Centennial Tower
Seattle, WashingtonAn Editorial
This site details our experiences with Centennial Tower Apartment Building, located at
2515
4th Avenue
Seattle, Washington
98121The building is presently managed by:
APEX Realty Management, Inc.
4020 Lake Washington Blvd NE
Kirkland, WA 98033This site contains and includes our opinions.
Purpose of this site:
There are few issues more central to the human experience than the concept of HOME.
Psychologists tell us that humans have certain needs. At the top of the list are these two: To survive and to procreate. In order to accomplish either, a stable, safe and livable home is of the greatest importance. When all the world is out to get us, where's the one place on Earth we can retreat to, to seek comfort, safety, rest and peace? Home. Indeed, there's no place like Home. International wars have been waged, won, and lost over the concepts of "home". Millions have sacrificed their lives to protect their home. Untold hundreds of thousands have gone to jail or are in prison currently because they violated the sanctity of home. Tens of thousands have been killed, rightly and legally so, by a homeowner defending his home.
The concept of home is intensely emotional. A person's home is of the utmost, the utmost importance to the very survival of that person, and there's not a government, society or people in the world which doesn't recognize that fact.
Much of the population of the United States lives in apartments. Unfortunately, the very concept of the apartment experience means that the resident is more or less at the mercy of the good will of (a) his/her neighbor, and (b) his/her landlord. When good neighbors go bad, there is often some recourse. You can call the building manager; you can call the police; you can call building security (if available). These remedies may or may not work to restore the peace, safety and sanctity of your home, but at least you can try them and see. This leaves the resident feeling as though there is at least a chance that his problem will get solved, and that the security, livability and value of his apartment home may be kept intact. The sanctity of one's home, regardless of its arrangement, location or construct, is of paramount importance. Few apartment managers even begin to understand the trust which is placed in them when they contract to provide space in which someone will make their home. Managers handle the responsibility with varying degrees of success. Some managers don't handle the responsibility at all. And some managers are such a clear and blatant detriment to the well-being of their apartment community that they should be evicted themselves.
This site endeavors to help the millions of apartment dwellers avoid problems in the communities in which their apartment-homes are located, and to understand what kinds of problems can occur when bad managers are in control.
As of 3-12-04, criminal complaints are being painstakingly drawn up against Apex Realty, Julie Fite, Correna Corbett, Carl Carilao, and "attorney" (good grief) Randy Redford of Puckett and Redford. Those complaints will be submitted to several state agencies, including SPD, no later than 4-1-04. We are as yet undecided whether to post the texts of those complaints pending the outcome of the investigation(s). We're concerned that doing so may taint the case and, obviously, we don't want Apex to know all that we know before the investigating agency has been given a chance to use our information effectively. At some point, however, the complaints in their entirety will be posted here. We have only marginal faith in SPD to properly handle these matters. If they fail to adequately investigate and discharge their duties, our next stop will be the prosecutor's office -- who will do less than SPD -- but an appeal to that office is a technicality to demonstrate that we have exhausted all other remedies. Ultimately we reserve the right to petition a judge for "due process" and force the filing of charges against those named above. It is our opinion that Apex Realty, and other unscrupulous, incompetent, dishonest businesses like them, have been harassing, threatening, and perpetrating a wide variety of crimes against tenants for years in and around Seattle. We know of no more deserving entity to take to task than Apex Realty Management and its minions.
The point of documenting this phase of the case is to demonstrate to the American renter -- and to legislators -- just how powerless renters are in Washington state, when faced with the hillbilly antics of criminally bad landlords, so as to provide feedback regarding the types of legal remedies that are required to protect renters in Seattle and statewide.
We will likely postpone civil action against the above until the criminal aspects have been addressed.
Update 4-29-04:
We have completed our criminal complaint against Apex Realty management and have submitted it to SPD. Modified copies are being sent to several local and state agencies. We procrastinated completing the complaint(s) because, frankly, even the merest thought of people of this caliber makes us slightly sick to our stomachs. We've posted an edited copy of the complaint on this page. At the conclusion of the investigation the blacked-out portions will be restored.
Update 5-13-04: Received from SPD this date:
[From]
Seattle Police Department
R. Gil Kerlikowske. Chief of PoliceMay 11,2004
I'm sorry to learn of the problems that you experienced while residing at Centennial Tower. I have forwarded your letter to the Seattle City Attorney's Office for their review and legal determination. You may also be interested in contacting the Seattle Neighborhood Group at 323-9666 [Fax: 323-2151]. The Seattle Neighborhood Group has particular expertise in the issues you have described and may be of assistance as you work through these issues. Should you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Lieutenant Ron Wilson, West Precinct Operations, at 684-8451.
Sincerely,
R. Gil Kerlikowske Chief of Police
Captain Linda Pierce West Precinct Commander
LEP:rw
(Click thumbnail for
photocopy of above
letter)Note: The office referenced above (Seattle Neighborhood Group) is only one of many groups and/or agencies this matter has been referred to.
Update: