maintenance

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

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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

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

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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.

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VNSTA asks Vivmark Residential to fix longstanding security door problems

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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. 

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.

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.

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Security doors still broken after more than FOUR years

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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.

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Serious elevator problems continue at 3003 Van Ness

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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.

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

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

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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.

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Tenant inspection finds that security doors are still broken

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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.

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DOB assesses more than $94,000 in new fines

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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.

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Tenant association inspection of 3003 finds minor improvements, many problems

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An informal inspection of 3003 Van Ness by the Van Ness South Tenant Association conducted today that after many months of resident complaints, both exterior doors from Veazey Terrace are working properly. They lock automatically when the doors close, they open with a fob, and they won’t open without a fob. The tenant association has reported problems with these doors for well over two years, and residents are pleased that finally they have been repaired.

On the other hand, the tenant association inspection of 3003 Van Ness found many other problems — some which have been reported dozens of times in the past.

For example, many of the doors leading from the underground garages to the main buildings remain broken. Some open easily without a fob; others won’t open at all even with a fob. The tenant association has reported the broken doors many times in the past, recording approximately 100 short videos of broken doors over a period of more than two years, posting them on its YouTube channel.

The elevators in both 11-story buildings have been in and out of service for more than five years. Currently, of the four elevators in the 11-story West building, two have been completely out of service since December. Often, one of the remaining elevators is used for employees, contractors or resident moves, leaving only one in service. Of the three elevators in the 11-story South building, only one was operating during the inspection of Feb. 2 — the others were stuck on floors with no sign to indicate why they are not working.

In addition, the inspection revealed that there are still large holes in some parts of the ceiling in the garages, some heavy metal hatches hang from the ceiling so low that they could cause injury, ceiling panels in elevators are missing, some fire extinguishers are missing from their locations and are being used to hold open laundry room doors, and dozens of laundry carts remain parked in hallways.

Non-residents may find it hard to believe that this is a substantial improvement from conditions in recent years.

See photos and videos below from our February 23, 2025 inspection of 3003 Van Ness.

FIRST THE GOOD NEWS:

The main door leading from Veazey Terrace to the West building has been repaired, including an industrial-strength handle over the locking mechanism. However, the fob reader has already been broken, and residents on Monday reported that a fob would not unlock the door.

After more than two years of complaints by the tenant association, the second Veazey Terrace door leading into the G-2 level garage has also been repaired and is working properly.


NOW THE BAD NEWS:

1) ELEVATORS OUT OF SERVICE

Two of the four elevators in the West building have been out of service since mid-December. Management says that this is due to the massive flooding that occurred in the West building in December. While this may be the proximate cause of the problem, ALL elevators in both buildings have been out of order intermittently for several years, causing considerable frustration for residents.

In the West building on the day of the inspection, the two elevators on the north side of the West building (near Veazey Terrace) remained out of service. In addition, one of the two remaining elevators was stuck on an upper floor, so residents were forced to choose between waiting a long time for an elevator or walking the stairs of the 11-story West building.

Residents have become irate about the situation with the elevators in the West building. Management says that they won’t be repaired or replaced for months.

Sign on the door of an elevator that has been out of service since mid-December.

One of the two remaining elevators in the West building is temporarily out of service, leaving residents to wait for a long time or to walk.

South building elevators

On the day of the inspection, one of the two elevators in the South building was stuck on the fourth floor. While it appears that the elevator was later back in service, for a period of time the elevator couldn’t be used by residents.


2) SEVERAL SECURITY DOORS DON’T LOCK AND CAN BE ENTERED WITHOUT A FOB

Unfortunately, several of the doors leading from the underground garages are still broken, allowing easy access to the buildings for anyone who gets into the garages. It is easy to get into the garages because the loading dock door is frequently left wide open, and also because people on foot can follow cars through the garage door.

Residents are highly concerned about the fact that intruders can easily walk off the street into the buildings because 3003 Van Ness has experienced an elevated level of crime and extreme nuisance behavior in recent years.

Equity Residential has been told about the doors that do not lock many times. At times, it has made half-hearted attempts to fix the doors, using residential-grade materials that are easily broken.

The tenant association has recorded approximately 100 videos of broken doors at 3003 Van Ness over the past two and a half years, and it has posted the videos to its YouTube channel.

Door from G-2 garage into the West building doesn’t lock

This door has been almost continuously broken for more than two years, with management evidently making little effort to repair it. Through this door, an intruder who has entered the underground garages can easily enter the West building on the G-2 level near the fitness room. From there, no fob is needed to enter the hallways or main lobby .

Door A from the G-1 garage to the West building doesn’t lock

Despite reassurances from management to a resident that this door was being repaired this week, Door A remains broken, allowing easy access from the G-1 level garage to the West building. This door has been broken almost continuously for more than two years.

Double doors from G-2 garage into the South building did not lock

The main doors from the G-2 garage into the South Building have usually been working properly in recent months, with new heavy-duty metal doors and hardware. However, on Sunday Feb. 23, the doors could easily be opened without a fob — see video — allowing easy access to the South building.

Door Q from the G-3 level of the garage to the West building does not lock

This door has been broken continuously for many months. An intruder who has entered the underground garages can enter the building through Door Q without a fob.


3) SEVERAL SECURITY DOORS CANNOT BE OPENED EVEN WITHOUT A FOB

Door D from the G-1 garage to the South building cannot be opened, even with a fob.

This door has been broken continuously for many months.

Door N from the G-2 garage cannot be opened even with a fob

This door has been mostly broken for more than two years.

Door O from the G-2 garage the building does not open even with a fob

This door has been mostly broken for more than two years.

4) FIRE EXTINGUISHERS USED TO PROP OPEN LAUNDRY ROOM DOORS

For reasons difficult to understand, the doors to laundry rooms are sometimes propped open with whatever is at hand, including fire extinguishers. This means that the fire extinguishers aren’t in the boxes where they are supposed to be, a possible problem in the case of an actual fire.

4) HOLES IN GARAGE CEILINGS

In 2022, the tenant association released an extensive report about severe maintenance issues, especially leaks and water damage, in the underground garages of 3003 Van Ness. This report led to inspections by the Department of Buildings, which cited Equity Residential for violations, forcing the company to do extensive repairs.

Nevertheless, problems with the ceilings of the garages still remain. Some of them, like metal hatch left open at head height, could cause injury.

5) SHOPPING CARTS LITTER THE HALLWAYS

Some residents have a habit of taking shopping carts from the nearby Giant supermarket and using them to transport their groceries back to 3003 Van Ness. Often, they remain in the hallways for a long time, making the halls look like a shopping cart junkyard.

CONCLUSION

Because of time constraints, the tenant association did not do a complete inspection of common areas of 3003 Van Ness. In any case, that should be left to the professionals at the DC Department of Buildings.

However, the partial inspection conducted by the tenant association on February 23 found that while two important repairs have been made — the exterior doors leading from Veazey Terrace — many other problems remain, including elevators out of service, security doors from the garages to the buildings that either don’t lock or don’t open, safety hazards in the garages, and dozens of grocery carts that make the halls look like a junkyard.

The DC Department of Buildings continues its inspections for 3003 Van Ness, responding to complaints by residents. Over the past year, DOB has assessed Equity Residential with more than $1.2 million in fines, although DOB subsequently forgave most of those fines because it decided that the housing violations were adequately addressed.

Residents of 3003 Van Ness simply want to live in a clean, well-maintained building, with adequate security, and operational elevators, which fully complies with the DC Housing Code.