Equity Residential today started covering over damaged areas of the garage at 3003 Van Ness, concealing areas that require thorough inspection. Equity’s action was taken on the order of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, which had made a quick tour of the area accompanied by Equity Residential management on Friday.

DCRA, which did not have the area inspected by a certified structural engineer, licensed plumber or waterproofing consultant, moved quickly on Friday to tell Equity to cover over the damage. Equity Residential, which had allowed these problems to languish for months, acted with lightening speed to cover the areas after DCRA instructed it to make unspecified repairs.

The Van Ness South Tenants Association sent a letter to DCRA Director Mr. Ernest Chrappah on Saturday immediately after learning of the cover up. The letter states:

We request that you immediately tell Equity Residential to stop covering up evidence that would lead to an unbiased assessment of the causes and the extent of the damage, particularly whether the structural elements have been comprised.

The sequence of events began on Thursday, Jan. 6th, when the tenants association sent a letter to DCRA Director Ernest Chrappah, requesting that his agency conduct a thorough investigation of 3003 Van Ness, including what appear to be deteriorating structural elements like columns and beams in the garages, as a result of apparent water damage.

The letter accompanied a 45-report on Equity’s failure to adequately maintain 3003 Van Ness, which featured many vivid photos of apparent structural deterioration, security issues and safety hazards.

The tenants association report received coverage in the commercial real estate news website BisNow, which ran a story with the headline “Tenants In Huge Equity Residential Building Sound Alarms Over Structural Maintenance Concerns.” The story gave wide coverage to the report; Equity Residential declined to comment.

Instead, Equity received a lightning-fast tour from DCRA and permission to cover up evidence that would lead to understanding of what causes the substantial damage in the garage, which may be necessary to determine whether structural damage has occurred.