Ask Me Help Desk - Tenant's rights/harassment

Dear Excon,

Please view a copy of the email that I sent to Marta Gabriel at the
Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. This should provide you with details as to what has taken place at the Weaversville Inn.(my place of residence)
If you have more questions/need more information, let me know.
Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,

Mark D. Gibbs

__________________________________________________ ________________________

Mark D. Gibbs
6916 Weaversville Road
Northampton, PA 18067
Phone: 610-261-4274

Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
840 Hamilton St. Suite 205
Allentown, PA 18101

September 23, 2007

Re: Complaint against Mark Prostko

Dear Marta B. Gabriel, COO

I'm a tenant who resides at the Weaversville Inn located in Northampton, PA. which is where Jessica's Tea Room/Creekside Kitchens is located. I have resided here since June 22, 2005. I have not had any verbal confrontations/differences with the previous owner/employees of Jessica's Tea Room.(Creekside Kitchens didn't exist)

Problems started to occur ever since Mark Prostko purchased Jessica' Tea Room and then added Creekside Kitchens.

The first occurrence took place on February 1, 2007 at 5PM.
A previous employee(a waitress) of Mark Prostko's had been indifferent with me ever since she started working for Mark Prostko. I ignored her as much as feasibly possible. On February 1, 2007 is when she went too far. She attempted to intimidate me with her vehicle by driving straight at me and stopping within two feet of me in the parking lot. I confronted her in the restaurant and I told her that I would call the
State Police if she ever does that again. Mark Prostko and his wife are aware of this event and they both ignored what took place by not imposing any corrective action upon this employee.
In fact, Mark Prostko and his wife felt that I was at fault based strictly on what this employee had to say, as opposed to what I had to say as a Tenant at the Weaversville Inn.
This incident that occurred is one which Mark Prostko and his wife have more confidentiality in and respect/compassion for their employees as opposed to the Tenants that reside at the Weaversville Inn.
I did call the State Police that evening to report the incident. The State Police gave me the option of having her arrested which I declined to do so. I told the State Police that I do want this incident on record in case this employee ever attempts this same act in the future.

The next confrontation between Mark Prostko and me took place in May of 2007.
I confronted Mark Prostko and asked if he was the person that made a complaint to the manager of the Weaversville Inn about me having a verbal confrontation with a Tenant. This verbal confrontation occurred on April 28, 2007 at 11:20PM , well after the restaurant had closed. Mark Prostko admitted that he was the person who made a complaint to the manager about me. He told me that he was tired of the noise and that I was the aggressive person in the incident that occurred on 4/28/07. I told Mark that's it not right to make decisions based on what you hear without knowing all the facts upfront.

I also told Mark he had no right minding my business being that the restaurant was closed and there were no patrons in the restaurant. I also reminded
Mark Prostko that this particular tenant was told that he had to find another place to live(December 2006) by both the manager and the owner of the Weaversville Inn.
Mark did tell me that he would never intervene in my affairs again, but he has done so since this incident took place. This incident is an example of how Mark Prostko intended to discredit me in the manager's mind whereby I was in the wrong, and Mark did so without collecting all the facts.

The next verbal confrontation occurred on June 27, 2007 at 8:30PM.
I was in the parking lot vacuuming my vehicle.
I was questioned by Mark Prostko as to what I was doing. Mark Prostko said to me: “Mark, what are doing. I told him that I was vacuuming my truck.”
Mark told me that there is a strange odor coming in the Tearoom and it smells like antifreeze. I told Mark that I was only vacuuming my truck and not working on it as Mark assumed that I was. Mark assumed that I was the cause of the odor that was entering the Tearoom. Mark never took it into consideration that the odor could have been caused by a tractor trailer that was out front this day. Mark never apologized to me for accusing me of being the cause of this problem. This is another unjustified attempt on the part of Mark Prostko to find fault with me without cause to do so. In addition, this is another decision made by him without knowing all the facts first.

On September 18, 2007 at 2:50PM, I was confronted by Mark Prostko again in the parking lot of the Weaversville Inn. This took place when the restaurant was closed.
Mark mentioned to me that he was told that I prevented a waitress from performing her job on Saturday, 9/16/07 by blocking her path of travel. Mark told me that I did so by putting one hand on the handrail(of staircase) and my other hand on the wall, and I didn't move out of her way until she talked to me. I told Mark, I don't recall doing that, and if I did, it wasn't intentional. Mark told me that he was going to nip this in the butt so the same incident won't occur as it did with his previous waitress.
At 3:20PM, I asked Mark, "why is it that your employees continue to fault with me, and they can do no wrong in your mind." Mark told me that there was a witness to the fact that I had one hand on the handrail and one hand on the wall. You were not going to let her pass until she talked to you. I asked Mark, if he believed this to be true. His response was that he threw his arms up. Mark admitted that he didn't see this incident take place. Mark based his decision on hear say and not what he saw or didn't see.
Mark again told me that he was going to nip this in the butt. I told Mark that I'm going to have a talk with her. But I didn't.
This is another premature decision on Mark's part whereby he has to find fault with me without knowing all the facts first.

The following information pertains to the closing time of the restaurant as
Established by Mark Prostko.
The closing time of the restaurant is 9:30PM Wednesday through Saturday,
And 8PM on Sunday. The closing times were established by Mark Prostko
To my knowledge. These closing times are acceptable provided that
Mark Prostko adheres to them on a consistent basis, but he doesn’t.
There have been numerous times that the restaurant has remained open after
The established closing time. In addition, the employees(of restaurant) still
Continue to make excessive noise in the kitchen after the restaurant closes.
The noise made by the employees while working in the
Kitchen/restaurant(after restaurant closes) has continued numerous times in
The past up until 11:30PM.
This has been disturbing for the Tenants that reside on the second/third floor
Above the restaurant due to the excessive noise emitted from the patrons
And the employees.
Mark Prostko has not taken into consideration that some Tenants must
Retire early in order to get up early the next day, and that some Tenants
Need quiet in order to concentrate on what their doing(such as reading)
At night. This prolonged closing time also has an impact on the parking
Availability for the Tenants as well.

This pertains to the parking availability on Saturday and Sunday at the
Weaversville Inn.
Parking for the Tenants at the Weaversville Inn on Saturday/Sunday has
Become an inconvenience due to that Mark Prostko or his wife overbook the
Restaurant with respect to the number of parking spaces available at the
Weaversville Inn.
There has been instances in which the patrons of the restaurant park their
Vehicles in such a manner which has prevented some Tenants from leaving
The property in their own vehicles in case of an emergency or for other reasons
After receiving short notice to do so.
This would not happen if parking was supervised for the patrons on a
Consistent basis during peak hours. This parking issue demonstrates
That no consideration exists for the Tenants who have a right to park their
Vehicles at the Weaversville Inn.

It is my belief that both Mark Prostko and his wife are self centered individuals.
It's quite obvious that they are only concerned with their well being as well
As the employees that work for Mark Prostko.
They have not demonstrated any compassion/consideration towards
The Tenants that reside at the Weaversville Inn to my knowledge.

I sincerely believe that Mark Prostko will persist in his thinking that he
Can do whatever he pleases without taking into consideration the rights of the
Tenants in addition to not demonstrating any consideration for the Tenants,
Provided that no one with legal authority, questions his actions/decisions.

I would appreciate that the above information is forwarded to the proper
Individual at the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce who has the authority to
Investigate the above issues.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,

Mark D. Gibbs