No, You Can't Look Anymore!

Remember the shocking photos of the interior of 522 East 20 St that a resident sent us recently:

Reader Photos

Well, it seems Management is reading this blog as--no, they didn't clean up the place--they placed a lock on The Dump room, so that no one could see the mess of stacked junk and furniture that's inside anymore! Our resident sent us this photo today, stating that he wanted to see what was inside because there was a "horrid stink coming from there."



Now we won't know the source of that horrid stink. Has anyone tried to do a horror film with Stuyvesant Town as the haunted madhouse?

Update 9/1. Before and after photos (click on photo to get larger one)

Hurricane Aftermath

Photos taken this morning. A number of trees down, including a massive one across the 20st Loop. Flooding in the tennis and bocci courts! Damn!























East River high tide rise:

Any News from Stuy Town/PCV About the Hurricane That's Coming?

Zone A, in deeper orange, are under a mandatory evacuation order from the Mayor. Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village are in Zone B, which carry a potential flooding warning. Click on map to make it larger.

Some info about the forthcoming hurricane and New York City:

www.dnainfo.com/20110825/manhattan/live-hurricane-evacuation-zone-heres-what-do

So far, I've not come across any management plans for this hurricane, which is supposed to hit us on Sunday. I assume they are making some plans.

I do feel that, structurally, ST/PCV will do fine, though there may be flooding and trees downed. Obviously, everyone should stock up on water (most important) and non-perishable food items.

Update: A commentator alerts those who have cars parked on the east side of Stuy Town that it may be best to move your cars before the hurricane descends upon us, as those areas will probably be flooded if the storm lives up to the worst expectations.

Also: Lux Living has new page up with valuable info on the hurricane and ST/PCV. There's a map present of the various zones Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village are in.

Update: Here it is, from management:

Click on flyer to enlarge.





August 27, 7:20pm Update: By now, hot water, at least in the kitchen, should be shut down throughout most of ST/PCV. From news reports, it appears Irene has lessened in intensity, but it is still a dangerous storm, as lives have already been lost (some due to falling trees). There is a possibility that Con Ed will be turning off electricity throughout parts of Zone A, and maybe even into other areas, so it is NOT ADVISABLE TO USE ELEVATORS. This is not an official warning, but my own. If you are indoors already, stay indoors, and "enjoy" the weather.

NYU's Stuy Town Check-In

At the northern end of the 1st Avenue Loop, by building 300, NYU has its own Stuy Town check in for incoming NYU students. About says it all regarding how Stuyvesant Town has become part dormitory. Of course, this fits in with the initial grand scheme to deregulate apartments and increase turn-over for future profits. Now that is something that should have been illegal on its own, regardless of the Roberts decision.

And where there are NYU students, there are going to be pressurized walls....



(All photos take today.)

Reader Photos

On occasion I receive interesting photos from Stuy Town Report readers, and here's a bunch that arrived in my mailbox in the last couple of weeks or so.

A reader sent in several photos of Security vehicles parked in a No Standing zone that's close to 14th St. I see this all the time, too. I guess it's better than seeing them parked near a food truck on the Oval. (BTW, there's been an absence of food trucks the last couple of days, but I don't think we should breathe freely just yet.) The photo below shows one car in the No Standing zone. On occasion I see more cars behind the sign.



Some controversy arose as to just how popular the Summer Oval events were. Photos don't lie, and here's another set, but not from me. I didn't take any photos of this particular event, held on July 16, but I did pass it by, and, yes, it was poorly attended, as the photos show. Only a couple of the summer events were successes; the rest were a big FAIL and a waste of money and energy.







The Green Market area badly impacts the southern part of the Oval Lawn. Remarkably, we've had a commentator think it looks okay. Perhaps that was Adam Rose or Maya Autret. A reader sent in a photo showing how okay it is. When it rains, it's mudsville.



The 522 East 20 St. building has been mentioned before. (That's the one maintenance staff carts furniture and other bulky tenant garbage out of, waking up the entire neighborhood in the process.) A resident of that building sent us photos of just what a dump that place is. Remarkable.

The terrace level. I've been informed that this is the door you see when you wait for an elevator. Can you imagine bringing in company to your 4K market rate apartment and having them see this? How about a paint job at least?



Walk through the door and you'll find The Dump. Did someone say "fire hazard"?







A couple of months ago, the pipe in the stairway was redone (or some such thing). Happened in other buildings, too. But gaping holes, with wads of insulation (hopefully not aesbestos-related), still haven't been plugged up and painted over.



A couple of holes in the wall on the M level. Apparently they are too high up to be glory holes.



That's all, folks! At least for now.

Rose Associates vs. Union Painters

Portion of a flyer being distributed by union painters of District Council 9. Click on graphic to bring it up larger in another window.

For a few weeks, former ST union painters and other union members have been protesting outside of the Stuyvesant Town rental office on 1st Ave. (Joining them in the protests has been a hilarious big inflated cockroach.) The contract with painters of District Council 9 expired in May, but a new contract agreement with manager Rose Associates failed to produce a resolution, with both sides pointing the finger at the other. What seems to be the bottom line after the bs is swept away is that Rose Associates would not settle on an almost 25% reduction in the current wage of union painters that the painters' union was offering, but insisted the cut would be 50%. (Benefits would also be cut.) As explained by management in Town & Village, the July 28th edition, "Management offered painters an hourly rate that is in line with the hourly rare paid to other skilled unions at the property." Perhaps so, but shouldn't pay be related to the specific work being done? Should a painter be getting the same salary as a grounds person gets to blow leaves off a lawn? Should a painter be getting the same salary as a plumber gets to fix a faucet? Should Adam or Daniel Rose be getting the same salary as a receptionist at Rose Associates?

A startling $60 an hour figure has been mentioned as the pay for union painters, but Jack Kittle, a spokesman for the union, claimed in the August 4th issue of T&V that the average pay for workers was $35, with a median salary of 45K-50K. T&V did mention that "projects don't necessarily last throughout the year," which signifies to me that some workers at least were getting the larger hourly rate. Regardless of whatever the hourly rate was, a reduction of 50% is very steep and surely something that most union workers could not accept.

If you wish to support the painters, the union requests that you call Rose Associates at 212-253-3660 and Chairman Daniel Rose at 212-210-6666.

Furniture Dumping Alive and Well Despite Rose Associates Threats

Sunday morning, at opposite north/south ends of Stuyvesant Town. Still there at midday:





After a couple of months of blatant furniture dumping by departing residents at incorrect hours of deposit along Stuy Town walkways, Rose Associates informed Lux of the Lux Living Facebook and Stuy Town Living website that the company would take the tough measure of back charging those residents' security deposits for this violation. Said Adam Rose: “We are checking the cameras for people dumping garbage on move outs, and then back charging their security deposits."

The problem still persists, as can be seen by these photos (which also show a couple of exposed stained mattresses).

Now here's what I don't understand. If our award-winning security monitoring system is catching these activities, why are they not being stopped as they occur? Typically, the furniture dumping is of several items that take many minutes to place on the sidewalk from inside a building. Could it just be that no one is really paying attention to the security monitors? Or is our security team just not up to the task? Or is this just another way to make money for a disposal service that used to be done by maintenance once upon a pleasant time?

Whatever the case, it's a persistent FAIL.

Thank You Adam Rose, Maya Autret and Joyride for Once Again Ruining a Stuy Town Weekend

That months-old caption from Town & Village is now particularly ironic and cruel.

Saturday. Stuyvesant Town. The Oval. The damn Joyride truck. Not hooked up to electric. The hum from hell is being heard all over the Oval. Lord knows about the fumes. No place in the Oval area to sit down and relax and not hear that hum. I wonder if Adam and Maya have a perpetual hum where they live? Thanks, guys, for taking residents' peace and quiet seriously.

What a dump.

Oh, and let's not forget the Yelp comment page for Joyride:

Yelp comment page for Joyride Trucks.

(BTW, the Stuy Town negative reviews on Yelp have been bounced to "filtered reviews." You can still read them going through a link, but they do not count now in the overall ratings for Joyride. So I guess the moral of this lesson is that one shouldn't mention Stuyvesant Town in the review or anything to do with the noise and pollution their truck causes in this residential community.)