It may be too early to tell, but it looks as if we will not be seeing Joyride any more at the Oval. The company's main page used to list Stuy Town in "Our Spots" for six of seven days of week, but now every location on that list is "Closed 4 Winter." The last Tweet on the company's Twitter page (about the truck's presence in Stuy Town) is from eleven days ago. There have been no new Tweets since then. I didn't notice Joyride here yesterday, and the truck was scheduled to be present at Stuy Town for the rest of the week.
Stay tuned.
Finally. Good riddance.
ReplyDeleteFYI - their Facebook page is also no more.
Rate them on YELP - http://www.yelp.com/biz/joyride-frozen-yogurt-and-coffee-new-york - and let the world know what you think of the many months of their noisy, environmentally unfriendly, zoning-regulation-violating presence and intrusion into our community.
I hope they are gone for good and that the ice skating rink and other violations of the zoning laws and noise laws will soon follow. If Dan Garodnick is going to run for Comptroller, then he had better prove to the electorate that he is not intimidated or swayed by big real estate money or corporations looking to flout the law. BTW, I head that the Greyline open top tourist buses are going to have recorded "guides" and the passengers will wear head phones because the noise of the live guides violates noise laws in residential areas. How come we have these rotten concerts (and now the rinky dink) smack dab in the middle of a totally residential area?
ReplyDeleteRose is going to argue "accessory use" for ALL of their commercial ventures, but my guess is that unless it's something that is only exclusively available to residents, they'll get shot down. I think the Oval concerts / films/art battle etc. are a separate issue because they're free events. The real issue will be the noise generated, and that enforcement is with the appropriate agencies.
ReplyDeleteWhat needs to be worked on now is how to make sure that Rose limits skating rink access to "residents and their guests". Personally, I think they'll try to scam their way through the whole thing, and they need to be held accountable.
If 50 or 100 tenants show up in court to attend their hearings (when and if that happens), a judge will take notice. If nobody protests, it will be business as usual.
The truck publishing its location within Stuyvesant Town may construe 'commercial' activity within the residential complex. Unpublished but located within the complex may construe 'tenant amenity'. I can see CW Capital's 1,000 lawyers charging $500/hr each to 'reach' that conclusion. It seems the company website removed its Stuy Town location around the time it was determined that the inner ring of Stuy Town was determined non-commercial.
ReplyDeleteJust in the name of a noisy truck selling coffee.
btw... CW & Rose should take serious care not to allow for unwanted easement issues.
Anon November 18, 2011 9:18 AM,
ReplyDeleteI would be THRILLED to show up for that hearing! I think the room would be at capacity, to be honest.
Mr. Rose has been pretty quiet since all of this blew up. Would be great to hear what he has to say. My guess is lawyers have told him to keep quiet.
Clifford B.sez...
ReplyDelete"A great cup of coffee. Makes me happy, but sad when I realize I can't find coffee this good in New Hampshire. What the hell...
Glad I stumbled upon this truck in the Stuy Town Oval."
Hey Cliff, why not stumble out to 14th street? or back to New Hampshire?
Plenty of legal zoned coffee shops there!
If only the apartment renovations were considered an illegal commercial activity. Sigh. Another "4-6 weeks" of drilling, pounding, sawing and sanding for us lucky 526 E 20 st residents. This, in addition to the non-stop parade of BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! vehicles that seemingly just drive back and forth across the Oval all day. I thought it was finally over in late September when the daily symphony stopped (it was supposed to last 4-6 weeks, it took over two months for it to wrap up). So I guess we can all collectively look forward to a winter of construction noise all day, ice rink noise all night, and no JoyRide morning coffee to soothe us. If I don't get my daily ration of fumes from the truck in the oval I may become irritable!
ReplyDeleteI also would be delighted to show up at a court hearing, even if it means taking off from work and losing a day's pay. It would be worth it. Rose Associates and CW Cap are part of the corporate cancer that is destroying the life and soul of this country. Look at what the bastards did to the painters union. No way am I ever going to get my apartment painted by non-union painters. (I know that last bit is a bit off topic, before someone reminds me.)
ReplyDeleteWe can start our own Stuy Town 99%er movement. We don't want the government to give us anything. We just want them to stop allowing the truly greedy to keep taking away what is ours.
ReplyDeleteSince the Oval is now a commercial area (as defined by ownership) we should be able to "assemble' there.
Heck, CW & Rose can charge transients a $1 a day to camp. It will amount to more income than from that skating rink.
Bondholders will be happy then, right?
It the coffee tucks in the oval are illegal, and the Green Market is illegal then the Xmas trees they sell in the oval are also illegal. Right?
ReplyDeleteThe tree stands and signs for Xmas tree sales just went up.
Well if the rink is not ugly enough, now they are building an illegal enclosure for the Giant noisy cooler. No permit for this wooden structure. Call the Building departmnet. It's also a fire hazard.
ReplyDeleteI find your vision for Stuytown so dismal and lifeless. No Christmas trees???? What is your malfunction? NOTHING in how you describe the way you want Stuytown is appealing to me. It's so grim.
ReplyDeleteAnony 10.23 PM- Qu'est-ce que c'est?
ReplyDeleteyeah!!!! So glad the coffee truck will be gone. I was so sick of the long lines of my neighbors trying to buy and enjoy coffee sitting on the benches on Sundays at the Greenmarket.
ReplyDeleteWhat's that? No more Greenmarket you say?Well good riddance to the easily available fresh fruits and vegetables grown at small family farms.
Next they'll be coming for you.
Nobody is complaining about Christmas trees in Stuyvesant Town. What we are complaining about is the SELLING of Christmas trees in one of playgrounds. For years there have been people selling Christmas trees on 14th Street and First Avenue. Licensed vendors with permits LEGALLY selling their wares in a public place. We don't need a Christmas tree vendor in a playground, which is not zoned for commercial activity, competing with the LEGALLY permitted vendors outside and at the same time depriving kids of the use of the playground.
ReplyDeleteI'd suggest that tenants should picket and hand out leaflets near the entrance to the skating rink. Something along the lines of "Be a considerate, good neighbor. Don't patronize this illegal business" and "What if this was outside YOUR window?". At least during peak hours.
ReplyDeleteIf we can make the experience unpalatable enough, people will stay away, and the Beast will starve to death.
I myself have made use of the sale of Christmas--sorry, "Holiday" trees at the Playground location. If that enterprise is not supposed to be there because of zoning, then I'm willing to accept this for the greater good of not having commercial enterprises overrun Stuy Town. BTW, there are several street/loop perimeter areas of Stuy Town/PCV that are in commercial zones, and this Holiday tree enterprise can well set up shop in such an area, just as other similar enterprises set up shop on the city's sidewalks.
ReplyDelete"yeah!!!! So glad the coffee truck will be gone. I was so sick of the long lines of my neighbors trying to buy and enjoy coffee sitting on the benches on Sundays at the Greenmarket."
ReplyDeleteI was sick of that, too. Gaudy food trucks have no place inside Stuy Town.
"What's that? No more Greenmarket you say?Well good riddance to the easily available fresh fruits and vegetables grown at small family farms."
Have you tried the market at Union Square? A much bigger selection (with some of the same family farms present), and you can chill at Barnes & Noble while you are there. Union Square will also be setting up those Christmas/Holiday stalls soon (if they haven't already). A great festive atmosphere. And the walk is healthy for you.
to: November 18, 2011 10:23 PM
ReplyDelete>>NOTHING in how you describe the way you want Stuytown is appealing to me. It's so grim.<<
I agree with your comment, "somewhat"!
There are some people who liked the Green Market, some people enjoyed the food-trucks, some people enjoy the convenience of shopping for Xmas trees in their "backyards". And some people are never ever happy. But, you can not pick and choose, if one activity is deemed illegal and has to go, then all similar activities are equally illegal and have to go as well. You are always free to start a campaign to change the zoning laws in the oval to allow such activities.
But, unfortunately/fortunately ALL those activities are currently illegal. It is going to be very interesting to see how the TA and Councilmen Dan
handle the Xmas Tree Sales. If they only go after the Green Market and food trucks then they will be acting in a arbitrary and capricious manor.
I'm FED UP! I'm sick of it!! I am angry!!! I hate blood coffee and blood vegetables and blood christmas trees and children playing and blood lemonade and blood farmers and any sign of life. I am old and grumpy and I like to sit in my apartment and tell everyone else how to live!!
ReplyDeleteClose down the selling of illegal Christmas trees!!!
ReplyDeleteThe profits made by Radu Ocean have been used to buy sports equipment for the recreation department. When I have been trying to take my Saturday and Sunday naps at 2pm I have been rudely awakened by the sound of those very balls being bounced in the so-called playgrounds.
Thank you each and everyone of you for standing up for our rights!
"The profits made by Radu Ocean have been used to buy sports equipment for the recreation department. When I have been trying to take my Saturday and Sunday naps at 2pm I have been rudely awakened by the sound of those very balls being bounced in the so-called playgrounds."
ReplyDeleteLOL.
Oh, fuck it all! Let's just put a branch of Walmart in the Oval and turn all the playgrounds into parking lots for customers. In for a penny, in for a pound. Cut down all those damned trees and then we won't need leaf blowers and pave over all the grass (what's left of it) and have skateboarding tournaments. While we're at it, let's open up the rooftops as basket ball courts (I don't think the tenants on the top floors would mind the noise unless they're grumpy old farts). Who would object to the local kids having fun and making a little noise. Oh, and let's put pool tables, "slots" and food and beverage vending machines in every trunk room so we don't have to go anywhere, ever off the property to have fun. All we will need then is an onsite bar, but surely one of the Oval Atrocities could be used for that? Enough of this quiet, peaceful oasis in the city nonsense! What we need is more commerce, entertainment and noise. We need some good karioke (sp) action. Maybe the laundry rooms could be used for that because they sure as hell are useless for washing and drying clothes! All the OMG kids could congregate in the former laundry rooms with their PBR's, pot, etc. and party their little hearts out all night long instead of having to cram all their friends into their 5-bedroom (formerly one-bedroom) dorm rooms. Loosen up folks! We wanna ball and party here at The Sty!
ReplyDeleteAnon November 19, 2011 8:13 AM,
ReplyDeleteThey've been "coming for us" for over six years now. That's part of the reason we are so disturbed by all of these commercial ventures.
You must be new here--or paying top dollar--because many, many long-time legitimate tenants have been financially and emotionally persecuted by management since the sale by Met Life.
When they come after our neighbors, all we can do is fight back in the best way we can. Your dog is obviously not in that fight. Perhaps he is peeing in the elevator right now...
The lopp roads ( the roads inside the perimeter of the property) are private roads and are in the non-commercial property zoning. The perimeter service roads are public roads.
ReplyDeleteSelling Christmas trees etc. is would violate the zoning in the loop roads. The fact that the recreation department, which is no longer proprietary but is part of the America Leisure oval amenties franchise, has to sell Christmas trees to have an equipment budget, tells us how far this place has sunk.
Again, I can't tell if these commenters are being serious or sarcastic.
ReplyDelete"The fact that the recreation department, which is no longer proprietary but is part of the America Leisure oval amenties franchise, has to sell Christmas trees to have an equipment budget, tells us how far this place has sunk."
ReplyDeleteI think that was a joke. I think.
Stuy Town should have silent hours from 9 am to 9 pm on weekends. No talking, no television, no music in your apartment or on Stuy Town property. That way we can all comfortably enjoy our apartments without having to worry about getting rudely interrupted by "people drinking coffee", or "balls being bounced" outside, or just general enjoyment that makes those of the angry minority even more bitter about their meaningless existences.
ReplyDeleteWhether they are selling coffee or Christmas trees, if the property is not zoned for commercial activity, it's illegal to see these things. Walk off the property and trees can be purchased up and down 14th Street and First Avenue where most of us having been buying our trees for decades. Believe it or not, we didn't need the property choosing a vendor for us and never once did it dampen our holiday season.
ReplyDeleteLast night we had a bunch of guys playing football in Playground 7 at 11:00/11:30 at night, F'ing up a storm, screaming. Who are these people? They move to NYC to hang out in a park on a Friday night? Losers.
ReplyDelete>>Stuy Town should have silent hours from 9 am to 9 pm on weekends. No talking, no television, no music in your apartment or on Stuy Town property. That way we can all comfortably enjoy our apartments without having to worry about getting rudely interrupted by "people drinking coffee", or "balls being bounced" outside, or just general enjoyment that makes those of the angry minority even more bitter about their meaningless existences.<<
ReplyDeleteYou still don't get it, do you? You must be relatively new to Stuy Town, as pre-commercialization we did quite nicely, thank you. Food trucks and bowling alleys are not needed in the Oval.
"Last night we had a bunch of guys playing football in Playground 7 at 11:00/11:30 at night, F'ing up a storm, screaming."
ReplyDeleteI hope you called Security.
"The fact that the recreation department, which is no longer proprietary but is part of the America Leisure oval amenties franchise, has to sell Christmas trees to have an equipment budget, tells us how far this place has sunk."
ReplyDeleteI think that was a joke. I think.
The joke is on the residents of this community. One does not have to go too far back to recall the days when organized recreational activities were provided daily and on the weekends on a scheduled basis, including one hour "preschools" held in the playgrounds (nine and eleven) in the summer and indoors in the winter (now oval books and oval kids) for no charge (the children were left in the playgrounds or the indoor offices with several recerational staff members while the parents or the sitters went about their business and returned to pick them up.) That's right, no charge, except for the nickel you paid for the plaster of paris molds that kids painted as part of the regularly scheduled arts and crafts.
Equipment was plentiful and there was no need for the staff to sell trees to finance the budget.
Yes, life has become more complicated but it really is a sad state of affairs when even the recreational activities have become almost totally commercialized and only provided to those who can pay.
By the way, someone should ask Rose and the boys if they obtained consumer affairs licenses etc for their commercial tree seeling activities.
To the age warfare trolls who are leaving their pseudo so called satiric/ironic posts lately on this blog, I have the following questions:
ReplyDeleteWhere are you from? (I am a lifer Manhattanite).
Where do you live in PCVST? (I live on a lower floor, I face the Oval), T-level.
Who pays your rent? Be honest here. (It’s me and my wife).
What is your occupancy situation? If roommates, how many? Again, be honest. (Again, it’s just me and my wife).
Just curious, but are you truly happy with the state of your lobbies, stairwells, laundry room facilities, noise levels, and the quality of your recent neighbors? (I’m not happy at all for all five due to major, I repeat, major QOL issues-I’m on the record with maintenance and PS for all 5)
Do you believe in the rational of zoning laws and regulations? (I do)
Show some colyones and answer back. At least “Nobody Says’, a poster on Lux, was honest and gave at least some background on the logic of his opinion.
Also, STR, Security is oh so TS. Get with the Rose program, it's now Public Safety* :)
ReplyDelete*They commissioned a Frank Lutz fuckas, I mean, focus group.
So now you're complaining about people playing basketball in NEW YORK CITY?!?! Is there nothing you won't complain about? This isn't an old age home. There is NOTHING wrong with playing basketball at 11 at night. MOVE to the Happy Acres if you want dead silence.
ReplyDeleteI agree, you really do paint such a unappealing picture of how you think Stuytown should be. It bears no resemblance to the one I want to live in.
Aren't the playgrounds supposed to be locked at night? Or is that something else that vanished with MetLife's departure?
ReplyDelete"There is NOTHING wrong with playing basketball at 11 at night. MOVE to the Happy Acres if you want dead silence.
ReplyDelete"I agree, you really do paint such a unappealing picture of how you think Stuytown should be. It bears no resemblance to the one I want to live in."
Wait. Your appealing picture of Stuy Town is basketball at 11pm and afterward?!?! Do you even live here? The playgrounds are closed by then. I've never insulted a commentator, but if you are serious about allowing basketball playing in the midnight hours here, and not just trolling, you are CRAZY!!!
">>Stuy Town should have silent hours from 9 am to 9 pm on weekends. No talking, no television, no music in your apartment or on Stuy Town property. That way we can all comfortably enjoy our apartments without having to worry about getting rudely interrupted by "people drinking coffee", or "balls being bounced" outside, or just general enjoyment that makes those of the angry minority even more bitter about their meaningless existences.<<
ReplyDeleteYou still don't get it, do you? You must be relatively new to Stuy Town, as pre-commercialization we did quite nicely, thank you. Food trucks and bowling alleys are not needed in the Oval."
No, I'm pretty sure I get it. First of all, I'm not sure why it is relevant when I moved here (less than a year ago, not that it matters). I pay my rent the same way you do (probably much higher rent if you have lived here for a long period of time), but I frankly don't care about the rent control aspect. I care about people like you and many of the commenters on this blog who are opposed to amenities and events just because they wouldn't take advantage of them. To me, that's just selfishness. Using the argument, "we didn't have X back in the past and we were just fine" is irrelevant. If there is a large subset of people living here who would take advantage of these amenities (or food carts), it is pure selfishness for you to oppose them and to ridicule those that don't - saying that you survived for years without amenities is not some badge of honor, it is a way of deflecting the fact that there are people living here who would, all else being equal, prefer to have amenities. Frankly, any rational person would prefer in a vacuum to have these amenities. And if your end goal is to try to force the younger generation to move out, then that, too, is selfishness, and you should be living somewhere else. So I'm not really sure what your argument is meant to be - please do not pretend that this has anything to do with zoning laws, as readers are smarter than that. That is just an easy out, and you would find some other angle to complain about ("noise" made from one cart possibly idling during the day? attracting an unseemly crowd of people who don't live in Stuy Town who come just for the coffee?) if there weren't any permitting issues.
No, you don't get it. But thanks for admitting that you are a newbie here. And this place is rent stabilized, not rent controlled.
ReplyDeleteThe selfishness comes from you, who wish your needs met, like a cup of coffee, right outside your building. You have no problem with commercializing the Oval to meet your needs, and, if you are the commentator, playing midnight basketball with your friends in one of Stuy Town's playgrounds and keeping residents awake at that hour.
Your needs are fine, but that you want them inflicted upon this community reflects a low aesthetic, even spiritual, sensibility of what the Oval means. Sorry, the Oval doesn't mean a Joyride truck or a Zip Car stall. At least to a considerable number of us, who (surprise!) are not as old as you may wish to think.
They broke in / hopped the fence of the locked playground to play football. I wouldn't have noticed had they not been screaming obscenities most of the time. If you want to play drunken midnight games of football, stay in Kansas kids.
ReplyDelete@Anony 9.22 PM. Let me post a link from the great Jeremiah which sums up, far better than I can, where you are coming from as per your take no prisoners, no empathy, narcissistic to the 10th power, posts.
ReplyDeletehttp://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2008/09/gated-new-york.html
@Anony 9.22 PM. Let me post a link from the great Jeremiah which sums up, far better than I can, where you are coming from as per your take no prisoners, no empathy, narcissistic to the 10th power, posts.
ReplyDeletehttp://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2008/09/gated-new-york.html
Bravo, Crazy Eddie. Right on!
Unfortunately, too many - please note that I said too many, NOT every one - of the younger people who live here could care less about anything other than themselves. Yeah, I'm bashing you younger people because you have earned it and deserve it, given what I see go on in my building every single day of the week and am directly affected by. Last week a notice was dropped at every apartment door CLEARLY telling people not to dispose of any food garbage in the recycling area of the building. Yep, you guessed it, people are still dumping their food garbage - in HUGE trash bags - in the recycling area of the building. And forget about recycling anything. These younger people could care less about following the rules or saving the environment. And, before you ask me how I know that the dumpers are young, let's just say that I know and can prove it, if necessary.
How arrogant, narcissistic and inconsiderate can you younger people be?! What is wrong with you? What goes on inside your brains? You SCARE me because there does not seem to be any way to get through to you about what it takes to be a good neighbor. What do you not understand about putting your food garbage into the FREE, small, plastic bags that you get when you shop and disposing of your food garbage down the chute on your floor? What do you not understand about your piggy, food garbage dumping ways in the recycling area leading to mice, rats, roaches, etc.? What do you not understand about adequately covering your floors and taking off your hard or high heel shoes? What you not understand about listening to music and movies at reasonable volume levels? What do you not understand about talking, entertaining guests, etc., etc., etc. in ways that do not infringe on your neighbors' right to the quiet enjoyment of their home? Please, help me out here because I would really like to understand the incredible sense of entitlement you have that allows you to make life miserable for your fellow tenants? Anyone?
These badly-parented assholes make the whole recycling effort mute because by putting food waste and dirty cans, bottles, etc., in the recycling they render it all not recyclable. Their noise and lack of rugs are just an extension of their totally self-centered upbringing. Their parents failed.
ReplyDeleteIts so obvious that the revenues from these supposed "small family farms" and "small business owners" are just going to fund terrorism.
ReplyDeleteLet us eat and drink only at the hand of our wonderful corporate friends at Starbucks and Associated. They really look out for the community!
Of course I meant to say "moot," not "mute."
ReplyDeleteOops!
@Anonymous November 20, 2011 1:37 PM "Its so obvious that the revenues from these supposed "small family farms" and "small business owners" are just going to fund terrorism."
ReplyDeleteWould you please give the sarcasm and snark a rest ? We understand the difference between good and evil. What YOU don't understand is that there is an issue here that concerns the greater good of the community, not JUST the green market. The green market is great, the green market is wonderful, but the green market (as of this time) VIOLATES ZONING. You don't just pick and choose which laws you want to violate, though under Bloomberg, that has become the norm. Long term residents are fighting to preserve the character of the neighborhood, not fighting for the convenience of buying a freshly farmed vegetable. There are nearby green markets at Tompkins Sq. and Union Sq. that have the exact same vendors, and are operated in areas that are zoned to accommodate them.
Again, you've made your point that you don't agree with most of us, and couldn't care less what happens within Stuyvesant Oval, but you're not winning this battle, at least not on this blog.
You do realize there are numerous "anonymi" who disagree with you? By your same logic, Fed Up and the other anonymous are the only ones who agree with you...
ReplyDeleteYou do realize there are numerous "anonymi" who disagree with you? By your same logic, Fed Up and the other anonymous are the only ones who agree with you...
ReplyDeleteAu contraire, Anon, November 20, 2011 5:45 PM. Unfortunately, for YOU, most of the posters here agree with Anon, November 20, 2011 4:01 PM.
You just don't get it and you probably never will. The question, however, is why? I can't figure out if you're stupid, utterly narcissistic or just willfully ignorant. Or maybe you're a shill for Management. Which would explain it all.
--Fed Up Tenant
@Fed Up Tenant- “Au contraire”. I’m getting a Gomez Addams moment here so I’d better leave before I do something stupid since I am married man :)
ReplyDelete@Fed Up Tenant- “Au contraire”. I’m getting a Gomez Addams moment here so I’d better leave before I do something stupid since I am married man :)
ReplyDeleteLOL...Vous êtes tres fou, Monsieur Eddie. Tres fou!