Think back to the pandemic when a lot of people started working from home. What would you do if a construction project on your block meant that you wouldn’t have anywhere to park your car and would be without internet and electricity for up to a week?

It sounds awful, doesn’t it? I’d be looking at hotels, but that would be an additional expense that the residents in this story shouldn’t be forced to pay.

Instead, one resident has a simple request. There are actually two construction projects, and she just wishes they weren’t taking place all at the same time.

Is that too much to ask? Keep reading for all the details.

WIBTA for complaining to the city about the construction on both sides of my building at once

I live in a major city in a gentrifying neighborhood.

One development company bought 4 original homes on my block (two on each side of my house), evicted the residents, and is going to knock them both down and start construction on new condos next week.

I’m not concerned about the construction (it’s going to happen eventually). I’m concerned that it’s all happening at the same time. I wish they’d do one side first, then the other side after its done.

It would be hard to work from home with all that noise.

Because of the pandemic, my neighbors and I are working at home and there will be no silence for the rest of the year, with construction surrounding us from all sides.

If it was one side at a time, the noise would be less severe.

Working from home is going to be hard.

This seems unreasonable.

They also told us they’re closing both entrances to our alley to park trucks and cranes.

If they did one side at a time, my neighbors and I could still get to our garage. But since they’re doing both sides, I won’t be able to use my garage for the rest of the year.

This also impacts the 6 houses across the alley from me.

The developer also requested street parking to be prohibited, except for construction equipment. Meaning I can’t park in my garage, or on my street. This impacts the neighbors across the street from me too.

There’s another huge inconvenience.

The city informed us they need to reroute the power and telephone lines underground (Because the new condos are too tall and large for the current overhead lines). It means I may be without internet and power for up to a week at some point during the next month.

This impacts our whole block.

One on hand, I don’t want to be a Karen and complain to the city… But on the other hand, I have little sympathy for ruthlessly gentrifying developers. It’s also rude to not have any consideration for the people who live in this neighborhood, especially since we’re in a pandemic and have to work from home all day.

I just want the city to delay the eviction and demolition of one side until the other is completed. I’m not asking to cancel the construction or anything drastic.

It doesn’t seem legal to prevent residents from being able to park in their garage or on the street. Surely, they can’t take away all parking options! And not having internet or electricity when you’re working from home would make it completely impossible to work from home!

I’d be upset too.

Let’s see what Reddit suggests.

This person points out a big problem if the power goes out in the summer.

Another person encourages her to speak up.

Here’s a suggestion to talk to the neighbors.

Everyone thinks she needs to complain.

There’s a difference between being a Karen and standing up for yourself. You shouldn’t feel like you have to be a doormat in order to avoid the Karen label. There are times and circumstances when standing up for yourself is really important, and this is one of them.

No power for a week? Nowhere to park? These are unreasonable things to expect homeowners to live with. They should be compensated for staying in a hotel for the week the electricity is out and provided with at least one parking option, either access to the alley or street parking. Taking away both makes it an impossible situation.