Complaint History & Business Rating for Washington Manor

Karen T. says: In nearly 13 years, there have been over 12 managers. The place goes through them faster than an elephant goes through peanuts. Apartments have been broken into. The maintenance man, if he can be called that, is incompetent. He is very homophobic, immature and extremely intolerant of people who aren’t christians. You can’t get an apartment with a bathtub unless you jump through endless political hoops and have a doctor document why you need it. Even then, it may take over a year to get one. If you have an apartment without a tub, it’s the same bs- get a doctor to send you to a physical therapist who decides whether or not you need one, and the doctor to agree and provide documentation the management will accept. Even then, they drag their feet and make you wait over a year and the only way to actually get it installed is to threaten to sue them for violating a reasonable medical accommodation. The building is also right in the middle of a Superfund site for the old Motorola plant on 52nd. The water is not safe to use for drinking, bathing or cooking. Every manager has known about this. Potential tenants are not told about this, or that the only semi-decent water on the property comes from a reverse osmosis machine outside at the back of the building. Asbestos is a problem. It’s in the ceilings and the walls. That’s why they don’t allow ceiling fans. The fire alarm system is a nightmare. If anyone has epilepsy, heart problems, PTSD, hypertension or low blood pressure, hyperacute hearing, are photosensitive, Autism or have any other serious problems, the fire alarm will be a major problem for them. The flashing lights are horrific and the noise is beyond endurable. There is nothing about the place which is even remotely accommodating for people with any kind of disabilities. The bathrooms are far too small to accommodate walkers, scooters or any kind of wheelchair. The kitchen counters are too high for anyone who uses a wheelchair. The appliances are not ADA accommodating for people with any mobility assistance device. The laundry rooms are one for each of the three floors and are shared with everyone on that floor. The machines are not professional grade for apartment buildings; they are made for regular homes and not designed for higher volume usage. There’s no real privacy. The walls, ceilings and doors are thin and everything can be heard everywhere, including the hallways. If you use CBD or CBG which are legal in Arizona and Phoenix, they aren’t allowed in the building. Potential or current residents can’t have them, even with a doctor’s letter saying they are medically necessary. Medical cannabis is also legal in Arizona and Phoenix, but not for potential or current residents there, even if they have a medical cannabis card and don’t smoke it but use edibles instead. They are very anal and inflexible about it. Memos and notices have been circulated to the residents several times about it. It’s medical discrimination, but they don’t care. It’s a homophobic place to live and people of different religions or spiritual traditions aren’t exactly made to feel welcome. There are not enough ADA units on each floor. There are residents living on the second and third floors who use walkers, scooters and wheelchairs. The elevators frequently are not functional, which means those people are stranded on those floors in the event of an emergency. It’s happened several times. And with as often as the fire alarm goes off, it’s dangerous. It’s a disgrace. Residents with walkers, scooters and wheelchairs should all be on the first floor so they can evacuate quickly. The fire alarm goes off several times a week sometimes. The fire department is constantly coming there. There was a fire in 2011. A man died because of it. He died because the fire department crew couldn’t get in through the electrically controlled gates- residents had to use their key cards to keep the gates open, which wasted valuable time to save the man’s life. The maintenance man, Arnoldo Celis, was slow to respond. He could have gone to the control boxes and set the gates so they would stay open. He didn’t do that. He should be fired or since he is in his 60s, made to retire. He has been here too long. When residents move to a different apartment on the same floor or a different apartment on a different floor, they aren’t given enough time to move their belongings into the new apartment. They aren’t given any help to move, even if they are medically fragile and can’t move their own personal effects. New residents are not given any assistance to move their belongings into their new apartment no matter what their physical condition may be. It’s assumed everyone has family or friends or people from an agency to help with it, which is not always the case. It’s a cruel and draining place to live. When people move out, they leave quickly and are thrilled to have left. I cannot recommend it as a dwelling for anyone.