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GSSC Weekly Message 10/5/2008

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brody Berg
Date: Sun, Oct 5, 2008 at 11:42 PM
Subject: GSSC Weekly Message
To: gsba@cuvmc.ais.columbia.edu

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of General Studies,

This week we cover some important topics from the first housing walkthrough, student health, updates made to Lerner and we announce the first Sunday Brunch.

Event Update on GSLounge.com (http://gslounge.com/node/623):

* GS Brunch - Make Your Own Sushi
* Upcoming Free Excel Workshop for GS
* Community @ Large Spotlight: America Reads

In this message:

* Sunday Brunch
* October Housing Walkthrough (150 photos!!!)
* Student Health
* GS Technologists
* International Students
* Lerner Building Changes
* Student Services

Sunday Brunch:

VP of Student Life, Lisa Fishenfeld (lnf2104@columbia.edu) has announced the first Sunday Bunch. Please join us on Sunday, October 12th, for food, fun and a chance to relax with friends.

October Housing Walkthrough

Before we get started, if you live in "GS Housing" and know of empty units please contact VP of Policy, Michael Rain (mr2593@columbia.edu).

Curious about what Columbia University Apartments look like? Want to compare your unit with other units? Check out the nearly 150 photos from the walkthrough done today by Student Body President, Brody Berg, and VP of Policy, Michael Rain.

* A one-bedroom at 906 W. 122nd Street - http://gslounge.com/node/626
* The Nussbaum Building - http://gslounge.com/node/627
* A K&R Leased Building: 963 Columbus - http://gslounge.com/node/628

Thank to all the GSers who opened their apartments to us, and gave us tours. We really appreciate the service you've done to your fellow students.

Help us out, let us know if you want to let us walk through your building! Contact VP of Policy, Michael Rain (mr2593@columbia.edu) for details.

Student Health:

October Building Walkthrough

Sun, 10/05/2008 - 23:35 — Brody Berg

This evening myself and VP of Policy, Michael Rain walked through three buildings that GS students live in. Our goal was to understand what GS students are experiencing with their apartments and to figure out common areas we can identify for improvement.
We took nearly 150 photos of everything from bathrooms, to bedrooms to hallways and stairwells. Contact, VP of Policy, Michael Rain (mr2593@columbia.edu) if you have questions or comments.

963 Columbus - at 107th and Columbus

 This building is leased by Columbia University Apartment Housing (UAH) from K&R Realties. There is a maintence worker who appears periodically to perform basic upkeep. He speaks fluent spanish. 

Well lit entrance way through double doors. There is no security and no super. 

At the end of the entranceway a door leads down to the trash and recycling areas. This door is often open, allowing rats into the building. 

The stairs are generally clean and well lit. 

The internal security bars many student apartments have, but not all units in this building have. 

Reasonably nice hardwood floors. 

Note the exposed brick and mixture of school and tenant supplied furniture. These windows open directly over Columbus Ave. 

Baseboard heaters. 

Renovated kitchens. I think the renovation was done within the last 12 months.

Nussbaum - 113th St and Broadway

Nussbaum, a building located on 113th Street and Broadway. The building is a mix of tenants, Columbia College and General Studies students. It may also house SEAS students. The GS floors have been recently upgraded with dramatic results. Even though there has been recent renovation the GS floors still have dismal lighting, a number of kitchens that are out of use and wires running all over the walls along with unprotected lights.

A key feature of the building is that each unit shares a kitchen with a certain number of other units. On some floors where kitchens are not installed, the entire floor can share the same kitchen.

Some units have their own bathrooms. Others share bathrooms. The shared bathrooms can be single use or group use bathrooms. The largest group use bathroom I saw had two showers, two toilets, and two sinks. The student who gave us the tour said that due to the co-ed nature of the floor anyone using the double bathroom would lock the door(s), resulting in the bathroom being only usable by a single person at a time anyway.

One thing that is difficult to convey in these photos is the cramped and confused feeling of the layout of the building itself. Hallways fold back on themselves and/or run exactly parallel to other hallways. The overall effect was a sense of wasted space, unnecessary confusion and obfuscation.

Entry is through double doors past a security person. There are CCTV cameras all over the lobby and throughout the rest of the building, generally monitoring the elevators. 

Trash piled on the sidewalk, business as usual in NYC. 

906 W. 122nd Street

These photos are from 906 W. 122nd street. The unit is a one bedroom with bathroom, kitchen, and an elevator in the building. 

A new security grill on the inside of the window.

The compact kitchen. Tenant said roaches were not unexpected. Fairly new fixtures. Furniture was supplied by the tenant from a GSSC sponsored trip to Ikea. 

 This is the bedroom closet with storage above the closet.

Small gas-range stove. 

Hardwood floors that were in good shape. 

Tenant plugs in to a building network but has her own wireless router. 

 

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