By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 22, 2020 – I woke up this morning sweating profusely and panicked beyond measure at the prospect that I had contracted COVID-19, which is wreaking havoc around the world. My fear increased as I nervously hand-checked by face to see if I had an above average temperature, but my temperature appeared to be normal.
My first instinct was to try and contact Dr. Christiana Puchalski, who has been my regular doctor at George Washington University Hospital for more than six years, but I instantly concluded that I would wait and see if any other symptoms related to COVID-19 developed before seeking medical attention. Moreover, considering the priorities that are dictating who gets urgent medical treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, getting an appointment with Dr. Puchalski would have been extremely difficult. Indeed, my last regular appointment with her in July was conducted virtually.
My fears started to dissipate when I realized that inside my apartment was very hot. As I am writing this the temperature outside is more common for a sunny mid-October day in Nassau – it is 77 degrees outside – and although I have all the “windows” in my apartment open, it is still very hot.
I have just received an email letter from the new management of my apartment complex, Bozzuto Management Company – as did all of the tenants in our building — explaining the reason why inside our apartments are so warm.
Bozzuto assumed management responsibility for our apartment complex as of September 30, 2020, and although the previous management – in my view, during the six years that I have lived here – was very proficient, this new management team’s manner of conducting business is highly professional. An example of this is how quickly they responded to apparent complaints from a tenant or tenants about the heat in our apartment complexes. Here’s the email I received this morning:
EMAIL FROM MY APARTMENT COMPLEX NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM
Dear Residents,
We have been made aware of the discomfort many of you have experienced as a result of the lack of air conditioning in your apartment home. The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs requires that between October 1 and May 1, buildings furnish heat. Sufficient heat must be supplied to maintain a temperature of not less than 68º F in all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet rooms in any living unit where the tenant cannot control or set the temperature.
With us providing this transition for the building, this does remove the ability to cool the apartment homes. We sincerely apologize for the discomfort this has caused many of you. We will continue to see if there are other options to assist with reducing the temperature in the building while following the protocols put in place.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Sincerely,
Modern on M Management
Clearly, choosing to live at 1000 M Street, S.W. when I moved back to Washington, D.C., from The Bahamas to become Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at the Embassy of The Bahamas in 2013 has been a blessing for a die-hard Washington Nationals baseball fan like myself. I am just six blocks from Washington Nationals Stadium, and before COVID-19 I frequently attended Nationals games, especially during our World Series Championship year in 2019.
However, after my diplomatic appointment was rescinded following the change of government in The Bahamas in May of 2017, the Embassy ceased paying my rent, which was included in the terms of my contract. Consequently, since then I have been in self-imposed quarantine, so to speak, as I struggle to remain financially solvent while promoting the services offered by THE BROWN AGENCY LLC, a public relations and marketing company that I established.
THE BROWN AGENCY LLC has an online publication BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which was established after my tenure at the Embassy ended primarily to keep Bahamian nationals and nationals from other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries living in the diaspora informed about important news from their respective countries.
Because BAHAMAS CHRONICLE has developed a huge following across the United States, Canada and Great Britain, I have been trying to convince the Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the past two years to officially agree to a proposal I submitted to continue doing primarily what I did at the Embassy on a contractual basis that I was led to believe had been approved. Nonetheless, being a Bahamian in the diaspora — whose Andros-inspired love for the country of my birth has a treasured indelible presence in my heart – I have continued to promote Embassy-related activities without compensation.
Because THE BROWN AGENCY LLC is a home-based business, unquestionably it is my desire to continue living in the very secured apartment complex where I now reside; indeed, doing so is currently is my top priority. I have several clients in The Bahamas – particularly in Freeport, where I am blessed to have the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and CHANCES GAMES as clients – but maintaining financial solvency still remains an up-hill struggle.
Once this COVID-19 pandemic becomes history, I would most certainly like to still be in walking distance of Washington Nationals stadium, so in addition to the public relations services THE BROWN AGENCY LLC offers at very affordable rates, BAHAMAS CHRONICLE also has very affordable advertising and promotional rates for those potential clients in The Bahamas who may want to promote their businesses or individuals who may wish to have a featured promotional article in BAHAMAS CHRONICLE. Contact us at oswaldb317@gmail.com and you can access BAHAMAS CHRONICLE at bahamaschronicle.com.
