Resident Testimonials
Over the past several years Rob Rosania has been making numerous advances for Parkmerced Residents. He has taken on small armies of workers to refurbish, and in many cases, replace antiquated lobbies and entrances, and elevators. All of this happened as promised and without pass through to the residents. Mr. Rosania has proven himself a man of his word.
The PRO has moved away from an adversarial relationship with management to one of cooperation. We have mutually agreed upon goals for community and resident comfort. We have mutually agreed upon building community.
Stellar Management and Parkmerced have become involved in negotiating the terms of their mortgage. This will not harm or displace any resident, and business will continue as usual. Now is the time to show our appreciation.
There are a few residents, and former resident, using old terrorist rumor tactics in effort to kick Parkmerced. They serve only themselves not us. We must be patient and not let a wildfire of panic disturb us. We must not flood Resident Relations with questions on the banking procedure. Their time is actually better spent attending to Parkmerced’s relationship with residents.
Let’s be supportive of Rob Rosania. It’s time we showed some actual gratitude for reviving Parkmerced.
– Daniel W. Phillips, President The Board of Directors, The Parkmerced Residents' Organization
My name is Robert Pender. I live in Parkmerced at # 5 Josepha Ave. I have lived in my apartment home since March 1, 1973 where my wife and I raised our two daughters.
I am a founding member and President Emeritus of the Parkmerced Residents Organization. I am a founding member of the San Francisco Tenants Network and I hold an esteemed place in the San Francisco Tenants Union Hall of Fame.
Over the past thirty six years, I have worked tirelessly for the tenants at Parkmerced and all of San Francisco fighting the good fight against landlords who did not have the tenant's best interests at heart. We fought them at City Hall. We fought them in court. We fought them in the media. We fought them in their own boardrooms. You can't keep and old Brooklyn Boy down.
When Rob Rosania and Stellar Management purchased Parkmerced in 2005, all of that changed. Mr Rosania made the unheard of gesture for an owner of Parkmerced to meet with us face to face. He continues to meet with us on a regular basis. Mr Rosania made promises about cooperating with us. He promised to update the property and not charge us Capital Passthroughs, like the other landlords did. He promised to help us build community. He has made those promises and kept them. He is a man of his word.
While a life-long fighter continues to be vigilant, this is a time at Parkmerced for us to stop and enjoy our accomplishments. I am proud of what the PRO has done for tenant's rights. I am proud of the new spirit of cooperation and community that we have helped to build with Rob Rosania.
– Robert Pender, Resident since March 1973, Founding member and President Emeritus of the Parkmerced Residents Organization and Founding member of the San Francisco Tenants Network
I have met with Robert Rosania [Parkmerced principal owner] on several occasions, and I have moved from a position of high skepticism to one of respect for him and his actions. Mr. Rosania has been a man of his word and I believe he is just as impatient as we are to get Parkmerced running as efficiently as possible. As Parkmerced establishes new protocols for Resident Relations there will be a curve as bugs are worked out of the systems. I strongly urge everyone to participate in the "solution." It will benefit us all.
– Daniel W. Phillips, Resident and Current President, The Board of Directors, The Parkmerced Residents' Organization
Since your purchase of Parkmerced in 2005, so many improvements have been made, both to tenant relationships and improvements and repairs to the property; too numerous to list individually. However, the results are a more beautiful environment, and the feeling of genuine care of all your residents. You have made Parkmerced a vibrant community, with special events and a delightful farmer’s market.
– Genevieve L. Callejo, resident since 1968
I have been glad to see and participate in the community meetings about your plans for the future. I have always wanted Parkmerced to feel more like a city neighborhood. These plans, and some things already done (like the farmer’s market) carry that promise.
– Arne and Raquel Larson, residents
When I saw the plan you outlined for the lobby, etc., I thought it would be a dusty, noisy mess and I would be inconvenienced. I was positive you would not meet your time goal and it would not just be a dusty mess, but a muddy one as well. I am happy to admit that I was wrong about everything. I was never inconvenienced, nothing was ever left dirty and there was almost never excessive noise. When I came into the lobby for the first time it looked lovely. The fitness center is wonderful and if it is any indication of the how the business center looks, I'm sure that is terrific as well… My friends and family have all been very impressed by my apartment - the size, quality of appliances and view. Now, they will also be impressed when they walk into the building.
– Lary Cooper, resident
I would like to share with you my experience living in Parkmerced since Stellar Management became our new owner. I’ve lived in Parkmerced for 11 years. During that time we had 3 owners.
I’m most impressed with the new owner and management team for several reasons. They work openly with the Parkmerced Resident Organization, they support resident safety under the SAFE program, encourage outreach to residents by bringing us all together and continually adjust their resident relations structure to improve resident satisfaction.
Stellar Management was the first owner to meet with PRO. There are ongoing meetings between them to share information and opinions about the changes in Parkmerced. It is important to both parties to keep the lines of communication open. Stellar Management supports resident safety. Parkmerced residents formed safety groups in their areas, appointed block captains, and registered with the SAFE program.
The owner supports residents efforts by providing funding for meetings, SAFE Signs, management representatives at safety meetings. Parkmerced management works with SFSU and SFPD to share information about incidents concerning safety and ways to improve safety in our community. In October 2007 Parkmerced management and SAFE program resident representatives received an award from the SAFE program. SAFE recognized Parkmerced Neighborhood Watch as an example of empowered residents along with the owner, their combined efforts as a leading example of how a large complex can form building and community Neighborhood Watch groups.
Communities are built by communicating with each other. Stellar management sponsors activities that bring residents together., Farmer’s Market, Harvest Festival, Winter Festival, music in the park, just to name a few. I have fun meeting with other residents at these events.
Resident Relations tries their best to help me with my concerns. There is someone to help me when the office is open, and if I call and don’t get a person, I get a call back. Recently the Stellar management took over responsibility for the management Parkmerced. Now I can call one number for all of my concerns. I called for trouble with my door and it was fixed the same day.
Please feel free to share my experiences with others to show support for Parkmerced as a great place to live.
– Michele Miller - 11 Year Resident
The park merced staff has been great, anytime I have a complaint they are fast to help. I needed something done, and they came over that day and did it. Then I needed new blinds, a nice man came over and changed the needed blinds. The staff at parkmerced are very friendly, it seems like they do their job because they like it and want to help instead of needing to do it. If you ever need anything, they are there to help.
– Yelena Tihonova, Natasha Geykhman - Residents
First of all, I want to mention how great service has been as a resident at Park Merced. We have had service deal with plumbing and other problems, and it has been taken care of quickly and efficiently. We have been very pleased to live here and will continue to do so for a long time. Likewise, help at the main office is always professional and speedy.
– Megumi Fuse - Resident
I moved to Parkmerced in July because my vision for community was in line with Parkmerced's. I really appreciate the concern that you are showing towards your tenants and our community. I look forward to seeing all the positive changes.
– Cristi Shanahan, resident since July 2008
First of all, we would like to thank you for all the improvements around Parkmerced. We have lived here for 36 years and are very happy here! Also, we would like to write you a note about Floren Lopez [Resident Services Manager]. We have known Floren since she arrived. She is a wonderful lady, works extremely hard and always very professional, yet friendly. The best when it comes to a good employee! Keep up the good work!
– Helen and John “Scotty” Thomas, Residents for 36 years
My husband and I moved into Parkmerced after we were married in June of 1988. We fell in love with the large rooms, roomy closets and staircase in our garden apartment. We've always enjoyed the non-urban "feel" of the community. It's peaceful and quiet here, especially in the summer. The design of the property encourages long walks. We also appreciate the convenience of being close to the highway, shopping and public transportation. Now that we have Hershey, our cocker spaniel, I've discovered more of the beauty of the community on our daily walks. Every block is different. We have our favorite trees and garden spots, and Hershey enjoys sniffing around the dog run. Being out and about more helps me meet my neighbors, too. I don't know if there is another San Francisco "neighborhood" with such friendly people. We also enjoy community activities, work days and holiday parties organized by the imaginative Parkmerced staff. We'll probably be here for at least another 21 years!
– Marty Walker and her dog Hershey, residents since 1998
