Saturday, September 3, 2016

Dan, Susan and Howie

Photo by Sabina Mollot. 

From T&V, August 16th: "The streets surrounding Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village are getting a $200,000 facelift. The project, which is being paid for with funds allocated by Council Member Dan Garodnick..."

"As for the expected noise levels from the project, Garodnick said he doesn’t expect that it will be 'overly disturbing' to neighbors."

67 comments:

Anonymous said...

200,000. Nice amount - could have used it on other things.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

LOL. To someone else. You know I can't approve that comment. But I hear you!

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Sometime this week this unnecessary project will be completed. We can decide the results afterward, but right now it is very inconvenient. And, again, all of this is unnecessary, no matter what the TA (Dan's friend) or Dan's cheering squad tell you.

Anonymous said...

Totally unnecessary toxic smells, a fucking mess and for what? what a fucking tool that DG is .

Anonymous said...

Curly, Moe and Larry (or maybe Howie).

Anonymous said...

What does Steinberg get out of kissing up to these sleazy politicians? Nothing that benefits the tenants, that's for sure.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Funny the Stooges were mentioned. I thought about them via the photo.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>Totally unnecessary toxic smells, a fucking mess and for what? what a fucking tool that DG is<<

Well, it will be wonderful come next weekend! Meanwhile, everyone that is trying to cross has mucho problems!

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Everything was really fine. Maybe a touch up here and there, but that's about it.

Anonymous said...

Full disclosure, I have a car in one of the Ave C garages. Let me just point out that as far as the service roads being OK for just touch ups, this may be true for around 85% of the service roads. However, the service road section on Ave C between Murphy Park and 14th Street is a horror show. I believe the main reason for this deterioration is the garage used by Management for the garbage transfer station which also includes many DOT violations as well. The main Ave C section that parallels the service road was recently repaved. Why the service road at this section was not repaved at the same time is probably due to typical NYC DOT bureaucracy incompetence whereby the City needed a separate contract for just the service roads. And since they could not just repave the service road section I just noted, all of them had to be done. I really think that there are bigger fish to fry here.

Anonymous said...

All of you posters are completely off base regarding this issue, with STR leading the pack. For anyone to say it's unnecessary (unless you're psychotic and off your meds) must not have a car. It's not just here and there STR, sorry. I'm being inconvenienced as much as anyone else, but I welcome the project in the projects. Driving around the perimeter of this dump is like driving in a third world country. Actually, it's worse than a few I've been to.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>All of you posters are completely off base regarding this issue, with STR leading the pack. For anyone to say it's unnecessary (unless you're psychotic and off your meds) must not have a car. It's not just here and there STR, sorry. I'm being inconvenienced as much as anyone else, but I welcome the project in the projects. Driving around the perimeter of this dump is like driving in a third world country. Actually, it's worse than a few I've been to.<<

I have been driven around much of the perimeter, except the one that's mentioned near Murphy Park. I have also, out of necessity, been temporarily hoppling at the corners near Associated and Lenz's, and in between. Nothing is "needed" unless the money is needed for other things. Right now, residents have a difficult time anywhere. We will see how it is in less than a week. But to say that I'm, or my commentaries, are "completely off base" is a lie. Sorry.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

You have to remember that most residents do not own a car and couldn't care less.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I meant "commentators" but "commentaries" is correct also!

Anonymous said...

12:08 PM, 11:54 AM here, thanks, I basically ditto your comment.


BTW I never drive in the service road section that intersects 14th Street with First Ave. With the illegal parking of the soft ice cream truck (no standing zone) there plus the major pedestrian traffic due to the L train station, it is a very dangerous right hand turn there.

Anonymous said...

I have a car and actually don't have a problem with the current state of the service roads (which is where I park everyday), nor do I mind that they are repairing them since it's city money.

If management was paying, I would definitely mind, since the money would be better off pretty much anywhere else. I am afraid to push my infants stroller through PCV with the state of the pathways.

Anonymous said...

"You have to remember that most residents do not own a car and couldn't care less."

Point taken, but irrelevant. If no one anywhere had automobiles there would be no need to have roads. I wish I could get rid of my car but I can't right now and I can't afford the garage. The perimeter roads were a disaster, especially on 20th close to C.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I certainly admit that the Ave C roads are relatively a disaster from what I can tell. And the person who made the comment about the corner of 1st Ave and 14th St is correct: Very hard to turn there with all the human activity and the ice cream truck. Generally, the service roads above 14th and before the FDR on the 20th St side are okay. I've been in cars around there and in the past and have had no trouble. And from experience, walking has not been a problem at all with the lowered pedestrian ramps at the corners. I can't address the Murphy side, as I rarely go that way.

But they are even digging the bus stop area on 23 St and I never had a problem there!

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I also do not know what the success of the new and improved side streets will be. Right now, the work looks like a failure in the making, but there is a significant amount to be done, which includes smoothing out nicely ALL the areas that need that. If the workers just pave and offer a general smoothness, it's not going to help that much.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

This is what Mayor STR would do. First, fire the City Council. (Just joking, of course!) But I would do this roadwork piecemeal: in other words, take care of what is necessary and not put an entire neighborhood through pain for a week (a week?). If that is impossible (!), I'd say who is running this place, me or you?

Anonymous said...

Why is that ice cream truck allowed to park there illegally? Is somebody from DOT or 13th Pct doing them a favor? It makes it very dangerous for pedestrians and drivers. It creates a blind spot for pedestrians. I thought that only Con Ed could get away with that kind of parking.

Anonymous said...

well I'll be. With all the important work that needs to be done here and the $ of it all, it's LOLLLLLL that we paved the not needed service roads? Is it a joke ? I am LMFAO.

Anonymous said...

They are digging the East 23 Street and First Ave bus stop to extend it into the street like they have done at many Select Service bus stops now that they have installed bus lanes for the 23rd Street bus.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Maybe I'm not aware of it, but there has never been a problem at the 23nd St and First Ave stop between express buses and the local. The problem is how slow the local can be going cross town.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>Why is that ice cream truck allowed to park there illegally?<<

Good question.

Anonymous said...

The new dedicated bus lane was installed to hopefully speed up the crosstown bus. The construction at the bus stop on East 23 and First Ave is designed to reconfigure the bus stop to speed up the boarding and deboarding of the busses. I presume they will install fare machines on the sidewalk

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I don't know how this will help the crosstown bus, which is lethargic if there is traffic on 23rd. That's what's holding up traffic. That and the traffic from the Avenues. And in the near future with the L line being closed for a while....

Of course, if you get rid of the express buses, but that is not what is being mentioned here. I don't see it, unless there will be express local buses, and even that will crowd the street.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Then again, if people can get on without paying on the bus itself.... Some will take the chance and just get on without paying the fare machines, of course.

Anonymous said...

STR, I almost always agree with you, but obviously you are not up to speed with the Select Bus Service (SBS), which is currently used on the M15 and M34 in our area. All M23 buses will now be SBS buses, with their own lanes going across town. All passengers will have to buy their tickets before boarding and can enter from any door. This will drastically help at the 1st Ave stop.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Yes, and are those lines speedy? Hardly when there is traffic. As I'm always reminded: this is New York!

We will see. My prediction is that the SBS service won't be that fast crosstown for people to notice. But we will see. I've taken both M15 and M34. Haven't noticed much speed on a normal city weekday. The congestion around 34th and going west, particularly to 5th Ave, can be frustrating, and the M15--you can wait for the express bus a long time and then they come all at once!

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Unless I'm reading it wrong, by the weekend we should all be HAPPY. The side streets are going to be finished, and both pedestrians and cars will be able to navigate very easily these smooth side streets.

Anonymous said...

I also could be wrong, bUT to me it looks like the signs that are up are just for the milling, not the paving. I thought I read somewhere that the paving will be towards the end of the month, which would suck for all non-Jeeps!

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Dan and the TA wouldn't let this disturbance continue on for a month? Would they?

Anonymous said...

I wish there was a tenants association here. I would join in a minute. Unfortunately, there is only the owners tenants association which is not a real tenants association.

Anonymous said...

Betcha those free parking spaces in the oval loops are not going to free anymore.
I think something is up their sleeves with this unnecessary repaving project. Just a hunch.

Edmund Dunn said...

"Betcha those free parking spaces in the oval loops are not going to free anymore.
I think something is up their sleeves with this unnecessary repaving project. Just a hunch."

The repaving of the PCVST service roads, done on NYC property, has nothing to do with the 4 ST loop roads (BTW, they are not "Oval" loops-they are the 14th Street loop, the First Ave loop, the 20th Street loop and the Ave C loop-those are the 4 ST loop roads) which are considered the property of Blackstone, as they once were property of Met Life, TS and then CWC before. NYC parking regulations are enforced on the 4 loop roads by NYPD and NYC Traffic agents but their maintenance is done by the current owner, now Blackstone.

Going forward on this blog, I will be using my real name.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

https://www.stuytown.com/pages/news.asp?type=article&id=109

The Stuy Town loops are private property but "public access." The definition has not been investigated by the Supreme Court, who, unless I'm reading wrong, did not wish to look at it over 50 years ago. Before then (before the complex came into existence) this property was public access just like the rest of New York City. Pedestrians using the sidewalks and cars using the street could go through it without "private property" being raised as an issue. All that changed with the birth of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

Incidentally, the above link differentiates between ST and PCV. In the latter the loop road is actually private property, period.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Supreme Court finally looking at the decision and determining whether this place is indeed "private property with pubic access," whatever that really means, unless it means that the owner can do whatever he/she likes, which seems to be the current opinion.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

As "old timers" are aware, bicycles and cars were banned from the pedestrian walkways that are in Stuyvesant Town. Now, bicycles are not banned and even on the Oval the enforcement of bicycles is lax. (I've seen this with my own eyes.) Vehicles if they are part of the Stuy Town brigade are not banned, too. Zambonis anyone?

This causes wear upon these former pedestrian only walks and subjects these walkways to much abuse, both in terms of traffic and in terms of air quality. If Rick is truly serious about carbon footprints, then he will return to the "good ole days" of ST and PCV, though the dog situation is here to stay. He won't go back for a number of reasons, one is which the enforcement will be even more lax than it is. So we will have smelly zambonis and speeding bicycles all around us.

Anonymous said...

It looks like PCVST is doing some minor patchwork on the PCV sidewalks. Not like it makes a difference when you have golf carts, jeeps, trucks running over them all day every day. We can only hope for no MCI...

Stuy Town Reporter said...

That patchwork around the Oval was done weeks ago. They most flagrant holes and cracks were cleaned up, but still a lot of cracks remain. (I can take photos.) They really need to do patchwork, and more, in Peter Cooper. Parts are a disaster.

Anonymous said...

Maybe they should just ban pedestrians from the walkways and around the Oval. Put up "Wheels Only" signs. It would be more humane to ban us completely than to let us think we can walk there while all they want is for us get hit and killed or maimed. I think all the speeding wheels is part of Management's Master Plan to exterminate all the older people living here in unrenovated apartments. I'm so sick of the rotten mismanagement of this place by this bullshit artists like Rick Hayduck who are all talk and no action. If it's not a calculated methodology, then it is sheer incompetence and he should go get a job where no manerial or enforcement skills are needed.

Anonymous said...

1 44 and was all the ripping up of roads and pruning and weeding really necessary? would prefer a rent rebate.

Edmund Dunn said...

">>Why is that ice cream truck allowed to park there illegally?<<

"Good question."


I will be going to the 13th Precinct Community Council meeting on September 20, 2016, Tuesday, at 230 East 21st Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. I will bring tablet pictures and ask them this question because:

1. Space is no standing zone.
2. Truck is located next to and not the minimum 10 feet away from the crosswalk.

I'll keep you posted. Anyone else coming?

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/precincts/precinct_013.shtml

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I probably won't make it, but keep us posted. Also, why is the information provided not called in and action taken?

Anonymous said...

Also, I'm sure the truck is violating anti-idling laws.

Anonymous said...

It would be wonderful if that dangerously parked ice cream truck could be moved. Thank you to all of your are taking action. I am disabled and I absolutely hate crossing by that truck and I fear for all the little kids crossing there at school quitting time = just the very time the bastard gets his most business, I wold think.

Anonymous said...

Steinberg and Garodnick have been the absolute Kiss of Death to tenants. I will never join the TA so long as those two are around. She is a "climber" and photo-op addict of the worse kind and he is an opportunistic shady politician who is in bed with Big RE. I despise them both.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I already was there this morning, but the truck wasn't there. I will be there, weather willing, later today. You have to see it to complain, I would think.

Barry Shapiro said...

I had contact with Howie recently...twice in fact. My questions were...what are Dan's positions about:

1. The legality of apartment partitioning here. Howie told me "Dan sees no reason to question the determinations of the DOB." It's good that this is concise and clear.

2. The illegality of bike riding here. I mentioned I had spoken to 2 community affairs officers in the 13th precinct who said that bike riding on any sidewalks (public or private) is illegal but they (the police) have no right to enforce the law on private property. The woman who responds to such issues for the DOT commissioner told me the same. I have an email from a DOT rep stating clearly that bike riding on sidewalks is illegal. Howie didn't comment on legality. Except to say that though not a lawyer, if the police can't enforce, maybe it isn't illegal. He said he spoke to Det. Dorian who is head of 13th precinct community affairs who said owners can do whatever they like on private property. However, again would not make any comment about legality.

So in the end, I have no clear position from Dan about legality/illegality with respect to bike riding here. Just the impression from Howie (who is a kid 2 yrs out of college) that he was going to do anything possible to keep from getting an official position from Dan about this.

3. The likely illegality of not curbing dogs here. I mentioned that on Sep 13 the Board of Health will clarify this. Howie extolled the virtues of management efforts here regarding cleaning, told me Rick Hayduk thinks the offenders are coming in from the outside. Tried to put me a bit on the defensive, and though no health expert himself implied that there is no evidence that dogs defecating the sidewalks present any health risks to young children at all. It's just amazing how knowledgeable 23 yr olds fresh out of college are these days. In short, Howie wasn't trying to be responsive to my question at all.

I had the impression that Howie's goals were not to clearly understand my questions and provide clear, concise answers, but rather to get me to disappear and question no further.

No surprise. Just re-confirming what most of us are already quite sure of.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

As a private citizen who happens to live in Stuy Town, I am still waiting to hear back from Howie or whomever. Three times is definitely not a charm with me. I will wait, and call, again.

"Dan sees no reason to question the determinations of the DOB." I shake my head and almost weep.

This is the stuff the TA should be pouncing on. Instead...

Stuy Town Reporter said...

"Rick Hayduk thinks the offenders are coming in from the outside"

And if so? Is there any active response to this outside invasion? Not that I see.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I tell you what I have seen: PS turning the other way when someone from "outside" enters without the approved lanyard.

Barry Shapiro said...

A while ago Rick Hayduk wrote me that 10 tickets had been given to dog owners who didn't clean up: 5 from the outside; 5 who live here. I have no proof one way or the other. He said the tickets have all the same force as NYPD tickets.

With respect to Dan's office, why bother? You're waiting to hear from a 23 yr old kid from Minnesota.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I have no reason to doubt Rick, but as for visual evidence of my eyes, it is not there. I see, frequently, no sign of PS. Even at the Oval, you sometimes wonder where they are. I would suggest hiring more PS officers who are trained and take no BS.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Bottom line is that this place can't rely on the number of PS officers who were here even 5 years ago. The number of residents has increased, as has the bicycle traffic. And then there are skateboards, which can be even more dangerous than bicycles.

People don't realize that for the disabled or the elderly, these bicycles and skateboards are fear-inducing. If you are young, you may think "hit me and you go flying," but for the disabled and elderly it can be panic time. They are literally looking at possible death.

Barry Shapiro said...

I would say this in general about bike riding on any private property sidewalks. I've been told it is illegal. Therefore, any property owners that encourage bike riding on their sidewalks do so at their own risk. It is encouraging the commission of violations (admin code 19-176-3b) that could very well lead to injury/misdemeanors (admin code 19-176 3c). I rather doubt that a property owner stating that it discourages 'reckless' bike riding would be considered a responsible mitigation if encouraging bike riding to begin with, but only time may tell.

Anonymous said...

Barry - thank you for all the information. If shady Dan is not taking a stand against the partitioning, then maybe we can find out about the updated room count for MCI purposes?

Anonymous said...

So many things about this place are shady and illegal. The bicycle-riding on the property is very menacing to the elderly and disabled - the very people that Blackstone and Garodnick want to get rid of; the fact that the converted apartments don't pay their fair share of the mcis, therefore shifting the burden to the longer term tenants, who Blackstone and Garodnick want to be rid of. So many things here are geared to make life dangerous and miserable for the older tenants that it is frightening! I've never been a paranoid person my whole life, but now .... There is something just so odious and callous and calculated about the way this cynical little dweeb of a councilman, his ass-kissing TA and the Blackhearted Blackstone go about doing things. And all with a cheshire cat smile. Slimy jerks!!

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I agree about the dangers to the elderly and the disabled. Where I disagree is about Blackstone wanting to get rid of them, especially this way. Blackstone just has to wait and bide its time. No rush.

Anonymous said...

Blackstone is blatantly negligent in enforcing the rules (laws, really) and therefor puts people's lives at risk.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Oh, how's the milling and re-paving working out for people?

Anonymous said...

STR is right about Blackstone biding its time. Long term tenants already paying the legal rent have few worries, but when j-51 tax abatement ends here in 2020, over 6000 units paying the preferential rent may have a very big problem. Blackstone will look at the real estate landscape and all its options at that time.

Best case but unlikely scenario for market renters is that their rents will not rise to market rates. More likely, the rents will rise at least to market rates and many of these people will be forced to move.

Not to be overlooked, at any time Blackstone can decide to do a conversion. Even at a 5.4B price tag, they can still make lots of money. Past 2020 Blackstone will have options that can legally increase and maintain vacancies allowing them to sell many more apartments at higher prices than insider prices.

At any rate for now, biding time, renting to students and churning apartments are key.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I'd be curious, though I doubt I will find out, what the "market rate" people in this complex are paying? Some of these apartments have changed hands so much, with resultant rent increases on base rent, that these apartments are way above what's market rate in the city these days. (For a lack of a doorman, etc....)

The student population is just one of a few ways to get more money out of a pool of renters. We all know of the one apartment with more than three unrelated people living in it. How many apartments are those?

I think rents are all over, high, low, and in-between.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

And don't get me started on "flex" apartments. Dan and the TA don't want to look into this, but what is their fucking job?

Stuy Town Reporter said...

So when is this "facelift" supposed to kick in? Dan, Susan, Howie? I get it that we can't walk or drive properly since phase one, but when is it going to be all over, so that we can have smooth side streets?

Anonymous said...

And don't get me started on "flex" apartments. Dan and the TA don't want to look into this, but what is their fucking job? .....


Dan, Howie and Susie are up Management's ass, that's why they don't look into it!

Anonymous said...

Here are your market rates: https://www.stuytown.com/floor-plan-comparison

Another question...how many apts have legal rents above these?