Residents "Win" Rebate

http://town-village.com/2014/01/30/residents-win-rent-rebate-in-deal-over-hurricane-sandy-damage/

From the article:

"CW Capital spokesperson Brian Moriarty said that the building owner appreciated residents’ patience in waiting for the rent reductions. 'We are pleased to have reached an agreement so we may put this chapter behind us and focus on the rebuilding work that still remains,' he said. 'We are very proud of the hard work of our staff in the recovery effort and look forward to returning to full capacity.'”

I don't live in any of the affected buildings, so it's up to their residents to decide if a one-time rent rebate is actually a win for services and facilities not provided for months and months.

BTW, here's a link to the TA page on what the TA was going for ("we feel that CWCapital must abate residents’ rents for the period that they were and are without basic services") and CW's response at the time ( “petty and mean spirited....tenants seek to transform these events into an opportunity to profit.”):

http://www.stpcvta.org/ta/post/CW-Capital-to-Tenants-Stop-Being-So-Greedy

Management Office "Cellar" Extension Diagram and Zoning Info

Click on images to make larger.

UPDATE 1/31/14: Cost of the new extension: $3,216,000.  Source: http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/BScanJobDocumentServlet?requestid=9&passjobnumber=121333958&passdocnumber=01&allbin=1082869&scancode=ES808449057

PCVST Award-Winning Security System Fails to Stop Criminal in Stuy Town

This is the security system you are paying an MCI for.

http://nypost.com/2014/01/23/teen-busted-after-spree-of-attempted-rapes-robberies-death-threats/

The Stuy Town mention: "On Friday, Jackson tried approaching a 24-year-old who was exiting a Stuyvesant Town elevator on the ground around 8:35 p.m., cops said. 'I’m going to shoot you,' he allegedly snarled and then began counting down. That woman also scared him off by screaming and pressing several buttons on the elevator, police added."

No mention of a chase by our Public Safety officers, either.

Photos....

There's been a decimation of trees where the new management office is being extended, near 1st Ave and by the "train playground." Anyone have good photos?  (My camera needs some repair work.)

Please send to: stuytownreporter@gmail.com

Thanks!

---------------

UPDATE: A couple of pertinent photos have turned up on the TA Facebook page.  Here's a shocking one sent in by a STR reader, to whom I send many thanks.

 

UPDATE: More photos, but from a different time, during the summer, before the current work was begun. These will be the barometer by which the look of the area in the future can be measured. And a jog to the memory as to what was lost. Thanks to another STR reader for the photos.

Payback is a bitch....

http://nypost.com/2014/01/21/upper-east-side-residents-feel-spurned-after-plow-delay/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow

I'm joking, of course.

Not My New York

Disgusting.

http://nypost.com/2014/01/19/cops-beat-elderly-man-after-he-jaywalked/

Work Continues!

Originally posted December 26th, 2013:

As expected CWCapital/CompassRock has work crews out this morning, the morning after Christmas Day, making a disruptive racket at the forthcoming new security office at the Oval. Residents who live around the construction zone had only a brief respite from the unendurable noise yesterday, Christmas, but otherwise work continues full speed ahead, all day long, beginning at eight in the morning. One would think that basic human decency and concern would compel CWCapital/CompassRock to give a holiday gift of sleep and peace on the day after Christmas, but no, that would be too much to expect of this landlord, wouldn't it? Likewise, simple fairness should mandate that residents who live above or by the construction zone get a reduction of their rent during the period of construction, but, again, that would be too much to expect.

[Noise-making crews are also out this morning to various empty apartments to continue with their work of transforming affordable old apartments to brand-new cash cows. Good luck if you live close to such an apartment.]

There is a special place in hell where that landlord--Beelzebub himself--welcomes such callous businessmen and planners. He awaits!

UPDATE: Janurary 20, 2014:

Noisy work on the new security office continued this past Saturday and will also continue next Saturday, if not for more Saturdays. I knew that nothing would stop CWCapital from making life a hell for tenants nearby, with construction work even going into the weekend when all tenants are home and trying to rest and relax and sleep. How about a rent reduction while this work is going on, guys?

PCVST Up for Sale in Mid-2014

But a probable purchase in 2015.

http://www.globest.com/news/12_774/national/distressed_assets/CMBS-Late-Pays-Could-Drop-Below-4-This-Year-341661.html

UPDATE 1/16/14:  Town & Village article on this:

http://town-village.com/2014/01/16/cwcapital-to-market-st-for-sale-soon-report/

As is typcial, CWCapital is remaining close-lipped on the issue. Of note:

"...the company could also be waiting to resolve the ongoing negotiations over five major capital improvement (MCI) rent increases with the Tenants Association."

Ergo, the TA is aware that any negotiations/lawsuits/etc can hold up the sale of PCVST. And so is CW.

The Management Office Controversy

Work has begun on the complex's new management office, which is going to be an extension of the space that is/was used by Oval Concierge. The latter will now be housed across the 1st Street Loop.

Unfortunately, my time to look into this is extremely limited at this point, but I do want to post information that the project has generated some controversy.  A few tenants are monitoring work permits and the Department of Buildings responses to the plans for this construction.  Seems the DOB did not acquiesce to the plans on 12/23/2013, but then changed its position on most of the applications on 12/27/2013. Also, recently, a stop work order was issued by the DOB when no permits were available and yet work was proceeding. (The permits are up and on display now.)

The overriding issue is whether this construction is one more instance of the removal of tenant use of property in favor of management space and commercial space. Certainly, we are currently seeing various areas of the complex being transformed for such usage. And nothing is stopping CWCapital from crafting commercial usage out of pockets of PCVST, as long as the commercial entities are, wink-wink, "for residents and their guests."

Interesting, too, that management is building a new office near 1st Ave as a protection against another Hurricane Sandy, but will be selling the previous space along the FDR drive for a commercial entity that will have something do with children. So one assumes that it's okay for a children's area and the garages along that street to be at the potential mercy of a hurricane, but not the management or security office. Just as a thought: I wonder if something far less expensive could be crafted to protect that side of Stuy Town (and Peter Cooper Village) in the event of another similar, and rare, hurricane. Was this ever looked into? And what will the protection be for the east side of PCVST if another devastating hurricane does come?

... And is the construction of this new management office another MCI waiting to happen?

An October report on the project from Town & Village:

http://town-village.com/2013/10/18/cw-talks-plans-for-new-management-office/

Associated

Passing by Associated on 14 St tonight. Cordoned off with police tape and fire trucks around.  Pitch black inside.  Didn't smell any fire, so it may have been an electrical short or something of that nature. Hopefully all will be operational tomorrow morning. Love that place!

Well, now that you mention it....

The TA-Garodnick lovefest continues....  Someone on the TA Facebook posted this as an example of Dan being in Albany fighting for tenants rights in NY, and asking if another poster was there with Dan.  First, let's watch this:



Now, how is that Roberts decision working out for ya? Previous market-rate tenants really aced it, didn't they? Their rents are now comparable to what true rent stabilized tenants are paying, aren't they? Everything worked out well for tenants, didn't it?

And, do you feel that tenant rights have been improved since the above speech?

Do you feel that CWCapital is being held accountable for the mismanagement going on here?

As for Dan showing up in Albany.... Bravo (truly), but it's his JOB to fight for the community and for tenants rights. His paycheck comes from doing things like this.

And as long as I have your attention, let me repeat my questions about Dan from a commentary post:

1) What does it say about Dan's influence in that he hasn't been able to get CWCapital to fix all of the problems created by Hurricane Sandy and still has to dump his garbage outside of his PCV building?

2) Is he not a major hypocrite in being against extending term limits and then using that extension to his own advantage?

3) Has he not supported the growth of high rises that mar the "postcard" nature of Manhattan, as in supporting "Vornado Tower" which will take away the view of the Empire State Building from the west? (Dan has, of course, received financial contributions from Vornado.)

4) After initially putting up a good fight did not Dan concede that CWCapital has a right to create business entities (ie, stores) around the Oval?

But, yes, he's a nice guy and pleasant to look at.

Thank you.

----------------------------

UPDATE: 1/10/14.  Defense of Dan on the TA Facebook:  "How can Dan, or any politician, change issues on private property?"

He showed that he could do something when he stood up, briefly, to CWCapital for its use of the Oval for business entities, but then he dropped the ball completely:

http://stuytownreport.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-zoning-regulations.html

As a lawyer, with a horde of lawyer compatriots behind him from his old law firm, Dan surely has much he can do legally to put pressure on CWCapital, yet, I believe, because the prize is tenant ownership of this complex, he doesn't want the process of potential conversion to remain in limbo in the courts due to any new lawsuits, etc. Look how long the Roberts case held everything in check before it was resolved. I believe that the TA has this same view, unfortunately. So we are allowing ourselves to be screwed because the hope is that one day in the near future the property will belong to its tenants.

It is amazing to think that Dan is really powerless regarding what's happening in his own building. While CWCapital is putting resources into building a new security office, concierge and management office--and continual wasteful "gardening"--it is proceeding at a snail's pace to finalize the work needed to be done in the PCV buildings affected by Hurricane Sandy. Is another year going to pass before Dan will be able to place his garbage in an appropriate place within his building, instead of outside of it?  I know if I were a city councilman (and a one-time hopeful city council speaker and possible future mayoral candidate), I would be pressing CWCapital so hard on this issue, that their balls would be popping out of their eye-sockets. New Yorkers need fighters who can be bastards when appropriate, who have the testicular fortitude to press on and on until a win is achieved, or if it's not, at least they will be bloodied and exhausted in the fight. Dan is too much of a pretty boy, with a pretty boy's nice guy "I'm a compromiser" attitude, to be such a fighter.
 

So sad....

New York is running out of luxury condos....

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101308576

The records keep piling up for Manhattan real estate.

The fourth quarter saw a string of records broken—from number of deals and average sale prices to dwindling inventory—as the rich from around the world scoop up luxury apartments as a store of wealth.

The average sales price in Manhattan rose 5.3 percent to $1,538,203 in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago. That marked the highest-ever price for a fourth quarter. The median sales price for condos is the highest-ever tracked, hitting $1.3 million.

And the inventory of apartments for sale has shrunk to its lowest level in recent memory, with a little over 4,000 apartments for sale. 

More at the above link.


Yeah, let's get rid of rent control and rent stabilization, so the rich can find more space to live in--or play with.

Garodnick and the Race for City Council Speaker

 http://town-village.com/2014/01/03/garodnick-speaker-race-is-not-over-yet/

I can't say I want him to win.  He's too much of a smooth-talking lawyer/politician.  Yes, he's fought for this community and has some accomplishments. But he's not even able to pressure CWCapital/CompassRock to get his own PCV building fixed, post Hurricane Sandy. He still has to dump his garbage by the outside door.

This quote from him is potentially troubling: “We are at an important crossroads in New York City history. We’re seeing a lot of turnover in local government. There are going to be issues in which the mayor and the City Council will part company. That’s why you need to have two distinct branches of government and we should not stray from that.”

Hmm, was he that concerned with two distinct branches of government during the Bloomberg years?

Also, I didn't know that his current district covers one of the wealthiest in NYC.  If De Blasio is supposed to represent the middle and poorer classes of the city, does Garodnick represent a different constituency by his own admission?

I do know Garodnick supports big real estate and those damn high-rises that have been popping up in the most inopportune places and that he was against extending term limits before he took advantage of them. And Christine Quinn is pushing for his win. Perhaps we should give De Blasio the City Council Speaker he wants: Melissa Mark-Viverito. If the city is going to give serious, potential radical liberalism a shot, it may want to go all the way, instead of hedging its bet with Garodnick.

Where's the Salt?

The snow plows did a good job of clearing high snow from the pathways, but have left behind a slippery slide zone with packed layers of snow on the ground that have now frozen. Beware out there! Particularly around the Oval.

UPDATE 1/5/14: Today there have been several reports on the TA Facebook about slippery conditions out there in PCVST.  People have fallen.  And check out this incredible photo taken by a poster of a sheet of ice near the concierge at PCV:

This is completely UNACCEPTABLE.