Absolutely worth your while to read this:
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/10/29/how-stuy-town-was-won/
Note the quote from Michael McKee of Tenants PAC, about the only guy I trust in commenting honestly about ST/PCV.
I'd also like to alert readers of this blog to this Letter to the Editor that's on the Town & Village website, a letter that speaks very eloquently and persuasively for those residents who are not satisfied with the deal:
http://town-village.com/2015/10/29/letters-to-the-editor-oct-29/#more-10301
Another overview, ending with a quote: "...the long-term story of Stuy Town is a tragic one."
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/oct/29/stuyvesant-town-corporate-greed-affordable-housing-new-york
64 comments:
RE using drones on tenant homes under the guise of "sales promo materials" mandates serious tenant protection laws.
Who owns the drones used in Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town?
Did they borrow the drone from NYPD Homeland security?
Was it one of the drones with Thermal Imaging?
http://www.drone-thermal-camera.com/
This is the best solution for search and rescue, firefighting, security, even for inspections
Were the drones used for Golub Inspections to look into who, how many people are in the home and what the people are doing while they are at home?
YES.
Tenants who heard the drones outside their windows must have been terrified.
Who has the unedited footage?
Who all has viewed it?
The list of people at the negotiating table does not bring comfort.
Can someone explain to me how this "deal" ensures long term affordability? Long term meaning forever of course. Now, not only do the tenants not own (and thereby have a say in how it's managed) but affordability controls end in 20 years. How exactly is this a good deal? Long term real R/S tenant here.
The overview article is like all of the others. Does not address the over 5,000 market rate units which will likely continue as dorms. This deal has been so sugar coated that it is nauseating.
Guess what folks, nothing is going to change for the better. These new owners are out to maximize their returns for their clients, and nothing else. Same boss as the old boss. Think you are going to see less of a student population, think again. Anyone who has a checkbook is welcomed in. We will get a great welcome letter, and that will be about it. Soo much optimism in the beginning, and disappointments as time goes by. We will all continue to struggle to pay our never ending rent increases. Sad to say, but nothing will change. Have a nice weekend all!
Let's look at a timeline
Tishman Speyer sends out thousands of golub notices / Dan Garodnick TA Board do not oppose or help tenants
2010 Tishman Speyer decides to stop making mortgage payments they can afford to make / no consequences as the politicians have Rob's back
2012 Dan TA Board Salacan gets a little press for herself as a vigilante illegal hotel hunter in Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town while they turn a blind eye to thousands of illegal dorms being constructed starting in 2010
NY State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman uses the full force of the Office of Attorney General on a power fishing trip with unsubstantiated subpoenas / AirBNB calls him out on it
2015 NYC politicians PR Spin illegal hotels as the biggest problem facing affordable housing.
Susan Steinberg formally adds the voice of the Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town Community TA Board with testimony on the devastation of illegal hotels at the De Blasio Office of Special Enforcement City Council hearings with no mention of the dorms.
Mayor De Blasio promises big news in the Fall of 2015 on this multi-million dollar crack down on housing crimes that he considers equivalent in danger to narcotics trafficking in the Bronx / and not that the bigger problem is disproportionate amount of luxury housing vs affordable housing is being built to launder foreign and domestic money)
"Earlier this year, Mayor de Blasio and the City Council hiked the enforcement office’s budget from $1.6 million to $2.8 million and beefed up staff from 11 to 28."
and now in Mayor De Blasio's New York City illegal hotels are as dangerous as narcotics trafficking in the Bronx.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ex-narc-hired-crack-apartment-hogging-operators-article-1.2417154
Summer 2015 CompassRock sends out a few hundred Golub notices to tenants
This time Susan Steinberg and Dan Garodnick hold a meeting to make it look like they are helping tenants with this landlord / law enforcement tool of harassment while they give bad advice to tenants telling them to prove themselves by giving personal private information to the landlord instead of thwarting landlord's abusive tools by demanding CompassRock prove each and every their claims or we will file a harassment class action lawsuit
A few tenants say "f off CompassRock et al and prove your golub claim, harass me at your own risk"
Mayor De Blasio responds this week by bringing in Bronx DA prosecutors to help landlords? Help tenants? help who exactly?
Dan and the city council have done nothing to thwart landlords from using golub claims frivolously as a harassment tool.
Oh and let's not forget the landlords using the drones in their spying.
Who does the Mayor's Office of Special whatever-it-is-called work for? REBNY? NY AG? Are they paid by taxpayers?
Per the articles the rush to this deal was to avoid CW having an open market bid, in other words to protect Cuomo's domain bid on the land.
Interesting that it was mostly international news media (not NYC local or USA national) that quickly pierced through spoon fed P.R. spin to expose Mayor de Blasio's "historic middle class victory" for being hollow, short sighted, short term and only historic in that it guaranteed the needless demise of PCVST's historic, world renowned, middle class community destroyed by corporate greed.
These people are truly classless
One real estate investor, according to sources, told the sellers Stuy Town had become a “prostitute.”
“If I were to sleep with her, I might get HIV,” the investor reportedly said.
- See more at: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/10/29/how-stuy-town-was-won/#sthash.kyNlBpSu.dpuf
With this deal the city just made a $200 million down payment so that 5000 affordable apartments will become unaffordable in 20 years. Did I miss something here or is this deal worse for the city than no deal at all?
"But perhaps the buyers’ greatest takeaway from the 2006 deal was the futility of trying to fight the city and Stuy Town’s tenants, whom Kathryn Wylde, head of the pro-business group Partnership for New York City, described as “among the most politically connected in the city.”
“No one who’s thoughtful would go to war with them,” Wylde said.
Even if the buyers could somehow push through their plans, they ran the risk of a public-relations disaster."
- See more at: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/10/29/how-stuy-town-was-won/#sthash.kyNlBpSu.dpuf
We must have read this paragraph 20 times.
If you try to harm PCVST tenants you run the risk of a public relations disaster just seems not enough.
Shouldn't it be if you try to harm citizens, to steal the safety and sanctity of their home, you run the risk of prison?
Then again, Wall Street and RE do whatever they please and never run the risk of prison with the current government politicians.
So Susan Steinberg and Dan Garodnick sold out the tenants of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper without a single communication to the tenancy that any of this was in play. What a pair of scumbags.
Dorms are the problem in Stuyvesant Town Peter Cooper Village! and the problem for all affordable housing. Even the students know this!
“I think renting out the apartments to NYU students is what helps keep the rents high in the neighborhood,”
NYU alumna Jhelum Bagchi
“It’s definitely interesting to see what’s going to happen in the future,” Khemka said. “I can almost see Blackstone pulling down some of the river facing buildings in favor of building some expensive riverside condos.”
http://www.nyunews.com/2015/10/28/stuy-town-sale-promises-more-affordable-housing/
So if those tenants who live in riverfront apartments bought their apartments in a Brookfield deal, then the new landlord wanted to build new riverfront towers, those who bought their riverfront StuyTown and PCV apartments like John Marsh could make a financial windfall selling, if they sold and if the plan is to make such a change.
"However, Chirhart said the current tenants enjoy the open spaces of the area, and that the Blackstone Group would do their best to maintain the integrity of that, keeping any potential changes far in the future.
“Our intent is to really preserve the character of Stuyvesant town,” Chirhart said. “Then in the future once we’ve engaged with them more, we’d look at how we want to change things. For now, it’s really about preserving what’s there.”
FOR NOW being the operative words.
..and the most wise comment, graciously delivered in a straightforward factual manner
With just a small amount of research and an interview with Stuy Town tenants (not students) you could have written a more accurate story –
-Blackstone has agreed not to modify – ie, “pull down” or build up any of the buildings in stuy town.
-Students – who presumably have no income – won’t have much chance of getting affordable apartments, which will have income requirements (and mom and dad definitely make too much if they’re subsidizing rent there)
-The tension between families in Stuy Town and students (and other long time tenants in what is still a residential neighborhood) stems from the fact that students think they live in a dorm and act accordingly. But their neighbors are families with kids, and grown-ups who believe respecting your neighbors is part of the social contract. So, y’know, no loud parties every weekend, no garbage left around for others to clean up, etc.
http://www.nyunews.com/2015/10/28/stuy-town-sale-promises-more-affordable-housing/
A little off topic but these petty Albany slams against NYC Mayor are pitiful
“New York City is experiencing a significant homeless problem, there's no doubt about it,” Cuomo said recently. “We had a terrible homeless problem. We resolved it. Now we're going back and we have a homeless problem spreading again.”
says Cuomo. At least he is truthful, the homeless problem was "resolved" but that is very different from the homeless problem being "SOLVED"
>>So Susan Steinberg and Dan Garodnick sold out the tenants of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper without a single communication to the tenancy that any of this was in play.<<
I have it on relative good authority that the TA and Dan were the last ones in on the deal.
"I have it on relative good authority that the TA and Dan were the last ones in on the deal."
But they served up the "tenant approval" without the tenants approving anything ??
Poster at 11:36 am: I think you are getting carried away with paranoia. The drones thar RE people use are only for taking arial pics and cannot see int individual apartments. The fly higher than the top floors. Calm down, please!
12:53 pm: I believe that the TA and Garodnick DID help tenants who got Golub notices during the Tishman Speyer reign of terror.
>>But they served up the "tenant approval" without the tenants approving anything ??<<
Yes.
8:19
They most certainly did not help people during Tishman. I personally know 3 people that were given unwarranted Golub notices during that time. They tried reaching out to the TA, but got nowhere. Yes, all 3 of them got NOWHERE with the TA.
Please stop spewing your pro TA crap when it is so far from th truth.
Not meaning to add to anyone's paranoia but they did fly the drone close to the buildings. We saw it several times, day and nighttime.
De Blasio should have investigated and audited CW Compass Rock, returned overcharges with interest to tenants, ceased renewal lease of every student dorm and give those leases to returning veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan at restored rents pre-MetLife Tishman j-51 fraud (which should have been treated as a crime and not a civil matter!
Then in his second term if he is so fortunate, he should have turned PCVST into the east side version of Penn South, healthy livable quality of life co-ops for the middle working class (with a whole new co-op board that bans all in the
DanTA from being on the board!
Yes, that would have been good!
There also should be a thorough investigation of what goes on at the Dept of Buildings regarding the adding of partitions to create rooms with no change in occupancy! The DOB is also very tardy in following up on complaints, so that when it does move, the source of the complaint has usually evaporated.
STR at October 31, 2015 at 9:01 AM
That would have been Mayoral.
Not extraordinary, just doing his job.
But the public are so conditioned to have dangerously low expectations of what politicians deliver for the People, had he done this it would have been extraordinary.
He should have done his job, been extraordinary.
Blackstone is the biggest contributor and cause to the problems burdening across the country. Hoarding houses they contributed to foreclosing (forcing People out of house and home) for their humongous rental property portfolio which is blocking People from buying houses everywhere across the country, including those veterans who put their lives on the front line for all of us.
How this was mishandled, favoring Blackstone over other better solutions as housing returning vets, is indicative of how the country will continue to be handled if any NY politicians advance to Washington. More of the same that has served them so very well at our expense.
A plan like that takes Hope, Change, and Ingenuity.
We are mired in more of the same. Different versions of more of the same
No cleverness, originality, inventiveness.
>>Blackstone is the biggest contributor and cause to the problems burdening across the country. Hoarding houses they contributed to foreclosing (forcing People out of house and home) for their humongous rental property portfolio which is blocking People from buying houses everywhere across the country, including those veterans who put their lives on the front line for all of us.
How this was mishandled, favoring Blackstone over other better solutions as housing returning vets, is indicative of how the country will continue to be handled if any NY politicians advance to Washington. More of the same that has served them so very well at our expense.<<
Blackstone is certainly not hiding its interest in having a sizable "rental property portfolio," as the company sees that as the wave of the future, with Americans not being able to afford a house of their own. And, yeah, it would have been sweet had returning vets been included in this deal somehow.
Regarding Golubs mentioned by commenters above.
Thanks to state law, if the landlord wants to be a dick and proceed to Housing Court over a non-primary residence claim, the tenant's gonna have to hire an attorney.
After T-S took over, the number of Golubs sent out increased so quickly that Garodnick set up free legal clinics with the Urban Justice Center specifically for residents who got them.
Then there was this: https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/thomas-k-duane/senators-duane-and-assemblymember-kavanagh-announce-far-reaching
Americans cannot afford a house of their own because Wall Street wiped out trillions of dollars of assets of the Middle Class and Working class. Trillions.
Those who are supposed to sheriff that, the District Attorneys, State Attorney Generals and Department of Justice are at fault, allowing and promoting these white collar criminals (with the exception of the rule, Preet Bharara).
November is a big month for PCVST'ers, New Yorkers, American citizens. Ours and our children's Quality of Life is directly related to Mr Bharara's success.
"Silver, Skelos trials may prove 'seismic' for Albany
ALBANY -- It's Preet vs. Albany in one of the biggest battles in state political history."
http://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/silver-skelos-trials-may-prove-seismic-for-albany-1.11028650
A tidal "wave of the future" they hit us with.
Notice to Blackstone....The TA (and Dan Garodnick) DO NOT REPRESENT TENANTS IN STUY TOWN!!
The TA's membership is at an all time low (under 5%).
Dan Garodnick could not win election to dog catcher in Stuy Town.
Dealing with these guys will only get you very angry tenants. So stop listening to them now or suffer the consequences!
The NYC Parks Department poisoning the Wildlife! This is awful and needs immediate ACTION to protect the ecosystem! Poisoning one part effects the whole ecosystem! We learned that in the 3rd grade, for pete's sake!
http://www.gogginphotography.com/2015/10/late-october-hawk-update.html
"he should have turned PCVST into the east side version of Penn South, healthy livable quality of life co-ops for the middle working class"
That, or something similar establishing permanent or very long term middle class ownership affordability for a large majority percentage of PCVST may have been possible a few years ago, but it required comprehension, vision and capacity skills that, beyond his empty rhetoric, Mayor de Blasio never possessed and made no effort to acquire. His appointing Alicia Glen, a creature of Goldman Sachs, to achieve his affordable housing goals was akin to President Obama appointing Tim Geithner to regulate Wall Street. Those appointments sent loud, clear messages to the billionaires and corporate oligarchs butchering up our economy and middle class that they fully intended to give the oligarchs everything they want, and a lot more, if they only agreed in turn to reciprocate, tossing them back a few crumbs they can twist into claiming are hard fought middle class victories. While the appointees can chalk up a few tiny, short sighted, incrementally measured successes, they virtually guaranteed preservation of oligarchy status quo, no real change and overall long term program failures.
It didn't help that Garodnick-TA never gave consideration to anything resembling affordable middle class ownership to a vast majority of PCVST residents after Speyer walked away. It looks more and more like the success of their disgraceful Brookfield takes everything scheme rested entirely on selling expensive, tiny discount condos to 1,400 ripped off Roberts tenants backed into a box paying MR and a few hundred traditional RS earning more than $200k per year. It's almost understandable CWC refused to entertain their scam delivering multiple billion dollar windfalls to Brookfield and nothing for PCVST tenants instead of the same windfalls and same end result to CWC owner Fortress. Garodnick-TA handing such a raw deal to PCVST residents (a deal obviously never modified) set a very low bar for Blackstone to hop over, approaching Mayor de Blasio with a proposal coming closer to his "numbers only" affordable victory goal.
5,000 traditional RS received the same end result from Mayor de Blasio that Garodnick-TA intended for them to receive - NOTHING.
1,400 ripped off Roberts tenants received a different NOTHING from Mayor de Blasio than the NOTHING that Garodnick-TA intended for them.
Blackstone saw opportunity to exploit and seized it. Blackstone, not frontrunners Fortress or Brookfield, will realize Speyer's predatory dream come true, with a better subsidy.
PCVST tenants having real middle class ownership opportunities, but having no honest representation, lost everything. We never had a chance.
It didn't have to end this way.
8:50, de Blasio is our elected mayor, not the all powerful king. Your assumption that he can just "turn PCVST" into something of our liking is pretty naive and farfetched.
Dob + DHCR are entirely corrupt and have been for years. No one gives a flying fuck though. Let's all just look the other way !
"Not meaning to add to anyone's paranoia but they did fly the drone close to the buildings. We saw it several times, day and nighttime."
If they had flown it by my window, I would have MOONED them!
8:07, 8:19 here: I thought that they did help Golub tenants during Tishman. I guess I was mistaken. My apologies. I am NOT a member of the TA, although I used to be. At this point in time, I wouldn't join the TA if they paid me to join! I think that DeBlasio, Garodnick and the TA have sold us down the river.
Hopefully, after the next mayoral election, DeB will be gone and soon forgotten and the Council Chamber will have new bottoms on the seats. We need to vote out EVERY incumbent in City Hall and thoroughly disinfect the Council Chamber.
DeB couldn't even keep his promise concerning the carriage horses and I suspect that it is because too many of the corrupt City Council are on the take from the carriage horse industry. Some of us care about those issues and voted for DeB because we believed he would do what he said he was going to do. I think this Blackstone/STPCV deal is a devious way he gets around his affordable housing promise and strokes his friends at REBNY at the same time. The people lose, as usual.
De Blasio is not getting enough credit. He took the road less traveled, stood up for NYC, even when Schneiderman, James, Viverito did not stand up for NYC, did not support De Blasio in his stance standing up for NYC. De Blasio is fighting an uphill battle against Albany/REBNY/ESDC, fighting for NYC'ers. but Albany screwed NYC'ers especially on rent regs.
Our only hope is Cuomo is indicted by the end of the year or very early 2016 and that everyone votes out James, Viverito, Schneiderman, Stringer Garodnick for whatever office they promote themselves to after serving the REBNY master.
Bill de Blasio’s Allies Decline to Join His New Crusade Against Andrew Cuomo
http://observer.com/2015/07/bill-de-blasios-allies-decline-to-join-his-new-crusade-against-andrew-cuomo/
One Democrat who did have Mr. de Blasio’s back was Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. Mr. Adams, a former Democratic state senator, defended the mayor after he spoke at Mr. Schneiderman’s event, telling the Observer he was “grateful” Mr. de Blasio spoke out.
He blamed Mr. Cuomo for helping Senate Republicans gerrymander their districts, not adequately funding public schools, and failing to sufficiently strengthen rent regulations.
“We’re frustrated and angry and expect more from a Democratic governor,” he said.
Anonymous said...
"I have it on relative good authority that the TA and Dan were the last ones in on the deal."
But they served up the "tenant approval" without the tenants approving anything ??
October 30, 2015 at 6:19 PM
That makes one wonder what it was in exchange for. What is being covered up?
October 30, 2015 at 2:19 PM
The real STD laden prostitute whores in the room are the ones who will do anything for money.
Wall Street
RE
REBNY
Politicians who kiss the asses of the above
Not good news for those trying to change the corrupt pay - to - play systems.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/30/nyregion/de-blasio-finds-a-kindred-spirit-in-the-mayor-of-rome.html?_r=0
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/30/mayor-of-rome-ousted-after-more-than-half-of-citys-councillors-quit
God help us all if Stringer, James become next Mayor, Schneiderman becomes Governor CuomoREBNYII and Cuomo goes to Washington on a ticket from Hilary.
What did this drone look like? Was it bigger than a bread box? Imagine if it had crashed into a window! Was there just one? I think that is an extremely dangerous thing to do in a built-up area.
October 31, 2015 at 1:27 PM They did help. See October 31, 2015 at 10:54 AM.
Blackstone and DeBlasio and our so-called elected officials must think we are fucking stupid. There is nothing in this deal that is going to benefit anybody except Blackstone. The longtime RS tenants are safe, so long as RS always gets renewed, the MR and Roberts tenants are totally fucked. They add insult to injury by insulting our intelligence.
Just for the record - seeing multiple rentals nearby nicer than ours and significantly cheaper. and!!! closer to subway.
This Cuomo and Schniederman run Albany status quo pay-to-play needs a good cleansing by Preet, the 2 heads and their dirty corrupted staffs.
The more I read the comments by this community and the more I get t know the about the corrupt politicians, the more I keep asking why are we putting up with them? Most are no smarter than we are, and many are quite frankly below average. Most it seems are dirty corrupt. And many are just sleazy.
November surely will be a big month as Preet gets started on Silver and Skelos. Skelos and Nassau County is dirty dirty dirty. Really dirty.
Then there is the sleaze factor
http://nypost.com/2015/08/31/wife-has-ptsd-from-husbands-twisted-sexual-antics/
Amazeballs. You can't make this stuff up. They have to make a feature film of this. The Nassau County DA office has long been dirty and corrupt and many from that office are in Albany right now with Cuomo and Schneiderman's Offices.
Read it just for the laugh and to know the idiots we are dealing with who have jobs that effect our lives here in PCVST. Amazeballs.
Saw Slimy Dan today in PCV. He was talking to an older lady that quite honestly (and unfortunately) looked like she won't make it to the next voting cycle. At the same time a younger couple that I am going to assume was MR, walked by Dan and pointed at him and laughed. I wouldn't normally ask, but I asked them what they thought about the deal. Basically they said that Dan would be much better served talking to them than an older woman. Apparently the group of younger (and educated) MR moms have quite the dislike for Danny boy.
The MR people have been so royally screwed by Dan and TA I'm surprised they don't all stage protests at their doors.
Apparently the group of younger (and educated) MR moms have quite the dislike for Danny boy
Why? The ST PCV Moms used to love Dan and Marsh-Susan
At the end of the day, de Blasio and Alicia Glen allowed this to happen and gave their blessing without TA-Dan knowledge/approval. But rather than stand their ground, TA/Dan played political card and went along with the whole thing -- disgraceful. They all deserve nothing but ire from tenants.
why should the MR care. The RS hate us. We leave you all with the students........ You have not supported us - those with children here.
10:55
That was before he screwed the MR tenants and hung them out to dry! I spoke with more than a dozen of them this past weekend at the playground, and they are plannin their exodus out of here. Can't say I blame them.
November 1, 2015 at 11:28 PM Believe it or not the Glen / De Blasio plan is better than the Dan/TA plan. But neither is good for constituents, so yeah, ire to them all
"why should the MR care. The RS hate us. We leave you all with the students........ You have not supported us - those with children here."
This is BS. When the TA organized leasing office demonstrations against the egregious midyear MR lease increases, the tenants who stayed the course for the limited time period of the demonstrations were, for the vast majority, non MR long term tenants who were not impacted by the increases. I know because I was one of them. In hindsight, where the demonstrations a good idea? Maybe not but you didn’t show.
6:17
I am RS, and I disagree with your statement. The MR tenants that I know would have liked to have been there, but unfortunately they have to work a ridiculous amount just to afford their rent. After working, they just want to spend time with their families.
At the same time, I don't hate any MR... but I do feel bad for their situation going forward at pcvst.
In 20 years you may want to re-think that.
November 2, 2015 at 7:04 PM The MR on our floor go out at night a lot, leaving a babysitter with the kids more often than not. There may be some MR who are as you say, but they are not all like that. They have as much times as any of us to go to a rally, tenant meeting or protest.
"But rather than stand their ground, TA/Dan played political card and went along with the whole thing"
Stand their ground for what? Brookfield instead of Blackstone?
Speyer - Fortress - Brookfield - Blackstone ...
No Difference - Same Result.
PCVST middle class is extinct.
It was just a matter of which poaching REBNY predator bagged the PCVST white elephant to walk away with all the ivory.
Individually and together as a group our elected representatives claiming they fought tooth and nail defending an endangered species sold themselves out to opportunistic REBNY poachers. Individual REBNY predators bought them individually. Joined together as a group REBNY bought them together as a group.
Blackstone simply outmaneuvered their competition.
Just for the record, it's not only the college students causing noise problems. many parents with kids also haVE ZERO carpets and let kids run through the apartments with and without shoes on! People live under you you bunch of hillbilly assholes.
STD stands for sexually transmitted disease.
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