The work here is not mine, but someone who has been linking these in the comment section of the "City Council" pay raise post:
http://stuytownreport.blogspot.com/2016/02/city-council-votes-to-give-themselves.html
As an example, here is a Stuy Town apartment listing at VRBO, which is a vacation rental site.
https://www.vrbo.com/350493
The average rental is $379 per night (weekend nights $399 per night), two night minimum stay, for a three-bedroom apartment that sleeps eight! Longer rentals are $2,650 for a week and $8,900 for a month!!!
Here are reviews from some people who have stayed at this apartment:
https://www.vrbo.com/350493#reviews
One review: "FANTASTIC LOCATION!!! The unit exceeded our expectations providing a fully equip kitchen, tennis courts, basketball and Bocche courts, There are quite a few children's playgrounds, a great lawn with huge beautiful fountain. Just a very comfortable place for our party of six to dine in and the sleeping arrangements for a party of 6 were great. In comparison to a hotel stay, it was also more cost effective. I would absolutely recommend this apartment for families, corporate functions, friends and the alike."
Hmm, a party of six? Related, okay, but if not, that makes it against the law.
Another review: "Very accommodating. our flight was delayed and we were 7 hours late for the agreed upon check in time. Antonio was understanding and waited for us until 22:00. The flat looked new and had everything you could possibly want in a holiday rental. very cool location east village and gramercy park just a few blocks away. the area has lots young professional families and some cheeky nyu students. lots of police around, a bit odd but you do feel safe. also very convenient to the metro, whole foods and lots of restaurants and pubs! we travel to ny two to three times per year and we've now found our nyc home away from home."
And this one: "I'm not one to post reviews but after Antonio contacted me to request i add a review and i saw what was written below i had to write about our wonderful experience. Our party of 6 LOVED this apartment and the location. David was a pleasure to deal with during the reservation process. He answered all our question in a timely fashion. Antonio the caretaker was AMAZING he was always available during our week long stay to answer any questions we had and came to the apartment immediately to help us with the internet when the Wifi went out. The beds are all good quality mattresses and very comfortable, as are the linens and towels. The appliances are all new and easy to operate. I can't say enough about the professional customer service we received from these guys. They are true professionals and they know how to take care of their property and how to treat their customers. We highly recommend staying in this apartment."
CHECK OUT THIS REVIEW: "We booked this apartment well in advance of our visit to NY for 21 Dec to 03 Jan 2012. My daughter, a student in NY, could only manage to secure a viewing a fiew days before our arrival. Althought the pictures were misleading (not the same furniture as on the listing) we thought the apartment nice enough to go through with it. On 27 Dec 2011, our doorbell rang, and the Manager, Lease Administration of Stuyvesant Town presented us with a court order, obtained the day before, to vacate the property!! "The owner" was not the owner, and he was busy renting this property out illegal. The court procedings took 9 months, and it was just our luck that it came to an end for this people right in the middle of our stay!! They even bypass the legitimate entrance code that we could enter without the legitimate cards (which we did not know of course) and they have changed the locks on the door too. We also had a recurring problem with a blocked toilet, and when I phoned Antonio for help, he suggest that we fixed it ourselves, seeing that he was out of town! We were informed afterwards, that, if this was a legitimate rental, our problem would have been fixed within one hour. I will do my utmost best to bring these people to light, look out, this review is just the beginning of it all. And now I know why we could not get an earlier viewing, they were not sure if they would have been caught out by our booked time."
The "owner" responded: "PLEASE DISREGARD THIS FALSE REVIEW. This is an erroneous review. This person clearly did not stay in our apartment. As you can see this review is two years old and we've had many other guests stay in the apartment without incident, since the date of this allegation."
LOL.
Here's another one of interest. Note that FIVE girlfriends stayed here and there were complaints from a downstairs neighbor about walking on the hardwood floor with heels on!!!:
"We stayed at this apartment for 4 days/3 nights in town to host a surprise birthday party for one of NY girlfriends. Five ladies stayed at this apartment, although there is only one small bathroom. However, our transportation arrived late and Antonio, the caretaker, waited patiently for us. He provided us with directions and suggested eateries and even peaked our interest in exploring Costa Rica! He even came over to bring us a corkscrew. The pictures of the apartment don't do the apartment justice. They have upgraded the amenities to a modern contemporary feel. Loved that! The neighbors were nice and helpful, and the neighborhood was safe, which was very important to us. The subway and grocery store is in walking distance just down the street. The only issue was one of the neighbors leaving an anonymous note on the door asking us to not walk on the hardwood floor with our heels or put carpet on the floor, although we were hardly ever at the apartment and were usually exiting the apartment. We thought that was rather rude. Overall we had a great experience. David the owner was very responsive to our inquiries. We would definitely stay here again."
Some AIRBNB listings:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/9132698?s=1ZYOPd0F
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11211310?s=1ZYOPd0F
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7576350
Check other PCVST listings from this link:
http://insideairbnb.com/new-york-city/index.html?neighbourhood=&filterEntireHomes=false&filterHighlyAvailable=false&filterRecentReviews=false&filterMultiListings=false
Note how the rooms for rent on these sites typically do not show any carpeting or minimal carpeting.
83 comments:
Thank you once again STR for this information (and to the person who went to great lengths on the VRBO posts!)!
1) The TA needs to address this, and why they never did anything regarding the room count on this property for MCI purposes. My assumption is that they won't.
2) Dan needs to address this. He is our councilman, and has been silent for long enough. Dan - either put up or shut up.
3) How do we get the TA to show all tenants their books (accounting, meeting minutes, etc.)?
4) Now that we are dealing with a Federal issue with these illegal rentals/hotels, can Preet come to our aid?
The bed in the AirBNB room for $50 looks awful!
The VRBO rental has been operating since 2011!
Unbelievable.
Preet just let Cuomo off for Moreland. He is waiting it out for a federal position appointment from the next President. So is Cuomo. They all have their sites set on DC. Don't count on any of them helping tenants here.
New stabilizers = New transients
Let me reiterate a comment I have posted here before. Currently, until 6/2020, ALL 11,200+ apartments here in PCVST, including renovated ones, are regulated under the New York State Rent Stabilization regulation laws. The constant refrain of "market rate versus rent stabilized” I see posted here over and over here, again and again, is simply not correct. For now. ALL of the listings at these links are illegal under four sets of law, two NYS, two NYC:
1. The New York State Rent Stabilized regulation law. Very strict rules for subletting apartments.
2. The New York State Multiple Dwelling law. (MDL)
3. The New York City Administrative Code (Section 28-118.3.3) "prohibits changes to the use, occupancy, or egress of a building unless the building’s certificate of occupancy expressly authorizes that type of use. A change of a building from long-term to short-term rental could violate this law."
4. The New York City Housing Maintenance Code whereby it is illegal for more than three unrelated people to live in an apartment or a house.
In addition ALL of these apartments listed at these links are lease violations under Blackstone’s PCVST leases.
The big ones for PCVST is the NYS Rent Stabilized law which is the most restrictive and the Blackstone leases themselves. So what we have here are violations of various NYS/NYC housing laws AND Blackstone lease violations. Plus the Federal/ NYS/NYC tax violation implications. Endless examples of law breaking. Blackstone is well aware of these violations since they control the occupancy building entry cards. The rapid dormification (basically legal under NYS RS law, sorry) the “wink, wink” ignoring of the NYC Housing Maintenance code, the constant chopping of renovated apartments to “Flex Apartments”, the DOB scandal of showing no increasing of occupancy via these flex apartments, the constant violations of four sets of NYS/NYC laws, lease violations, etc., ALL of this has contributed to the turning of this once solid middle class, family oriented community into the dorm/motel dump it now it. I guess the “Welcome Center” on First Avenue needs a “Welcome Bed Bugs” section as well.
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overview-airbnb-law-new-york-city.html
Spot on, 8:42 AM.
I have to admit to a certain hesitancy about the outing of folks using AIRBNB to make some extra money, but in reality if you need financial help the legal way to do it is to take in a co-tenant and split the rent bill, not going over the three unrelated tenants to an apartment rule.
Exactly right
"Blackstone is well aware of these violations since they control the occupancy building entry cards. The rapid dormification (basically legal under NYS RS law, sorry) the “wink, wink” ignoring of the NYC Housing Maintenance code, the constant chopping of renovated apartments to “Flex Apartments”, the DOB scandal of showing no increasing of occupancy via these flex apartments, the constant violations of four sets of NYS/NYC laws, lease violations, etc., ALL of this has contributed to the turning of this once solid middle class, family oriented community into the dorm/motel dump it now it. I guess the “Welcome Center” on First Avenue needs a “Welcome Bed Bugs” section as well."
AND / BUT
The Attorney General and Tenant Association is well aware too. Think about it, why they hell would a multi-family residential apartment complex need a "Welcome Center"!!!!!!!! It would not.
Only a business with a constant revolving door needs a "Welcome Center".
I agree with STR 8:57 but I don't see this as outing people who need to make extra money. 1) These renters seem more like younger opportunists. The links don't seem to be people who are trying to make ends meet, do they? 2) This is outing the landlord, the TA, City Hall and Albany for their hypocrisy or outright PR spin-lies.
Call it what it is. Not one politician has proposed or written a new law to keep residents safe while tourists / transients stay next door. No required insurance for the hotel operator to buy, no security cameras to install as a hotel has, or any of the safety measures hotels are required to have when people are in a situation where they are sleeping next door to strangers.
This is about SAFETY! The City Hall and AG needs to get off their butts, stop making it a fishing expedition on taxes or loss of affordable housing, and start making it about what it is - SAFETY! Bloody hell, this witch hunt by City Hall and the AG is sinister and obvious for the benefit of their lobbyists at REBNY and Hotel Industry. A big load of crap!
Other than getting caught with a dead body in your trunk, what other proof is needed to put an end to this. Please don't be naive to think these are just regular people looking to earn extra cash, this is a business, I particularly chuckle at the 7 high heeled ladies considering the note rude concerning their footwear & carpeting. Every late Thursday & midday Friday's, the parade of rolling suitcases start, how hard would it be for PS to determine their destination. How often does a suit cased visitor waiting in the vestibule, piggyback their way in behind you. I suspect I have a minimum of 2 of these units in my building, 1 as previously described above, and another that appears to be some sort of baby factory whereas the kids never seem to grow old and they share their diapers in a bag in the hallway once a week. Well I can't complain about the latter or be accused of being anti-kids, it is insulting to assume no one knows what's going on.
That list is long. There is no way this many home-renters are in PCVST without Blackstone employees, CW employees, Compass Rock employees, Tenant Association board members know all about it. Abigail Michaels needs to be investigated too for what concierge services they provided to hotel guests.
Was Abigail Michaels placed in PCVST to do business here so that hotel guests don't contact and therefore implicate the landlord in the illegal hotels? For over 50 years this multi-family residential property did not require a concierge service.
http://www.abigailmichaels.com/
8 out of 11 reviews tell the truth about this concierge (with a few in Stuyvesant Town) then in October 2015 three so obviously "fake" reviews counter the truths of the detailed 8 before.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/abigail-michaels-new-york?sort_by=date_asc
I not only see a lot of illegal hotels here, I see a lot of people illegally running businesses out of their homes - some that may even be servicing the illegal hotels. Our infrastructure, the apartments and buildings do not support these businesses and that is becoming dangerous too.
There is a cake business in the building next to us. How does that not put a strain on our gas, electric and water lines? Violate zoning? Cause dangerous conditions for us all? Don't businesses have different requirements then homes for gas, electric and water lines? Are the illegal hotels also begetting other illegal operations?
People are not stupid, Stuyvesant Town tenants are not stupid, and we are not sheep following the politicians trying to herd us, telling us what to think and believe. The amenities Dan and the TA allowed to be installed are for travelers and students and not for residents!
If the landlord and politicians do not want illegal hotels in Stuyvesant Town they need to kick out all the tourist attractions (indoor sports tent, ice rink, concierge, etc etc)!
Hotels running in Stuyvesant is by landlord et al design, look at our tourist attractions, concerts in the Oval, the Welcome Center, an on-site Oval office aka study, concierge, "room service" from the Oval Café,
Come on! They killed the trees and built a hotel with all the services!
I don't think the amenities and "services" were created for AIRBNB or VRBO guests. These are standard features being put into NYC rental/condo properties to seduce and make happy long-term tenants. Part of "BEST PRACTICES."
Possible counterpoint STR 11:07:
True luxury does not have tourist attraction amenities. We, Middle Class residents had true luxury, exclusivity of ten year wait list, most safe neighborhood in City, high Quality of Life and the REBNY wanted to take it.
Because true luxury is only for the wealthy and the Middle Class is still getting screwed by policies and laws made by incumbents over the past decade.
Even the glass towers are slammed for their pretentiousness and phony luxury status because of their amenities. These true luxury buildings still exits, CO-OP real deals still exist and will be resilient to the trends and had Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town gone CO-OP a la Penn South the community and Park would have been resilient instead of getting 60% erased and the Middle Class could have held onto its own version of luxury living, Safe, Peaceful, Quiet, Nature filled.
I highly doubt the politicians would screw around with these buildings like they screwed around with ours because the residents in these buildings would kick the crap out of them for even trying. If politicians really wanted to protect the people, they would have gone co-op in Stuyvesant Town!
ARTICLE:
"Like mushrooms, glass-walled condos and fancy rentals with wine storage popped up with fury across the city in recent years, and seemed to fundamentally alter New York’s housing stock in the process.
: Many condos tanked in value, in part because their open-door policy was seen as exposing them to risks ...
That resiliency might explain why co-ops, for all the hoops they make buyers jump through, continue to be popular, says Michael Gross, author of “740 Park: The Story of the World’s Richest Apartment Building.”
In addition, the city’s co-ops “are still some of the best buildings, in terms of quality, layout and spaciousness,” says Gross, adding that they probably won’t be upstaged anytime soon. “They will survive this moment, I think, and hold their value for many, many years to come.”
That said, winning approval of the co-op boards at these country-club-type high-rises isn’t for the faint of heart: In addition to occasional controversial rejections (as anybody following the lawsuit by a former board president of the Dakota against that storied co-op’s board will know), most have strict rules.
Almost all of the city’s top co-ops, for example, ban subletters. Most frown on financing. Some require an interview of your four-legged friend and prohibit dogs from using front-of-the-building elevators, brokers say.
http://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/getting-across-the-moat-at-the-top-cooperatives/
The amenities are about increasing the profits from the property. Period!
It was never about protecting the residents. It was always about the politicians serving the REBNY and law firms by protecting their real estate deals and covering Speyers and Finks debt they burdened on the property when it should have been burdened on their fat-enough wallets!
"These are standard features being put into NYC rental/condo properties to seduce and make happy long-term tenants. "
Sorry STR, 8.42 AM here, I disagree. These "amenities" are focus grouped for transient millennials. See any “EV Grieve” post re the new EV properties and how and for whom they are marketed to. See this link as well:
http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2007/08/young-urban-narcissists_08.html
“This is about SAFETY! The City Hall and AG needs to get off their butts, stop making it a fishing expedition on taxes or loss of affordable housing, and start making it about what it is - SAFETY! Bloody hell, this witch hunt by City Hall and the AG is sinister and obvious for the benefit of their lobbyists at REBNY and Hotel Industry. A big load of crap!”
What are you trying to say here? That exposing Airbnb and those other illegal hotel listings is “a witch hunt”? That this whole STR thread is "crap"? That REBNY is behind this exposure? Real hotels in NYC have to pay taxes, liability insurance, check for bed bugs, etc., and have union employees to service their clients. The hotel industry here is on our side, the long term tenant side. Your conspiracy rants have confused the issue. Its safety AND loss of affordable housing (number 1, BTW) and tax issues. Those are the laws that I have illustrated that have been violated. I believe that you have posted here before, blasting the TA re this issue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/nyregion/stuyvesant-town-sleuths-keep-vigil-against-illegal-hoteliers-in-their-midst.html
What's your agenda here?
That sucks for Blackstone. Blackstone could not have known that is what they were getting into. Think about it. Approximately 100 market rate illegal hotel apartments, mostly multiple bedrooms, probably averages $4000 or $5000 per apartment. On the conservative side, $4000 per month times 100 evictions all at once on the hardest apartments to fill with non-hotel running tenants (good luck finding that!) is around $400,000 per month in rental income.
Evidence might point to the contrary on the BEST PRACTICES
People value privacy, safety, peace and quiet in their homes especially after a hard days work in NYC.
These "BEST PRACTICES" amenities are nothing more than trendy money making schemes. Nobody would put any of this amenity crap in their front yard or even back yard. Especially when a better amenity offering the same service is just up the block. We had happy long term tenants without the amenities and have unhappy long term tenants and happy short term tenants with the amenities.
Look at that list! All the illegal hotel listings are renovated. So to all your false accusation golub notices here is a big FU from rent stabilized StuyTown to City Hall and Albany! We rent stabilized are not the ones running hotels!
Our landlords who push "Best Practices" are not pushing them for the long-term rent stabilized tenants, obviously. But they are pushing them to attract new "market-rate" paying tenants. It would be interesting to get into the minds of the landlords, past and present, and see if they were and are really concerned about these AIRBNB and VRBO opportunities, as money is the bottom line (renters paying the high rents that are attached to the refurbished apartments.) If the law-breaking that goes on here, from AIRBNB apartments to packing in apartments with more than three unrelated tenants, were to disappear would that mean a loss of income to the landlord, income that evolves from renters being able to pay market-rate prices.
If someone on your floor is running a hotel, call mgmt and 311. When prompted by 311 about the nature of the call, say "illegal hotel."
"Look at that list! All the illegal hotel listings are renovated. So to all your false accusation golub notices here is a big FU from rent stabilized StuyTown to City Hall and Albany! We rent stabilized are not the ones running hotels! "
8.42 AM here. Again, again, again. ALL PCVST apartments, renovated and non-renovated, are currently under NYS RS law. This was as per the Roberts/J-51 tax ruling. This will change 6/2020. Will posters please stop saying market/renovated apartments versus rent stabilized apartments? We are ALL NYS RS. For now. The correct semantic is renovated versus non-renovated.
This is important to understand the Airbnb law violations being done here under this thread and to understand the so call "affordable" deal that the city did with Blackstone that will be effective, guess what, 6/2020. Here is a link I posted before. As I said before, the legal points are correct, not the poltical talking points.
http://www.garodnick.com/press-release/roberts-settlement-plain-language
Exactly STR at February 15, 2016 at 1:59 PM Exactly Right.
There is a reason landlords across all five boroughs illegally chopped their apartments to maximize the number of beds to accommodate larger groups. Chopped apartments is a very big problem across the entire city and is allowed by the DOB without hesitation.
The landlords are about money. That's it. FDNY safety hazards, new bunker gas lines after the fact, 3+ unrelated occupants, and over 125 market rate apartments operating as hotels for a long time all going on under the watchful scrutiny of infamous investigator Fred Knapp........really?!
Was Knapp on a nap or was he tasked with evicting rent stabilized tenants in any way, legal or illegal while allowing money making market rate apartments to operate illegally for more than 5 years?
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/09/nyregion/fred-knapp-private-eye-scourge-of-illegal-tenants.html?pagewanted=all
Fred Knapp, Private Eye, Scourge of Illegal Tenants
By ALAN FINDER
Published: May 9, 1988
Sam Spade, he's not. Fred D. Knapp is a modern private investigator, skilled in the use of the computer modem and the art of searching public records. Because he operates in New York City in the late 1980's, his prey is a particular local species: the illegal rent-regulated tenant.
Best guess is they probably did not expect the Airbnb listings to expose that all the PCVST illegal hotels are market rate, renovated apartments that now need to be evicted.
There is something else going on here in PCVST and it is not about taxes, loss of affordable apartments or hotels but those are the excuses du jour being used....but for what? What are they up to or covering up?
>>Again, again, again. ALL PCVST apartments, renovated and non-renovated, are currently under NYS RS law. This was as per the Roberts/J-51 tax ruling. This will change 6/2020. Will posters please stop saying market/renovated apartments versus rent stabilized apartments? We are ALL NYS RS.<<
I understand your point, but try to understand mine. The reason I use "market-rate" and "renovated" apartments is because the designation of rent-stabilized is a mockery of the reality in this instance. Yes, ALL apartments in PCVST are rent-stabilized, but name me any other apartments in the city that are rent-stabilized with rents from $4K to 5K and beyond? Tenants got screwed over by the Roberts ruling, and the meme that all apartments are now rent-stabilized is something used by Dan and the TA to hide the fact that the outcome from Roberts was a cruel joke to those tenants whose rents should have gone dramatically DOWN, but didn't.
EXACTLY EXACTLY EXACTLY RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Calling all apartments here rent stabilized is a cruel joke on the Roberts victims who got robbed of money and justice!!!!! We refuse to call the market rate apartments "rent stabilized" and refuse them to be counted in any affordable housing count even when De Blasio raises the amount that can be deemed "affordable" to fudge upwards the affordable housing stock!!!!!
Or more calmly put by STR
"I understand your point, but try to understand mine. The reason I use "market-rate" and "renovated" apartments is because the designation of rent-stabilized is a mockery of the reality in this instance. Yes, ALL apartments in PCVST are rent-stabilized, but name me any other apartments in the city that are rent-stabilized with rents from $4K to 5K and beyond? Tenants got screwed over by the Roberts ruling, and the meme that all apartments are now rent-stabilized is something used by Dan and the TA to hide the fact that the outcome from Roberts was a cruel joke to those tenants whose rents should have gone dramatically DOWN, but didn't.
February 15, 2016 at 2:59 PM
The TA and Dirty Dan don't give a rat's ass about the quality of life here and what is going on with the illegal hotels. Dirty Dan has totally abandoned us and doesn't want to be bothered with us. However, we will remember his betrayal when he is asking for votes for whatever office he plans on running for. The TA should just go away and stop pretending to be anything other than a bunch of frauds.
The Roberts ruling settlement is a gross injustice. They robbed the Middle Class of justice because justice is something only afforded to the wealthy. They would not let anything impede Fink, Speyer and CW rent rolling upwards to payoff their debt.
Crazy Eddie: the apartments are stabilized in name only. The rents are market and above market. Ergo, they are MARKET rate apartments.
"because the designation of rent-stabilized is a mockery of the reality in this instance'
We have had this discussion before. Sorry, that is true up to a point but it’s not the issue. Besides the the insane legal versus preferential rent amounts codified by Roberts, there are many tenant protections under NYS RS law that ALL tenants have here. The major one being the right to have one’s lease renewed. Also, as I have stated on this thread, Airbnb and the other links, the way these apartment are advertised under these links (no tenants on record home), is illegal here under the NYS RS law, again, for all apartments. By not using the right sematic, it’s like saying one owns a Condo while in reality, one owns a share in a Co-Op. Facts are important. I am not being a TA/Garodnick shill in pointing this out. I am not arguing that for the majority of Roberts renovated apartment tenants, the Roberts ruling was good deal, it was a bad deal.
The Committee To Save New York's vision does not include affordable housing, rent stabilization, and small businesses.
Hudson Yards is the vision with global corporate businesses anchor tenants and glass so-called luxury condos.
Maybe 20% of the apartments will be for the 99% of the American population with "affordable housing" if and only if the developer makes good on their obligation (which they have established a pattern of reneging) and if and only if one agrees with De Blasio's definition of "affordable" (which many community boards are refuting).
I am absolutely sure that Blackstone knows about these illegal hotels and is endorsing the process. I am tired of people portraying these new owners as our saviors. They are in it to make money on those 5,000 MR apartments and will do
anything they can to rent them. That means dorms and illegal hotels. As far as the amenities go, they are crap, mostly designed for students. Who wants study halls, cafes, and concerts. Certainly not long term tenants.
Agree with 5:09 Blackstone knows.
Whatever the outcome they predicted on the AirBnB subpoena it was not the result they got and now they have to deal with the mess they made for themselves.
No pity for any of them involved in that subpoena and no way we should let Paul Weiss Rifkind Roberta Kaplan, the OSE and Attorney General Bureau Chief clarke Russel off the hook from cleaning out the hundred market rate illegal hotels from PCVST.
But since they are market rate and not rent stabilized tenants, and it will hit Blackstone's bottomline they will probably let them off the hook. Agree it seems they meant to hit rent stabilized tenants to help Blackstone increase rents and not hit market rate apartments that will be hard for Blackstone to get in new tenants without decreasing the high rents on those apartments.
There are 166 illegal hotels in the January listings. They even say how they will give you the key card to the front door. That means they have a photo of the person using the key card (according to Garodnick at the Golub meeting).
Come on already.
Look, I don't want any of these hotels here but let's call it what it is. The old school boys club establishment is scared to death of Airbnb because it gives people freedom and empowers them to maintain independence from corporate harnessing of the masses that currently controls the masses, makes a fortune off the masses, and keeps the masses down. The 1% are scared of the Airbnb business model that serves well the 99%.
Well, people can still be AIRBNB "landlords," as long as they own their living quarters. This is a different situation. Can you imagine if AIRBNB were legal here? There might be tons of AIRBNB guests all around you, and a lot of heels clicking above your head. The garbage areas would be even more dramatically filled; the wear and tear of buildings would be also be greater. And since there is no background check, you could get all sorts of criminals and petty criminals hovering around. If you think we have it bad here with stolen mail, just wait! Maybe some day this can work, but only with rules and regs that are enforced, and, realistically, the city and state taking part of the cut in taxes, which they would demand.
Off topic but awesome
The Staten Island Borough President James Oddo and Judge Philip Minardo just did something witty, awesome and historic!
Greed-Inspired Staten Island Street Names Can Stay, Says Judge
by Rebecca Fishbein Feb 13, 2016
http://gothamist.com/2016/02/13/dumb_greed-related_staten_island_st.php
Staten Island borough president James Oddo's not all about the 99 percent, but he's not crazy about big developments either.
After a real estate development razed a Jesuit retreat to build condos, he decided to bequeath the surrounding streets with names for greed— Avidita Place, Cupidity Drive and Fourberie Lane. The developers tried to stop him, of course, but this week a judge let it through.
The judge, Philip Minardo ruled Thursday that the Staten Island Borough President has the right to choose any street names, noting that he “presumably assumed that these names being easy to pronounce, would be more clearly understood by a 911 dispatcher.” That may be true, but Oddo's been trying to keep developer Savo Brothers from sticking a 250-unit condo complex atop the Mount Manresa Jesuit Retreat in Fort Wadsworth for the last five years. The retreat was finally demolished in 2014.
Avidita, Cupidity and Fourberie are all names for greed and deception, traits Oddo clearly believes the Savo Brothers exhibit:
"The fact is that the names chosen are auricularly pleasing and historically illuminative." -- yours truly #streetnamelawsuit
— Jimmy Oddo (@HeyNowJO) February 11, 2016
Still, Oddo concedes that the names won't bring the retreat back. "This court decision is not a victory because it will not bring back the trees, the sacred buildings and the natural topography," he said in a statement.
Really though, the names were way better than the ones the development company picked, which included Timber Lane, Lamb Run, Lazy Bird Lane and Amber Heights Drive. More like Timber Lame, Lame Run, and Lazy Street Named Lane, amirite?
Let's look at the real tax problems of the world. It is not the individual Airbnb user....it is the so called "global elite" but the Attorney General or the IRS would never go after these guys who could actually make a difference, solve a lot of problems if just one let alone all paid their fair taxes.
"The study is one of the most comprehensive to date, using data from the World Bank, United Nations, International Monetary Fund and central banks around the world to measure how much wealth is sheltered from the taxman globally.
That the global elite are using whatever means at their disposal to hide their money from governments isn’t exactly surprising.
"Offshore tax havens are a hot topic these days – due in no small part to the Obama campaign’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s foreign holdings. But beyond that, governments across the globe are hard up for cash, as the global economic slump has eaten into tax revenues, and they would like nothing more than to get their hands on all that offshore wealth.
So when the left-leaning Tax Justice Network issued a report this week which estimated that somewhere between $21 to $32 trillion in wealth is unreported and shielded from taxation from various governments, and argued that this money could be used to shore up balances of debt-ridden sovereigns, people took notice.
$21 to $32 trillion!!!!!
“Assuming conservatively that global offshore financial wealth of $21 trillion earns a total return of just 3 percent a year, and would have faced an average marginal tax rate of 30 percent in the home country, the unrecorded wealth might have generated tax revenues of $189 billion per year – more than twice the $86 billion that OECD countries as a whole are now spending on all overseas development assistance.”
"
http://business.time.com/2012/07/26/the-real-problem-with-offshore-tax-havens/
$21 to $32 trillion!!!!!!!!!!!
But the US will never go after the corporations. They will aggressively go after the Middle Class person but never the people at corporations or if they do, they do so gently and always settle with agreeable terms to the corporation. Has there ever been a settlement that the corporations were unhappy with or that stopped them from repeat offenses. No.
In the world we live in today I think it is of paramount importance that landlords know who is occupying their apartments and that legal tenants know that their neighbors are vetted by the landlord and are legally occupying the apartments. The hell with the bedbugs, what if a bunch of Jihadis are next door? Didn't we learn anything from 911, Boston, Paris, and so on? Don't ask me to be friendly toward my neighbors if they revolving door transients. That is asking too much. And, don't expect me to turn a blind eye to their "hosts" either. Blackstone and the Notorious Knapp should be onto thiis. Forget idiot DG and the incompetent so-called TA. The TA has long outlived its usefulness and DG always was a big fat zero as far as this community is concerned. He is just an opportunist.
In 2015 seems there are roughly 125 illegal hotels in 80 Stuyvesant Town Peter Cooper Village buildings, that is 1.5 per building
In 2016 there is a large increase to roughly 170 illegal hotels, two per building.
All are renovated apartments. So all are Tenant Association desired "new stabilizers" who are wealthier in money and poorer in morals, ethics, regard for the law.
These new stabilizers are a lesser class of people.
In looking at the thumbnail photos, it is easy to identify the criminal hoteliers. But we doubt they will be caught seeing as their numbers are increasing and not decreasing so yes, it seems Blackstone knows and is allowing new stabilizers market raters to run illegal hotels and Fred Knapp, Charles Spetka, Larry Fink, Rob Speyer started the businesses.
So how can we out the Illegal Hotels without repercussions?
Prior to 2003 when the law was changed, when you rented a RS apt at the preferential rate, for the entire course of your tenancy your lease was renewed at the preferential rate + whatever RS increase the RGB set for that particular year. Meaning, unlike now, upon lease renewal the landlord wasn't allowed to increase your rent from your preferential rate to whatever the fuck they wanted up to whatever your legal rent was.
IMO, except for Cuomo, the preferential/legal rent rule could have been horse-traded back to how it was pre-2003 when rent regs were renewed last June. As it was we got nuthin.
This is a major presidential election year, not a midterm, and so that + demographic changes in NY state mean there's a good possibility that the state legislature will re-align in a way that could be good for us tenants. If that's what happens, it will matter that all apts in ST-PCV are still RS if enough tenants in NYC force Albany to finally do something meaningful regarding rent regs which is the only tried and true way to address the lack of affordable housing in the city.
Thanks for posting these links. All the same people have been running illegal hotels for years so it would have been easy to catch them if this was about catching illegal hotels. Its left to be seen what Blackstone does with these hundred or so hotels Compass Rock allowed to operate during their entire time managing the property.
Why did Compass Rock and Tishman Speyer hire Fred Knapp allow all these illegal hotels here some since 2011 and are they still running the management department?
There are over a hundred! For years! And all the same "hosts" Young twenty somethings some with multiple listings! Knapp knows! Blackstone knows! Security knows. This has been going on for years with all the same ones listed with lots of reviews. Knapp knows and did nothing about the illegal hotels while Knapp harassed and falsely accused innocent rent stabilized tenants. Knapp is as guilty as all the hosts for all the years!
How did they pull off this hat trick?
http://therealdeal.com/2015/12/10/wells-fargo-scores-a-hat-trick-in-stuy-town-deal/
How they kept their hands on Fannie Freddie money all along
the bank was the master servicer and lead lender under the old ownership, it owns Eastdil Secured, the firm that brokered the transaction, and it is also originating the acquisition loan for the new buyers.
On Monday, government-backed mortgage insurer Fannie Mae announced that Wells Fargo is originating a $2.7 billion acquisition loan to the Blackstone Group and Ivanhoe Cambridge for Stuy Town. The loan will be passed on to Fannie Mae, stamped with its guarantee, and repackaged and sold on as commercial mortgage backed securities. According to a statement from Fannie Mae, Wells Fargo will retain a portion of the credit risk.
http://therealdeal.com/2015/12/10/wells-fargo-scores-a-hat-trick-in-stuy-town-deal/
Right, 100 illegal hotels in Stuyvesant Town and Compass Rock definitely knows. 100!
That alleged false review was probably written by a fed up tenant because his reporting the hotel to Compass Rock Sorise, Knapp and the TA was ignored. Tenants have been on their own to defend and protect themselves from predators mismanaging and pillaging and now this.
Hundreds of Illegal hotels operating in market-rate apartments by new stabilizers and some of those listed even say they do not live in that hotel / apartment
All while real rent stabilizers who really live in their apartments are falsely accused of running hotels, having beach houses, and hell let's go all out and accuse the real rent stabilizers of having accounts in the Cayman Islands and serve them with golub notices.
Those listed in the Airbnb data say they are not in the apartment! They are using the apartments as a business operation solely. Clearly that one in this post lives nearby maybe in another Stuyvesant Town apartment working as a pseudoconcierge caretaker.
Stuyvesant Town and City Hall needs to stop falsely accusing the rent stabilized tenants and better yet, the rent stabilized tenants need to file a class action lawsuit against Stuyvesant Town and City Hall! Against all of them for their preposterous vicious assaults on the community, the open spaces, the once peaceful quality of life they ruined with loud noise pollution music concerts, ice hockey rink, and basketball tent in our Oval!
I've cyber said this before, but I have to be careful about letting through comments that directly accuse a person of certain activity. I do understand the emotions, however.
Just prior to the Stuyvesant Town deal:
"De Blasio doesn’t want us knowing who he’s calling"
Mayor de Blasio won’t disclose who was at the other end of three dozen phone calls listed on his August and September schedules.
Responding to a Freedom of Information request from The Post, the Mayor’s Office released his latest available schedules, but not the people with whom he was talking in 36 of 46 work-related calls for the two months in 2015.
Previous schedules covering January through June 2015 named everyone on his 98 calls, most of whom were City Hall aides. In July, six of 10 phone entries were ID’d.
A mayoral spokesman, Peter Kadushin, declined to explain the abrupt shift, insisting in an e-mail that de Blasio’s office “continue[s] to be committed to transparency and strive[s] to make information accessible.”
The new records also show de Blasio for the first time vaguely documenting large chunks of his workdays.
A whopping 29 1/2 hours spread over seven days in July and August are documented as “Flex-Time Meeting and Call Block,” and the only person listed as conversing with the mayor during these chunks of time is an assistant. This includes seven-hour blocks of time from 10 am to 5 pm for three straight Fridays in August.
http://nypost.com/2016/02/17/de-blasio-doesnt-want-us-knowing-who-he-called-last-year/
It feels like we live in Russia were crime is all around, coming from rich and powerful places, and innocent people are railroaded and run over.
If someone on the floor is running a cake business - and this bothers you - report them . To do a food business out of your apartment requires a professional kitchen and a lot of licenses. Does this person abided by the NYS laws governing food businesses?
12:24 pm: you are so right. The health inspectors need to go over the facilities and certify them. Also, that person should be paying a surcharge for the amount of gas, electricity and hot water that is required for such a business. Definitely report that person.
I used to know a guy who ran a hair-dressing business out of his rent stabilized apartment and when the landlord found out he was evicted. And this guy paid his own utility bills (except for heat and hot water) which, unlike here, are included in the rent.
Wait a minute. Am I to understand that these illegal hotels have been operating in STPCV for years, right under the noses of management? So, when TS/Blackrock took over the property, they issued golub notices to many longtime tenants and drove them out, even though many of their allegations were unfounded, but the old timers didn't have the financial means to fight back? I distinctly remember they tried to evict a severely disabled lady who the NYTimes rescued, but I don't want to dig that up and embarrass the lady.
What I am saying is that if they went after [mostly] innocent rent stabilized (in the true sense before I get the lecture) tenants while, at the same time, knowing that higher-rental tenants were violating every law on the book, they did FUCK-ALL, then I think the RS tenants who were issued golub notices, whether or not they were driven out, should mount a class action lawsuit against these chip-off-Hitler's cock management/lawyer scum! Thank you.
STR, if what I said before about the golubs, etc., was too raw, just edit me please!
Well said 09:31
An oldie but a goodie
It touches on those wide-net thrown Golub notices and the key cards used to spy on tenants that we now know is only about spying on targeted, specific tenants and rent stabilized ones because with a hundred market rate illegal hotels operating on those key cards in plain view, it is obvious there is something deceitful and sinister here.
It was Borah Goldstein who sent the thousands of notices for Tishman Speyer to a lot of innocent people. Last summer they came directly from Compass Rock to a lot of innocent people. Who do not have the means to be dragged through court where dirty tactics will be used to delay and further hurt the tenant and most of the housing courts are dangerously rigged in favor of landlords and their tricks.
A class action lawsuit is in order. But WITHOUT any of the lawyers who worked on Roberts, have and who ever past, and or present, worked with the Tenant Association.
http://stuytownreport.blogspot.com/2008/12/once-upon-midnight-dream.html
This is shocking. The while list of market rate apartments for rent as hotels by new tenants is shocking and wrong.
Looking at February 2016 there are approx 116 illegal hotels
approx 48 began in 2015
29 in 2014
16 in 201324
with the remaining beginning to operate between 2010 and 2012 except for one which began January 30 2016!
At least a few say they work in real estate.
All are market rate renovated apartments.
So all are new leases executed by Compass Rock and or Blackstone.
So how many innocent tenants did they evict to replace them with illegal hotels? How many innocent tenants have they falsely accused while these operated in plain sight? Almost all of these have the name and the photo of the illegal hotel host.
So, people have been renting out their apartments as illegal hotels for years? Well, I guess Mr. Fred Knapp just dropped the ball by missing those. Knapp was napping? Well, anybody can make an honest mistake.
Back on topic: The grandiose, delusional fool we call a Mayor (hopefully for only one term) just approved the enormous raise for the City Council, just as we all knew he would. I wonder what is the next thing up this delusional idiot's sleeve? Crime is rising, carving up people's faces is the new crime du jour and the cops have their hands tied behind their backs. This is one sickening, putrid city and I even almost miss Bloomberg. I most definitely miss Kelly.
If the Tenant Association lawyers at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison had this Airbnb information as early as May June of 2014 as the Attorney General subpoena says, then why did Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison let all those illegal hotels operate here for the last year and a half? Out in the open operating in plain view.
What has Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton Garrison and the OSE been doing with the Airbnb information because they obviously have not been going after the illegal hotels running in plain view. There is something else going on here and it stinks.
They just let the hotels operate and a lot of them too. What is the OSE and Roberta Kaplan really doing with the Airbnb subpoena information they have been getting since May 2014 when a lot of these hotels have been operating since then? because it is obvious this is not about illegal hotels in Stuyvesant Town or they would have shut all those down. There are more now, the numbers are up to 127 illegal hotels. Paul Weiss Rifkind Garrison Wharton and the OSE are doing something shady. Is this why De Blasio said in the sale to Blackstone no hotels can operate here? I do not trust REBNY Paul Weiss Rifkind Garrison Wharton lawyers or any one involved in that subpoena because they had all that information for almost two years and let all those hotels keep running. Just like they let the dorms ruin the Oval.
Both sides of the argument
There is something corrupt going on in NYC since only tenants so far have been caught and no landlords have been called out, arrested, fined, for their operations.
Something seems off with the influence peddling by the Hotel industry and the landlords getting away with illegal hotels but last year there were a few tenants caught.
Best guess: NY State and City politicians are preparing for massive tourists to the events they are planning with the new coliseums and golf courses replacing the small businesses and rent stabilized citizens so they are deliberately and selectively going after only tenants with Airbnb investigations and letting landlords / REBNY do it to continue the New York way of politicians helping landlords and (hotel) industry and with double standard hypocrisy.
We do not want illegal hotels in Stuyvesant Town. But we do see the other side of the argument where if a person is legally allowed to use Airbnb, it does give them a way to payoff their Wall Street mortgage. That would piss off the hotel industry who has had a billion dollar monopoly on tourists and corporate travelers and if regular people were able to pay off their mortgages and stay in their homes that is good for the economy.
But New York does not care about what is good for the economy, small businesses or citizens as evident by the laws they do and do not pass and for whom benefits from the laws they do pass. Certainly REBNY Landlords Developers, Wall Street, and Hotel Industry benefit from the laws passed by Manhattan Borough President, Mayor, City Council, Albany and Federal level Schumer and Maloney.
Other cities are finding middle ground but New York is running an illogical nonsenical and perhaps corrupt battle, pursuing tenants and not landlords who have with DOB support chopped millions of apartments across all 5 boroughs.
And now this Stuyvesant Town revelation where 125 illegal hotels operate in plain sight while the landlord with the help of Paul Weiss Rifkind, the OSE and the NY AG target innocent rent stabilized tenants here.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/will-new-york-city-shut-airbnb-2/
This has REBNY DOB corruption scandal written all over it!
Letting the DOB and Landlords evict tenants all over NYC then chop those apartments into smaller rooms to increase occupancy is for hotels. That is not for permanent long term tenant use.
The 4500 chopped apartments in Stuyvesant Town that went unchallenged by the TA and City
Council says that they support increasing occupancy and revenue from it for landlords. Safe to venture a guess that Stuyvesant Town has closer to 45,000 tenants maybe even 50,000 of you add up all the hotel guests too.
Nearly doubling occupancy of a building while not making necessary infrastructure safety measures, and I do not include those water valves we pay the MCI for the increased occupancy as enough of an adjustment to the infrastructure in Stuyvesant Town to support the increase in occupancy rate.
Is it true they built hotel suites in Peter Cooper Village combining apartments?
Atomic Man I completely disagree with you
I completely agree with Preet Bharara
PCVST must not follow the TA and Dan like sheep or we will get the government of wolves we will deserve.
Mr Bharara is right
http://nypost.com/2015/01/23/bharara-nyers-should-be-outraged-over-corrupt-politicians/
Get angry, New York.
In a rousing speech made one day after the bust of state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara urged state residents to voice their outrage over the “cauldron of corruption” that is Albany.
“It’s not just enough to be fed up,”
“People need to demand more,” Bharara said
PCVST TENANTS DEMAND MORE!
Atomic Man I completely disagree with you
I completely agree with Preet Bharara
PCVST must not follow the TA and Dan like sheep or we will get the government of wolves we will deserve.
Mr Bharara is right
http://nypost.com/2015/01/23/bharara-nyers-should-be-outraged-over-corrupt-politicians/
Get angry, New York.
In a rousing speech made one day after the bust of state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara urged state residents to voice their outrage over the “cauldron of corruption” that is Albany.
“It’s not just enough to be fed up,”
“People need to demand more,” Bharara said
PCVST TENANTS DEMAND MORE!
In case we forgot the link
Get outraged at what they did to this community!
http://nypost.com/2015/01/23/bharara-nyers-should-be-outraged-over-corrupt-politicians/
Stay in StuyTown for $500 a night
Newly Renovated 3 Bedroom sleeps 8
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8504817?s=gYksfz7S
The Space
This illegal hotel must be one of their chopped apartments to maximize occupancy. A three bedroom apartment with only ONE bathroom. Listed today Available Now!
Stay in StuyTown for $2000 a night
Fully furnished 3 bedroom 1 Bathroom
Newly renovated
Rooms come with Queen beds
Host Samuel
Apartment is located within Stuyvesant Town, a green oasis within the concrete jungle of NYC. It is a very large living space with three spacious bedrooms. Each bedroom has a queen sized bed. There is a queen sized air-mattress available, as well as a pull-out couch. Fully equipped apartment with lots of amenities makes it easy to feel at home. Guests will have access to kitchen with oven, stove, microwave, and all necessary cooking/dining utensils. The size and accessibility of this apartment make it perfect for families. Additionally, there is a playground, park, and basketball courts directly outside the apartment in a safe location to keep children occupied while parents relax. The proximity to major attractions makes it perfect for tourists.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7364064?s=gYksfz7S
Oh the "Owners" of the Stuyvesant Town apartment that rents for $2000 do NOT live there! But they will be in NYC for all their hotel guests needs and the hotel guests have access to everything in Stuyvesant Town, including our laundry rooms and playgrounds. Our playgrounds are not safe with these untraceable tourists and property management allowing all these hotels a lot of which began middle of 2015 like this one.
So where are these "Owners" who are on premise but not in the apartment?
Guest Access
Guests will have full access to the amenities of the apartment. Wireless high-speed internet as well as TV with cable package (includes HBO and Showtime), washer/dryer available in building basement, intercom system ensures safety of building and easy access for guests.
Interaction with Guests
Owners of apartment will be in NYC during your stay and can be contacted via phone call with any questions. Owners will be on premises to greet guests and free to help with whatever needs may arise.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7364064?s=gYksfz7S
Or you can stay in this renovated Stuyvesant Town apartment for only $100 per night
All these listing out in the open and another one that began middle of 2015
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6289308?s=cu-FDdQj
Nadia seems to have multiple listings for illegal hotels in Stuyvesant Town and she uses the same photos on all
Here are two in Stuyvesant Town
One of her listings had a very happy guest in January 2016
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6628114?s=cu-FDdQj
Here is Nadia's other listing on another apartment in Stuyvesant Town
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8504817?s=gYksfz7S
How is Nadia running two illegal hotels in Stuyvesant Town in the open since September 2014????
2016 Bad Hotel Reviews For Blackstone Stuyvesant Town a.k.a. StuyTown
This was the WORST airbnb or any living situation for that matter that I have ever experienced. First of all, the host was impossible to contact, having to communicate through a third party. Second of all, the whole apartment was disgusting and unlivable! It was dirty all around, the bed had no blankets, the washroom was unbearable, and there was a layer of mold on the tub. My friend and I had to go out and buy cleaning equipment to disinfect and scrub their entire bathroom before even stepping foot in. The price DOES NOT justify the condition of this so-called living space. It says one star because it is required to give something, but if I could, I'd give 0.
January 2016
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/9511685?s=gYksfz7S
It is obvious they renovated these apartments to function as hotels. They are not luxury apartments but the surface renovations, faucets, sinks, stoves, increased room count make it an acceptable hotel. CW Compass Rock built 6000 dorms and hotels while hearing zero objections from the PCVST Tenant Association.
John has amazing views of the East River from his Peter Cooper Village ST Apartment and he has a lot of hotel guests and 12 really good reviews!!
Security knows, has photos and lets John's many hotel guests use key cards
Another Stuyvesant Town Peter Cooper Village Hotel that began October 2015
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8351434?s=oGvSrc1k
Other Things to Note
Building has key card access and a separate key for the apartment door. These will be provided upon arrival so that you can come and go as you like. Wifi password available upon request.
John got a good review!!
The Room was really nice with a beautiful view! The interaction with John was really good. He is a nice and helpful Host. We would take the Room again!
October 2015
And John has other properties and has 12 good reviews
Reviews From Guests
Thomas
Fantastic stay! Felt like home. Great guys - who I still consider friends!
From Charleston, SC · February 2016
Walid
John was a wonderful and very helpful host and made me feel at home. The apartment was clean and had all the amenities (hot water, WiFi, home appliances, a huge flat screen TV set and even a towel). The neighborhood is safe and the address was very easy to find. The Subway station is less than 10 minutes walk and if you need a cab you need not to call one as plenty of them pass in front of the Building day and night. The view from the Kitchen window was spectacular. Though the couch was very comfortable, I would rather a real Bed:). Bottom line is: I absolutely recommend it. Thanks John.
+ More
From Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates · January 2016
Naveena
Very comfortable stay with very kind, generous, and thoughtful hosts. Clean and convenient accomodations in a convenient location. Wonderful sunrise view in the morning. Thank you!
From Hamilton Township, NJ · November 2015
Axel
Location, cleanness, communication, host... All absolutely great!!
November 2015
Jen
Nothing but good vibes here! Not only is the apartment clean and comfortable with lots of natural light in the morning, John and his roommate were very chill and hospitable guys. I felt safe staying there and they were happy to answer all my questions, provide directions, and even offered me something to eat when I was badly hungover in the AM. The couch is super comfortable, I had no problems falling asleep. Also, the apartment is walking distance to subway and East Village where there is lots to eat and drink. Loved the view of the East River from the apartment! Bathroom is clean.
From Vancouver, Canada · November 2015
Nina
The Room was really nice with a beautiful view! The interaction with John was really good. He is a nice and helpful Host. We would take the Room again!
From Cologne, Germany · October 2015
Maria
Everything good so far. Nice and quiet. Good location
From Madrid, Spain · October 2015
Olivia
I had a great weekend in NYC staying at John's place. The actual place looked prettier than the picture and very clean and organized. Couch was quite comfortable. John and his roommate were very nice and offered daily needed stuff. Recommend to everyone who is looking for a short stay in NYC!
Cecile
I had a very nice stay here! The location of the apartment is perfect, very close to the subway and it has an amazing view.
Tony
John and his roommate were very accommodating. Place was clean and close to so much nearby.
Ankur
They were very welcoming and helpful, the couch was comfortable. In a great location, short walk to the metro station. The apartment was very clean with all the amenities provided. Will recommend anyone and will happily stay again.
Christian
Damien has a hotel by the Ice Rink
His hotel is running since 2010! In plain sight for 6 years! He has lots of happy guests.
Campus Compass Rock PCVST Security definitely knows and is in on the hotel business because they are not stupid, these hotels have been operating for 6 years and they have a lot of guests for years.
It is a designer luxury suite for $299 a night
A One Bedroom One Bathroom that accommodates 4
This luxuriously appointed Gramercy oasis is designed professionally for the discerning traveler... All modern comforts are provided - WiFi, professional sound system, wireless music, & Apple TV. Spacious and comfortable work live space.
And Damien runs many hotels all over NYC
This host has 314 reviews for other properties.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3803337?s=imQRwra1
This stinks and is stinks rotten. Was this ever about affordable housing and Airbnb illegal hotels? The laws they passed in 2010, the same year as Tishman Speyers Stuyvesant Town default and Speyers Committee to Save New York takeover of Albany.
Airbnb is launching a PR campaign in NYC after their success in SanFran and the guy running the PR campaign is close to the NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the Senator Brad Hoylman.
Something stinks rotten in the Big Apple.
"Here in New York, where Albany lawmakers enacted legislation in 2010 banning the kinds of short-term rentals that today make up the bulk of Airbnb’s business, the company will launch its local home-sharing club this week, and is planning a day of lobbying action at City Hall Thursday."
http://therealdeal.com/2016/02/23/airbnb-set-to-launch-nyc-grassroots-campaign-modeled-on-sf-victory/?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=popular_widget&utm_campaign=posts_popular
The New York Attorney General Office is working both sides of the battle if the battle is even a real one.
Seeing as Paul Weiss, OSE, and the AG has been "pursuing" illegal hotels with their subpoena since May 2014 and there are hundreds of hotels here running out in the open while the OSE stalks, hunts, preys on a single tenant for years, it seems the pursuit of illegal hotels is a big PR fraud. Are they still driving that undercover taxi in Stuyvesant Town?
To add to it, Josh Meltzer is running the Airbnb PR campaign after joining Airbnb in October 2015 after years working for the NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and closely with Senator Brad Hoylman.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-meltzer-542aa014
Public Policy
Airbnb
October 2015 – Present (5 months)|Greater New York City Area
Deputy Chief of Staff
Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York
January 2013 – October 2015 (2 years 10 months)|Greater New York City Area
Member of senior leadership team of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s administration, responsible for overseeing the intergovernmental affairs, legislative and research bureaus. Portfolio also includes directing federal initiatives and strategic communications.
Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York
October 2011 – January 2013 (1 year 4 months)
Chief of executive bureau responsible for managing the attorney general’s relationships with local, state and federal government officials and agencies; and leaders from advocacy and community groups
>>Stay in StuyTown for $2000 a night<<
!!!! Can't believe someone would pay that much!
So the Cuomo regime of same old incumbents who keep advancing their careers passed laws in 2010 (an infamous year for Committee, Partnership and REBNY running Albany) so middle class tenants cannot rent for less then 30 days but landlords can rent for semesters, a timing that bodes well for real estate interests. Now that cities are changing their views and the regime let the DOB chop apartments all over the 5 boroughs and thousands in StuyTown to increase occupancy, ran them as dorms so the apartments are rid of the original working class and filled with wealthier transients, how much you wanna bet NYC compromises with the new tech businesses and finds a way to write laws to allow the new wealthier transients to safely operate their hotels? This way the Cuomo regime of incumbents favored the REBNY Speyer plan, increase apartment revenues by temporarily disallowing hotels by working class then allowing them once the wealthier tenants take over. That is why De Blasio said to Blackstone, No Hotels. Foreshadowing what is to come. NY landlords big and small are going to be mini and mega hoteliers once the tenants are cleared out and they cleared out about 18,000 from StuyTown under Garodnick, Hoylman, Kavanaugh, Bloomberg then De Blasio, Maloney, Schumer, Cuomo. It makes one wonder who is taking a cut of the hotel revenue when over a hundred are operating in plain sight in StuyTown for how many years now. Blind eyes to that much crimes is paying someone handsomely in hush money.
With all monumentally sky high ineffective security system we pay for combined with all these unaddressed quality of life problems - the increase in crimes on the property - the hundred hotels - it seems a logical conclusion the security officers are given orders to allow the hotels and the pet poop. We can't trust our own security anymore.
1:07 PM, I totally agree with you. I think we should have the MCI for "upgraded" Security revoked and our money refunded. Security has become worse and worse and we are more vulnerable than we ever were. Security/Public Safety is only a nominal "benefit" for marketing purposes.
WOW is the PCV ST TA paying for the Paul Weiss Rifkind investigation into AG Schneiderman's Airbnb investigation? Who is paying for Paul Weiss Rifkind's hours on this and why is Paul Weiss Rifkind allowing the market rate renovated apartments to run as hotels in the hundreds here with probably thousands of guests while they are working with the Internet Bureau Chief Clark Russell in the Albany Attorney General Office and OSE in the New York City Mayor's office? Who hired Paul Weiss Rifkind for this shady investigation, the TA Board? Who is paying for two years of Paul Weiss Rifkind hours on this subpoena and how long before that was Paul Weiss investigating or pretending to investigate illegal hotels because WOW with all of the renovated hotels in PCVST this is dirty.
The people at Blackstone look into every detail before entering into a deal. They know about all the hotels and since they are still operating out in the open, Blackstone is just fine with the illegal hotels ONLY if you live in a renovated apartment or heck you don;t even have to live in it. Those links seem like some of them are compass rock approved real estate brokers who have any listings and don;t even live here.
8:05 The Attorney General Schneiderman is best friends with the TA Board lawyer at Paul Weiss who wrote the bylaws for the TA Board. The Attorney General Schneiderman, Paul Weiss and the TA Board are behind the Airbnb subpeona that the OSE uses to target golub recipients all who are only rent stabilized un-renovated apartments that the Mayor De Blasio and the Deputy Mayor Alice Glen created a lottery for Blackstone to get rid of the RS and all the while they all, Paul Weiss, OSE, the Attorney General Schneiderman, the TA Board under John Marsh and now Susan Steinberg let the renovated market rate run hotels in Stuyvesant Town and in Peter Cooper Village.
The Attorney General Schneiderman, Paul Weiss and the TA Board have known all about these renovated market rate illegal hotels for years. They operate everywhere and do not hide it. The Attorney General Schneiderman, the TA Board and the OSE and the Paul Weiss Roberta Kaplan subpoena from May in 2014 almost two years ago is obviously not about illegal hotels. They are up to something else and it is not having anything to do with keeping Stuy Town residents safe from transients.
This hotel began May 2015 and got a great review just now!!!!! Yippee
Rachel was amazing! Her apartment is literally like a home away from home. The key pick-up and drop off was easy, and the place itself was clean and comfortable. Would definitely come here again whenever I come back to the city :)
February 2016
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7327096?s=Xf1VDhXE
About this listing
This apartment is located in the Stuyvesant town area in the East Village of New York. The apartment is located in an elevator building, and is quiet, yet around the corner from bars, clubs, restaurants and cafes. A perfect spot for exploring NYC!
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