Fresh Direct Vending Machines Coming to Stuy Town?

Fresh Direct Vending Machines coming to Stuy Town? Not yet, and perhaps never. But Rose Associates does have them at another property they manage. I don't believe the above Stoler Report Show has been linked before, but, even though it's over a year old, it still is of considerable interest, particularly as one of the guests is Robert Scaglion, Senior Managing Director, Residential Marketing of Rose Associates. Despite the coziness of the setting with moderator Stoler, there's a "close-to-the-vest" aspect to many of the answers from the participants, who want to paint a positive picture of their holdings and gloss over problems, while gently admitting to some.

Some money quotes from Scaglion:

"Amenities are crucial. It's all about lifestyle. People work very hard to be able to afford the rents that they are paying and they want to come home and be able to go work out or go to the lounge or do some other social entertaining in their amenity space within their own home."

"I think you're going to see an evolution in lifestyle spaces in these buildings where not only will we be providing amenity spaces, we'll be programing the events for them. "

And my favorite:

"People want services very convenient to them and food is a big part of it. Not many people are cooking."

Can We Now Say that Stuy Town is a Dorm?

According to Wikipedia, Stuyvesant Town has 8,757 apartments. Together with Peter Cooper Village, the complex has 11,250 apartments. Zeroing in on Stuy Town, we now find out the following: that close to 2,000 apartments are/will be available via MyStudentApartment.com. These are apartments that are NOT part of the lease system from schools like NYU. If PCV is not included in the 2,000 student apartment figure, that means, taking into account apartments made available directly to schools, and other means of rental access, that we may be seeing at least 1/4 of Stuy Town apartments filled with college students.

While this should come as no surprise, considering all the seasonal moving trucks and discarded furniture we see in Stuy Town, the college crowds at the rental office, and the piles of pizza boxes tipping over in the recycling area, it is rather astounding to consider that Stuyvesant Town may have more college students as renters than Stuy Town residents who are members of the TA. The college population carries a heaving burden on the maintenance here and presents quality of life issues we are already familiar with. Importantly, the more student renters we have, the less we have of a more permanent body of tenants who are interested in the future of this complex. Whatever landlord owns this place gains by a student population in a speedier turnover of apartments and a decrease in the pool of a Tenants Association population. How this all translates into a condo/co-op conversion remains to be seen.

It's Happening All Over New York

Hipsters vs. Immigrants

No "war" really evident in this BBC clip, but if you watch it to the end, the pattern becomes obvious.

NYC neighborhoods: Immigrants > Artists > Hipsters/Yunnies/Whatever. Bottom line: The old "cheap" (ie, affordable) neighborhoods get eventually transformed into streets of highrises with high rents.

That's Three--No, Make that Four College Students in One Apartment

A three-bedroom affair, soon to be a fourth when the living room is converted to a make-shift sleeping area.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/roo/2843055769.html

Three full time college students in our 20's looking for a fourth roommate . We live in a 3 bedroom fully renovated secure building in beautiful Stuy Town. Ideally located on 16th and 1st close to the L train, bus and Union Sq. Great restaurants, nightlife and shopping. The room offered is being used as our living room currently and while no walls can be put up its a large space and comes with a huge closet and we will work with you to make it as private as possible.

Looking for someone between the ages of 20-27.

Can't wait to hear from you.

At first I thought this was a three-bedroom without partitions, but from the photo, it seems this once was a two-bedroom. (?)



So on the couch you go!

Guterman Speaks!

This interview is from 2010, but it's still relevant today. My main question is: "What's in it for Guterman to convert Stuy Town/PCV to co-ops and leave afterward--in 18 to 24 months?"

[Hat tip to one of our anonymous commentators.]

UPDATE:

Gerry Guterman posted this in our commentary section today, Friday, March 3rd:

We would enjoy meeting with any group of actual tenants (or their representatives) from Stuyvesant Town & Peter Cooper Village. Buying or not buying should not be a factor for attending the meeting. A specific number of participants should be planned for and any member of the tenant's association or their representatives should be identified in advance. Other than those requirements, it would be nice if coffee is served.

Gerry Guterman

Guterman Gets It Wrong

The above postcard from co-op advocates, Guterman-Westwood, which tenants have received or should be receiving in the mail, shows buildings that may look like Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village to the casual eye, but which certainly are not a real depiction of the complex. The photo looks to be a Photoshopped assembly of various New York images, worked on graphically for several layers. What is supposed to be ST/PCV may, in fact, be the Alfred E. Smith complex below Stuy Town. Who knows? But a major fail from whatever departments created and then approved this image (which is surprisingly ugly, too).

The Guterman Site on Co-op Conversion

The Guterman side of the story. Online now. Questions answered. [?]
Forum, too.

See: www.stpcvfacts.org

From the company's press release:

Guterman Westwood Partners aims to foster a successful working relationship with the residents of Stuyvesant Town & Peter Cooper Village. The co-op conversion plan proposed by Guterman Westwood Partners details and addresses many of the concerns that residents have about the future of Stuyvesant Town & Peter Cooper Village. The firm's goal is to work with the tenants, as well as the broader public, in continuing the tradition of reasonably priced housing and strong community atmosphere that has been present at the property since its founding.

The www.stpcvfacts.org website offers straightforward answers to the tough questions that community residents have been raising and talking about for years. It provides background information on Guterman Westwood Partners and provides a forum for resident and public inquiry regarding the conversion process, and the firm's intended participation therein. Guterman Westwood Partners believes that no conversion of the community can or should occur without the support of the vast majority of its current residents.

Gerald Guterman, Managing Partner of Guterman Partners and one of the most experienced residential property professionals in the City of New York, notes, "When the details of our plan are objectively compared with plans suggested by others, residents will recognize that our firm aims to produce the best value possible for the community in an orderly and efficient conversion process. Of course, no one other than the mortgagees control the property at this stage. But when the mortgagees' disposition process proceeds later this year, we will be deeply involved as a strong voice for the residents of the Stuyvesant Town & Peter Cooper Village community, with the backing and commitment to see an acquisition and conversion through for the mutual benefit of our firm and the residents."

More here.