VNSTA Continues to Press Vivmark for Repairs to Giant Access Door

The Van Ness South Tenants Association (VNSTA) continues to press Vivmark Residential to repair the broken fob readers that have prevented residents of 3003 Van Ness from using the underground passage to Giant supermarket and Metro.

On October 30, VNSTA received an email from Taylor Sutherland, Vivmark's Resident Experience Manager, responding to our petition signed by more than 100 residents. Sutherland attributed the continuing problem to technical difficulties involving the separate electronic access systems serving Van Ness South, Van Ness North, and Van Ness East. She said management was coordinating with the other buildings and their access-control providers to develop a permanent solution.

However, Sutherland also asserted that underground access to Giant is merely a "courtesy," rather than an amenity or service provided to residents, and that its loss therefore does not constitute a reduction in services.

VNSTA strongly disagrees. Residents have enjoyed this underground access for decades, and Equity Residential previously advertised it as an amenity to prospective tenants. Residents of the other Van Ness buildings report that their fob readers continue to work properly, while those serving 3003 Van Ness remain inoperable.

On November 6, VNSTA sent a follow-up letter to Vivmark Regional Manager Josh Luper, challenging management's characterization of the underground passage as merely a courtesy and requesting an update on the status of repairs.

Meanwhile, the number of residents signing the petition has grown to nearly 130, with many expressing considerable frustration over management's failure to resolve the problem.

With winter approaching, VNSTA is urging Vivmark to accelerate repairs and provide a specific timetable for restoring access. The underground passage is particularly important for seniors and residents with disabilities who depend on convenient access to groceries during cold or inclement weather.

VNSTA will continue to press management for a permanent solution and keep residents informed of developments.

Read the correspondence:

• October 27: Letter to Vivmark Regional Manager Josh Luper

• October 30: Email from Vivmark Residential Resident Experience Manager Taylor Sutherland explaining Vivmark's position

• November 6: VNSTA's follow-up letter to Regional Manager Josh Luper, strongly requesting immediate steps to repair the Giant door

VNSTA Sends Petition to Vivmark Seeking Restoration of Giant SUPERMARKET and Metro Access

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a letter to Vivmark Residential building manager Dan Burkes, accompanied by a petition signed by more than 100 residents of 3003 Van Ness, calling for permanent repair of the electronic fob readers that provide underground access to Giant supermarket.

The underground passage has been an important amenity of the Van Ness complex for more than 50 years, but residents of 3003 Van Ness have been deprived of this access for months. With winter approaching, restoring access is particularly important for older residents and residents with disabilities who depend on the passage to get groceries during cold or inclement weather.

The letter from tenant president Harry Gural conveys residents’ “substantial anger and frustration” over the prolonged failure to restore underground access to Giant. VNSTA requests that Vivmark Residential respond by Friday, October 23, with a timetable for completing repairs.

Read the letter to building manager Dan Burkes

Read the petition signed by more than 100 residents of 3003 Van Ness

See video of the broken fob readers on the door to Giant

FOB readers for Giant door still not working - residents launch petition

VNSTA tested the electronic fob readers at the underground passage to the Giant supermarket on Saturday, October 3, 2026, and found that they are still not working and do not permit residents of 3003 Van Ness to open the door from either side.

For decades, the passage provided residents with convenient underground access to Giant and the Van Ness-UDC Metro station. It is especially important for older residents, residents with disabilities, and anyone carrying groceries, particularly during cold weather, rain, and snow.

Building management has repeatedly said that the fob readers would be repaired or replaced, but residents of 3003 Van Ness still do not have reliable access through the passage. By contrast, the fob readers serving Van Ness North and Van Ness East continue to work.

VNSTA recorded two short videos during yesterday’s inspection showing the current condition of the doors and fob readers.

The continued loss of this long-standing amenity has become a major source of frustration for residents, many of whom chose to live at 3003 Van Ness in part because of easy underground access to the Metro and Giant supermarket.

VNSTA believes the prolonged loss of access represents a significant reduction in services.

Residents asked to sign petition

VNSTA has launched a petition calling on Vivmark Residential to act promptly and make whatever repairs or replacements are necessary, using durable, commercial-grade equipment, to permanently restore reliable access to Giant and the Metro through the underground passage.

Residents of 3003 Van Ness can sign the petition online.

Signing the petition does not require membership in VNSTA, but membership is encouraged. There is no cost or obligation. Any resident of 3003 Van Ness can join the tenant association online or update their membership information if they haven’t done so recently.

If reliable access is not promptly and permanently restored, residents reserve all rights to pursue any remedies available for the continuing reduction in services.

SPREAD THE WORD

Residents of 3003 Van Ness who want to help spread the news about the petition can print a copy and post it in the laundry room on their floor.

Residents who want to help collected handwritten signatures can download and print the form here.

VNSTA asks Vivmark Residential to fix longstanding security door problems

The Van Ness South Tenants Association has sent a new letter to Vivmark Residential asking management to address the longstanding problem of broken and insecure security doors at 3003 Van Ness.

The letter follows a September 4 inspection in which the tenant association again found several doors leading from the underground garages into the apartment buildings that could be opened without a fob.

VNSTA has reported many of these same doors repeatedly over several years. The association has now posted almost 150 YouTube videos documenting broken security doors at the property. The letter sent to Vivmark included numerous examples of earlier warnings to management dating back to 2021. 

The association noted that the continuing security problems are especially concerning in light of recent incidents at 3003 Van Ness, including a September 10 arrest in the West Building involving possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and another arrest the following day. 

VNSTA asked Vivmark to regularly inspect all exterior security doors and doors leading from the garages into the residential buildings, repair those that are currently broken, and develop a plan to permanently correct recurring problems.

The letter also notes that although these problems predate Vivmark Residential’s assumption of management, that the current management team were already working at the property when many of the same security failures were repeatedly reported. Examples of many past emails and letters are attached to the letter sent today.

“Vivmark now has responsibility for correcting these longstanding problems and ensuring the security of the residents of 3003 Van Ness,” the letter states. 

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Update — Thursday, September 17

Vivmark Residential’s Dan Burkes responded via email to the tenant association’s letter about broken security doors at 3003 Van Ness, claiming that staff and security doors inspected the doors daily. At the same time, he blamed the tenant association for not quickly reporting such problems.

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The tenant association responds — Thursday, September 17

Tenant association president Harry Gural responded to Vivmark Residential’s email via another formal letter, reiterating the request to repair all broken security doors using industrial-grade hardware and for working with the DC Metropolitan Police to increase security at 3003 Van Ness.

Security doors still broken after more than FOUR years

On September 4, the tenant association conducted another informal inspection of security doors at 3003 Van Ness. We found that as in many previous inspections over the past four years, several of the security doors leading from the underground garages to the main buildings were broken. We had reported problems with all of those doors many times in the past.

Video evidence of these broken doors, which can be opened without a fob, is shown below. The tenant association has recorded and posted almost 150 similar videos taken over the past four years on its YouTube channel. Despite this overwhelming evidence of security vulnerabilities at 3003 Van Ness, Equity Residential has failed to repair these doors using commercial-grade materials. Throughout this period, it has been relatively easy for intruders to enter 3003 Van Ness.

In 2022, the DC Metropolitan District Police asked the DC Attorney General to consider prosecuting the owner or manager of 3003 Van Ness under the Nuisance Abatement Act because of chronic security problems at 3003 Van Ness.

This door is almost always broken, allowing intruders to easily enter the West building of 3003 Van Ness near the gym. This has been reported many times to management.

Door N has been almost continuously broken for several years, allowing easy access into 3003 Van Ness from the underground garages. This has been repeatedly reported to Equity Residential management.

Management made an effort to use stronger reinforcement on the lock mechanism of this door, but it is broken again, with the doors misaligning so they don’t lock.

This door is frequently broken, so it is easy to enter the West building here. This time it has been propped open by someone. Staff doesn’t patrol the building frequently enough to close this security vulnerability.

Only one elevator working in the 11-story South building

Since Wednesday, August 5th, there has been only one working elevator in 11-story South building of 3003 Van Ness. One of the other two elevators is being replaced, and the other is out of service. .

The residents of more than 275 apartments count on those elevators to reach their units. They have been forced to endure long waits for an open space in the one remaining elevator, or they have trudged up and down stairs to enter or exit the building. Some older residents and those with physical disabilities have been virtually confined to their units.

Tenants have complained repeatedly to Equity Residential management about the situation. In fact, they have been trying for years to get the company to replace the elevators — which Equity finally began this year. However, progress has been glacially slow, and Equity has made little effort to keep the remaining elevators in service, or to minimize the impact of other uses of the remaining elevators.

Some previous residents became so unhappy about the elevator situation at 3003 Van Ness that they moved out of the building.

Serious elevator problems continue at 3003 Van Ness

Residents report that this evening NONE of the three elevators in the 11-story South building are working at 3003 Van Ness.

Tenants yesterday reported that only one of four elevators in the 11-story West building were working.

Also yesterday, a resident reported that he was stuck inside an elevator for about 10 minutes — the doors would not open. Such situations have also occurred in the past.

The Van Ness South Tenants Association has asked Equity Residential repeatedly over many years to repair the elevators in both buildings adequately so they were reliably, but for years Equity has refused. Earlier in 2025, the company announced that it would replace all of the elevators at 3003 Van Ness, but no specific timetable has been given.

Meanwhile, residents who are paying more than $2,000 per month in rent — in many cases much more — are forced to deal with frequent outages and have to climb up to 11 floors to reach their apartments.

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Friday December 5th update — the elevators in the South building and most elevators in the West building are working again.

Follow-up inspection on Sept. 7th finds that doors are STILL broken

For more than two years, members of the Van Ness South Tenants Association have been reporting to Equity Residential that many of the security doors at 3003 Van Ness are broken, allowing easy access to the building. This is particularly concerning giving the high number of police calls to the property for various incidents, some of a serious nature.

On August 26th, the tenant association reported to Equity Residential building management that six security doors at 3003 Van Ness were broken. Tenants also recorded videos of the broken doors, which was posted on the tenant association website and on YouTube.

In an email response sent on August 28th, property manager Dan Burkes reported that all doors had been repaired, or would soon be repaired.

However, a follow-up inspection by the tenant association conducted on September 7th found that the doors remain broken. Notably, the main door of 3003 Van Ness has been broken for months. The front desk does not check visitors to the building, making it possible for anyone to enter.

During the recent inspection on September 7th, the tenant association recorded six more videos of broken doors at 3003 Van Ness, demonstrating that it is simple for anyone to enter the building, or go from the underground garages into the main buildings, without difficulty. These videos appear below.

The videos are also posted on the tenant association’s YouTube channel, which includes well more than 100 such videos recorded at different dates over the past two years. Overall, these videos demonstrate a systematic neglect of security at 3003 Van Ness.

Tenant inspection finds that security doors are still broken

An informal inspection of security doors at 3003 Van Ness conducted on August 26, 2025, has found that SIX doors leading from the exterior of the buildings or from the underground garages into the buildings are STILL broken and can be opened without a fob.

The tenant association has been reporting these broken doors to Equity Residential for well over two years. Equity frequently ignores such reports, or it “repairs” the doors using residential-grade materials, which are easily broken again. As a result, intruders can enter 3003 Van Ness at almost any time with little effort.

To document these continuously broken doors and security lapses, the Van Ness South Tenants Association has recorded well more than 100 videos of these doors over the past two years and has posted these to its YouTube channel.

You can see the recent videos from the August 26th inspection below.

DOB assesses more than $94,000 in new fines

A recent search of the DC Department of Buildings SCOUT information system found that DOB has imposed $94,083 in fines on Equity Residential for housing code violations at 3003 Van Ness since January 1 of this year.

The Department of Buildings has been conducting hundreds of inspections of apartments and common areas of 3003 Van Ness since August 2023. In August of 2024, the tenant association retrieved records of fines assessed by DOB for violations at 3003 Van Ness and found that the totaled more than $1.2 million. DOB later determined that Equity corrected those infractions it and forgave the company for more than $1 million in fines.

However, the tenant association has continued to complain about serious safety and maintenance problems at 3003 Van Ness, including chronically broken security doors (allowing unauthorized access to the building), elevators that don’t work, fire-safety doors that do not shut automatically, and other problems in individual apartments and common areas. Because of these complaints, the tenant association and individual residents have requested additional inspections, which have turned up more violations — $94,083 in total as of March 3rd, 2025.

Equity Residential has told the tenant association that it plans to address the violations.