Saturday, July 28, 2012

Wake up Oval residents! It's another Lady Maya event!

If you are a resident who lives around the Oval and you thought your Saturday morning was going to be peaceful--YOU WERE WRONG! It's seems that in a fit of "we're giving you this event whether you like it or not," the powers that be had work crews out very early in the morning making banging and clanging noises, echoing all over the Oval, to erect what looks to be a massive tent on the Oval lawn to protect from inclement weather whatever limited amount of people will be attending today's concert. Market rate tenants, if you were wondering why your rents are so high, as well as your lease renewal rents--well, this is part of the reason. All this labor costs money for an event that doesn't make any money and which is free for all New Yorkers and their guests. And, of course, someone must pay for Lady Maya's Starbucks brew (no Oval Cafe for her!) that she gets before she drudges into Stuy Town to boss people around. Updates to come for sure!

UPDATE: EPIC FAIL

It's been my contention that on a sunny day the crowds at the music events are significantly larger because of sunbathers, who are present on the Oval lawn not for the concert, but for the sun. Well, today, the sun was absent. Crowd size half an hour into the concert? About 50. So all this money spent on the performers, the setup, the advertizing, the raising of a tent, security, maintenance, etc, etc. is just money wasted, as are many of the gimmicks in this place. No wonder rents have to be raised for those renewing their leases on market rate apartments!

UPDATE: MAN, THAT WAS LOUD!

Alejandro Escovedo was really rocking, and he was joined by Stuy Town resident Garland Jeffreys for two final numbers to close out "Roots & Rock Sessions" for the summer, though we are promised more events to come (sigh). The music was pumped up real loud, as it needed to be for these type of numbers, but if you are an Oval resident, you can't escape the music unless you escape Stuy Town. I half expected a police car to show up. I'd say about 100 more people were added to the 50 I saw earlier. It's always embarrassing to see the white people here dancing to rock music (or, worse still, reggae). STR maintains his composure throughout.

PCVST managing director Sean Sullivan was present for a brief time and passed by STR within a few feet. I always find such chance occurrences amusing, as I do when Lady Maya passes me by, which has already happened to me several times.

58 comments:

Melanie said...

I was also jarred awake by the hammering. Why won't this Lady let us sleep on the weekends? I can't take this anymore.

Anonymous said...

STR-you do realize that CW Capital’s ideal tenant hasn't even woken up yet?

Anonymous said...

Lady Maya lives in Peter Cooper. She doesn't care.

Anonymous said...

The "music" is extremely loud and annoying right now, and it's not even the official start time.

Anonymous said...

There's a decibel reader app for the iPhone. We should measure the noise from this circus.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/decibel-meter/id289219810?mt=8

Anonymous said...

I live on 14th and I can hear that bellowing coming from Oval. Isn't it supposed to start at 3 pm?

Anonymous said...

Check out the huge batch of 20 somethings at the office registering for apartments sometime soon. You'll crack up. It is FULL, every day.

IF THEY'Re 20, not so sure..... maybe 18ish.

Anonymous said...

Why bother with the tent? Like that many people are going to attend in the rain and humidity? Everyone leaves the city on the weekend and those who don't get assaulted by bad music courtesy of Lady Maya.

Anonymous said...

Wait until their parents catch wind Stuy Town is the city's largest fire code violator!

Anonymous said...

Management wants to cause all possible types of aggravation.

They want you to move out.

That way they get a vacancy increase and reel in the next poor sucker.

This place is a travesty.

Anonymous said...

You bet they do. Every time one of us moves, they get a huge change to increase rents. legally.

3 residents moved just this month on our FLOOR alone. I honestly think i'm the last one here IN THE building who is not paying market . IN THE BUILDING.

Anonymous said...

I wish we could cause Management aggravation with a complex-wide rent strike. BTW, didn't Bloomturd put in place some noise laws a while ago? These Oval circuses must surely violate those laws.

Anonymous said...

"3 residents moved just this month on our FLOOR alone. I honestly think i'm the last one here IN THE building who is not paying market . IN THE BUILDING."

On a serious note (although perhaps this poster is serious) I wonder what the ratio is between Stabilized (real) and non. I can say that on my floor I am one of three apartments (out of 8) that are still stabilized (i.e. unrenovated). Does anyone have any idea what the ratio is on a property wide basis? Do you still think it's at least 50/50?

Anonymous said...

all on our floor except one are renovated. The last holdout is a very senior couple who are never here. I don't expect they're here in a year from now.

Anonymous said...

That stinking "concert" is so loud that even with both air conditioners running full blast I can still hear it and the bass is vibrating my apartment. I don't even live on the Oval! This is absolutely a reign of terror and harassment that Rose is conducting against the tenants. It is a vile and despicable thing to do. Nobody can convince me that this isn't deliberately thought out aggravation. Somebody should go over and plug the plug on them!

Anonymous said...

So far, only two on our floor are renovated. I don't think the RS tenants are going anywhere anytime soon (I know I'm not!) and for that I am very grateful. However, the floor downstairs from me is a dorm floor and it is horrible. Only 4 of the apartments are still RS and they have no plans to move. The other 4 are total hellholes crammed with noisy, drunks all in the 20-something range. They even burnt out one of the apartments not too long ago.

Anonymous said...

Out of all the concerts so far this summer, this one is the loudest by far. As I type this, I can feel the bass making my desk vibrate. For those who face the oval and don't want to have to flee our own homes on a Saturday to escape the noise, this is pretty abusive.

Anonymous said...

There are more people at a bus stop! Keep up the fine work Lady Maya! Money well spent!

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>Out of all the concerts so far this summer, this one is the loudest by far.<<

Absolutely. And very unfair to Oval residents who may not want to hear this music, but must, unless they leave Stuy Town. I'm pretty sure the sound extended beyond the Oval, too. I heard it loud immediately I left the front door of my non-Oval building.

Anonymous said...

If the apartments were stabilized, rents wouldn't be based on apartment size. Before renovations, for example, many 3-bedroom apartments (the real 3s) where cheaper than 2s etc. I wonder if anyone would ever be able to untangle the mess to figure out the correct rents for renovated apartments.

Gotta agree about the concert. It was too loud. It's out of place. What a shame for those tenants who face the Oval.

Anonymous said...

Rent strike.

Anonymous said...

You cannot withhold rent unless you can prove that the landlord is withholding essential services; heat, light, water, garbage or is failing to maintain the building within standards. Under rent stabilization, if you withhold rent improperly, you could lose your rent stabilization status. While most all of the problems in ST/PCV are certainly annoying, they don't justify withholding rent. What tenants ARE free to do is to file suit against the landlord if they feel that the warranty of habitability has been breached. In order to do that you need clearly documented PROOF that you are unable to use your apartment as intended, and that the landlord is both aware of the problems and has refused to attempt to correct them. That means many trips on the noise complaint merry-go-round before you can even contemplate such a suit.

I would be very careful about staging any sort of rent action, and would not do so without EXPERT legal advice.

Anonymous said...

More money for bread and circuses; no money for basic building services.

Someone should start playing lod music under Jeffries window - say 3AM-4AM.

Rose and the 13th in bed with each other? Gambling in Casablance? Can't imagine it could be true.

Anonymous said...

Using obnoxiously loud, obnoxiously bad music is a well-known torture tactic. They do it at Gitmo to wear down the detainees and they did it at Waco to try to flush out the Davidians. I believe that Rose and CW are trying to empty all the buildings, especially those on the Oval, so that they can churn, churn, churn.

Anonymous said...

So PCVST managing director Sean Sullivan was there and didn't do anything about the obviously too loud music? Very disappointing. Not a confidence builder that there's a new sheriff in town to shake things up.

The next time this kind of thing happens, everyone should flood Adam Rose with complaint emails. He's always checking his email and will tell them to turn it down. Here's his direct email address: adam@rosenyc.com

Anonymous said...

I just emailed Rose about the unacceptable noise level from the event yesterday even though it's after the fact. I suggest that everyone who reads STR and was impacted by yesterday's concert(I live on the Oval)do the same. We are not going to win much, but we might be able to get the noise level down for future events. I believe it was because of tenant complaints that the concerts were switched from evenings to afternoons.

Anonymous said...

Rain or shine these weekend concerts aren't worth the effort because the turnout is too small. If I was a performer I'd feel embarrassed playing to six people.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Anon 9:14AM, everyone should email Adam Rose - adam@rosenyc.com - and complain about the sound level of the concert, even if it's after the fact.

He's told the boobs who run the concerts to turn the volume down in the past when people have complained so, if he gets enough new complaining emails, hopefully he'll do it again.

Anonymous said...

How does management get away with this shit?

Unbelievable!!!!!

Anonymous said...

don't shoot the messenger here, but there are many people in our building who like the concerts and are very happy when they're scheduled.

not myself, of course. just saying. i too feel for the residents who live at the oval.

awful.

Anonymous said...

Dear 451p

Do all your friends who like the music live in a building that faces these bullshit "concerts".

Just wondering.

Anonymous said...

no, duh, of course they don't face the oval. if they did, they probably wouldn't Like it.

Anonymous said...

don't shoot the messenger here, but there are many people in our building who like the concerts and are very happy when they're scheduled.>>

They must be the 50 or less people who showed up!

Anonymous said...

Lady Maya lives in PCV so she doesn't care how loud the rock concerts are in Stuy Town. She buys her brew at Starbucks so she doesn't care about the swill they are serving at Cafe Colonic.

Nobody cares about anything around here.

Anonymous said...

Clarification: lots of renovated apartments are stabilized. Just because your place is still a shithole from 1947 doesn't mean it's the only place that's stabilized. The majority of renovated units are stabilized (albeit at higher rents) due to the J-51 situation.

Chris said...

ALL PCVST apartments are rent-stabilized for now. The difference in rent derives from renovated vs. unrenovated and the number of times the unit has changed hands.

Anonymous said...

Clarification: lots of renovated apartments are stabilized. Just because your place is still a shithole from 1947 doesn't mean it's the only place that's stabilized. The majority of renovated units are stabilized (albeit at higher rents) due to the J-51 situation.>>

I'll keep my "shithole from 1947," thank you rather than pay what really is "market rate" for a pseudo rs apartment with a few cheap trimmings and a 30% increase at lease renewal time. I still have an entire, complete apartment without pressure walls and 9 roommates. Now THAT is what I call a "shithole."

Anonymous said...

"It's always embarrassing to see the white people here dancing to rock music"

ahem....

Anonymous said...

Have you thought about the fact that many people are indeed listening from their apartments?

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>Have you thought about the fact that many people are indeed listening from their apartments?<<

You mean are FORCED to listen from their apartments. LOL.

Anonymous said...

True, but they may have enjoyed it. I sure did.

Anonymous said...

STR, I - and many others, I'm sure - want to thank you for all your hard work on this blog and for continually patrolling the grounds here, camera in hand, to see and document what's happening - good, bad and everything in-between. Your dedication to the cause is invaluable, admirable and much appreciated! Please let us know what we can do to help and support you.

Anonymous said...

You are correct, STR, FORCED to listen from their apartments!

Tenants have no option if they're at home. What Management is perpetrating on unwilling tenants, is completely OUTRAGEOUS and ABUSIVE.

Anonymous said...

I myself am heartbroken I don't have the floor model Home Depot cabinets for a significant rent increase. My life feels incomplete.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>STR, I - and many others, I'm sure - want to thank you for all your hard work on this blog and for continually patrolling the grounds here, camera in hand, to see and document what's happening - good, bad and everything in-between. Your dedication to the cause is invaluable, admirable and much appreciated! Please let us know what we can do to help and support you.<<

A donation PayPal link will be online soon.;-) But, seriously, it's not that much of a bother most of the time and releases pent-up frustration that couldn't otherwise be expressed. I just wish that Lux were back to carry part of the load. Thankfully, the TA Facebook has been pretty active recently with valuable reports about what's going on here.

Anonymous said...

Why yes, I am a rent stabilized tenant. LMAO. My rent is 3300 for a one bedroom and about to be 3600!

very stabilized indeed. the lawyers say it is!

Anonymous said...

Lots of us miss Lux but we're very grateful for the job you're doing.
Thank you, STR.

Anonymous said...

Having had several direct dealings with Maya as it pertains to the building of her dismal cafe, Maya has the worst taste and design sense of anyone that I have EVER come in contact with, but she thinks she has it all going on. Truth is a brown paper bag has more design and creativity to it than she does. Who is the idiot that hired her, and who is the bigger idiot that keeps her on.
The ignorant leading the more ignorant. When Maya does lose her job when RA is finally ousted Maya would be lucky to find work at Papaya King.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>Why yes, I am a rent stabilized tenant. LMAO. My rent is 3300 for a one bedroom and about to be 3600!

very stabilized indeed. the lawyers say it is!<<

This whole situation of rents being raised so high while an apartment IS rent stabilized is outrageous. Surely someone is gaming the system, and it ain't the tenants!

As I wrote before on this, it exhibits how the powers that be have little respect even for those tenants who are paying market-rate prices for their apartments and who they claim are the ones supporting us true RS "free-loaders." (Not their quote, but their impression.)

Anonymous said...

I find it hard to believe that these massive rent increases on the market/J51 apartments (whatever they are called now following the Roberts verdict) are legal. Surely Management has to follow the same laws concerning original rent stabilized apartments and only hike the rents by those amounts? If not, there is some serious theft and scamming going on on the part of Management and this should be exposed and addressed in the courts.

Anonymous said...

"The ignorant leading the more ignorant. When Maya does lose her job when RA is finally ousted Maya would be lucky to find work at Papaya King."

I find it somewhat offensive to comment about Lady Maya in the same sentence as Papaya King. Papaya King is the filet mignon of frankfurters. There really is no better.

We really could do a lot better than Lady Maya.

Anonymous said...

I have just rented and I pay $3000 "discounted" rent now (this is the lingo from the lease) and my rent is stabilized at $4300, which means that they can probably increase it by any amount they want at the end of the lease period.

Anonymous said...

"I have just rented and I pay $3000 "discounted" rent now (this is the lingo from the lease) and my rent is stabilized at $4300, which means that they can probably increase it by any amount they want at the end of the lease period."

Yikes! What size apartment are you in? I suppose that once Roberts is settled, the legal rent may turn out to be lower. Thanks for letting us know this. I recently heard of a rent that was raised by $900 (the tenants reluctantly moved out) and was trying to figure out how that was possible because I didn't realize there was such a disparity between the preferential (discounted) rent and the (possibly) official rent.

Anonymous said...

Just received my renewal and yes it is increasing to the legal rent and then increasing by rent stabilization of 2 percent on a one-year lease and 4 percent on a two-year leases. So if you were renewing for one year now your rent would increase from $3,000 to $4,386 or 46%. I'm out of here - I can live in a doorman building with amenities for these prices!

Anonymous said...

>> Yikes! What size apartment are you in?

I am in 1 Bedroom, "classic finish (renovated about 5 years ago close to Ave C).

I should also mention, that this is actually a 2-year lease discounted by the free two months deal. So the real "discounted from legal" rent is about $3400, and then prorated down to 3000, which we pay every month. Nice trick - when we renew, it is automatically $3400 + whatever they decide to increase it by. That is how they really get the new tenants and increase the churn rate.

Anonymous said...

We have more of this shit this weekend? I hope it pours and thunders and lightenings tomorrow from 3 to 5. I am so sick of this intrusive, ugly noise that they inflict on us. It was better when the homeboys used to come through with their ghetto blasters playing WBLS at all hours. At least you could call security if they lingered too long under your window and they would move them out. These "concerts" are a total insult and affront and I doubt very much that the noise level and property usage is legal. We are being harassed by a totally unscrupulous bunch of bloodsucking vultures who want us all out so they can use the land for something more revenue-generating. This is the World of Bloomberg and his filthy cronies. We won't forget and we won't forgive.

Anonymous said...

Who is Lady Maya?

Anonymous said...

How about the constant bellowing and incessant whitstle blowing out on playground 10? This goes on daily (7 days a week!!!) between 9 and noon, and I don't get it. There might be 10 kids down there and the coach needs to bellow at them and blow his whitsle non-stop? He can't say - hey Susie - good job!?!?! Hey Bobbie - stop?!?! I'm not anti-kid... I hear that guy more than any of the kids. He get more of a rise from yelling his fool head off than any of those kids are by listening to him.