UPDATED July 20th

VERY SADLY, we continue finding materials being tossed from resident windows. Most recently, chunks of mango exploded all over the 2nd floor deck. Fortunately there were no damages and no one was injured. However, this took our staff almost 2 hours to clean up.

Owners may be fined and the Association may contact the authorities and press charges when culprits are identified!

Perhaps most importantly though, residents need to understand these actions can cause property damage, injury or even death if they strike someone. YES – even chunks of mango could be dangerous!

At the PTCA Board Meeting on Monday June 11th, the Board of Directors fined two Unit Owners $1000 for materials hanging and being dropped out of their windows.

In one case, a resident was shaking area rugs out the window. The rugs were smacking against the building and the windows of the unit below, and dust and debris was falling over 40 floors. In the other case, multiple belongings were being flung from a window, dropping about 10 stories into the plaza just outside the north side of the lobby.

The Board felt because of the risk of damage to the building and the possibility serious harm or even death could occur should residents, guests and/or pedestrians be struck by such materials, the strongest enforcement possible outside of legal action was necessary. The Board may consider involving the Association’s legal counsel should incidents like this occur again.

By passing the maximum fine allowed by the PTCA Rules, the Board would like owners and residents to know it is doing the most it reasonably can to help protect them from harm, protect the public and protect owners from potential liability. Should the worst case scenario happen, some would say a costly and potentially very damaging lawsuit would be possible. Anything falling from the windows, especially from a high rise, could do serious damage or kill. The Association cannot be shielded 100% from behavior like this. Beyond any property damages or personal injury and death, in the event of a lawsuit the Association could be targeted. A $1000 fine is the maximum fine the PTCA Rules presently allow, and the Board hopes it is a reasonably forceful enough measure to deter further incidents and behavior like this.

Sadly, so far as we know these incidents were not accidents. However, if your windows or screens are in poor shape, there could be a risk of belongings inadvertently falling from an open window. And obviously, objects accidentally falling from a window would be just as dangerous and just as likely to result in liability. (Whether I intended for my aloe vera plant to fall and kill someone or not, if it was mine, I’d still expect the family of the victim to file a wrongful death lawsuit!)  If you have a torn or missing screen, or a maintenance issue with your window, we encourage you to contact the office. We can send maintenance to inspect and determine what needs to be done. In most cases, if not all, the cost of repairs is insignificant when you consider the damage falling objects can do below.

We know some owners are on our list for parts such as screen rollers, window latches and screen safety stops. WE ARE PLEASED TO CONFIRM, we finally identified a source for these materials. In fact, at the Monday June 11th Board of Directors meeting, the Board approved a bulk purchase of window latches and screen rollers for stock. We know in some cases owners have been waiting for a year, while we have tried to solve this problem. They are now on order and we expect them to arrive within 4 weeks. These are no longer available on the market from the manufacturer, and unfortunately it took us a very long time to find a fabricator who could produce them. However, they are now in production!

RENTERS – let us know if you have any window or screen issues too. Of course, any work requiring an expenditure will need the approval of the Unit Owner, but even in the absence of Unit Owner guidance, our team can assess what is going on and needs to be done.

Anytime you have any questions or if you want your windows to be inspected, contact the office.