Storage Space

The reporting in this story is old. Since then, the storage lists were acknowledged to be unusable, names were put into a lottery, and a new "Storage Bin Waiting List" was drawn up. It came as a surprise in November 2005 when Board Member Eric Mandelbaum disclosed that the Storage Bin Waiting List is distinct from the Storage ROOM Waiting list, and that the latter has never been disclosed or opened.

Storage is an issue that is repeatedly raised in annual meetings. No one knows how much storage space exists or what the procedure is to obtain it.

Board Member Mitch Kupfer recently wrote to explain what storage space exists:

• There are on-floor storage rooms in about 14 floors per section (the room every third floor is used for electric wiring). The rooms vary in size, and each is shared between 2 Shareholders.
• There are storage rooms in Building 3 and Building 4 that are equipped with lockers. Storage space in Building 4 is new and has not been allocated.
• Regardless of size or location, the cost of storage is $30 per month.

As to the question of who has storage space, there are rumors that some shareholders are allowed multiple spaces and that other spaces are occupied by non-shareholders. Mitch continues that this is simply not the case:

No-one has two bins or two rooms. All of the rooms are registered to a shareholder not an apartment. When that shareholder sells, the room gets taken back.

More complex is the issue of how to procure storage. There are old lists of people who want storage space on their floors, lists of people who want space in their section, lists of people who want space in their building, and lists of people who will take space wherever they can find it! These lists got so lengthy and out-of-hand that they stopped being maintained long ago. Word is that storage simply isn't as critical as many other issues we face, and that Stoney Welsh will sort out this problem "as soon as possible".

Aside from a clear picture of our storage space and the procedure for obtaining it, we need to consider how well we are using the space we have. If space goes unused, it serves no one. For example, pictured to the right is an entire large room in Building One dedicated to the sloppy storage of the sukkah. I understand there is also a small unused room in the D section. How much space do we have that isn't being utilized?

But before we all clamor that all this space be turned into storage, I think it is worth considering whether it is really in our interests to allocate common SPHC property for private use. There are many better things that we can do with common space on our property — the creation of package holding areas, book exchanges, etc.