But, I'm still planning on going.
I asked myself the other day if I would be disappointed if Mayor Blasio did not show up at the rally to support ST/PCV tenants and the cause of affordable housing. For sure, I would be disappointed. If I want him to show up, why wouldn't I show up?
At this time, it is no big deal for me to head down to City Hall on a Friday morning. I have the day off (as much as an independent contractor can have the day off who needs to work almost every day to afford affordable housing) and I love walking and I'm interesting in seeing--and gauging--what happens.
It may be raining, but that's a minor inconvenience. I--we--have suffered worse than some rain bouncing off our umbrellas and our shoes getting wet.
So, no high hopes and low expectations from me. But I don't feel right about abandoning the fellow tenants who will be there, even if some are there for misguided reasons. And I do feel right about, at the very least, standing with those who oppose the current predator and future predators around us, though as we know these predators don't give a rat's ass about us or our rallies.
We must do better in the future.
The rally will be held Friday the 13th (!) at the City Hall steps from10:00am - 11:30am.
37 comments:
We need to hire lawyers to fight the illegal charges that now appear on our leases amongst other things going on here.
I'll be there with my postcards! Let's get ORGANIZE people!!!!!!!
As Woody Allen said, 80% of life is showing up. And the other 20% is for all the time you spend making up lame excuses for when you didn't show up.
If you want to get someone's attention, you have to make some noise. It's that simple. De Blasio and anyone else who could help us won't be stopping by our living rooms for a one-on-one. Let's get him to pay attention. We can fight amongst ourselves later.
I think before anyone rallies we should know all the details of the deal they are crafting. Do my husband and I (both working class or even considered blue collar) have to have 2 kids to fit into this mold for an RS apartment here or will we be evicted for our zero-kid status because we want to save up money right now?
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/12/nyregion/lenders-enlisted-in-effort-to-preserve-stuyvesant-town-for-the-middle-class.html?_r=0
Therein lies a problem. Can a public servant, a politician show favoritism in a business deal ... is that ethical ... is that legal? If this is a Brookfield rally is it ethical or legal for politicians to demonstrate? Can de Blasio ethically or legally make an appearance at this Fortress vs Brookfield rally or is that an unfair expectation? Is that why the blanket "affordable housing" cover? Who are the people tied to the Brookfield deal and how are they tied? Who are the people tied to the Fortress deal including CW who has been running this since 2010?
The legality and ethics of all this is too shady to see clearly and make sound decisions.
If this really were about affordable housing a politician would call for an investigation of the numbers, return the illegally increased market rate apartments to their correct rent and restore this property in its entirety, all 12,000 apartments to Full time Residential only, no temporary tenants of student housing and correct all the overcharges.
That is what a proper, good deal would look like.
Everybody is aware that CW transferred the deed to ST-PCV to the senior lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, last week, right? Here's a reason to go to the rally, based on some actual reporting:
Lenders Enlisted in Effort to Preserve Stuyvesant Town for the Middle Class by Charles Bagli
"One month after word circulated that Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village was for sale, the battle is fully engaged to preserve this increasingly rare oasis for middle-class families in Manhattan.
Senator Charles E. Schumer has enlisted two of the country’s largest sources of mortgage financing — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — to block the kind of speculative deal that would turn the residential complex into another luxury enclave.
“They gave me unequivocal commitments that they would not finance a deal that was unacceptable to the tenants and the city,” Mr. Schumer said on Wednesday.
“There were no ifs, ands or buts. I hope the tenants and those interested in affordability will breathe a sigh of relief.”
But the lure of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, with 11,231 apartments in 110 buildings stretched across 80 acres of prime land on the East Side, could prove irresistible.
Large developers and investor groups — Blackstone Group, Related Companies, Centerbridge Partners and Extell Development — have already signaled their interest in buying the property. The pending sale comes at a time when the average condominium price is over $1.5 million and rents are soaring.
But Mr. Schumer, Mayor Bill de Blasio, tenants and an overwhelming majority of local elected officials are determined to maintain the complex as a place where teachers, nurses, construction workers, firefighters and small-business owners can raise their families.
Tenants are planning a rally on the steps of City Hall on Friday morning.
Mr, de Blasio, who has vowed to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing, called the decision by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a “positive step” and praised Mr. Schumer for pushing the two agencies to ensure “that the city and tenants have a better shot at shaping this outcome and protecting this community for middle-class New Yorkers.”
“We are aggressively using all the levers at our disposal,” he said in a statement Wednesday, “to protect affordability at Stuy Town...”
www.nytimes.com/2014/06/12/nyregion/lenders-enlisted-in-effort-to-preserve-stuyvesant-town-for-the-middle-class.html?_r=0
This is how the Bagli story ends:
"...Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which own a portion of the current mortgage, confirmed that they would consider financing a new loan for the complex only if it had the support of the city and tenants.
Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen has been meeting with CW Capital, tenants and prospective parties in an attempt to fashion a deal that would satisfy the lenders, who are now owed about $4.4 billion, and preserve as many as 6,000 apartments for families of four earning between $65,000 and $135,000 a year.
“In return for a tax exemption,” Ms. Glen said, “owners would enter into a 40-year agreement for affordability.”
Andrew MacArthur, a managing director at CW Capital, said he had been talking with city officials and looked “forward to productive discussions in the coming weeks.”
That's the end of the Bagli story. This is not over and the deed transfer to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may indeed have been a better outcome for us than foreclosure, as Garodnick suggested after it happened.
It also looks like a lot of people, including our elected officials and tenant reps have been pretty busy for the last few weeks trying to throw a monkey wrench into the ST-PCV deal.
It'd be nice to see an iota of support from this blog instead of the usual attacks, but I'm not holding out much hope.
These are important:
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/new-assurances-from-fannie-freddie-on-stuyvesant-town-20140611-01161
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/12/nyregion/lenders-enlisted-in-effort-to-preserve-stuyvesant-town-for-the-middle-class.html
I will probably go. And when the TA starts promoting Brookfield I will boo &/or leave.
I appreciate your post. I think it's a sober reflection on exactly where we are.
No lame excuses. I'm not going because like the VAST majority I do not support this supposed Tenants Association or Dan Garodnick.
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140612/gramercy/gramercy-rents-drop-as-tenants-look-newer-buildings-brokers-say
Seems the only people not trying to save affordability are Dan Garodnick and the TA. Go figure!
You need to go Str and all. It's not about owning or buying or anything but affordable housing for all new york city tenants. The landlords are breaking laws here, left and right and other landlords too. Enough lying down and taking this shit from them and the politicians and the city. Let's tell them , in the numbers we show up as, to go F themselves.
9:49 i aboslutely 150k % agree with you. But I'm not going to sit home and not try to voice my opinion on the thievery. You can, but shame on you. You then cannot complain. So be it.
12 pm. Then you can smile when you get the next 3 Mcis coming this quarter.
To: "...Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which own a portion of the current mortgage, confirmed that they would consider financing a new loan for the complex only if it had the support of the city and tenants."
How will the support of the tenants be gauged? Referendum? I'm all for that. One vote per unit. But if you're thinking that the gauge is the OK from the TA Board, that will have me and others protesting loudly.
You know...if would be nice if those supporting the TA would just come right out and say what their intentions are instead of forever trying to spin and manipulate to get their way. Makes me feel they have a very weak case and probably something to hide.
I read most of these articles and one thing keeps coming up to the surface. The years of negligence by local politicians (and ofttimes adversarial acts by pro-real estate local politicians against tenants) has turned PCV ST into a problem to be solved.
We are not a problem. We are people. Humans.
There is no humanity in these suggested solutions.
There is number crunching and profit measures depending on incomes and rents. People aren't so cookie cutter.
A lot of us work in construction, the arts, theatre, administrative positions, plumbing, publishing, marketing, city employees, all trades and industries even independent contractors.
Our incomes may not be steady and certainly don't steadily increase every year at pace or outpacing rent and cost of living increases.
We are two parent households, single parent households, single, married, divorced, widowed, one kid, two kids, three kids and more. And lets not leave out the now 3 to 5+ non-related student dwellings.
We don't fit into molds or formulas. That's the diversity of the people and the industries in NYC and PCV ST.
The people of NYC need our leaders to be "championing" us.
They need to defend us, to have our back and support us with the policies and laws they make.
We've not had that since 2006.
Not treating us like problems to be solved.
Championing the people - isn't that what people in leadership positions are supposed to do?
What I don't see are any solutions defending all the different types of people living here - we are not all a fantastical 1950's family of four - whoever made that statement is frighteningly out of touch.
Champion the cause of affordable housing and healthy living open spaces.
Champion the people, all
different types of this diverse PCVST community.
If we hadn't been put in a state of extreme distress these past years there wouldn't be the need to be rescued too.
Once we can remove all those responsible for putting PCV ST in dire straits since 2006 and we get the right leadership championing New Yorkers PCV ST could again be great.
But every solution I have read in the press to the current situation lacks humanity.
We don't need Politicians to be our hero, just be our biggest champion.
That is just another lame excuse. If you don't go then dont complain, I'm sure whoever buys StuyTown and jacks up your rent will appreciate you didn't show up. I'm sure they will send you a condolence crd when they raise rents and start bulldozing the grounds to put up condos. Or you can go and then come back here and tell us what was wrong with the rally, at least then you will have first hand knowledge and have show some interest in your own future. But in the end its your choice, simple as that.
Any parents reading on this blog: Tell your kids to stop running around the apartment. We live under you and it's this every day now. if you're kid can't walk across the floor, then you need to move into a house, without shared walls and floors. Yes, I'm calling PS, for this. Sad sad.
June 12, 2014 at 12:00 PM
So don't go because you don't support the TA. But please don't pretend to speak for anyone but yourself. You have no idea what the "vast majority" think of the TA. Please don't hand me your usual BS about # of dues paying members. That's not necessarily reflective of support or lack of it. For example, lots of people watch and enjoy NPR and PBS on a daily basis but don't support them financially. I know that's a fact because they pound that into our heads every time there's a pledge drive.
What does it mean that de Blasio says PCVST will not be privatized and how does that bode with Brookfield recently going from a public company to a private company?
"I'm sure whoever buys StuyTown and jacks up your rent will appreciate you didn't show up."
Right. Like Brookfield wouldn't try to jack up rents when they're in control for the first 5 years.
"But please don't pretend to speak for anyone but yourself."
Ok. I will. I used to be a dues paying member and at one time was an active member, attending meetings & participating in group support. But 2 years ago when the TA started avoiding tough questions and started its program of one way communication, after about 3-4 months of this, I dropped out. I seriously doubt that I'm the only one who feels as I do. Suffice it to say, most people here are hardly aware of the TA. I am prepared to stick with that statement.
Weenied out. Too much rain @ 9:15. Heaviest rain due around 10. Wish they would reschedule.
12 pm. Then you can smile when you get the next 3 Mcis coming this quarter.
As if the TA could get any better results than individuals could get. In fact, we clearly would have been better off filing individual pars and challenging that way then accepting the TA's crappy deal.
So don't go because you don't support the TA. But please don't pretend to speak for anyone but yourself. You have no idea what the "vast majority" think of the TA. Please don't hand me your usual BS about # of dues paying members. That's not necessarily reflective of support or lack of it. For example, lots of people watch and enjoy NPR and PBS on a daily basis but don't support them financially. I know that's a fact because they pound that into our heads every time there's a pledge drive.
This is not PBS or anything else but a Tenants Association. Clearly support is gauged by membership. If you want to live in the state of denial move to Egypt.
Simple Math. If there are 30k residents, if 15001 show the TA has majority support. If not they are a minority. Doesn't get any simpler. You can spin it however you want it doesn't change the facts.
Let's make it easier for you to get to a relevant level say we go by apartments only instead of residents. 11K apt, 5501 equals half. The TA has about 10% membership, like it or not the VAST majority are not members. It logically follows they don't support the TA. If they did they would join...I mean it's a lousy 35 bucks a year, which actually makes participation rate more sad.
Not a lot of people showed up. hmmmmmm….
Parents need one good swift kick in the a.....
Keep calling P.S. You have a right to.
>>Not a lot of people showed up. hmmmmmm….<<
For a rally held during the weekday, downtown, with rain pouring down heavily at times--a very good turn-out, I'd say.
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140613/REAL_ESTATE/140619926/tenants-pols-rally-in-support-of-stuy-town#
And the MR , also middle class, get screwed again......
STR, A very good turnout?? Come on now. Compared to the less than 10 people who showed for the mid lease hikes it was a good turnout but otherwise paltry at best. A large number of people there were the politicians office workers and staff. I'd say less than 100 tenants out of 25000. That's well below TA membership of around 1000. Seems like a lack of support to me.
1:50 EXACTLY! That is what tenants have been saying on all these posts. Since the TA refuses to help the Market Rate get their apartment rents checked it is up to each tenant because it is without a doubt most market rate apartments are being overcharged. There is no way the renovations were more than $25,000 - $30,000 at most spent on renovations.
The market rate are getting ripped off!
Hmm. Thoroughly confused now. What are we actually fighting for ? I am an older RS tenant and have no worries I will be so for a very long time. Theres no one that can touch us in this respect.
Please explain.
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