Ameer Ali discovered the break-in during a second visit to his condo storage locker.

Ali had been at the locker just hours earlier that same day in mid-August. When he returned, he found the lock to his enclosure pried open, his contents missing.

“They took my new suitcase and packed all my stuff in it, seasonal clothes and other things,” Ali recalled.

Like many downtown condo dwellers, Ali’s unit is far too compact to comfortably store all of his and his girlfriend’s belongings, so he relies on the locker located in his East Liberty St. condo parking garage. He was already aware of security concerns on the premises, having had his car vandalized two years prior.

“It makes you think, do I still want to be here?” Ali said. “But I love living here, and the location is the best for any property investment.”

Last year, while out of town on business, Margaux Berry was notified by building security that her storage locker had been broken into at her 68 Abell St. condo.

The incident was part of a “wave” of thefts taking place in the building, she would learn. Several residents had lost valuables such as snowboards and photography equipment.

To Berry’s amazement, the building, having opened just a few years earlier in highly gentrified West Queen West, had only standard deadbolt locks, and not more secure keyless entry devices to gain access to common areas. Berry said she was also surprised by the lack of assistance by management.

“They weren’t sure what to do, only suggesting I call police,” Berry said.

Fed up, Berry decided to be a “big pain in the ass” to get some answers. She reviewed past meeting minutes of her condo board and met with residents who shared the same concerns about security.

“There were maybe another six residents who had stuff stolen, and no help (from management),” Berry said. “There was lots of anger.”

Berry and a fellow owner decided to run for open board seats; Berry for president, making their case through meet-and-greets with dozens of angry residents.

“It was brand new to me, but I was a very angry owner and you can’t be angry and not do something about it,” Berry said. “If you want something to change, you have to roll up your sleeves and get dirty.”

Berry’s campaigning worked — she and another owner were elected to the board as of last September.

From the start of her term, Berry found several issues with building security. There were no security cameras monitoring sensitive areas such as the lockers, and security incidents weren’t being tracked. Berry and the board decided to remove the company, Paragon Security, which had been looking after 68 Abell since May 2018.

Diamond Property Service, selected by the board through a third-party bidding process, has been responsible for security in the 486-unit building since March.

In addition to changing companies, the new 68 Abell board authorized 60 additional security cameras to be installed in the building, which were already budgeted for in the building’s reserve fund.

Security procedures were also tightened up, such as not keeping lobby doors open too long to help prevent strangers from slipping into the building. Stiffer enforcement was also enacted to curtail short-term rentals (mostly through Airbnb), which is banned in the building.

According to Diamond, there have been two reported security incidents at 68 Abell in 2019, compared to 12 in 2018 and eight the year prior.

“Security is tighter now,” Berry said. “It’s still a work in progress.”

Toronto.com reached out to Paragon Securities for comment about security concerns while they were contracted to 68 Abell, but the company did not respond by the publishing deadline.

Condo Owners Association (COA) president Linda Pinizzotto, speaking generally, said provincial law doesn’t adequately address matters such as conflict of interest between board members and management companies, which is not illegal, leading to lax security measures and inadequate condo bylaw enforcement.

Pinizzotto, who founded COA in 2010 to lobby for changes to the law, said condo owners should follow Berry’s example and become much more active in the management of their building

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“People buy into a building and they don’t know what’s wrong, don’t attend board meetings, don’t question anything,” Pinizzotto said. “They have to pay more attention.”

Michael Francolla, senior property manager for 68 Abell, agreed and said condo owners should get directly involved with their board.

“Everyone should serve a short term on the board to understand what’s involved in the running of a condo,” Francolla said.