Dan Garodnick vs. the VA Hospital

https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150825/kips-bay/va-hospitals-flood-wall-work-tears-up-part-of-new-kips-bay-playground

The VA is constructing a flood wall next to the new Asser Levy "park" that was finished about 8 months ago and infringing on that space. The flood wall is being obviously constructed to protect the VA hospital, which suffered a lot of damage during Hurricane Sandy. Many veterans use the hospital, particularly the ones with financial hardships. In the aftermath of Sandy they could not use the hospital's services for months and months. These are people who served their country and who currently find themselves without much money and in need of help for physical and/or mental issues. So they are frequently poor and frequently minority.

Our "progressive" councilman, Dan Garodnick, who loves his mini-parks by the way, is upset at the VA, and is quoted as saying:

“If the VA had built the flood wall during the time Parks was constructing the playground, we would have avoided this. The VA now has an obligation to put the park back in the precise condition they found it in, and we are counting on that.”

Nice hard-line words, Dan. Go get 'em.

The reality is that the VA will do what it can to replace what's been lost. But the reality is also that few people have been using what was lost, and most of the "park," which doubles as an exercise area, is still available for use.

Also, this is complete bullshit:

"Steinberg [the person in the article complaining about the intrusion of the flood wall] enjoyed the convenience of using the fitness equipment at Asser Levy, which is just three blocks from his house, but now must head more than a mile away to East River Park if he wants to work out on city recreation equipment, he said."

Well, Steinberg should be alerted that the Asser Levy gym is still operational; the construction of the VA hospital flood wall has no impact on the gym, just on the meager "equipment" that was part of the park. So he doesn't have to burden himself by seeking another workout area "more than a mile away." And he surely must know this, but perhaps doesn't want to use the facilities at the gym. (I'm not going to press further on why that may be because I don't want to embarrass Mr. Steinberg; let's just say the "clientele" at the Asser Levy gym may not be to his liking.)

So guys, back off from bitching about the VA and its necessary construction of a flood wall to protect a hospital that generally low-income vets use.

And Dan, tell me, has a flood wall been built yet to protect Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town? Or, despite your bitching about the VA's timeline, is the VA ahead of the game, while PCV/ST is not?

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UPDATE:

If I could laugh at this issue, I would. This is one of the pieces of serious "fitness equipment" at Dan's park:

It's a Small World After All

(Hat tip to a Stuy Town Report reader and commentator for the alert.)

Meanwhile, let's sing along!....

Stuy Town Graffiti and other photos of the hood

A worker was getting rid of the huge spray-painted tag or message on a Stuy Town building on 1st Ave this morning. Wonder what it said?

Nothing quite proclaims a slum like graffiti, although it could have been a social message from a concerned tenant. Let's see... That's a "CK" at the end....

 

Meanwhile CW/CompassRock is creating a luxurious studio apartment along 14th Street, right next to Associated. The view from the window will be charming: trucks parking to deliver goods to the supermarket and, better yet, the daily gathering of bottle returners. You'd have to be an idiot to rent the apartment, given what the monthly rent and view will be--and the noise from the very active street! But idiots can be always found, of course....

A reader sent this one in. Seems the base of our flagpoles is popular for residents to sit and chat--and also popular for dogs to leave mementos behind :

Another reader photo. Seems the loading zone isn't used much for loading or unloading, as trucks prefer to park illegally around the loop rather than use the clearly marked and bright yellow parking area:

Ma'am, you dropped something:

Dan Gardonick and the One Vanderbilt Office Mega Tower: You Scratch My Back and I'll Scratch Yours

No wonder our "homeboy" Dan spent good money (taxpayers' money?) on that recent glossy mammoth newsletter touting One Vanderbilt!

The business of politics right before your eyes:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-05/sl-green-midtown-skyscraper-gets-nyc-councilman-s-endorsement

From the above article, dated 5/5/2015, emphasis mine:

>>SL Green Realty Corp. reached an agreement with New York City Councilman Dan Garodnick and other officials that the company expects will allow it to build a skyscraper near Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan.

Garodnick said he supports the real estate investment trust’s proposal for 1 Vanderbilt, a 1.6 million-square-foot (149,000-square-meter) tower on Vanderbilt Avenue, and zoning changes to the area that would be needed. As part of the project, SL Green plans to invest $220 million for transit upgrades near Grand Central. With approval of the full City Council, the tower could be completed by 2020, SL Green Chief Executive Officer Marc Holliday said.

“We have struck a much better deal for the public, and we will start seeing real benefits to Grand Central in the near term, even before a single new building is occupied,” Garodnick said at a news conference Tuesday.

The councilman, whose district includes the 1 Vanderbilt site just west of the transit hub, said the agreement sets the stage for a wider rezoning of east Midtown that would permit taller towers in the area.<<

http://rew-online.com/2015/05/27/garodnick-secures-city-council-approval-of-first-phase-of-east-midtown-rezoning/ 

From the above article, titled "SL Green Gets Ready to Change East Midtown Forever," dated 5/27/2015, emphasis mine::

>>“The area has gotten stuck in outdated rules, and has lost some of its competitiveness over time,” added Garodnick. “That is going to change today, starting with the Vanderbilt Corridor – where we will open the door to additional density in exchange for much needed improvements to our transit system.<<

Stephen L. Green is the man behind SL Green Realty:

Campaign contributions to Dan Garodnick. The page may not load exactly on Stephen L. Green's contributions or contributions from members of the Green family. If it doesn't, just get to that page alphabetically:

http://www.nyccfb.info/searchabledb/SimpleSearchResult.aspx?election_cycle=2013&cand_id=721&cand_name=Garodnick%2c+Daniel+R

Cocktail Reception in Support of Daniel R. Garodnick. Note one of the sponsors: Stephen L. Green--

http://allevents.in/new%20york/cocktail-reception-in-support-of-daniel-r-garodnick/319794018042429#

A photo of Dan with Stephen L. Green by his side, at the 2014 REBNY gala:

http://www.rebny.com/content/dam/rebny/Images/Events/118_REBNY_Banquet/1644-REBNY_118th-Annual-Award-Banquet_1.16.14.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/original

A photo of Stephen L. Green at that same gala with Andrew Cuomo and an old friend of ours:

http://www.rebny.com/content/dam/rebny/Images/Events/118_REBNY_Banquet/0962-REBNY_118th-Annual-Award-Banquet_1.16.14.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/original

Prelude to Another TA?

Tenants & Neighbors  New York State Tenants & Neighbors Coalition New York State Tenants & Neighbors Information Service  Visit our website      Contact Us: 255 W. 36th Street, Suite 505 New York, NY 10018 212-608-4320 info@tandn.org     Donate, Become a Member, or Renew Your Membership  Tenants & Neighbors is pleased to announce: The 2015 Tenant Association Leadership Program (TALP) The goal of the TALP is to build a strong, diverse and powerful tenant movement.    This program will include an orientation and six-week leadership training curriculum tailored specifically to current and prospective tenant association presidents and officers. It will include sessions on developing bylaws, fundraising, public speaking, meeting facilitation, conflict resolution, leadership development, community engagement and expanding your membership base.     The program is free and will begin with orientation in October 2015. Sessions will be held on alternate Saturdays beginning mid-October and ending mid-December.  If you are interested in joining the program, please fill out the application in the link below. Deadline for applications is Sunday, September 6, 2015. Thank you for your leadership! Sincerely, The Leadership Team at Tenants & Neighbors Katie Goldstein, Executive Director Delsenia Glover, Rent Regulation Leader Jen Berkley, Subsidized Housing Leader  TA Leadership Program Application P.S. Our address has changed! We are now at 255 W 36th St., Ste. 505, New York, NY 10018

Join T&N or Make a Donation Today  CLICK HERE to become a member of the New York State Tenants & Neighbors Coalition. Annual membership dues are $35, $10 for low-income people and youth under age 25. Note: membership dues are not tax deductible. Tax deductible donations can be made to the 501c3 affiliate- simply note under "Instructions to Merchant" that your donation is for the Information Service.

Concerned and Serious Dan

Our councilman Dan Garodnick has been busy promoting himself, including 2 posts at the Tenants Association Facebook and 2 at the other tenants' Facebook, independent of the TA. Included in the first posts is this "I am concerned and serious" photo taken by the City Council's staff photographer William Alatriste. Perhaps this is the shot, or one of them, that Our Man Dan will use in his run for mayor of NYC or some other high position in the city government. I think the photo is kinda funny considering what Dan has actually accomplished in Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village.

Of course such postings and a recent one from former TA president John Marsh proclaiming that Dan "is our homeboy and we are proud of him too!" are like red flags to a bull on this blog, so I can't resist taking a look at some of Dan's history and his strong ties to big business.

To be continued....

Now It's Not Just Dog Crap We Have to Watch Out For

Human crap, too.

A reader sent in a couple of photos from a Stuy Town storage area. I'm only uploading one photo.

This about says it all.

The photo is a summary of what this complex is turning into.

Another Amazing Change and Equally Amazing Response from the TA

Our porters will be given more work with an additional building added to their duties on weekends. They will not get paid extra for this weekend work, but will be given days off during the week instead. So, if you are a porter who has looked forward to spending time with your family on the weekend, forget about it!

Here is the report at the Town & Village blog, which explains more:

http://town-village.com/2015/08/04/porters-reassigned-to-cover-more-buildings/

Of course, the humane solution would be to hire more porters to cover the weekend schedule, but when was the last time you saw CWCapital/CompassRock acting humanely?

Brian Moriarity, a spokesman for CompassRock, even had the gaul to spin this as something necessary to "better serve the community." Thanks, Brian, but if you want to better serve this community, you may want to hire more porters AND stop the influx of students packing apartments over the legal limit AND cease dividing up apartments with the addition of pressurized walls so you can get more bodies in. That would really help in the ever-growing problem of just too many people occupying a limited space and the garbage influx and wear to buildings that goes along with such a population explosion.

And what about our TA? Is our TA coming down hard on this new change? Not at all.

Susan Steinberg, president of the TA, italics mine. “While on the face of it, it is commendable that management is shifting staff to better serve the community on weekends, tenants need to be vigilant about whether building conditions are maintained, improved, or deteriorate as a result of such shuffling, and let the Tenants Association know.... Clearly, with more people home on weekends, a buildup of items in the recycling room is inevitable ― and often concerning due to the possibility of fire or bedbug hazards.”

So, basically, the TA is saying "good idea" to CompassRock ("commendable" actually!), but dear tenants just let us know how all this turns out in your building.

Ms. Steinberg even has this suggestion: “One would hope management will consider some shifting of plumbing staff in the same way they are shifting porters.” So, yeah, let's screw around with the lives and work load of our plumbers, instead of hiring more plumbers!

Signing off, disgusted.