I was going to let commentary on Security's response to infractions of the dog rules in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village wait for a few more weeks, but I've had enough. Admittedly, there has been some improvement over previous manager Tishman Speyer's non-action in this regard. I've seen security "walk the beat" behind buildings on occasion and monitor dog walkers, and doing this in the morning hours (though not too early in the morning). But I've also seen instances where dog rule violations were occurring right near a security officer and he did absolutely nothing. I put this down to these officers being occupied with other, more important matters (like texting or placing those hideous dark-green barriers in the Oval), but today I witnessed a dog owner letting his unruly dog (who looked like some bull mix) run over garden areas of the Oval to include the area right by the guard-booth, and the guard inside (yes, there was one inside!) saw all this and did squat. Not one word.
This place is never going to work properly if this is the response we get from our security force, whether or not they are yet able to write tickets.
I return to my building and what meets me inside is filth, and hallways where the paint is peeling off doors and the rugs stink of use and whatever fluids may have been left there by man or beast.
Meanwhile the priority by Rose Associates is to push aggressively activities in the Oval Essentials. Better use that money (for instance, the costs of printing all those quality monthly Oval Essential booklets we get shoved under our door) to buy some paint and beautify the interior of buildings, no?
I'm just about convinced that Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are doomed from an aesthetic point of view, and that the promises we have been made are just promises, made sincerely perhaps, but very wanting in the application department. Do any of us really think that the Oval lawn will regain its beauty with the current management already promoting public-access musical events for the summer and that Farmer's Market on the south side of the lawn? Does anything think that Security will start being diligent about dog rule infractions or bicycle riding infractions, the latter which management has been strangely--and tellingly--silent about?
During Tishman-Speyer's reign this complex started to rot. And now it's still rotting.
That's the way I see it, and many others who have lived here for years see it.
A restoration will be believed when we witness it with our own eyes, not before.
18 comments:
As I said in my post last week, I am working hard to ignore what the dog owners do because they are going to keep doing it until the rules are enforced.
However, this week I personally experienced an incident that indicates why the "no longer than 6foot long" lease law is on the books. My 12-year-old walked past a very large (over 80 pound?) dog. ALthough she was at least 10 feet away, the dog freaked and lunged for her. Luckily, the owner had the dog on the legal, six-foot length leash and nothing bad happened.
Why don't many PCVST dog owners understand that the leash law benefits THEM as well as other people? They could get sued if their dogs attacked someone and it was documented that they had them on those illegal extended leashes.
You come across as such a old, unhappy, lonley person. My guess is that you walk around (if you can still walk on your own)with a "i have been sucking on lemmons look on your face". I hope I never ever become like you when I get to your age. Very sad.
LOL. And you come across as a dog owner who violates the dog rules here. I hope I never become as naively narcissistic and uncaring about this community as you. Mucho sad!
1) It is not illegal to possess a leash that is longer then 6 feet in length (including those leashes that unwind from a spool,
they are sold in every pet store in NYC). If you would have taken the time to actually look up the ordinance regarding leash length in NYC, it sates you can not have your dog on a leash greater then six foot on PUBLIC property. It Turns out that Stuytown and PCV is not Public property, it is Private property, The six foot leash law does not apply while the dog is on Stytown/PCV property. That being said, IT IS against the Stuytown/PCV rules to have the leash longer then six foot in length ( it’s a rule I agree with), but no one with a leash longer then six feet is breaking any law.
2) I know two dog owners who were issued summons for having their dog off leash while on Stytown/PCV property. Both summons were dismissed when the dog owners elected to go to court. Once again, Stuytown/PCV is private property, the On Leash Law ONLY applies to public property, not private property.
3) The dog ordinance in question states very clearly that the only ones allowed to issue summons for off leash are the following;
Sanitation Police, Parks Police and Health Department Police. Stuytown/PCV safety/peace officer's were never granted written permission from any of the above commissioners giving them them he authority to write a summons for any leash infraction.
I'm very much aware of the ordinance you mention, having looked it up a long time ago. Owning a retractable leash is not against the law, but extending it beyond 6 feet is. And it is also against the dog policy of this complex, so the two rules are, effectively, the same. Doesn't matter that one is for the city and the other for the private property here. The punishments may be different,however. Depends on ST/PCV management. Personally, after three strikes, I'd throw the dog owner out of the complex--forever. Obviously his or her Fido would go, too.
Regarding who has the authority to write summonses on these things, you may have missed the news that Rose Associates is trying to fast-track receiving such authority for its security personnel. Dan Garodnick promised to help. Hopefully by the summer, security will have the authority to write a summons to a dog owner who disobeys the dog rules here. Let the fun begin!
Hi STR,
An LL reader posted the Pet Rider as a comment not too long ago so I thought I would share it with your readers.
Item three under Terms and Conditions clearly states:
"3. Tenant agrees to carry or leash the Pet (on a leash not more than six feet long) any time Tenant takes the Pet out of the Apartment and into any public/common area of the Building or out onto the Property."
The full Pet Rider can be viewed here or on the PCVST Resident Portal > Resident Information > Forms and Applications > Pet Rider to Lease.
I like having dogs in the complex. I think they add a lot of warmth.
Some dog owners aren't following the rules but most of them are. Same could probably be said of all tenants.
I haven't followed the whole ticket situation closely but it seems that, if Security hasn't been explicitly granted the right to write tickets management probably knew that and, if someone got one, a court should rightly dismiss it. You know...the law and all.
Anon @April 14, 2011 6:52 PM
You are incorrect. The NYC leash law, and the dog waste laws apply to any "publicly accessible place". That's what ST/PCV is, until they gate the community and close those gates. The only "private property" allowance under the laws are for properties (like private homes) where only those authorized have access.
As far as summonses, again, you are wrong. Those members of the Public Safety force that have been issued Peace Officer status either have (or will) undergo training by the ECB that qualifies them to issue those summonses. The agencies you cited are given primary responsibility for enforcement, but others can issue summonses including NYPD.
Those Peace Officers are deemed Officers of the Court. Do you really think that the courts would stand for just random people writing summonses to the court ? If the tickets were dismissed, there was a reason. Not because they weren't authorized.
Good luck.
STR,
Summonses for dog infractions are issued on the basis of violation of NYC laws, not property rules. The only issues are the leash and poop laws. Security can't summons for allowing dogs to defecate or urinate on the grass as long as the owner picks up the poop, but they can obviously take names of offenders and deal with the issue as a civil matter if the landlord so chooses. Obviously, they can summons off leash violations as well.
Enough with going after the dogs already. Its seems there are people who have nothing to do but follow dog owners waiting for their dog to put a paw on the grass then pounce on them. Its becoming harassment!
I'd rather they got rid of the screeching, sqawking OMG girls and the yowling, braying frat dudes. I'd rather live downstairs, upstairs and next to apartments that all housed a couple of dogs (even if they did bark at times) than live near even one apartment stuffed with these self-absorbed assholes.
I recently returned to my apartment after a month away and found my building to be filthy...the lobby, my floor - walls and rugs, the incinerator area and rug, the elevators, the lobby mirrors, not to mention the basement level and laundry
rooms. I think it's in everyone's interest to forego some of the amenities overkill and opt for good old soap and water, etc. WE ARE DEFINITELY LOOKING LIKE A NEGLECTED PROJECT.
THE OUTSIDE OF MY BUILDING (531 EAST 20TH STREET) ON MAIN
LOOKS LIKE A DIRT PLOT..NO GRASS, NO FLOWERS, NO SHRUBS, JUST DIRT AND DOG DROPPINGS..WHAT A TERRIBLE FIRST IMPRESSION FOR OUR GUESTS AND RESIDENTS.
The front of my building on 14th Street (435-445) is littered with paper cups, paper plates, plastic bags, beer and soda cans and bottles and miscellaneous other dreck. Not a blade of grass or flower or plant in sight. Just dirt and garbage. Thanks, Rose. You really are great custodians of this formerly tidy and respectable property, aren't you? Incompetent, negligent Assholes!
I've seen grounds-keeping progress in many, though not all, areas of Stuy Town, with the work still far, far from finished. For some reason, Peter Cooper Village just looks worse.
I just don't think the money is there to resurrect our complex to what it once was. I do get the impression that Rose is trying, however.
I should be posting Happy Easter photos soon.
I suspect I am very naive and old fashioned, but I just cannot figure out why Tishman Speyer was able to wreck and pillage the property and then walk away and leave it in a state of shambles. Don't they at least have the obligation (morally if not legally) to make some kind of reparations for all the damage they did? Rob and Jerry Speyer make me very, very ashamed to be an American at this time. If they are what our great country considers successful then I don't think I belong here any more even though I was born and raised here. They are so totally disgraceful. They remind me of Jay Gould and Cornelius Vanderbilt, the "Robber Barons": who contributed so greatly to the Wall Street Crash and Great Depression. Evil, nasty, bloodsucking parasites with no morals or conscience.
The Rob and Jerry Speyer Hour-Soon to be on Fox News!
Rob and Jerry define the term: "Life unworthy of Life."
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