I feel it is important to bring light to a number of recent incidents regarding the Preiss Company and its staff of leasing agents at University Village who are supposed to oversee the maintenance, safety and needs of residents of the numerous Preiss Company apartment complexes in Raleigh. These incidents may affect students in the local area in a significant way and thus I hope the following letter can serve as a warning for the way students can expect to be treated if they become a Preiss Company resident.
On Sunday, October 3, there was suspicious activity at my apartment complex, Gorman Street Village. A car was driving back and forth through the parking lot for several hours and slowly followed students who were coming in and out of the building and their cars. I contacted the University Village leasing agents to let them know of the activity, ask if they would be able to send over Preiss Company security and alert them that I’d be calling the police as well. The leasing agent who I explained the situation to was not only completely unconcerned with the activity, but also told me something to the effect of, “I don’t know what to tell you. I guess you’ll have to contact the police on your own. We really can’t do anything.”
This response was disrespectful to me as resident who genuinely felt unsafe in one of the complexes that this leasing company manages. I feel it is the company’s responsibility to help its residents, most importantly when we feel there is dangerous activity in the apartment complex. The Preiss Company has security officers constantly roaming complexes and stopping students who they suspect may be heading to a relatively harmless party, but they appear to have no one available when a true threat arises. This is just one of many incidents in which the Preiss Company blatantly neglects and disrespects its residents and clearly has extreme difficultly following any ethical and sometimes even legal practices.
For example, Gorman Street Village boasts a number of fire extinguisher casings in the building, and yet two out of the six casings are lacking fire extinguishers, which are required by North Carolina law to be available in case of emergency. Another violation that is overlooked by the company is that not a single parking spot at Gorman Street Village is denoted for handicapped students and vehicles, which caused extreme difficulty for a roommate of mine who suffered a debilitating injury and had nowhere to park. This error also violates the American Disabilities Act that requires 1 out of every 25 spaces to be handicap accessible.
A final instance to exemplify the Preiss Company’s disrespect for students is the line-up of bands for its upcoming Oktoberfest celebration. One of the bands the Preiss Company has hired to play in this event includes a member who was recently banned from the Preiss Company’s University Village property by police after he was drunk and disorderly and assaulted a female resident at a pool party on the property. Even if he is not legally banned from the Oktoberfest venue which is held at Preiss Company’s University Woods, a neighboring complex to the area from which he is banned, it still makes one question the morals the company has if it is willing to hire an individual with this reputation to perform at its parties.
Signing my lease with the Preiss Company for 12 months was obviously a terrible mistake. I hope that the numerous incidents that I have cited which have occurred in recent months helps other students make informed decisions when they are choosing their future apartments. The Preiss Company seemingly has a sense of entitlement because it has such a large number of properties, but its egotistical and blameless attitude leaves residents feeling the brunt of its many mistakes.
Rebecca Katowitz
senior, communication
