Saturday, May 12, 2012

Public Safety Breaks Up Hookah and Booze Party at the Oval

Okay, I get it. You're young, smug, in an expensive college, mommy/daddy are paying for your expenses, and it's party time and an opportunity to show off your gym bod to the girls on a nice sunny Stuy Town day and pretend you are something you are really not.  But do you have to be an asshole and think it's cool to bring a hookah onto the Oval Fountain area for party time with your friends?

Thankfully, Public Safety came along to tell you to put out your hookah and dump the booze, or whatever you and your friends were drinking. And then, when you were just waiting for Public Safety to disappear so party time could resume, Public Safety doesn't walk away but stands and stands around until you get your ass and your hookah out of the area.











Meanwhile, some other entitled students haven't yet learned to read signs, or obey rules, and bring in a dog right up to the fountain, past the very visible NO DOG sign....


Public Safety kicks them out (unfortunately not literally).  As for the dog, is it a breed not allowed in Stuy Town....?

 

As predicted, certain people will bring dogs onto the fountain area despite the signs and will only move if Public Security tells them to.  (In a space of 15 minutes, PS had to inform two more dog owners who made a straight line to the fountain that dogs are not allowed in the area. Absence Public Security, and there would have been three dogs at the fountain, one being a suspected breed not allowed in Stuy Town.)

Oh, did I forget to mention that it was a really lovely day in the complex....


48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where the hell do these kids think they are? Drinking in public, smoking cheeb, and running around with pit bulls??? Security is going to have their work cut out for them this summer.

Anonymous said...

Do we even know what breeds aren't allowed here? Management has changed its policy at least once concerning weight limits.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>Security is going to have their work cut out for them this summer.<<

It's really imperative that Public Safety maintains a visible presence in the Oval during the summer. Just from my experience, most students here are fine and respect the laws, but there are a bunch who don't give a damn about anything and who feel entitled to do everything.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

And here's the info about dogs, taken from the official PCV/ST website:

Residents are required to register their dogs. Aggressive breeds are NOT allowed. Aggressive breeds include: Pit Bull, Doberman, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, or any breed the Management determines, in its sole discretion, to be aggressive. Any pet that is a mixed breed which includes an aggressive breed is not allowed. Each apartment unit may harbor not more than two dogs.
Weight Restriction: There is a weight limit of 50 pounds for each pet. This restriction will be strictly enforced.

Limit on Number of Pets: Only two pets shall be allowed in any one apartment. Their aggregate adult weight may not exceed 50 pounds. The mature weight of only one dog residing in an apartment may not exceed 50 pounds. Any dog having a known mature weight that normally exceeds the 50 pound weight limit will not be permitted.

To register your pet the following information should be submitted to the Management Office located at 317 Avenue C, M-F 9am-5pm.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

In reading the above dog rules, I see that the weight limit for a two-dog household has been reduced to 50, while the weight of a single-dog household has been upped to 50. I believe a 40 pound limit per dog used to be in place, two dogs max. Just yesterday I saw a resident walking two dogs along Garodnick Boulevard who clearly were over 50 pounds combined weight and probably over 80, too.

Tommyboyardee said...

It totally bothers me that residents disregard the clearly stated rules regarding dogs. This gives law abiding dog owners a bad name. Unfortunately security must not only inform residents, they must enforce these rules on a constant basis. I understand tickets can be given for these actions I'm sure you'll end up finding out most are not tenants. This re-visits the Green Market controversy.

Anonymous said...

For the first time in 20 years, I walked thru the Oval at 8 am and saw the 'setting' up of the green market. Huge trucks, spewing pollution and making lots of oise. staff personel and lots of clanking and banging. Those poor people who live near this. Can't even sleep on a Sunday ___ing morning.

Fed Up Tenant (the original) said...

Only two pets shall be allowed in any one apartment. Their aggregate adult weight may not exceed 50 pounds.

So this means that the combined weight of 2 dogs in one apartment can not be more than 50 pounds. Dream on. I routinely see 2 dogs being walked by one person and their combined weight is WAY more than 50 pounds.

Look, the real problem is that Management simply will not provide the manpower to enforce its own rules, rules that would provide some civility. I was woken in the middle of the night last night by some dog barking in my building. This place has literally and figuratively gone to the dogs. And there's no turning back, at least while Rose Associates and CW Capital are in charge.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

The aggregate weight changed, so if a dog owner owned two dogs before the lowering of the weight rule, my guess is the owner is not breaking any rules.

Anonymous said...

The single small "no dogs" sign in the middle of the entryway to the fountain area is not sufficient. There need to be THREE - one to the left, one to the right and one in the middle - to cover the entire entryway.

Adam Rose, what kind of lame brains do you have working for you that the need for more signs to cover such a large area isn't obvious to them? Anyone with a pulse can see that one measly little sign isn't going to do it.

Anonymous said...

We will need a presence from the 13th Pct. this summer to deal with these assholes who will drink and do drugs on the property. There is only so much that Public Safety can do. A healthy dose of 13th Pct. will deter these little student fucks because it doesn't look good to the school to have any police incident on the record and mumsy and daddsy won't like it either.

Anonymous said...

I am so sick of living in a fucking dorm and I have no intention of moving (just for the record, Rose). It's about time the DHCR investigated this place for violations of the Rent Stabilization laws and it's time the TA filed for a rent reduction for diminished services. Rose, CW and NYU have turned this place into a romper room for oversized, parentally subsidized toddlers.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>There need to be THREE - one to the left, one to the right and one in the middle - to cover the entire entryway.<<

Well, I wouldn't want three at the entry to the fountain, if that's what you mean. Too many signs! One should suffice, and even that looks kinda ugly, albeit necessary. But then, there are the interior Oval pathways where dogs apparently aren't allowed (if one goes by the PCVST's own Dog Map).

Anonymous said...

All of the hand-wringing over signage and dog poop maps is misplaced. Sure, we need signs and rules but that's not the problem.

The culture has changed--and not for the better. It is clear to residents that management does not care about violations of rules--or the rules themselves. All that matters is the amount deposited each month in the "drop boxes."

They can post signs and make proclamations but they are all basically meaningless because it is clear that they have no interest in enforcing any of these rules (throw in the floor coverings, airbnb rentals, pressure walls, student warehousing and everything else discussed here on to that list).

And, hey, I'm generally a dog proponent! I don't have one but I do like to interact with them on the property. To me, they add something. That said, we are moving clearly in the direction of a community with no mores, courtesy of Mister Rose (yes, I know he didn't start it but he picked up the ball adroitly from Tishman Dispeyser) and CW.

That's the real problem.

Anonymous said...

Many of the problems in Stuy Town would be resolved if security enforced the rules consistantly. Unfortunately they are all too comfortable with having their blinders on and eating a sandwich.

Security ignores the German Shepherds, Huskies and Pitt Bulls. They ignore the regulars who come in from the East Village to walk their dogs on the property.

A few signs aren't going to work. Signs, which, for some reason, are more prevelant towrads the back of the complex than by the First Avenue Loop, the 14th Street Loop and the Oval where they are badly needed.

Why isn't security stationed in their new booth in the Oval with any regularity? Why don't they have a presence by the entrances to the property? Why, when I do see them, are they usually engaged in conversation with each other, oblivious to what's happeneing around them?

What about their "award winning" security system? Do the banned dog breeds not show up on radar, or are they only picked up after the fact like the ice pick mugger?

Security needs to be retrained immediately. The only way people are going to obey the rules is if word is out they are strictly enforced. Otherwise, it'll be a long summer with Car 54 on duty.

Fed Up Tenant (the original) said...

Well, I wouldn't want three at the entry to the fountain, if that's what you mean. Too many signs! One should suffice, and even that looks kinda ugly, albeit necessary.

I was sitting outside of the Fountain area yesterday when a young woman walked up to it with her dog from the right hand side and did not see the sign. She didn't see it because it was not near enough to her. Like it or not, more signs are needed and, even then, they won't stop people who don't give a damn about the rules or about the other human beings they share the outdoor spaces with here.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Just to zero in on the dog situation and the dog rules, it was Tishman Speyer that changed a decades long no dog policy. I don't see what CW or Rose can do, except to try to enforce the dog rules, which are difficult to enforce if Public Safety is not around. (People's complaints about PS not being in the guard booth on a consistent basis are certainly valid.) I once suggested a moratorium on new dog ownership, but this wouldn't work either, I suspect, as new residents would ignore that rule, too. So, as a community we are stuck with dogs, however endearing they can be, and dog rules.

Anonymous said...

STR, I know you're trying to be diplomatic but Rose's post-Tishman Speyer grace period is OVER. They can no longer use the "We're still trying to fix things" excuse.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>I was sitting outside of the Fountain area yesterday when a young woman walked up to it with her dog from the right hand side and did not see the sign. She didn't see it because it was not near enough to her. Like it or not, more signs are needed<<

You have a point there. Actually, only two signs are needed, one on the left and the other on the right. And they can be placed near the circular plantings at the front of the fountain entrance. And maybe in a different style. ;-)

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous May 13, 2012 1:51 PM said... All of the hand-wringing...

Agree with you 100%. This has become abundantly clear after years and years of decline, and an utter failure by the landlord to maintain the quality of life standards that had worked so successfully for so many years. I chose to do the only thing that worked for my family, and that was to leave ST after spending my entire life there. I gave up believing that there would be a timely and successful condo conversion, and even if so, it would take years and years for the tide to be turned back, which was too long to wait considering that we had already spent 6 years living under an apartment full of ever changing, inconsiderate young people. We love our new home. Our space is our own, both to enjoy and (mostly) pay to maintain. After almost 2 years, I haven't seen a dog take a dump on my lawn, haven't been woken up in the middle of the night by loud footsteps and noise from the apartments around us, screaming from drunks in the streets or music blasting through the night, and can't begin to describe the peaceful feeling that I get as I write this post, and gaze out at my tree filled view. My mental health has improved considerably, and I'm now determined to enjoy what are now my late middle aged years. I'm sorry that I had to leave Stuy, even sorrier that I was forced to leave Manhattan, but weighing all the factors of a rapidly worsening quality of NYC life under Bloomberg, I chose self preservation and self determination, rather than enduring a rapidly expensive cost of living in my city and an equally declining quality of daily life.

I hope things improve for everyone in ST/PCV. I still have ties to the community and care about it greatly, but I've seen that the anguished cries of the residents have failed to be heard by a landlord and a city government that only seems to be concerned with the bottom line. It's a really sad state of affairs for a community and it's residents that gave so much of themselves to their country and their city for over half a century.

I really hope that NYC voters will make a proper choice then it comes time to elect their future leaders, unless they're content to see the city continue on the same path.

Anonymous said...

"STR, I know you're trying to be diplomatic but Rose's post-Tishman Speyer grace period is OVER. They can no longer use the "We're still trying to fix things" excuse."

Exactly! No more "baby steps" thank you! If Rose can't do better than they are doing, then maybe they are just not up to the job. TS certainly wasn't up to the job of managing a huge residential property, though all they were concerned about was sucking as much blood as possible, but Rose should be able to do better.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Perhaps I'm wrong, but to me it's a money thing. Spend the money, and you get the results (hopefully). I've been told that the spending on PCVST is/will be increasing, and that we should see clear improvements as the months go by. Don't forget that eventually this property is going on the auction block. By then (and whenever that will be), the property has to be looking good and running smoothly and showing a profit or the clear indication of a future profit.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>I really hope that NYC voters will make a proper choice then it comes time to elect their future leaders, unless they're content to see the city continue on the same path.<<

I hope so, too. Thanks for the peek at your current non-Stuy Town life.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @4:13: would you mind telling us where you moved to? I'm not asking for your address(!), but whether or not it's in the boroughs of NY or a different state. Congratulations on your new found peace. You have obviously made the right decision and I wish you all the happiness, good health and long life in the world! I hope I can follow the same path eventually, but for now I have to put up with Stydorm.
ps I wouldn't vote for any of the incumbents if you paid me a million dollars! Bloomberg and his bunch of puppets are the most worthless scum since Tammany Hall. In fact, even that wasn't really that bad because the Tammany pols treated the ordinary folk better.

Anonymous said...

" I've been told that the spending on PCVST is/will be increasing, and that we should see clear improvements as the months go by."

They fed that line to Lux two years ago when he was defending Rose. SSDD.

Anonymous said...

Contrary to STR's post, Some of us have heard that CW is looking to get operating expenses under control. That means one thing and it is not more spending.

Crazy Eddie said...

Just forwarded this nice example of DB hipster narcissism over to the diehipster.com blog. As someone recently posted on that blog, this pharse can also be applicable here as well:
“To quote 90′s Brooklyn…this is L.A.M.E. (Look At Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Everyone!)”

Anonymous said...

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http://robspeyer.com/

Anonymous said...

Why would ANYONE who moved out continue to comment on our blog? Very strange.

Anonymous said...

"Why would ANYONE who moved out continue to comment on our blog? Very strange."

Not strange at all. The person probably has very strong ties to the place, such as friends, family, good memories, etc. These are feelings that are incomprehensible to the dormies/transients/yuppes/yippes who have moved here in recent years and have no idea whatsoever of what a great place this was when it was a COMMUNITY and was well-run by responsible professionals who could run rings around the current regime.

Anonymous said...

My recollection is that the original limit was an aggregate weight of 40 pounds. A new pet policy could easily be put in place. However, if a tenant harbors a pet openly for 3 months and the landlord does nothing, the pet gets to stay. Even if the pet policy changed, we'd have to count on Management enforcing it.

On another note: Why is it permissible for people to be lounging on the pavement around the fountain? Shouldn't the pathway be clear so people can walk around the area? And shouldn't they keep their clothes on?

Anonymous said...

Groundskeeping is doing a lot of landscaping work around playground 7 (it's right behind the First Ave rental office and across from the M entrance to 447 E 14th where the show apartment is -- that's why!). Anyway, lots of new plants and bushes went in and a bunch of the grassy areas are being restored with old grass taken out down to the dirt, then raked and re-seeded. These grassy areas have fences around them (see fences here in this STR story). You can still clearly see the dirt but now there are lots of very fragile looking shoots of grass popping up. Yesterday I was amazed to see a blonde girl in her 20s sunbathing and talking on her cellphone on a big beach blanket smack in the middle of one of the fenced off areas -- behind 270 First Ave and the rental office where new grass is just beginning to come up. Not sure what was up with her, there were other unfenced areas with sunbathers back there, but someone must have called Security because a guard came flying around the corner behind me in a vehicle with lights flashing to get her to move. Her "huh, what'd I do, Officer" routine was too funny.

Anonymous said...

I'm Anon May 13, 2012 4:13 PM. For the poster that asked where we moved, the answer is about 25 miles north, along the Metro-North.

And for May 13, 2012 10:56 PM, I visit this blog because after living in Stuyvesant Town for almost 60 years, I have a vested interest, as well as family and friends who still live in ST.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>Yesterday I was amazed to see a blonde girl in her 20s sunbathing and talking on her cellphone on a big beach blanket smack in the middle of one of the fenced off areas<<

Amazing, isn't it? I once saw a similar 20-something open up the barrier in the Oval Lawn fence, with signs all over stating the lawn is not yet open, and plop herself down on her blanket in the middle of the lawn, oblivious to everything except her own world. It was a pleasure for me to call a security guard. Same attitude from her, too. "Ah, what am I doing wrong?"

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>On another note: Why is it permissible for people to be lounging on the pavement around the fountain? Shouldn't the pathway be clear so people can walk around the area?<<

I think so. And when all of them are packed in that small area, so there's zero space to walk, it's pretty obnoxious. Not that I mind looking.

Crazy Eddie said...

For that “public” space issue at the Oval fountain now taken over by the “Like, Yah!”’ crowd, I propose a two pronged attack. First, a flash mob of cyclists who will walk that bikes right through this group of tanorexia texting zombies and cause a similar reaction when John Savage walked his mountain bike over Buggin Out’s Air Jordans in “Do the Right Thing”. This will soften them up for the main attack, the nuclear option of a flash mob of Stroller Mafias as they wheel their two, three seat, FOUR SEAT unstoppable SUV strollers through the pathetic pre melanoma herd, causing total mayhem and destruction in their wake. Problem solved.

Anonymous said...

Actually, only two signs are needed, one on the left and the other on the right. And they can be placed near the circular plantings at the front of the fountain entrance.

Three signs are needed because people also enter the Fountain area from the front middle section. The front entryway of the Fountain area is simply too large to cover with only two signs placed at the far right and the far left, as you have suggested. Not to worry, though, you will never see three signs (and probably not even two) posted because it would be unattractive and demonstrate Adam Rose's and his Management company, Rose Associates', monumental inability to run this place well, to say nothing of his and their lack of interest in doing so.

And, as we all know, no amount of signs is sufficient to deter those with a sense of entitlement who want to do what they want to do when they want to do it or those who are willfully oblivious of all the signage already posted around here, i.e. letting their dogs into the plantings to do their business while standing in front of a sign asking them not to!

My solution is the only sensible and realistic one possible: ban dogs entirely from the Oval and Fountain areas. And anyone found - or seen via camera - walking their dog(s) in those areas should be fined...heavily. Either write them a ticket in person, if Security is present, which is unlikely since they are almost never there, or follow dog owners/walkers via camera to their buildings and when they swipe their keycard to gain access grab their information and add a fine to their rent invoice. The only way to deter people is to hit them where it hurts...in their pocketbook.

Anonymous said...

Banning dogs from the oval is overkill. Folks have to be able to get across the complex.

Anonymous said...

"The only way to deter people is to hit them where it hurts...in their pocketbook."

The reason that's not happening is because Rose needs to collect all those $3K & $4K rent checks and doesn't give a rats ass how their tenants behave as long as they get their money. Don't we all get this issue ? If it was going to change, it would have happened already.

Rose is unwilling to offend anyone, lest they lose a paying market rate tenant. Plain and simple.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Yes, the powers that be want those rent checks, but they also don't want the complex to be turned into a mosh pit of renters doing what they want, which just simply devalues a property. I mean, Public Security is out there, enforcing the rules when they can (which necessitates seeing rules being broken or being told by other residents that rules are being broken). Otherwise, why even stop a hookah/booze party at the fountain?

Anonymous said...

I feel for the families who move here and pay 3-4k a month in rent only to live in a community overrun with pitbulls and degenerate college kids.

Anonymous said...

What does preventing dogs from urinating on the fountain where people frequently sit have ANYTHING to do with getting around the property? Your comment makes no sense.

Tommyboyardee said...

Vital pathway

Anonymous said...

They are not banned from the Oval. They can't go by the fountain. Two very different things. Are you people on drugs?

Anonymous said...

"Otherwise, why even stop a hookah/booze party at the fountain?"

Because they didn't pay their membership dues to Oval Hookah?!? And, you know, we just can't have that, now, can we!

Anonymous said...

Tell the security guards to turn their security cars off when sitting around in them for hours and hours.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>They are not banned from the Oval. They can't go by the fountain. Two very different things.<<

If you check out the Dog Map, dogs are not allowed in the fountain area AND in the pathways around the lawn.

http://www.pcvst.com/Portals/0/documents/PCVST-MAP%20%28Dog%20Map%29.pdf

Anonymous said...

"If you check out the Dog Map, dogs are not allowed in the fountain area AND in the pathways around the lawn."

I understand. But to use the regular pathway around the Oval, the one at Atrocities and Greenmarket sit on, is not an inconvenience.

Some people won't be happy until they forge new paths through every lawn, garden, and tree.