This week's Town & Village carries a front page article that will cheer some and depress others. Stuy Town's "Winter Wonderland" may be seeing its final days--forever. According to the article, written by T&V babe Sabina Mollot, the "hugely popular" rink has seen its novelty dying down, with CW Capital uncertain whether the rink will return next year. Apparently this year has seen a loss of revenue from the rink, not helped by the forced time-out from Hurricane Sandy and the raising of entry prices. Of course, the rink was never "hugely popular" with all or most of our thousands of residents, otherwise there'd be no consideration given of not continuing on, but it did get a lot of attention and a regular stream of skaters, mainly kids. The possible failure of the rink is another instance of large sums of money being thrown away by the powers that be on things that are not necessities, but are just lures to acquire new tenants to pay high rental prices for living in what amounts to upscale projects.
Naturally, "Stuy Town moms" (as they are identified in the article) are trying to convince CWCapital to bring the ice rink back next year.
I have no dog in the fight, as I don't live around the rink and am not subjected to the noise coming from it, but I have noted on weekend mornings when I do pass by, that it can be noisy and a certain cause of frustration to residents who live nearby and may be wanting to get some extra shut-eye or simple peace and quiet on Saturday or Sunday.
Things seem not to be going well for the "Oval Essentials," either. Because of the devastation along the FDR side of Stuy Town from Sandy, all "Essentials" have been converted to serve as offices for management and security. Even Oval Cafe has been closed for months. (No great loss.)
There has been an obvious strain on resources here, as evidenced by the symbol of the Oval Christmas tree still hanging with Christmas lighting as we enter the last week of February.
39 comments:
Does anyone else have a problem with the way the Oval Concierge is run?
The people who work at the front desk are rude, and border-line brain dead.
They do the bare minimum (if you are lucky), and they just don’t care.
The front desk just can’t seem to get things right and what’s worse, the two on-site managers could care less.
Abigail Michael’s should do a clean sweep of this poorly run imitation of a concierge service.
I would like to start a on-line petition to have a more responsible, customer friendly company take over the concierge services.
In recent years the level of services has been reduced. It’s time to throw these guys out.
Good riddance to the rink and Oval Film and Oval Cafe and Oval Kids and to the Farmers Market and to the "Summer Concerts". Did I forget anything?
Good riddance to the rink and Oval Film and Oval Cafe and Oval Kids and to the Farmers Market and to the "Summer Concerts". Did I forget anything?
You forgot CW Capital.
They should get rid of all the Oval nonsenses and restore the Oval to the lush green place it used to be and what made this place an oasis of trees, grass, flowers and peacefulness. People could still sunbathe on the grass, but keep all the commercial venues OUT and let the trees, grass and plants have a chance to grow and thrive. That's not asking a lot and it won't cost much to do that. We don't want the tacky bread and circus crap that has been foisted onto us in recent years. People don't move here for the carnival atmosphere, there's plenty of that outside of the complex.
In an example of how helpless people make themselves instead of going right to the source, someone using the screen name Adam Gertz posted this on Romio, a site where people can ask for neighborhood recommendations: "How long is the ice skating rink in Stuy Town going to stay open?" http://qa.romio.com/Question/Show?question_id=712
I saw the Romio box on DNAInfo, which means anyone accessing that site can get the idea that the rink is open to anyone.
Oh, no. Please don't let the rink go the way of Fred Ecker!
I can do without a basement. I can do without a laundry room. I can do without a second elevator and I can do without an intercom but--please--don't take away my ice rink!
Yikes!
At least they're getting rid of the "security guards" stationed at all of the destroyed basements. I'm sure that's not in response to comments by residents about crass remarks by the "officers" but rather because the insurance reimbursements have run out.
Can't they do anything here to insulate the apartments? NEVER in my life have I been in a space where i can literally hear those above , next to or below us sneeze.
Weirdest thing ever. is it the walls that are so poorly insulated, the floors or what????
If I remember management promised that intercoms , key card systems and all elevator service would be restored by mid _february. It is now Feb 23 (meaning 5 days until the end of February ) and NONE of these services have been restored in my building. Yet apartment renovations continue unabated. At least 2 new tenants have moved in recently (they must be deaf dumb AND blind) Meanwhile no work has been done to restore our basement in 2 months.
So I am sure you understand how DEVASTATED I am that the ice rink might not reopen
It's disgusting that they can waste money on this stupid fucking ice rink and all the other Oval Shit, while we have filthy buildings, deplorable, unsanitary laundry rooms with broken and substandard equipment. They try to run the place like a Carnival Cruise ship and it ends up being about as successful as the Triumph!
I know. Disgusting and embarrassing. And no one doing a damn thingab out it.
Hail to the ice rink though . Be nice if we had heat.
What a waste of $$!
Mold STILL an issue at 285 avenue C Terrace entrance.
Are you reading this, Coucilman Garodnick?
The "Stuy Town Moms" don't give a rat's ass about quality of life issues or how the noise from the rink adversely impacts other tenants. This is shown by their narcissistic behavior on the TA Facebook page. All these narcissists care about is THEIR needs being fulfilled as quickly as possible, and to hell with everybody else. God forbid they'd have to miss a Botox appointment to actually take their children to a REAL ice skating rink, such as Rockefeller Center. The sooner the rink closes for good, the better.
"Good riddance to the rink and Oval Film and Oval Cafe and Oval Kids and to the Farmers Market and to the "Summer Concerts". Did I forget anything?
You forgot CW Capital."
You also forgot so-called "Tenant Relations" who only have sympathy for noisy, partying students and have total disdain for adult tenants (especially if they are rent stabilized) and warn them that if they complain about being kept up all night by their dorm neighbors, they might get into trouble. Same people who tell you that you can't advise or complain about dorm slobs who dump their oozing, stinking garbage in the hallways or outside the carriage room door. God forbid you should suggest they put such stuff down the garbage chute! What? Garbage down the garbage chute? Who ever heard of such a thing! It's almost as unreasonable as expecting someone to put down carpet and not play their music at high volume at 1 am! Yes, let's get rid of Tenant Relations because they SUCK!
Someone on Facebook suggested that they use the ice-rink space to make a year-round free playground!
LOL.
"You also forgot so-called "Tenant Relations" who only have sympathy for noisy, partying students and have total disdain for adult tenants (especially if they are rent stabilized) and warn them that if they complain about being kept up all night by their dorm neighbors, they might get into trouble."
You are correct, Anon 11:56 AM.
Mrs. HaberSHAM of "Tenant Relations" warned up of the same thing about the college kids below us who keep us up all night -- and even claimed we must be "provoking" them!!! This was even after Security broke up several of their parties. Management is definitely on the side of the students, or else they would have gotten rid of Mrs. HaberSHAM a long, long time ago.
God, you guys are so ridiculously nasty and negative. The ice rink is a nice addition. So is the Farmer's Market. So many of you yearn for the days when kids played stick ball in the streets. God I'm 60 years old. And I still love Stuy Town. I DON'T want it to seem like a retirement community, which seems to be what so many want it to be. Times change. Communities change. And change is not necessarily bad.
The ice rink was never intended to appease Stuy Town Moms. It was built to help bring outsiders in and con them into renting an overpriced apartment that they could then chop into six bedrooms. Since the novelty of that has worn off its death to the rink. No big loss though. Since we're listing things we would like to see go I would add Dan Garodnick and the Tenants Association to that list.
T&V "babe" Sabina Mollot? Is this 1970?
Stuyvesant Town is an anachronism in the eyes of Emperor Bloomberg and the so called "far-thinking" urban planners. This is 80acres of PRIME land just waiting for some futuristic commercial development 10, 20 or 30 years from now. The only impediment is..oops..the residents. Only by attrition and the making of living conditions more and more unpalatable will the complex become the real estate equivalent of" ethnically cleansed".Granted this will take years but the dye is cast.
No conversion, no co-op,no buyout, only gradual but inescapable deterioration. Wake up and smell the coffee, folks! We are one step from becoming the projects. Soon there will be broken lights in the hallways, non-functioning elevators, urine and feces in the stairways and elevators, just a general breakdown. Wait! It has already begun. I just stepped over a turd in the elevtor this morning...hahaha...ya' gotta laugh...or cry!
The playgrounds are noisy as hell too. Why don't we remove those while we're at it?
" DON'T want it to seem like a retirement community, which seems to be what so many want it to be. Times change. Communities change. And change is not necessarily bad."
It's already like a retirement community with all the on-site activities! As a person who works full time, five days a week, I would like it to be a place to come home to at night and have a bit of peace and quiet and be able to relax and get a good night's sleep without being woken up by screaming, hooting, noisy, boorish students. I also like a bit of a lie-in on weekends and could do without the hard partying of the students and the noisefests on weekends. As for entertainment, I like to go off the plantation for my fun and recreation. I don't need it to be all laid on by my landlord, especially as it isn't up to much, anyway! It's all cheap, trashy gimmicky crap. As a New Yorker, I appreciate the fun and entertainment available in the city and am willing and happy to go beyond my immediate environs to get it. Otherwise, why live in New York City?
I live facing the rink, and I for one am not going to miss the whirring frontloader that clears the snow into a filthy pile in front of 18 oval while blasting its backup chime for hours on end every single day, or the slamming and buzzing din from the zamboni resurfacing the ice twice (or more) per day.
Anon 5:57 - "you guys" is clearly one lone poster (ISP check!) who somehow thinks that if the rink closes, Peter Cooper's repairs will speed up. One has nothing to do with the other. The rink seems to be a great addition for families, which is what ST & PCV were built for.
Boy this place is filled with some angry old cranks. Regarding the Skating Rink. It is simply not true that the noise from the rink disturbs residents in their apartments. My bedroom window faces directly on the Oval and I work at my desk by that window all day. There is no noise worth caring about. I say this as one who was opposed to the rink when it was installed. I had to listen to a jack hammer make holes in my building walls for a week while they installed the power lines for the rink. Once they placed a wall around the chiller and did not play music I had no problem. Noise is not a problem. Get over it. As to its demise. I am indifferent as to whether it stays or goes.
In addition, I do not think the Oval Cafe was waste. It was a good place for retired people and parents with children to spend a few minutes relaxing during the day. I will concede if I had an apartment next to the cafe I would probably feel differently.
Whether a skating rink, food service, oval amenity, etc. re-opens is not the point. The seller successfully demonstrated the possibility of segregating and exploiting designated areas of ST-PCV for commercial profit.
In some ways a poorly managed, money losing enterprise can be a selling point. A prospective purchaser will assume they can develop a more lucrative stream of income selling better quality food for a higher price served to more customers at a food service operation equipped with expanded seating extended into the oval.
Non-permanent structures can be assembled on undeveloped land. The oval might be converted to a miniature golf course circled by a horse trail used for pony rides. Entry fee and spectator charged events like foot races and dog fighting contests can be staged. ...
>>T&V "babe" Sabina Mollot? Is this 1970? <<
No, it's 2013, and Sabina is a babe last I saw her.
>>Stuyvesant Town is an anachronism in the eyes of Emperor Bloomberg and the so called "far-thinking" urban planners. This is 80acres of PRIME land just waiting for some futuristic commercial development 10, 20 or 30 years from now.<<
Commercial development AND high rises. Perhaps renamed Bloomberg Town.
>>It is simply not true that the noise from the rink disturbs residents in their apartments.<<
That's not what someone who posted before you and also lives over the rink states. So you may have different experiences. I found the rink periodically noisy when I would pass it by.
T&V ran a front page puff piece touting the rink supporters et. al, and proclaiming that they had a massive ONE HUNDRED people turn out for the LAST DAY of skating this past Sunday. Considering that there are over 30,000 residents in ST/PCV, having 100 people turn out for the season farewell isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of it's popularity. They should restore playground 10 for it's intended FREE use and leave it like that.
The only benefit that I saw from the ice rink is that the outdoor pavilion provided shelter from the cold so that those people using the Oval during the day had a somewhat sheltered area to hang out. Maybe CW might consider putting up that tent for the winter where the Greenmarket is held and extend the use of the outdoor space for the comfort of the whole community.
BTW, the fire code limit for the rink was 200 people, as per the Word document sheet that was placed in entrance section. I assume that having this print out just taped on the wall had the rink fire code compliant. Anyway, the precedent has been set for further commercialization of any of the playgrounds or open spaces in the INTERIOR of PCVST and, as long as this current administration is in power or if the Bloomberg “light” candidate, Christine Quinn wins (she’s ahead in the polls-groan), watch out for more of the same. Zoning laws are for the little people.
Quinn is only ahead in the Quinnipiac Poll. That is a bought and paid for Bloomberg entity. Don't believe it.
The ice rink doesn't make noise? The beeping, slamming and pounding has been nonstop since 8 this morning. Putting it up and taking it down DOES impact on those who face it.
If Managment can harass just one tenant into moving out they've done their job. NOISE, DOGS, MOLD, SUMMER CONCERTS!!!!
The list is endless.
I hope the ice rink never comes back. It is an impingement on the bucolic character of the property which is what made it so desirable in the first place. Can't these pea brains from the flyover states get it that STPCV was desirable because it did not have all the shit that they have foisted upon us? Now it is just a somewhat upscale Housing Project. Note I said "only somewhat" because it is getting closer and closer to the real thing we call the peejays (after all, we do have shit, piss and puke in the hallways and stairwells courtesy of dogs and NYU students who couldn't hold it). The dogs I can sympathize with because it is not their fault; the students? They should be made to clean up after themselves and/or evicted. They are totally out of place being here, anyway.
Poster @ March 10, 2013, 10:11 pm:
I concur with everything you said. Absolutely everything.
What do you expect when you have nine dudes and bros in an apartment with one bathroom? Über frat hell hole.
Aren't there any tenement laws in New York which prohibit nine adults in a unit with one toilet? Where are we? iProducts factory in China? Might as well be. I thought New York had progressed from multi occupancy units to livable apartments. It used to be that way in Stuyvesant Town. Now, we are not that much better off than the people who were displaced so this place could be built. But then, the dirty gas tanks and their poison are not too many feet under our buildings are they? No wonder the water looks and tastes funky! We are almost full circle with the exception being that it just costs a lot more to live here in cubicles and be poisoned in 2013 than it did in the 1900s through 40s!
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