OK. I just went into the basement of my apartment building to get some laundry out of the dryer. A homeless guy was in the laundry room, stripped to his soiled skivvies, filthy clothes spread over the folding table, washing himself in the sink. He was using a towel. Thank Dawg, it wasn't mine, though I suspect it was borrowed from one of the dryers.
*pours self an especially large drink*
I went to tell the live-in super that a strange man was in the laundry room. The super came down with me, addressed the guy by name, telling him he'd have to leave as soon as he was done washing up, since "now is not a good time to be here." After the guy left, the super explained to me that the man was harmless, and he comes in to clean up and rest now and again.
*sees glass is empty; refills it*
I've lived in NYC for a while, and in general it's hard to really throw me for a loop. I admit that did so. 'Cause, like, it's scary to walk into your laundry room and see a nearly naked disheveled stranger.
It doesn't help that we've had a few recent robberies in the neighborhood (one in the building), and not long ago there were a string of rapes in Manhattan (some of which were never solved). We've got a notice in the lobby warning tenants not to let anyone in the building who doesn't belong there. The guy may well be harmless -- I don't know. But he doesn't belong in my basement, especially at night.
I have just decided that having a washer and dryer in my actual apartment will be a priority when I move.
Edited to add:
In answer to Ken's implied criticism (if I'm reading his "diagram" correctly) -- I feel bad for the homeless guy. I donate to homeless shelters, to a program that tries to get the homeless back on their feet, and to various charities. I've given food and money to people in the subway. It's not that I'm not sympathetic. I am. And if my super wants to help the guy, fine.
But the way to help him is *not* to let him into the isolated laundry room of a small apartment building (one largely filled with young women, too) and leave him alone there. It's not only that it's against building rules (it is) -- it could be downright dangerous. The super might think the guy is harmless, but he doesn't really know that. He's just seen him hanging out on the steps of the building. The guy might rob, assault, or rape someone. It would not be the first time something like that has happened in an apartment building. If the super wanted to let him clean up, he could have brought him into his own apartment instead of letting him strip down in the laundry room. I suspect he didn't do that because of his wife and kids. But he might have thought about the scare some other woman might get when she suddenly finds herself alone in the basement with a mostly naked stranger. And of the possible consequences if the guy wasn't as safe as he thought.
At the very, very least, my super could have hung out outside the laundry room to make sure the man didn't take anything or attack anyone, and to give people a heads up so they didn't jump out of their skin.
Sorry to get all serious in the cabby. It won't happen again, honest.