The recent court win by ST tenant Caryn Chow highlights how little of value is our Tenants Association and how if you want to get anything done in this complex proactively, you are, basically, on your own.
You can, and should, read about Chow's legal fight with CWCapital/CompassRock at the Town & Village blog.
In summary, Chow won a rent abatement of 30% for the daily, mammothly disruptive noise being inflicted on her due to the construction of the new management office, at back of 1st Ave. (Noise wasn't the only issue: her walls would shake and debris from outside would find its way into her apartment.) After unsuccessfully trying to come to a solution with management, Chow, who works from home, withheld rent payment, got an eviction notice, and was finally taken to court.
Chow's rent-strike demanded amazing courage and fortitude. She was the only tenant in the affected area to pursue a more rigorous and impacting response to the nightmare that was the construction of that management office. Everyone else accepted a $200 gift card from management.
Of note, both the TA and our councilman Dan Garodnick, were nowhere to be found in this matter (and were accepting of the construction), just as they are nowhere to be found in investigating whether CWCapital/CompassRock is strictly following DOB rules concerning room requirements, the addition of a room, via partitions, to an apartment, and filings that indicate "no change in occupancy." Separate from this management construction, Garodnick was even going to champion in the City Council extending tenant rights regarding construction noise, but if you hear anything about that now, let me know.
The Chow situation makes me angry, just as it should any long-term tenant here. CWCapital/Compass Rock feels free to abuse tenants by disregarding humane procedures whenever it suits them, legally acceptable or not. The TA and Garodnick are just about useless. And a tenant should never have to face the possibility of being kicked out of her home for standing up against uninhabitable living conditions. My one regret in this case is that Chow didn't get a greater rent abatement.
As usual when it faces legal punishment, CWCapital had "no comment" on the matter to Town & Village.
Congratulations Caryn Chow. Imagine if your neighbors in your building joined along or the other buildings effected by that fiasco. More tenants would have gotten rent abatement and you would have gotten support during your fight. Good for you for fighting the fight!
ReplyDeleteBased on her precedent setting ruling all tenants in effected buildings should get 30% abatement, dispersed with a 25% abatement to the apartment lease holder and the remaining 5% to Ms Chow taking the risk, putting herself on the front line, fighting the battle and scoring a victory.
ReplyDeleteWhere was Dan Garodnick when the construction noise was making those apartments unlivable?
ReplyDeleteHow would he like it under his family's window with noise and dug up moldy dust coming into his home?
Dan Garodnick ignoring his constituent's tenant issues again and to the point a Judge found her home unhabitable. That isn't turning a blind eye. That is hiding your guilt.
A blast from the past. Susan Steinberg trying to convince tenants of minimal noise as if tenants were too stupid to know the true size of the construction project and the true amount of noise it would make and true amount of time it would take. Oh Susan....
ReplyDeletehttp://town-village.com/2013/10/18/cw-talks-plans-for-new-management-office/
The noise level had to be really bad for a Judge to rule that way.
ReplyDeleteIn over 7 years we have never seen the TA board stick up for a tenant unless it benefits the TA board.
ReplyDeleteThey think they rule PCV ST and whatever they say goes but this shows the TA board deserves to get what they give ... a big fat nothing.
They have zero credibility with us.
Imagine what a win it would have been for all the affected tenants if only we had a tenants association that had led the battle. If only .... Ah, well. We don't have a TA so I guess it's no good thinking of what could have been and what could be.
ReplyDeleteNow this is what it looks like when tenant rights are fought for! Sorry you did it alone. Where were your neighbors?
ReplyDeletePlease go away TA and let a real TA board that has the willpower to stand up for tenants and fight for tenant rights (not just rant at a rally but a real fight).
Let us keep PCV and ST private and our working class families safe, .. and not your NYU Langone Garodnick luxury dorms and condos with public access to the riverfront and drunken frat raves.
Hats off to you Ms Chow!!!!!
ReplyDeleteTalk about noise pollution?! How about that so-called "concert" on the Oval ALL DAY Saturday July 25th. Music...and I use that word advisedly...blaring at inhuman decibel levels. Hey, this isn't summer camp. Do we really need these "amenities"?
ReplyDeleteAll I want to do is come home to my apartment and have a little peace and quiet. Is that asking too much?
CW Cap and Compass Cock or whoever manages this place should only step in the dog sh*t and used condoms which are all over.
Not a peep from stuytownbigdig on the noise. Not even a phony letter between Dan and Andrew asking him to keep it down. Makes me wonder what that site was really for. Not tenants that is for sure.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of people there who did not accept that paltry $200 marketing gimmick dining card. I somehow doubt the number of takers was very high. Anyone who received that paltry gimmick let us all know, did it come with Knapp's legal crap absolving them of everything? Everyone who didn't cash in that piece of Knapp crap should file a lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteWOW! CONGRATS CHOW!
ReplyDeleteThat bigdig website was shaaaadddy. It was registered under contactprivacy.com which works like an llc, it lets site owners hide identity under umbrella address tucows.
ReplyDeleteThe bigdig website was run by people connected to Dan. It was either a RE lobbyist or broker or banker.
But the photos on the site were by a tenant who had to know of the noise. That part doesn't make sense.
Whoever took the photos had to know about the noise.
Mrs Chow you deserve every penny and more for what you put up with at the bunker.
ReplyDeleteFIRST AVE LOOPERS Follow Mrs Chow's lead and get your 30% abatement!
ReplyDeleteWell done Caryn Chow, wish we had more people in PCVST like you.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Caryn Chow's facebook she is a life coach. Maybe she would give a motivational speech to our young teens on her experience standing up and speaking out for herself against all odds.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the acknowledgment. Helping teens to embrace their voices and nurture self-esteem is a topic I am very passionate about!
DeleteBravo, Ms Chow! I wish we had more tenants with your guts! I wish we had a councilman with your guts! I wish we had a TA with your , et, wait a minute, I WISH WE HAD A TA!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe have been on our own for a long time. The TA abandoned this community years ago. Dan was always in it for the RE deal for Paul Weiss first and foremost. His PR was spinning the whole "I'm against construction noise" but we had inhumanely loud early morning late night all day construction noise or his "I'm against predatory equity" while he pushes the biggest predator REBNY Brookfield or his "I'm a tenant advocate" with lots of photo op articles got us not one result from Dan on behalf of tenants. Longer warning time on illegal inspections doesn't stop harassment of illegal inspections or make sure all inspections are for appropriate reasons. $120,000,000 increase in rent for CompassRock or Brookfield or whoever and loss of acres of park speaks louder than all his PR combined. PCVST has been on its own for years and everyone sees it. We could all be a little more like Caryn Chow and stand up for ourselves.
ReplyDeleteIs this not tangible proof that Garodnick is corrupt and the TA is useless? If not, give me a better example.
ReplyDeleteI DO NOT WANT TO BUY MY APARTMENT, SUSAN STEINBERG, so let's have a real TA or none at all.
They'd better not start that shit on the 14th Street Loop because I know many, many tenants, including myself, who will also withhold rent and take it to court. We have had ENOUGH of the abuse and misery inflicted by this half-cocked Compass Crock poor excuse for a management. And Garodnick and the TA can go to HELL.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand. Isn't it the TA's job to bring lawsuits like this one? Don't they have the big-shot lawyers? What the TA for, exactly? They seem to have no mission other than dumb "rallies" that mean nothing and ugly tee shirts. There has to be more substance to fill our the form, otherwise they should just go away.
ReplyDeleteYUP
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
Bravo, Ms Chow! I wish we had more tenants with your guts! I wish we had a councilman with your guts! I wish we had a TA with your , et, wait a minute, I WISH WE HAD A TA!!!!
July 26, 2015 at 9:15 PM
LOL this made me smile. Thank you!
DeletePerhaps the TA can paper the building lobbies with this news worthy story. To receive a $200.00 gift card to Bruno's did the receiving tenants have to sign a waiver? If so this then compares to the Roberts settlement.
ReplyDeleteOur TA really doesn't care about us. I wouldn't give them a dime.
ReplyDeleteBravo Caryn Chow.
ReplyDeleteAlone again, naturally!
ReplyDeleteThe TA (if you can call it that anymore) should dump Garodnick and reinvent itself as a TA. Garodnick is a millstone around the neck of the TA and the whole community. He has skillfully transformed the TA into his ally and a tool of management.
ReplyDeleteMs Chow you are an inspiration. What a sad commentary this is on your neighbors who did nothing and a telling commentary on councilman Garodnick, Susan Steinberg, the former TA Pres John Marsh who closely kept watch on the construction of their new offices.
ReplyDeleteGood news and good job Ms Chow.
ReplyDeleteAgree 11:45 it is the TA's job and they have a law firm that says they are the tops. That law firm negotiated the disastrous 2014 mci's and lost. Tenants are better off without using the TA who is not doing their job or their law firm who is doing who know what.
AND to answer 10:03
YES! I will sign up for a real TA.
"Of note, both the TA and our councilman Dan Garodnick, were nowhere to be found in this matter..."
ReplyDeleteThe TA and Dan were having meetings to quell the tenants. They got aggressive in their quelling tenants! Sure they were nowhere to be found when looking on the side of the tenants. They were sure present and aggressive for the landlord and developers against the tenants. I am disgusted with them. Thoroughly forever disgusted.
IT IS INFURIATING A TENANT, THIS WOMAN, HAD TO GO IT ALONE WHILE LIVING IN INHABITABLE CONDITIONS! THE DEPLORABLE TA AND DEPLORABLE DAN'S HEADS ARE SO FAR UP THE DEVELOPERS ASSES.
ReplyDelete***Isn't it the TA's job to bring lawsuits like this one?***
ReplyDeleteProbably no. There is a legal principle called "standing." Since the TA was not directly harmed by the conditions for which Chow was petitioning the court for relief, it was up to Chow to bring the suit.
You know it had to be really bad if a Judge says so and gives a tenant an abatement.
ReplyDeleteMarsh and Steinberg should have had noise pollution measuring tools in apartments to stop it while it happened or take them to court in a class action to help tenants and not press statements in Town and Village saying there is no bedrock so there will be no noise. Nice press job they did for the landlord.
ReplyDeleteThis court victory is the last nail in the TA coffin for us. We are over the current TA and support ANYONE starting a new TA
Yeah whatever happened to Garodnick's construction noise bull er I mean bill? All for show? Wouldn't this have been the opportunity to use the video and audio recordings to pass a bill to protect tenants? The Caryn Chow Bill! Name a law after her for this!
ReplyDeleteShe is amazing!
ReplyDeleteI would say the TA and councilman Garodnick were more than "accepting" for that office building. That is a building and no longer open space. The DOB had political help in pushing that lie through.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Ms Chow
ReplyDeleteDitto
ReplyDeleteThe Chow situation makes me angry, just as it should any long-term tenant here. CWCapital/Compass Rock feels free to abuse tenants by disregarding humane procedures whenever it suits them, legally acceptable or not. The TA and Garodnick are just about useless. And a tenant should never have to face the possibility of being kicked out of her home for standing up against uninhabitable living conditions. My one regret in this case is that Chow didn't get a greater rent abatement.
>>***Isn't it the TA's job to bring lawsuits like this one?***
ReplyDeleteProbably no. There is a legal principle called "standing." Since the TA was not directly harmed by the conditions for which Chow was petitioning the court for relief, it was up to Chow to bring the suit.<<
The TA could have offered moral support, as well as vocal support, and informed tenants in the affected area on how to pursue a similar course of action. This actually could have been a class action lawsuit. Didn't the TA and Dan champion the Roberts affair in this manner?
We've been Garodnicked again!!!
ReplyDeleteIrrefutable proof Dan Garodnick abandoned this community for his REBNY pals. If he gave 1/100 the amount of time to Ms Chow as he gave to promoting the DOB building the office bunker she wouldn't have been on her own. Mr Garodnick is a disappointing shame.
ReplyDeleteMs Chow your efforts are commendable.
I know people who went to the TA for help and got thrown under the bus by the TA. Do not go to the TA for anything. They cannot be trusted to help tenants. They waged a campaign against two tenants who went to them for help. Trust me on this. Steer clear of them.
ReplyDeleteWHAT?! A TA board member lives in one of the buildings effected at the site. She could have brought a class action suit but she is for the development of the open spaces and supported the office construction.
ReplyDeleteA thousand tenants were effected by that construction. A lawsuit was very much a TA responsibility. But the John Marsh TA was pro-management office and pro-management. The TA board absolutely should have brought a legal action but the whole TA signed off on a lot of construction and development still to come.
Ms Chow congratulations and thank you for showing us it can be done.
ReplyDeleteIf the TA only collects $35 per member per year (and I doubt there is a large membership), how can it be expected to engage in major litigation? It seems unreasonable to expect that of it.
ReplyDeleteAgain: In the Chow case, the TA didn't need to do anything but provide moral and vocal support and let other tenants know how to pursue the same action.
ReplyDeleteThis does make me angry. Dan was out there getting headlines on fighting noise for construction when he did nothing for his own constituent and on the construction project he personally oversaw.
ReplyDelete10:45 the TA has lawyers for this very type of matter. The TA has more funds for this then any one person has. The TA pledge covers this very type of matter, it is in our pledge. What have Dan and the TA said about this or have they even apologized to her?
ReplyDeleteGood going Ms Chow.
ReplyDeleteAgree we were again Garodnicked.
Have a good day all.
One last thing
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nypress.com/the-noise-in-our-heads/
The noise on the bunker made her apartment uninhabitable. It was that bad.
Dan's bill does nothing on that and nothing for tenants. His answer to uninhabitable conditions is to have tenants be able to see on the DOB website why the construction was given a permit and which construction sites have permits. Dan's bill does not address the problem that is so bad our own community was made uninhabitable. But it does solve a problem for the developers so they do not get complaints on the noise.
Mr Garodnick the construction noise is making it uninhabitable at all hours. That is what the people need a bill for. Uninhabitable living conditions.
Dan's concentration these days is primarily the future and his place in NYC politics, which will mandate him staying friendly to REBNY interests. He doesn't need STPCV tenants anymore, but will pay lip service to the problems here and initiate a few small projects, like easier access for seniors to sidewalks. Meanwhile, what's up with de Blasio?! This guy abandoned this complex from the moment he was sworn in, and is wasting time going to Washington, going to Italy, trying to spread the cause of leftist/socialist ideas and plans. Fine, but shouldn't he take care of business in his own city first and present realistic examples of how he made things in NYC better because of his policies? I really see a one-term mayor, which is a shame because there was much promise in his election. Our future mayor is going to be Bloomberg-Lite, I fear.
ReplyDeleteDe Blasio needs a bold move for working class that Cuomo can't infringe upon. If De Blasio saved the working class homes here it would be two birds with one stone. He would win support of NYC and get national attention. Too bad De Blasio and his team cannot see the forest for the trees. De Blasio did have a lot of promise. NYC needed that and he let us all down once he got in office. Garodnick was always friendly to REBNY interests. He used his constituents instead of serving his constituents. The worse type of politician there is, he and Cuomo both.
ReplyDelete"Dan's concentration these days is primarily the future and his place in NYC politics, which will mandate him staying friendly to REBNY interests."
ReplyDeleteSo did Quinn. Then voters weighed in and she was out. Truth about what Dan did to constituents in Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town will get out no matter the Marsh and Garodnick PR company spin.
If your TA can afford a PR company they can afford a lawyer to protect tenants during unlivable conditions.
If bikinis and laundry rooms are all they can handle they can become secondary level QOL branch so top tier TA can take on issues a TA is supposed to handle, unlivable conditions, illegal apartment chopping, illegal tree chopping, fraudulent rent charges, etc etc.
The bunker office building is a big blunder showing TA Garodnick true intent. For all their words and meetings promising to make sure the residents there were not inconvenienced, they let it go to an extreme beyond inconvenience to unlivable. Hell they should have opposed the whole thing in the first place but I guess that was more lip service about protecting the open space and property configuration.
Garodnick is all lip service no action no results for tenants. And all action and results with no lip service to the REBNY. Always has been, since 2005 he just hid it. Never trusted him.
NY politicians tell us what they think we want to hear while doing what the REBNY and Wall Street order them to do.
Just do your job serving public interest and the public will love you for the results you get. It is bloody pathetic politicians failed people so far we fight for basic human rights as housing in America.
NYC residents cannot afford Garodnick to stay in politics. He does more harm than good.
ReplyDeleteOur future mayor is going to be Bloomberg-Lite, I fear.
ReplyDeleteFace it our current mayor is bloomberg-lite!!
the powers that be was never ever gonna let us get one who would champion the little guy....
where was DeBlasio when they were closing St Vincent? Wasnt he public advocate then? He's a Langonian wolf in sheep's clothing imho and how our homes are treated sez it all!!
***This actually could have been a class action lawsuit. Didn't the TA and Dan champion the Roberts affair in this manner?***
ReplyDeleteI'd think twice about putting together a class action suit, if it were even possible in this case, after the Roberts settlement. As you know, class actions are notorious for members getting little or no financial benefit while large fees go to the attorneys.
How can Dan read this blog and feel good about the job he does for his constituents? How can he think he is making a positive impact on his own community?
ReplyDeleteIts insane.
And while I said it before, I will say it again, he is the first and only Democrat I voted for and my disappointment is obviously huge.
Congrats Ms. Chow - I wish the TA had your perseverance!
This is great. Congratulations Caryn Chow, PCV and ST tenant of the year!
ReplyDeleteIt is official.
ReplyDeletehttp://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/how-nature-changes-the-brain/
and from the State's Beautiful, Smart First Lady
ReplyDeleteSandra Lee @SandraLee 22h22 hours ago
Share this Share this Share this! #sandralee #meditation #mindfulmonday #sit #share #relax https://instagram.com/p/5pUs3tPbjf/
https://instagram.com/p/5pUs3tPbjf/
Nothing from Garodnick on this tenant victory anywhere. Not even a tweet.
ReplyDeleteYou are a role model tenant Caryn Chow. Congrats.
OK nothing from Kavanagh and Hoylman too.
ReplyDeleteNothing from the TA too on Caryn Chow.
ReplyDeleteBut there is a new post. PCVST security is tracking and counting how many times and days you use your key card to prove tenants do not live here. As someone who never uses his key card because there is always people coming in and going out at the same time holding the door (neighbors, students and transients) I probably count as a nonuser of my key card but I sure do live here full time. If the TA lets the courts use this key card counting as a measure of anything or the courts allow this then the fix is really in.
"He's a Langonian wolf in sheep's clothing imho and how our homes are treated sez it all!!"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wsj.com/articles/de-blasio-finds-improbable-allies-in-business-elite-1434329546
ok we know the ta at one point had at least 10% membership that is 2500 members at $35 each that is $87,500.00 for that year. That is a nice income and that is just for one year and probably a low ball number for that year.
ReplyDeleteWe don't know how much money the ta has because they are secretive about how much and how they spend it. Personally I think they can afford a lawsuit and Ms Chow should not have had to spend her money and go it alone.
""Dan's concentration these days is primarily the future and his place in NYC politics, which will mandate him staying friendly to REBNY interests."
ReplyDeleteGarodnick is still fixated on tenant ownership. Call his office and they will tell you that.
De Blasio has turned his back on us and washed his hands of us. He is no better than Bloomberg, just a tall, scruffy version and with considerably less brain power. He and Garodnick are CRAP! Can't wait to see the back of both of them.
ReplyDeleteGarodnick is not going to congratulate Ms. Chow. He is probably pissed off at her because she has drawn attention to his conniving and his disdain for the tenants. He was a champion of the bunker, as was the so-called TA.
ReplyDeleteDan WHO?
ReplyDeleteGood going Ms Chow!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete11:42 AM: The most beautiful thing about Stuyvesant Town used to be the peaceful, tree-filled atmosphere. The Oval was an especially lovely place in summer and it was a pleasure to hear the trees rustling in the breeze. Now we have a barren "lawn" and the loud, screechy "concerts" with their third-rate "talent." I never see too many people at those "concerts." I hope the performers are not being paid out of the rental revenue! Tishman Speyer raped the property and CWC buggered it up the ass to finish the violation.
ReplyDeleteMarsh is now counseling people on the TA fb to sue for "constructive eviction" if their lives are disrupted by construction. What chutzpah! That is something the TA should have done.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete"Garodnick is still fixated on tenant ownership. Call his office and they will tell you that."
That is a company line. The story they tell to hide true intent.
Results speak louder. Increase rent roll. Kill Trees and Park to develop open space. NYU Intern Program to evict working class.
They won't tell you that on the phone. Their cover is blown.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteGarodnick is not going to congratulate Ms. Chow. He is probably pissed off at her because she has drawn attention to his conniving and his disdain for the tenants. He was a champion of the bunker, as was the so-called TA.
July 28, 2015 at 2:37 PM
They destroyed that area. It was beautiful. Tall trees breeze and open. Now it is awful, cramped, no trees no breeze.
Marsh the whole TA board and Dan destroyed the property and during the process, now we all know, they made apartments there uninhabitable. UNINHABITABLE! Then abandoned tenants who suffered to go it on their own or did worse to any tenant opposing their gross destructive plan.
Now Marsh is a hypocrite talking about construction eviction. Do not follow his lead. It is a waste of your time and money. My money is on following Ms Chow's lead, video, audio construction noise and testing the construction dirt and dust made up of "God knows what".
Commentator above hit the nail on the hesd, Marsh and Dan CHAMPIONED the bunker.
Dan feels fine about himself. He knows what he is doing and for who. If anything he is mad his constituents know the truth. Dan is not a champion for affordable housing for the working class.
ReplyDeleteChutzpah? More like hypocrisy!
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine how difficult this must have been for Caryn Chow. I admire her bravery and tenacity for fighting for her rights.
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate your comment, because it was indeed a tough going for me. I had no help from anyone whatsoever, except for one amazing neighbor who came forward to testify last-minute.
Delete***Personally I think they can afford a lawsuit and Ms Chow should not have had to spend her money and go it alone.***
ReplyDeleteMs Chow had to go it alone because that's how the legal system works. Only the party directly harmed by the conditions in Ms Chow's apartment would be allowed by law to petition the court for relief.
Chow's could be the first settled construction noise case in PCVST. Now there's precedent. That may be why Marsh is suggesting others pursue partial rent abatements for construction noise due to renovations in court.
ReplyDeleteUnrelated but I wonder if she was advised by her attorney to withhold her rent while pursuing her case in court. My understanding is that withholding rent is pretty risky.
The DOB CWCR Dan and TA Board were nothing but bullies during the bunker building construction.
ReplyDeleteConcerning the meeting between De Blasio, Marsh and Goradnick: Garodnick and Marsh are so hellbent on the tenant ownership path, maybe they discouraged De Blasio to get involved because they didn't want anything to get in the way of the Brookfield/Moelis/Paul Weiss deal? They seem hellbent on not uncovering any of the many, many violations and fraudulent DOB permits, FDNY code violations, etc. I wonder if they asked De Blasio not to interfere on the tenants' behalf because it might screw up their Master Plan? Possibly, they cut De B in on it if he'd butt-out. Something very, very fishy about the way DeB came over here and met with those two and then quietly washed his hands of us and walked away.
ReplyDeleteCall me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but there is something very underhanded going on and it stinks.
Inspirational Ms Chow.
ReplyDeleteWOW TA and Dan do not help PCV ST tenants and DeBlasio calls for Feds to help Puerto Rico but calls for no help for PCV ST. Calls for help for Puerto Rico are fine if they are hand in hand with calls for working middle class in NYC TOO.
ReplyDeleteFiling a lawsuit on construction eviction is difficult to prove and dead end advice.
ReplyDeleteDo what Ms Chow did and file for uninhabitable conditions. That violates your lease and is easier to prove especially now with this precedent.
Keycard data can be used as only one piece of evidence in a Golub case. They need way more evidence than that to prove that it's not your primary residence.
ReplyDeletede Blasio would get a lot of national attention if he made a bold move to penn south coop us as a working middle class and veterans housing complex. he could one up cuomo by inviting obama to have a nyc press conference and set a precedent on saving the middle class from the hedge fund hoarders.
ReplyDeleteThe way I read it (and I may be wrong) is that Ms Chow withheld her rent until management took her to court. Then she explained to the judge why she didn't pay her rent.
ReplyDeleteThe TA could have reached out to others in those buildings to gather witnesses. There is a lot the TA could do. They chose not to help the tenants in those buildings on purpose.
ReplyDeleteI find it alarming we cannot have any expectations of our local politicians let alone high expectations here in NYC. Caryn Chow achieved greatness on her own. I am deeply disturbed by the local pols here on this one.
ReplyDelete>>The way I read it (and I may be wrong) is that Ms Chow withheld her rent until management took her to court. Then she explained to the judge why she didn't pay her rent.<<
ReplyDeleteThat's the way I read it, too.
It would be wonderful if PCVST could be turned into a Penn South-type of cooperative for middle-class and lower income citizens. I don't think that will happen though because we are a cash cow for CWC and the next bloodsucking hedge fund that takes it over. Dan and the TA are always dreaming of tenant ownership. I don't believe that will ever happen and, if it does, only the very affluent tenants will be able to afford the apartments because of the location we are in which has become suddenly a "desirable" neighborhood that was just a few years ago a drug-infested cesspool. That is why the property is so valuable now. Maybe if we have another Wall Street crash and a deep recession or depression, the property will go down in value because all the hipsters and yunnies will go back to their Flyover states. The apartments here are nice enough, but they are overpriced simply because of the location. They weren't built for affluent people; they were built for working class and middle class folk who could deal with one bathroom and no doorman and unreliable plumbing! You never know what is going to come out of the faucets and leaks and pipe bursts are happening all over the property. If the plumbing ever gets upgraded it will be a massive MCI. If we were a cooperative like Penn South a revamp of the plumbing would be more feasible because the cost would be born by the tenants in a more equitable way and nobody would be making a profit out of it. So long as greedy speculators can make a killing here it will continue to get more expensive and the QOL will sink to even lower levels.
ReplyDeleteCan tenants sue the TA? What about Garodnick?
ReplyDeleteI am beside myself on this one. Good for Ms Chow.
ReplyDeleteBears repeating:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Can tenants sue the TA? What about Garodnick?
July 30, 2015 at 1:02 PM
My vote goes to Ms. Chow. Maybe SHE should run the TA.
ReplyDelete"Chow, for Now!".
The Roberts litigation was commenced without the TA. Sadly, it ended being a fuck up the ass for the "victorious" plaintiffs and a windfall for the sleazy lawyers. Ms Chow went it alone and I applaud her for that. If the TA had "helped" her, they probably would have screwed it up and she would have lost the case and been made to pay through the nose or been evicted.
ReplyDeleteTalk about "having a pair?" Wow. You here that, invisible TA? You there Danny Boy?
ReplyDeleteYou all should be ashamed.
You are terrific Ms Chow, just terrific.
ReplyDeleteDoubly Quadruply ashamed.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
Talk about "having a pair?" Wow. You here that, invisible TA? You there Danny Boy?
You all should be ashamed.
August 4, 2015 at 10:13 AM
CompassRock and CW Capital and Fortress Hedge Fund Group are ruining the once gorgoeus property and ruining the lives of the tenants by deteriorating quality of life and wrongful evictions and inexplicable rent charges, taking money from hard working people.
ReplyDeleteThe State and City should be ashamed. They live up to their reputation of top most corrupt state in the country. They failed the largest middle class community in the country. Their "one bad apple not spoiling the whole bunch" cry does not fly. Not one politician will speak out against the dirty RE deal. All their hands are dirty.
Talk about "having a pair?" Wow. You here that, invisible TA? You there Danny Boy?
ReplyDeleteYou all should be ashamed.
August 4, 2015 at 10:13 AM
Well said and so true.