The Terrace Bringeth, and the Terrace Taketh Away

More often than not, it bringeth - the herbs, the flowers, the tomatoes, the freedom to walk out and get some air, space to entertain and park bikes and swing away worries, happy and wonderful things.

But what it taketh - time, and now, funds and resources, sense of friendly neighborliness, it taketh with a vengeance.

My downstairs neighbor, and now the building, has accused the terrace door of leaking and causing the downstairs bedroom ceiling to give way.  This came upon the heels of the heavy snow.  But how?  The door has remained essentially unchanged for over a decade; it was never perfect or beautiful, but for the most part, it kept out the elements; seems bizarre that it would have suddenly sprung a leak.  But so has it been accused.

Credit my downstairs neighbor for this photo, sent with an impossible plea that the door be replaced within 24 hours.  Things just don't work that way.

And so the temporary fix was determined to be sealing us into the apartment, preventing the usual means of egress.  Heavy plastic over the door and the adjacent window.  It is nailed in.  It extends to underneath the terrace pavers.  How can they be so sure it is not the roof membrane underneath?

Some light comes through; it is not all dark.  But it is not possible to see outside either from the door or that window.

And apparently the building rules say that terrace owners are responsible for the doors, and the damage that springs from them, including the downstairs neighbor's ceiling.  So he is agitated; I am agitated....

 

...and not only due to the financial hit.  The only reasonable access to the terrace is through the kitchen window.  Sigh.

Current means of ingress and egress.

Winter White

January weather.  The first real snow accumulation of 2017.  But really not so bad at all, maybe 4 inches, probably not quite.

 

 

New Year's Day 2017

The day that most Upper East Siders thought would never come finally came - the opening of the Second Avenue subway line!  Near giddy is how I've been as the event began to approach reality, and punctuality!  (Well, after a several-year delay - but punctual if one considers the Governor's most recently imposed deadline of today.)

 

It was a must-do, even at the expense of missing a professional writing deadline.  Sometimes the mind just needs a break, to re-charge, think fresh thoughts.

 

The surprise came when, readying to apologize to the editor and plead for an extension, it turned out the deadline was at the end of the week instead.  Hooray!