Looking Ahead

It's the start of a new year and a good time to look ahead to see what may be of import to residents of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. Hopefully, certain major problems of 2008 will not return in 2009--construction and road work noise, unnecessary and intrusive groundskeeping projects, noise from trash compactors--but other problems may remain and new ones could arise.

Crucial this year will be Tishman Speyer's request for MCIs. What will these be and will they be valid? Tenants certainly need to fight against any unnecessary MCI increases. There will be the electric metering project coming our way, of course, and tenants need to be alert here, too, as it's possible that, when everything is accomplished, tenants will be paying more for what they previously did not pay for (even granting a reduction in rent).

Tishman Speyer also needs to change its priorities for this complex. This change is critical. TS needs to stop trying to beautify the exterior of ST/PCV in an attempt to sell apartments at high prices and concentrate on the interior. Many buildings are filthy, with pealing paint on doors, smelly rugs in the hallways and elevators, piles of garbage overflowing the locker rental and recycling places, and firehazard dumps in storage rooms. Does your building look like a luxury rental area? Better still, does it look like it once used to look before Tishman Speyer became the landlord? If not, there's a problem. And Tishman Speyer has to correct this problem.

All of us here want to lead normal, peaceful lives where we are not harrassed or inconvenienced by the landlord or fellow tenants. Make this place work the way it should work, the way it once used to work, and everything should be fine. This should be the goal of not only Tishman Speyer, but the tenants as well.