Last week, Florida-based Bright House Networks told the residents of the Tymber Skan condominiums on Orlando’s Lake Catherine that crime in the area had reached the point where the company felt it could no longer offer service.
“We have had multiple escalating issues including an incident where a technician was held at gunpoint and robbed,” a rep for the company told the Orlando Sentinel. “This was a difficult decision after requesting help and working with local law enforcement for months…. We do not plan to continue service to this location until the safety of our workforce can be assured.”
This condo complex of around 60 units has seen better days. The Sentinel reports that it’s been fined more than $20 million by Orange County for various code violations. Nine buildings have already been demolished with more to go.
A property manager tells the Sentinel that he’s not surprised about Bright House’s exit from the complex, explaining that “It’s hard to get vendors on site because of liability issues.”
A lawyer representing the Tymber Skan homeowners says he’s never heard of Bright House pulling out of an entire neighborhood. In a letter, he recently told county officials, “It is not fair to condemn these residents to living as second-class citizens without access to services so common in America today that most people take them for granted.”
One resident who has been the public face of the story is a disabled 54-year-old who works from home and says that Bright House’s decision to end service has put her in a bind.
“Loss of income, loss of entertainment, I don’t know about you, but I prefer not to stare at four walls all day,” she told WESH-TV.
She says she relies on the Internet for her income and that she can’t afford to move.
“Any neighborhood can go bad,” she tells the Sentinel. “They’re not looking at us as people but as piles of trash.”
Bright House was scheduled to meet with Orange County Sheriff’s Office reps on Friday and service was slated to end yesterday. We’ve written to the company for an update but have not yet heard back.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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