharply. And real estate taxes in the area will go up when the city's state-mandated reassessment program goes into effect (probably next year). This is a nationwide trend. The Federal government reports that consumer prices in March were 3.4% higher than they were a year ago — with "core prices," which exclude energy and food, accounting for 75% of the increase during the month of March alone. Further, it states that "The biggest driver of the uptick in core prices was rent. Tenant rents were up 0.4% from February and 3.2% from a year ago."

Another cost may be imposed on owners of rental properties in this area by a plan being proposed by the University City District (UCD) and its special interest partners — including Penn, a few large housing providers with close ties to and property management contracts with the University, condo and luxury apartment developers, and Realtors. The plan involves a broad program aimed at changing the face of West Philadelphia from Spring Garden, Powelton, and Market south to Woodland and from the Schuykill River west to 50th.

They're promoting it as merely a means of hiring additional people for litter and security patrols. But the real goal is to redevelop the area according to a vision of an urban environment that many of us do not share. And that many of us will not be able to afford if becomes a reality.

Adding insult to injury:

• They want to make us pay for it through a mandatory surcharge on real estate taxes; this will hit property owners directly and will be passed on to renters through lease increases.
  
• They're proposing what amounts to an unelected level of government between the people and City Hall, in which decisions will be made by insiders with virtually no input from those it will affect and little or no accountability for how, how much, and where our money is spent.

The first line of defense in preserving the diverse urban community we call home, is through our District City Council Member, Jannie Blackwell. UCD and its supporters have been flooding her office with letters. The link below will make it easy for you to give the Councilwoman your thumbs down on this this takeover. When you get to the link, fill out the form then click on "submit." Your opposition will be registered by means of an email message directly to Mrs Blackwell.

Click here to access the form: www.iconworldwide.com/speakup

And... pass this information with the link above along to your friends. The more "votes" against the NID that pour into Mrs Blackwell's e-mail in-basket, the easier it will be for her to nip the whole scheme in the bud by declining to introduce UCD's proposal as a bill to City Council.

All KRF buildings with more than two units have multi-sensor fire alarm systems as required by the Philadelphia Code. Unfortunately, these systems are prone to "nuisance alarms." These alarms are of two types:

1. Loud signaling, indicating a smoke or fire condition when there is none.
2. Low-level (but annoying) beeping, indicating a possible malfunction of a sensor or other component.

Any such problems should be reported to the KRF office. However, there is something you can do which will not compromise the protection of the building but will cut off the noise. Open the front panel and:

1. Press "reset." The system will go through a diagnostic cycle and — if all is well — return to its normal state.
2. If pressing "reset" doesn't work and the problem is the loud alarm signal, press "alarm silence."
   or
   
3. If pressing reset doesn't work and the problem is the low level beeping, press "trouble silence."

As noted, although these steps will alleviate the annoyance, they may indicate a need for the system to be serviced. Please notify KRF if you have had a problem. And, if you're leaving a message, please describe the situation and tell us what you've done.

KRF allows tenants to have satellite cable installed for their apartments. However, previous bad experience forces us to prohibit access to the roofs of our buildings. The antennas cannot be mounted on the roofs, the parapets, or the chimneys. They may be mounted to the wood frames of any windows that do not have aluminum capping. In general, you will need a southern exposure for your antenna to work properly.

Please check with us and we will let you know if your south-facing windows are OK for these installations.

If your sink, tub, or toilet becomes clogged, please call the office for assistance. You can try using a plunger yourself, if you have one. But we would prefer that you don't pour any chemicals into the system. For three reasons:

1. Notwithstanding the ads you may see on TV, they don't work very well.
   
2. The chemicals can be rough on the piping and ultimately cause serious damage.
   
3. The materials are quite caustic; if we have to send somebody to work on the drains and residues of the chemicals are still in the pipes, our people can get hurt.

We provide this as a part of our regular service. Unless we find that something's been dropped down the drain or that someone has been disposing of products such as tampons down the toilet or food wastes down the sink. In such cases, there will be a change.

We are changing our banking and accounting systems a bit. As a result, we would appreciate it if you would make your checks and money orders to the order of:
KRF Management
or
KRF
rather than, as previously, to
KRF Corporation.

We know that old habits are hard to break, and can accept checks in the old style on a short term basis, but would appreciate your converting to the new system as soon as possible.

Several people have asked how to contact the police after calling 911 in an emergency and not getting a response. The Police Dept recommends repeating the call to 911 and stressing the urgency of the situation.

In University City, you can also follow-up the second 911 call with direct calls to two other sources of assistance:

1. The Philadelphia police substation at 40th & Chestnut: 215-243-0667
2. The University of Pennsylvania Dept of Public Safety: 215-898-9255

These operations are on duty around the clock.

Mail for residents of KRF buildings is delivered in bulk through a slot in the outer door. Over the years, this has proved to be the best approach — avoiding access to hallways and mailboxes by unauthorized persons.

One downside of this practice is that vestibules sometimes get cluttered with mail. This includes items addressed to current residents that they don't pick up, letters addressed to people who no longer live in the building, junk mail addressed to nobody in particular, and stuff that's either addressed or delivered incorrectly.

Occasionally, someone's mail gets lost in the clutter of pieces left in the hallways for reasons like the above. You can help avoid missing items addressed to you picking up everything addressed to you on a timely basis; if it's junk mail you don't want, throw it into the trash on your way outside rather than just leave it to litter the area for your neighbors and guests.

KRF staff is making an effort to pick up unclaimed mail when cleaning the hallways on Mondays. This may result in items addressed to you being "returned to sender" if you don't pick them up yourself on a timely basis.

By the way, feel free to dispose of circulars and other junk mail not addressed to anyone in particular. It's easy to identify this material.

• Circulars addressed to nobody in particular, without envelopes
  
• Items in envelopes addressed to some name followed by "or current resident,"
  
• Items in envelopes with less than 27.5 cents postage, or a printed indicia saying "second class."

When in doubt, of course, don't dispose of anything.

KRF provides only limited service for repairs and maintenance during evening and weekend hours. So, please contact the office with your notifications and requests early in the day and week, to help us respond quickly to your needs and concerns.

Call at 215-349-6500, or send e-mail to krfapt@aol.com. here's a helpful hint — if you get an answering machine when you phone, you can skip the announcement and get right to the beep by pressing the pound key (#) at any time.

The exterminator made his rounds yesterday. And, when he got back to the office, he said, "Why should the mice eat the poison I set out for them? Some of the tenants are leaving open containers of garbage in their apartments that Mickey and Minnie will find much more appealing."

Roaches, mice, and other pests are an inevitable fact of life in older high-density city neighborhoods. To minimize the problem, KRF has an extermination contract for most of our buildings. This means that a professional exterminator services the property on a monthly basis. Scheduled visits are on the third Monday of each month. Dates for the next few months are posted in the table at the end of this bulletin board.

Please keep this schedule in mind. The effectiveness of our contract is greatly diminished if you notify us right after the day of scheduled service that you have seen signs of pests. However, be aware that you can advise us of incipient problems at any time. Our normal practice is to have our own crew take remedial action first; if this doesn't prove effective, we will then request the extermination service to make a special visit.

Your effort in keeping your unit pest-free is also vital. Tenants who fail to remove trash, especially food and other organic wastes on a regular basis, are courting trouble. Likewise — those who don't use a good cleanser on grease that might spatter on the walls or floor near cooking appliances, or inside those appliances — are creating difficulties for themselves and for other residents of their buildings.

If you haven't done so already, you may want to consider buying a renters' insurance policy. Except in extraordinary cases, KRF is not responsible for the damage to or theft of your personal property -- for instance due to leaks, electrical disturbance, unlocked or forced doors, and so forth. Policies are available at moderate cost from a number of sources. KRF has no business relationship with either of the following, and receives no consideration if any tenants sign on with them.

You can get a quote on coverage by contacting:

Steven Snyder
Allstate Insurance
405 Floral Vale Blvd
Yardley PA 19067
215-504-0440
email: spab4401@allstate.com

Another good source is:

The Perzel Agency
215-335-6878
website: www.perzelagency.com

About 81 million people live in rental apartments in the US, of whom roughly one third carry their own insurance on personal property. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal (May 26 2004), the others typically assume that the landlord's policy will replace things that are stolen or damaged. However, The Journal quotes Robert Hartwig of The Insurance Information Institute as stating that landlords are not responsible for tenants' personal goods unless it can be proved that their negligence is responsible for the loss.

You should know that there are two categories of renters' insurance, which are normally packaged into single policies.

• Liability insurance covers injuries suffered in an apartment if the tenant is at fault. It also covers claims by the landlord for damages caused by a tenant's negligence.
  
• Contents insurance covers losses due to theft, fire, water leakage, and so forth (but usually not weather-related floods).
  

Costs are typically about $12 to $15 per month for a liability-contents package. Some firms offer a discount if customers have automobile or other insurance policies with the company. Discounts may also be available for tenants in buildings with security systems or devices such as smoke alarms and deadbolt locks.

Robert Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America, also quoted by The Wall Street Journal, states that people "just starting out," who haven't accumulated many possessions of monetary value, probably don't need renters' insurance. Those with substantial assets probably do. The Federation has a website that may be useful to anyone trying to decide whether to buy this form of insurance, or looking for a company that offers appropriate policies. It's at www.naic.org.

All KRF buildings have fire extinguishers in the hallways that meet or exceed the requirements of the Philadelphia Fire Code.

We have a limited number of additional fire extinguishers, which are charged and pressurized but not certified. If you would like one of these to keep inside your apartment, please contact the office and we will make them available to you free of charge. This offer will hold as long as our supply lasts. The only conditions we place on these units is that you report to us if you use it, and that you return it when you vacate your apartment.

The University City Review of July 28 2004 has an informative article with tips from local experts about how to keep your bike from being stolen. In case you missed it in the print version of of our award-winning community newspaper, read it online by clicking here: www.philly1.com/story2072804.html

Although the moving season in University City is over, lots of furnishings and other useful items are still being left at the curb for trash pickup (Tuesday or Wednesday morning, depending on what part of the neighborhood you walk. And - as long as the warm weather holds - neighbors will continue to have porch and yard sales. This provides a great opportunity to pick up things you'd otherwise have to pay good money to buy, free or at least cheap.

Here are some tips.

• Trash picking (aka dumpster diving)
  • Don't be shy about trash picking. Everybody does it.
    
  • Look around in the evening or early morning for the best selection.
    
  • Plan ahead about transporting anything you find. If you don't take it when you spot it, it may be gone by the time you get back.
    
  • Be considerate about not strewing trash around when you're doing your scavenging.
    
  
  
• Porch and yard sales.
  
  
  
  • Look for signs posted around the neighborhood for days and times.
    
  • Mostly, these are held on Saturdays and Sundays.
    
  • There's a trade-off between more items available early and an opportunity to bargain down the price of what's still available late.
    

This is recycling in the highest sense. It's also a way to save money on all manner of housewares, furnishings, clothing, appliances, and the ever-popular whatnot everyone likes so much.

As a matter of policy, KRF has no objections if tenants wish to hold sales of this type themselves, on their porches or the sidewalks in front of their buildings. Anyone wishing to use their porch for this purpose should discuss it with the other tenants in the building to make sure that everybody is comfortable with the idea. Also, take precautions to ensure that the building is not left unlocked - just because you're standing there, it's possible that an ill-meaning person can take advantage of the crowd and chaos to sneak inside. In addition, be sure to keep people from trampling on the garden in front of the building, if there is one, and clean the area of trash when you pack up and go back inside to count all that moolah you've made.

One other thing. if you don't find what you need at the curb or in a porch/yard sale, try The Second Mile Center on 45th Street between Locust and Walnut (same block as the KRF world headquarters). This thrift store has four sites on the block:

• Furniture and large appliances
  
• Books, hardware, electronics
  
• Bric-a-brac, small appliances, lamps, pictures, jewelery
  
• Clothing
  

Prices are mostly reasonable. And they mark items down automatically after they've been on sale for specified lengths of time.

Dripping faucets and continually-running toilets are raising the bills KRF has to pay to the Water Department. As an example, in the latest round of bills, one building alone had charges more than $150 over what it should have been. Several other buildings were $50 or so too high.

Since our costs are covered by the rents tenants pay, unnecessary expenditures like this are factored into what we have to charge.

We do routine checks of plumbing leaks. But you're the first line of defense against this waste.

All it takes is a phone call to the office or an email message (click here) and one of our eager maintenance people will fix the problem almost immediately. Saving us money. Saving you money. And conserving a precious natural resource.

You're probably familiar with the old proverb: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

It applies to situations you notice are -- or even may be -- developing in your apartment or building. Loose doorknobs or hinges, drains that are starting to run slowly, faucets that are beginning to drip, ... you get the idea.

You'll be happier and we'll be happier if we get to them before then become real problems. So call or send e-mail. Honest, you won't be bothering us. Even if it's a false alarm.

For best service, call early in the day or week.

People are rightfully annoyed by voice mail systems that seem to take too much time with announcements and instructions before allowing them to leave their message. You can bypass the blather and get right to the beep when you call KRF. The secret? Just hit the # key on your phone at any point during the greeting.