It's been weeks already and our Tenants Association has still not supported as a sponsor "New Yorkers for a Human-Scale City" and our councilman, Dan Garodnick, is not supporting the Small Business Jobs Survival Act.
The uselessness of both our Tenants Association (which seems joined at the hip to our councilman) and Dan Garodnick is becoming more and more apparent as the months go by.
This blog is watching and waiting and will not forget.
And let's remember:
http://online.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-councilman-daniel-garodnick-faces-tough-tests-in-real-estate-battles-1410569682
"In January, about a week after City Councilman Daniel Garodnick lost the race for council speaker, he was the belle of the real-estate industry's annual ball. Mr. Garodnick sat on the stage with other dignitaries at the New York Hilton, two seats down from Alicia Glen, a powerful deputy mayor who oversees housing and economic development. No one at the Real Estate Board of New York's banquet attracted a bigger cluster of executives and lobbyists waiting for a word than the 42-year old councilman for Manhattan's East Side."
"The city's real-estate world continues to open its wallet to Mr. Garodnick. In the most recent election cycle, he received more than $200,000 of contributions from the industry, out of about $1 million, according to a Wall Street Journal calculation."
So, yeah, it would be tough for Dan to side with small businesses. Understood.
Our landlord, BLACKSTONE, can't handle Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village. There is a lack of enforcement of certain "rules," and no amount of notice to this alleviates the problems. We are continually being told half-truths and fabrications. And we have no viable Tenants organization, despite our TA asking for dues all the time. So far, the politicians have proven to be basically useless. A typical New York story.
Well, if he ever runs for another office we will know not to vote for him, won't we?
ReplyDeleteHe is definitely a REBNY tool.
I wonder why the AARP is supporting DeBlasio's Affordable Housing Program? I don't think the AHP does much for seniors; in fact, there may be more of a push on seniors to get out of rent stabilized and rent controlled apartments.
ReplyDeleteI got an email from AARP asking me to attend a rally at City Hall supporting the AHP. I wonder what's in it for them?
This community needs to be rid of Garodnick, Steinberg, Marsh, Doyle, and all of the horrible things they have done for this community. The time has come for us to take a stand without these incompetent morons pretending to lead the way for our community.
ReplyDeleteWill definitely not vote for Garodnick, Hoylman or Kavannagh when they run for office again. Lost all respect for them when they pushed that Blackstone Deal on us. Am also considering not renewing my TA membership next year. This TA is a real waste.
ReplyDeleteThey fail to address these dorm dump issues on a regular basis.
@12:20 PM, I agree 100%. With friends like those, we don't need enemies!
ReplyDeleteMaybe Preet Bharara needs to take a look at the donations sent to Garodnick from the RE cabal. Lots and lots of LLCs there!
I guess we are stuck with him for another two years, but hopefully he will go away for ever then. As for the morons in the TA, they are useless, but they don't hold real elections so they seem to be installed for life! They remind me of a dictatorship, except that nobody takes any notice of them. When Garodnick is gone maybe they will go away too. We can always hope.
It is absolutely sickening to look at the list of groups on New Yorkers for a Human Scale City, and not see our TA. Pretty much everyone else under the sun has gotten on board, but Dan Garodnicks little puppets wont.
ReplyDeleteHey TA... grow a pair of balls and represent us already.
Dan Garodnick and all previously and presently on the TA Board follow the lead of these four who are the same as Silver and Skelos, big recipients of Glenwood.
ReplyDeletehttp://nypost.com/2015/12/14/tainted-donations-given-to-cuomo-schneiderman-de-blasio/
AARP has become basically a marketing organization for United Healthcare. They are also supportive of the so called “Third Way” cat food corporate shills commission (example, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson) that calls for cuts in SS and Medicare to “balance“ the budget.
ReplyDelete“This community needs to be rid of Garodnick, Steinberg, Marsh, Doyle, and all of the horrible things they have done for this community.”
I knew this thread would start the usual posts of how the TA sucks, the elections there are fixed, and all of the local pols suck and need to be replaced. So if the TA elections are fixed, there no hope of fixing it from within by running for the Board. Right? OK, I get it. And replace the TA with what? Are you guys going to start a new TA? Yeah, right. Are you guys going to nurture and support a candidate who will primary the locals? Will you start up a local rival Democratic Party club to support this agenda? That’s what is needed. Or what, vote Republican? The party that, again, believes in ZERO resident and commercial rent regulations and is ten times the REBNY/corporate shills that the Democrats are already. Let’s see someone start a new organization. Again, waiting. In the meantime, support those city wide organizations for NYS State rent reform that are listed on the banner page of this blog. That’s where the real battle will be fought, in the 2016 NYS wide election. And support #SaveNYC.
"It is absolutely sickening to look at the list of groups on New Yorkers for a Human Scale City, and not see our TA. Pretty much everyone else under the sun has gotten on board, but Dan Garodnicks little puppets wont."
ReplyDeleteI agree. However, I don't see any other specific Tenants Associations or the city wide rent reform organizations listed there. That's an issue as well. BTW, the L.E.S. Dwellers kicks ass. Now there’s an organization that one can use as a template for a new STPCV TA.
http://www.lesdwellers.org/
Two down. More to go.
ReplyDeleteBillionaire real estate developers Rovt, Litwin, Ratner busy buying, owning running Albany real estate Tyranny
Ratner (and wife) support Working Families Party, Cuomo, Schneiderman; even a contribution to Citizens Union
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2015/05/ratner-and-wife-support-working.html
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Atlantic Yards, Pacific Park, and the Culture of Cheating
Politicians and real estate make different models to mislead the public at community board meetings.
One model shown to the public is very different from the model shown to Chinese investors the year prior.
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/
Makes you think twice, or 100% doubt the accuracy and truth in what the politicians tell us about developments in Kips Bay, Gramercy, Waterside, Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village.
I think there are 2 kinds of people in the TA right now. Those who know perfectly well that TA has become a non-representative entity but are just going with the flow because being in the TA is a part of what they like to do and those who haven't a clue that the TA has become non-representative and are enthusiastic supporters. Many in the latter group are friends of Susan Steinberg. At this point I'd be surprised if the dues-paying membership is any greater than 500-600 people. Something like 2% of the entire population. But that's enough to supply the money the TA needs and enough to give the impression of credibility in the meetings with politicians. I for one won't join again until Steinberg is out of the leadership.
ReplyDeleteI hope he just runs away!
ReplyDelete>>However, I don't see any other specific Tenants Associations or the city wide rent reform organizations listed there.<<
ReplyDeleteThere are a LOT of neighborhood associations on that list. Perhaps not technically a "tenant" associations, but just about.
December 15, 2015 at 9:27 PM I disagree. I don't think we need to do the same things the current TA did and is doing because look where it ends up.
ReplyDeleteA TA is better off being an independent force to be reckoned with than being a supportive unit for a politician's entry way into office. especially when once in office they all turn to mush and do whatever Cuomo tells them to do.
The TA wold be better off being independent and feared like the REBNY is. Name one politician in NY who is not afraid of the REBNY or the Partnership? This community was once 30,000 strong - that would be an independent forceful TA. One that a local politician came to with respect to get permission; we have a TA that takes orders from politicians that get direction from REBNY.
The TA became a puppet for politicians who are tools for REBNY when they hired Paul Weiss and that other RE company.
"They are also supportive of the so called “Third Way” cat food corporate shills commission (example, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson) that calls for cuts in SS and Medicare to “balance“ the budget."
ReplyDeleteI knew the AARP was a shill for UHC (which actually offers very good supplemental plans for Medicare recipients), but I had no idea they supported the other crowd you mentioned.
Bravo 12:45... well said!!!
ReplyDelete"I don't think we need to do the same things the current TA did and is doing because look where it ends up.
ReplyDeleteWhere did I say that? In my next post, I gave as an example of a template for a new TA, L.E.S. Dwellers.
Thanks for staying on this, STR.
ReplyDeleteI'm a TA building volunteer and I get that the leadership already has its hands full with residential tenant issues without adding commercial tenant issues to their list, but it sure would be nice to have them on board since this issue ultimately directly impacts residents. However, there's no excuse whatsoever for our City Councilman, and even more importantly, the City Council Speaker and our Mayor not to get behind the SBJSA. Getting Dan Garodnick to co-sponsor isn't critical at this point since the bill already has 27 co-sponsors and that's more than enough to get the bill to the City Council floor. What's absolutely critical is Speaker Mark-Viverito allowing a vote on the SBJSA, but it looks like the guy who greased the skids to her Speakership, Bill de Blasio, is not interested in letting that happen. Those two "progressive" higher-ups are the keys to its passage.
Koch was instrumental in keeping the original bill off the floor way back when as were Bloomberg/Quinn more recently. As I mentioned in a prior thread, the stalling tactic used both times was to question the bill's legality. That claim/excuse has been shamelessly trotted out yet again by Dan, Mark-Viverito and de Blasio and it's utter nonsense dreamed up by Real Estate lobbyists. In a special hearing on the original bill in 1988 the City’s Corporation Counsel and constitutional legal experts testified to the bill being legally sound and fully constitutional.
Long story short: contact our City Councilman, the Mayor and City Council Speaker to demand its passage. Be polite but firm. Also, let all local business owners know about the SBJSA and what it means for them.
Dan Garodnick (212) 818-0580
Melissa Mark-Viverito (212) 828-9800
Bill de Blasio 311 or http://www.nyc.gov/html/static/pages/officeofthemayor/contact.shtml
http://rew-online.com/2015/12/16/lenders-withdraw-case-in-latest-stuy-town-suit/ just to give an idea of the money involved...what cwc did to get this kind of ridiculous compensation is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteCW said it all. Thanks to the incumbents, 6000 affordable apartments lost, tens of thousands of citizens robbed of house and home, but as CW says
ReplyDelete“Listen, everybody connected with this property is making a lot of money,” said Greg Cross, attorney for the propertyʼs special servicer, CW Capital.
Thank you to 12:51 for the article. Of course "everybody connected with the property" made a lot of money. Paul Weiss ran the OP for Cuomo and Schneiderman who made sure tenant complaints to housing authorities were buried. They got rich while they robbed us tenants!
CW didn't win. The plaintiffs were bought off to withdraw their complaint! According to CW it was
"When asked for comment later, Cross, partner in charge of Venable’s bankruptcy group, said he wasn’t authorized to discuss the suit other than to confirm that it was dismissed, and that there wasn’t a settlement."
The plaintiff withdrew the complaint without a settlement, leaving only some other form of payoff. The lawsuit was smart in its timing holding hostage the Blackstone close.
CW is an unstoppable force blocking and obstructing everyone from Justice, but these plaintiffs got another form of payoff.
12:51 only in Ny 12 51. Most corrupt state in the country.
ReplyDeleteBlackstone lobbyist in dual role with Cuomo 2011 - 2016
ReplyDeleteBlackstone was head of NY Housing and a Blackstone lobbyist at the same time, getting favors from Di Napoli and Cuomo
"In that time, Blackstone secured hundreds of millions of dollars in new pension investment commitments from the state pension system, which is controlled by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. While Mulrow was at Blackstone, the firm also benefited from the Cuomo administration’s decision to approve a Blackstone-linked company’s controversial power line project. Meanwhile, Cuomo appointed Mulrow to head the New York Housing Finance Agency while he was still at Blackstone — and the agency delivered a $260 million state loan to a top Cuomo donor."
http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/andrew-cuomos-top-aide-former-wall-street-lobbyist-being-lobbied-wall-street
Peter Cooper one bedrooms are chock full now of students. It is a new student about every other month and I'm wondering how legal and safe this is. Does no one care to investigate? There are several bedbug reports in PCV that I know of personally from this month.
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping track of this STR.
ReplyDelete