To the Editor,

Seniors knew from the outset that they were the highest risk, greatest potential and actual casualty of the pandemic.  As they waited for the vaccine that would come a year into our plague, they tended to be the most cautious and reluctant to engage in any interaction.  It wasn’t fun for anyone. 

By the middle of last summer, though, most tennis courts and golf courses opened, with or without restrictions/advisories regarding COVID contraction.  At least three or four of the Condo Associations in Westport, including Lansdowne, waited until mid-June of this year to allow tennis and pool play.

Upon reopening, the Lansdowne Association followed the “good news” with a slight caveat to property use- “No guests” at either the pool or the Tennis courts would be permitted under any circumstances.  Mind you, there are two men and possibly two or three women who use the tennis courts and own their condo.  What little use there was of the courts was dependent upon guests to fill out Doubles games.

The pool situation will get some use from owners who swim regularly and will swim happily alone.  BUT, the primary use of the pool, as it would be at any senior condominium, is the invasion of the grandchildren, particularly the younger set, who love to show grandparents how they can backstroke and float and freestyle a lap or two. 

What type of resolution is this, exactly?  To prove they are serious, the association has provided employment of a security guard, who shows up rain or shine, to make sure all swimmers and tennis players are eligible to partake.

Apparently, the condo associations are concerned that visitors will contract COVID at Lansdowne, sue the association, and drive them into bankruptcy.  So, first, one must contract COVID roughly during the time that the visit took place, and then prove that the only place they could have contracted the virus was when they visited Lansdowne.

I googled this very topic and couldn’t find a single suit, let alone a successful suit, of a Covid Positive claim against a Condo Association for facilitating transmission.  In the meantime, seniors who have survived COVID, and in many cases look forward to and crave family visits, at last, must find suitable alternatives for their family. 

The people who revel in the use of wonderful amenities, a major factor in their purchase, are the ones that are deprived now.  Picture the grandparents telling their adult kids, “Wow, we survived, can’t wait to see the little ones, but tell them to leave their bathing suits home.”

This is a form of Elder Abuse.  Younger owners in younger developments with these amenities would never stand for this treatment, and their associations, like the Association at Lansdown know this.  They are taking advantage of their less mobile members, and as a resident up until this year, I can tell you they are heartless, intractable, and indifferent to the criticism.

Michael Lubell

Former tenant at Lansdowne, Westport

Current Resident of Norwalk, CT