Can Twitter tame the parsimonious proclivities of East Village landlord Jakobson Properties? Fed up with the slow pace and miserable quality of repairs, one tenant created the Twitter account @Jakobson_Fix_It and started a Tumblr to document the company's alleged misdeeds. "I've talked to so many people, and everybody is complaining about things," John, the man behind the Twitter account tells the Post. And surprise: it seems that Jakobson is responding to issues a little faster these days.
One tenant who came home to a blown fuse and spoiled food in her fridge emailed the management an itemized list of the $217.02 worth of goods that she wanted reimbursed (her request does read a touch triumphant: "I had two bottles of wine, a La Poderina Brunello di Montalcino, 2006 purchased for $56, but if you ask me, it tastes every bit as good as a $150 bottle.") And lo, it was done.
However, it will probably take many more tweets and considerably more shame to have Jakobson working like a well-oiled machine doing its job as required by law. One tenant who had a gross leak from the snowstorm last month was given paper towels and plastic wrap to remedy the situation. As the video evidence shows, this is not a permanent solution.
More than 200 postcards have been mailed to the tenants of ten different Jakobson-owned properties, urging residents to tweet/blog their issues, and a rep from the company has told angry internet commenters, "we are listening." Jakobson has also hired a "social media consultant" to assist in the damage control, who they'll presumably use to give the tenants a Groupon for rat traps.
