Fortress

RUN, RUN, RUN for your life! On June 9th at 6:30 a.m., I was walking to the basement for coffee in the community room...

RUN, RUN, RUN for your life! On June 9th at 6:30 a.m., I was walking to the basement for coffee in the community room - I had my jammies on and my "all you need is love" coffee cup. You need more than love to live at this building- you need to carry a gun and mace. As I approached the hallway corner outside my door near the elevator on the 5th floor of the Main Bldg., I turned the corner, almost dropping my coffee cup. A man was sitting on the floor staring up at me. He was intentionally blocking my way. As he quickly began running toward me, I froze long enough to gasp for air - I then turned back, barely escaping into my apartment and locking the door. I was terrified as I stood there shaking. There is zero security, literally none at all. They have cameras but no one monitors them - they provide a fob to enter the building, but once you’re in you can access anywhere you want. They have several blind spots in the building as well as the stairwells that are not monitored by video cameras. When I called the Milwaukee Police - the officer I spoke to said, “I’m so sorry you had to go through this - you live close to a really bad area - I would hate for any of my family to have to live like this - I would leave as soon as possible, if you can - there is nothing we can do other than beef up patrol - once the trespassers enter we don’t have any way to know.” Anyone can enter the building - people let people in, buzz them up, and the entry door remains open for quite sometime. They need to install fobs to access various parts within the building and on-property security to monitor the cameras and protect the residents by walking the building, and regularly checking the un-monitored stairwells. I learned about another incident that happened the previous Friday - a man tried to break into a female's unit and was found hiding in the stairwell. It is dangerous! All the community facilities are in the basement - and once a trespasser is there or attacks someone, it would be hours before anyone found them. I have been here one month and they are holding me to the 14-month lease in spite of the fear I feel for my life given their failure to provide a safe and secure premises - it’s unbelievable! The only alternative is the payment of three months rent to break the lease - $4,800.00 - really? I am warning anyone who values their life not to rent from the Fortress. You may not walk out alive; or if you do, severely injured both mentally and physically.