When it comes to shared spaces, fights are bound to break out because that’s just how humans are. We fight over the silliest of things without knowing our actions have consequences and they can come back to us in a full circle.
When Reddit user 0ddLemon asked his neighbor multiple times to remove her bike that was blocking the hallway, she always had an excuse up her sleeve and simply refused. Sick of it all, he took things to property management, so she called him a “white cop” and “male Karen”!
More info: Reddit
Humans fighting over shared spaces is a tale as old as time because some people just never learn
Image credits: 0ddLemon
The poster moved into a new apartment which had a shared hallway where his roommate and downstairs neighbor parked their bikes and it took up a lot of space
Image credits: 0ddLemon
Image credits: sono bono / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
As a big guy, the poster had problems every time he passed through the hallway, so he asked them both to remove their bikes and his roommate obliged immediately
Image credits: 0ddLemon
Image credits: Solé Bicycles / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
However, his neighbor was just not willing to listen and always came up with an excuse to not remove it, even when the poster offered to pay for a wall mount himself
Image credits: 0ddLemon
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Fed up with her ignoring his requests, the poster complained to property management as it also violated the fire code
Image credits: 0ddLemon
Image credits: 0ddLemon
Image credits: 0ddLemon
Image credits: 0ddLemon
Image credits: 0ddLemon
She called him a "white cop" and a "male Karen" for complaining about it, but Redditors said that she had it coming
Image credits: 0ddLemon
In an update, the poster was delighted to share how her bike was gone from the hallway and now he had a walkable space where he didn't bang into bikes constantly
Image credits: 0ddLemon
He also sent her his story from Reddit to show her what folks online had to say and mentioned that he learned his lesson to not be a pushover
In today’s story, the original poster (OP) tells us how—after multiple ignored pleas—he finally got rid of his neighbor’s bike that was blocking the shared hallway. When he moved into an apartment in Brooklyn, OP loved the apartment but the common hallway was just 3 feet wide, and his roommate and downstairs neighbor locked their bikes to the handrail.
Now, this took up more than 50% of the hallway space and c’mon, it’s already so narrow, plus OP also tells us that he’s a big guy, so navigating through the space was annoying for him. He kept banging into the bikes any time he passed through, so yeah, it must’ve gotten on his nerves at a point.
Anyway, he told his roommate about it and she immediately obliged and removed her bike from there, but his neighbor turned out to be a difficult lady altogether. The poster was super polite while dealing with her and even asked whether he could help with anything, but every time she just came up with some excuse and never moved her bike.
She always had a reason for everything and OP even asked to pay the money for a wall mount as she was broke, but till the end, she didn’t listen. Well, when push came to shove, politeness doesn’t work, so the poster wrote an email to property management as her blocked bike was also violating the fire code.
The entitled neighbor called him a “white cop” and “male Karen” for doing so, but it worked, as he posted a delightful update that her bike was gone from the stairwell. OP also expressed how he was not going to be a pushover from now on and if he ever saw that bike, he would move it himself. All’s well that ends well, I guess!
Image credits: 0ddLemon
The NYC Fire Code Guide clearly states that bicycles, baby strollers, clothing, and other items of personal property shall not be stored in building hallway corridors, except as may be authorized or allowed by the department. The poster was well aware of this, as he even mentioned it to the bike owner.
People online found the excuses the bike owner gave highly ridiculous. They pointed out that if she could afford to live in New York City, then purchasing a wall mount was easily possible. They felt that she was just purposely making things difficult for the poster, and called her selfish, entitled, and self-centered.
Verywell Mind states, “A person with a sense of entitlement has a self-absorbed view of the world and little regard or empathy for their impact on others. In its extreme form, a sense of entitlement may be part of a personality disorder (e.g., narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder).”
The neighbor lady perfectly fits the description, so we can see why folks online couldn’t help but roast her. They were also delighted that OP involved property management as that was the only option left for the poor guy after his multiple requests were ignored. Some even commented that once in a while, you come across such bad apples in NYC who ruin the image of all New Yorkers because of their selfish behavior.
Many people even ended up calling the neighbor the “real Karen” and found it really stupid that she called OP so. Someone even said that “fire code violation” were the magic words as things don’t get resolved so easily, and it was actually a miracle that just one email worked in his favor.
Have you ever lived in New York and faced such issues? What did you do in this situation? Feel free to jot down your thoughts in the comments section!
Folks online were amazed by the stubborn and entitled neighbor, but they also expressed their happiness when the bike was finally removed
