Adam Rose is the co-president of Rose Associates, which is charged with managing Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. There's been a lot of confusion in recent months as to what Rose Associates does and is responsible for, and I thought it would be beneficial to ask Adam Rose a series of questions, with the answers providing greater insight into the management of this complex. As part of this format, I will not be making any editorial commentary afterward, nor will comments be allowed in response. This is the manager of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper front and center, with the stage (excepting the question) all his. I thank Adam Rose for this opportunity.
STR: What do you think are some of the major misconceptions tenants can have about your job here in PCVST and about the work that management is doing here?
Adam Rose: First, I want to thank you for providing me with an opportunity to respond to questions about the work that Rose Associates is doing at PCVST. The question is an excellent one, because it goes to the heart of many of the complaints that we receive. The single largest misconception is that we are the enemy. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A quick word about Rose Associates: we are an 85 year old firm that has done business in New York City through every kind of cycle and downturn. We would not have thrived if we viewed tenants as the enemy. In fact, we work hard to meet the needs of our tenants and to provide professional service. We do this for 37,000 apartments in Manhattan with some buildings in Brooklyn, Riverdale, and White Plains. Our buildings are full in good times and bad because of the way we do our job.
We do not own PCVST. Some people seem to be confused about that. If I may, I would like to briefly provide some history to put things in perspective. As is well known, Stuy Town and later Peter Cooper Village were built by Met Life. They seemed to have done it more as a public service than as an income producing investment, but that obviously changed in the 1990’s. Pressure was put on insurance companies to earn more income, and those that owned real estate started to run them in a more businesslike way rather than as subsidized housing. Ultimately, it led to the sale of the entire property for $5.4 billion.
The new owner was an experienced office building developer and manager, but knew nothing about residential real estate. The results were not successful, either from a financial standpoint as well as from a tenant relations view, and the property defaulted. The owner is now the Bondholder Trust representing the first $3 billion of debt. The Trust is represented by the Special Servicer, CW Capital.
As you know, PCVST is an 80 acre property with over 25,000 residents. It is one of the most complicated pieces of real estate in the world, and any change or improvement requires a complex coordination of many moving parts. We are well aware of the major problems and have done a lot to solve them, contrary to some of the comments that appear on your blog. There is much more to do, and we are working on that. I will write more in response to additional questions.
