A sign posted at the entrance of Park Place Tower warns tenants not to open the front door to strangers in an effort to prevent package theft. But it’s the presence of a thief living inside the building that’s delivering concern among tenants.

A female tenant of 1108 Brown St. was arrested on Sept. 12 and Sept. 14 and charged with petit larceny for taking two Amazon packages totaling over $400.

But tenants say that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to package theft in the building. A spreadsheet compiled by those in the building claims that as of Sept. 30, 21 packages across 11 apartments were stolen, a total value of $1,308. In addition, three packages were also opened up but not taken, according to the spreadsheet.

Tenants at the building tell the Peekskill Herald they feel there is an “indifference” to the issue and that they want management to do more to safeguard packages, as well as attend to other quality of life issues they claim management is currently neglecting.

Package theft in mail and package rooms, according to police

Surveillance footage obtained by the Peekskill Herald shows the alleged female thief picking up and examining several packages while casually sipping out of a cup on Sept. 14 in a way, as one tenant described, that looked as if she were shopping.

Court records from the City of Peekskill allege that on that same day at about 6:27 p.m., a 45-year-old woman stole an Amazon package from the “package room” containing Amika Shampoo and Tirtir Skin Toner, costing a total of $41.

Two days prior, on Sept. 12 at around 7:42 a.m., the same woman allegedly removed another Amazon package from the “mailroom” that contained a JBL professional speaker with a value of $366.

The City of Peekskill Police Department charged the individual with petit larceny for both incidents.

But there was at least one other incident involving that same woman. A tenant, who asked to remain anonymous in fear of retaliation, showed an exchange with management where they acknowledged the same woman was caught stealing another package prior to September.

The tenant told the Herald police informed them they had received several calls about the woman and that she was “mentally ill.” Though police offered to arrest her, the tenant ultimately did not press charges because, according to the tenant, police said arresting her would “not do much.” The tenant also claimed management was unhelpful during the situation.

“No one gets a clear answer as to why this person is still able to live here,” the tenant said. “Can I just steal packages? There’s no background checks for the tenants. But that’s just ridiculous to me.”

Fabrizio Villalta of Alma Realty, which owns Park Place Tower, declined to comment on the recent thefts in the building because he said it was an active investigation. He advised residents to continue reporting any incidents in order to create police records of it.

“Anytime the police come to our building, anytime there’s an incident, the police need access, camera footage, we’re there to help the police,” Villalta told the Herald. “The police can’t act if nobody’s reporting. It goes hand in hand. And we want to cooperate with all the authorities. Unfortunately, when it comes to these matters, we only release camera footage to the authorities. But we’re there to help. We want to keep helping the building.”

Steven Irizarry, the leasing agent for the building, told the Herald the arrested woman moved in the building in the summer and has been paying her bills on time. He added they make sure people are qualified when they are renting, but there are certain limitations when it comes to screening due to the law.

“Usually a person’s credit score shows a level of responsibility,” Irizarry said. “It’s unfortunate that this is happening. This is not a reflection of the building. We have a very secure building where we have cameras all over the place and that’s probably why they were able to locate exactly who it was.”

Villalta said the building is an access control building that can only be entered via key fob or a tenant allowing access. Of two rooms for mail or packages, one requires a fob and the other doesn’t.

The City of Peekskill Police Department did not respond for comment as of press time.

Complaints about security, safety, and quality of life 

Among other issues, both former and present tenants also report those of security, quality of life, and communication with management.

Security concerns include a garage door that has been left open for about a month, key fobs not working at certain entry points, and a front door that doesn’t always lock behind you. 

(The Peekskill Herald was able to enter two sets of doors at the entrance without a fob or being let in by a tenant due to the doors not properly shutting.)

The market rate rental apartment with eight floors and 181 units opened in spring 2024. It received approvals in 2017 and broke ground in 2019, with an initial target open date in the spring of 2021. It experienced several hurdles, including being required to remediate contaminated soil and stopping work due to the pandemic.

Alma Realty was also sued by New York City in 2023 over allegations of thousands of open code violations and unsanitary conditions in 13 buildings. Some of the worst conditions included deteriorating facades, defective electrical wiring, missing fire doors, lead-based paint hazards, and infestations of rats and mice, according to New York City officials. An attorney for Alma Realty denied the allegations charged in the city lawsuit.

Quality of life complaints from tenants at Park Place Tower include non-functioning AC in the gym, heat going out in winter and AC failing to work in the summer, unfastened toilet seat lids that “slide you into another dimension,” flooding in garages during storms, and a “soapy milk” substance from a garage ceiling that leaves residue on cars.

A tenant who asked to remain anonymous showed the Herald an email with management showing the tenant was able to reduce their proposed rent in the lease renewal agreement by over $100 after they told management they didn’t feel the increase in rent reflected the quality of the building.

Another anonymous tenant told the Herald that they believed the  apartment was built with “shoddy” materials, including warped floors, floors that stain easily because they apparently were never sealed, failed appliances, malfunction in sinks, broken tiles, and walls that stain when washed because they were only painted with primer, the tenant claimed.

That tenant also described the substance on the garage ceiling as an “acid leak,” stating that after they left their car under it while they were away, they returned to the paint on their car etched.

Villalta said the ceiling requires a specialized kind of repair called a concrete gel injection, a method used to repair and waterproof concrete structures.

“This seems to happen only when it rains,” Villalta said of the leaking. “We are looking to see quotes from professionals to deal with this kind of trouble. The amount of vendors who do this repair is very limited.”

When it comes to the garage door that has been left open, Villalta said the issue is being worked on.

“This is not a regular household garage door,” Villalta said. “This requires custom spring assemblies that need to be manufactured to specific specifications. The vendor has ordered the material from the manufacturer. They are just waiting for it to arrive.”

Villalta said management recently became aware of the issues with key fob readers not working and that replacement parts would be secured soon. Addressing claims of walls only having primer and not paint, he said that all the walls have two coats of paint.

Corey R., a tenant who moved out of the building in late August and only gave an initial for his last name, claimed that he was never sent an itemized list for a security deposit claiming $2,010 in damages, despite New York State law requiring an itemized list within two weeks of any damages.

He, along with another present tenant, also said that a promised welcoming party and happy hour still have not occurred. Irizarry previously told the Herald there was interest in holding a formal grand opening when the building got closer to capacity, as well as a happy hour for residents in the community room once they hit the 80 percent threshold.

According to Irizarry, the building is now about 90 percent occupied. Of the retail spaces, two are occupied and four are available. 

While some tenants had issues about the building, which has been open over a year now, several tenants said the super and handymen have been good when it comes to individual unit repairs, such as for AC or fridges.

“Any maintenance issues, we always prioritize,” Villalta said. “We don’t want any of our tenants to have any troubles at all. You report a leak, you report anything, we want to address it. We do treat all of our residents with care and the respect they deserve.”

The tenant who reported car damage also said the supervisor and staff respond swiftly when management authorizes them to make repairs. However, they critiqued management’s method of addressing issues, saying they felt a sense that tenants could “burn here” and that management would not be bothered to pick up the phone.

“As tenants struggle to get issues addressed, emails to management raising concerns about these issues are almost never answered,” the tenant claimed. “Maybe one in 50 emails get a reply. Calls are never returned. Through frequent exchange of information on the residents’ chat, we know that many of us call about different issues and that calls are not returned. We only hear from management when they want to raise rent and get a new lease signed.”

Alma Realty manages dozens of apartment buildings in New York City and New Jersey. The Long Island City-based company handles residential and commercial properties containing approximately 15,000 apartments and 5 million square feet of nonresidential space.

Additional reporting by Jim Roberts