It's NOT a Rehab. Change the Name of our Building!

My name is N. Mercedes, and I have lived at the East Fourth Street Rehab for 17 years now. Despite the fact that the building I grew up in and am currently raising my child in is called Rehab it is not a rehabilitation center. The building is home to a number of New York City residents ranging from the young to the elder, people from different countries and backgrounds, we inhabitants are quite diverse yet we have one obvious common burden: the name of the building in which we live in.

For as long as I can remember, whenever I have invited guests to my homes, I have always had to explain to them that I did not live in a rehab but rather an apartment building like the rest of New York. Recently, as my daughter (now 8 years old) has gotten older and grown sociable at her school, I have on occasion invited some of the other kids to my apartment for play dates with my daughter. With every new visitor, I have had to explain to their concerned parents that I did not live a rehab center, but just a regular apartment building, that there were not recovering drug addicts inhabiting the building or anything of that sort, but just friendly people whom I have known for quite sometime.

I, and the other residents of the East Fourth Street REHAB, feel that the time has come to change the name of the building. We understand that the name of the building comes from the fact that the building itself was rehabilitated, but the fact of the matter is that in today's world there is an extremely negative connotation with the idea and word Rehab. As I am assuming that no one in the building has been to rehab, and even if they have been I am sure that they too dislike the name, none of us feel comfortable with the name of the building we call home. I can sense the feeling of embarrassment my daughter gets when her friend's parents bombard me with questions about our home, and our neighbors.

I ask on behalf of my daughter, my neighbors, myself, and future residents of the building, that the signs, which read East Fourth Street Rehab, be removed from the building. I hope to one day have my daughter invite her friends over without having to explain to them every time a new friend comes that she does not live in a rehab; this is a wish that I know, after speaking with several other residents, we all hope to see come to fruition.

If you would like a possible suggestion for a name with would still imply the status of the building as rehabilitated, I believe that the word Remedy is much more positive. It still carries the sentiment of rehabilitation and fixing yet Remedy also implies that the process of rehabilitation has already been completed, which it most certainly has. The East Fourth Street Remedy has a greater positive tone to it, which would remove the discomfort that I and the other currently feel whenever we entertain guest.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter; I hope it has moved you to see a glimpse of the discomfort and unnecessary embarrassment that I and the residents of the building feel every time we return to the place we call home. I once again humbly ask you to please remove the signs on our home, which reads East Fourth Street Rehab. We residents of this building are hard working people who should not be subjected to such shame when thinking of our home. Thank you again for reading this letter, and I hope that the fall weather finds you well.

Respectfully,

N. Mercedes