Dear Ms. Demeanor: Shirtless in the laundry room

Dear Ms. Demeanor,

As a proud New Yorker, I gladly suffer the indignity of doing my laundry in a dank and damp basement for an exorbitant amount of money per load. I did the collecting quarters thing for years and now I budget for the loss of the laundry card at least twice a year.  I know that random people occasionally touch my delicates if I don't arrive to remove my clothes quickly enough from the washer or dryer. 

What I can't tolerate is my neighbor who does his laundry shirtless.  Neither the laundry room NOR the neighbhor is hot enough to justify it.

Signed,

Shirtless-in-Soho-belongs-in-Secaucus

Dear Shirtless,

With a nod and a slap to the Jersey Shore, you have a SITUATION on your hands.  Even if your neighbor looked like Tom Cruise (volleyball scene in Top Gun) or Marky Mark or Taylor Lautner--I refuse to show my age by my heartthrob of choice--the laundry room should at least be held to the standards of a McDonald's:  No Shirt No Shoes No Service. 

The laundry room is a shared indoor space and residents should act accordingly.  I would alert the property manager and have them (a) make a sign for the laundry room, (b) post of notice in the elevator advising residents of the rule, and (c) email residents informing them of same. 

Residents who continue to flout the standard should get a more firmly worded letter and/or suspension of laundry room privileges if they do not comply.

With a double rinse,

Ms. Demeanor

Ms. Demeanor is channeled by a longtime Manhattan vertical dweller and real-estate voyeur who writes under the pen name Jamie Lauren Sutton. She is here to commiserate, calm and correct. Please email your quandaries to [email protected] and put "Dear Ms. Demeanor" in the subject line.

See all of Ms. Demeanor's advice here.