The Van Ness South Tenants Association today released a detailed new report on security failures at 3003 Van Ness. The report finds that Equity Residential for years has failed to provide adequate building security, leading to rising levels of crime and nuisance behavior.

Specifically, it finds that:

• Exterior doors and locks frequently are broken.

• Many security and safety lights often don’t work and don’t get replaced for months.

• The security camera system is practically inoperable, with broken cameras, extremely poor coverage and limited recording capacity.

• The key fob system is outmoded and fails to prevent unauthorized entry.

• There is no 24/7 security guard.

• There is poor screening of visitors, with many non-residents freely entering both through the main entrance and through other exterior doors to the outside that are not monitored.

• Equity Residential takes no responsibility for handling even simple problems, and instead simply tells residents to call 911.

The report finds that recent pressure on Equity Residential by the DC Metropolitan Police Department and DC Attorney General Karl Racine has moved the company in the right direction. Recently, Equity has repaired exterior doors and lights, although some already are broken again. It also has announced that it plans to replace the outdated and poorly functioning security camera system, without providing additional details or a timeline. However, the pace of change has been glacial and few details of concrete plans have been shared.

The report on security failures follows VNSTA’s 45-page report on maintenance problems at 3003 Van Ness.