Our landlord, BLACKSTONE, can't handle Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village. There is a lack of enforcement of certain "rules," and no amount of notice to this alleviates the problems. We are continually being told half-truths and fabrications. And we have no viable Tenants organization, despite our TA asking for dues all the time. So far, the politicians have proven to be basically useless. A typical New York story.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Photos -- Is any comment really necessary?
Saturday, about 11:30 am, April 22nd. Photos do not lie. Please click on photos to make them bigger.
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Update, over 4 hours later:
Still not picked up or called in by ST workers or anyone else. 4+ hours later. No one cares. And apologies to those that think it is gross.
As a dog owner who follows the rules, I get so mad at this. BR would make money hand over fist if they started ticketing. They could use the money to run that little sweeper more than once a season. It could probably pay for more security too. For a company that wants to turn a profit, It's pretty shortsighted.
Of course, me being me, I have to say something. The first photo is priceless. I'm so glad I took my camera. The "view" is smeared dog turd. A photo for the official website and the leasing office. But will they use it? I give all my permission.
The second photo is of the inside of the Oval and there is a wooden bench. Ha, what is Management going to do? Put in benches so we can picnic? Possible...
Third photo. Hmm... Is that moped even legal? Perhaps it is, but what is Management inviting residents to do?
Fourth photo. Some mighty big dog feces. Not picked up... In the no dog area. Job well done, Blackstone!
And, of course, I shouldn't be doing this. Nor any individual tenant. We have a TA. They should have someone out taking photos and posting them. But no...
I can't post photos of other people's rent bill. I can tell you that I am a true RS tenant and have lived here for what is now close to three decades. My rent for a two bedroom, unrenovated, is about 2K a month.
We don't have a TA. The group that calls itself a TA is a bunch of liars. Let them open their books and give an accounting of where they get their money and what they do with it.
StuyTown is the chillest, greenest neighborhood in Manhattan. Blocks away from the LES, but when you’re home, it feels like a zen getaway. Some of the pinch-me-I’m-dreaming perks: State-of-the-art gym, gourmet cafe, on-site laundry facilities, weekly greenmarket, outdoor sports facilities!
Are we going to have fucking mopeds tearing around the property now? Isn't this dump dangerous enough with the bikes, golf carts, club cars? It is totally out of control already. The elderly and people with small kids are going to be afraid to venture out of their buildings.
The one good thing the TA managed to do in the last decade was to rid the Oval of food trucks. Are they going to sit by and do and say nothing (their usual m.o.) if a Sabrett truck is allowed on the Oval?
I think it was a joke but if you ask us all if we're paying too much we will agree, for this place and for this location. Yes, the grass is nice, but RS is fading fast and I don't expect it to be in place in five years. I pay 2100 for a 2 bedroom.
John Marsh has been lauding Danny Boy Garodnick on the TA site. They all belong together, he and the TA, Rick, and Dan---destroyers of this community. Seen today in Pig Sty Town, many u-hauls moving the dorm dumpers in and out.
>>StuyTown is the chillest, greenest neighborhood in Manhattan. Blocks away from the LES, but when you’re home, it feels like a zen getaway. Some of the pinch-me-I’m-dreaming perks: State-of-the-art gym, gourmet cafe, on-site laundry facilities, weekly greenmarket, outdoor sports facilities!
AND DON'T FORGET SPEEDING BIKES, DOG SHIT SMEARS, DOG PISS STAINS AND ALL NIGHT BRO-HO SKUNK WEED PARTIES!!
Discussing with a neighbor today. On our 3rd and 4th floors there are large stains in front of the elevator that service cannot get out. For sure, dog urine. Dogs inside all day, just can't make it outside while waiting for the elevator. One dog defecated all over the lobby. At least the owner cleaned up. But according to my neighbor, a dog defecated in the elevator and the owner did not clean up. Was reported, caught on video and fined $250.
I think no one quite expected dog ownership would grow to the numbers we have today. Much to my surprise, it seems like more than half of the owners are older couples and singles...empty nesters and those just lonely. And somehow cats just don't do it for them. Anyway our building is chock full of dogs. The front of the building is soaked through with urine stains. The flagstones in the lower part of the lobby have urine stains. Our service guy is trying to scrub them out. They won't come out.
Though their dogs do, the dog owners really don't give shit. Cannot believe these people who seem to feel there are no issues here. There clearly is an issue. There is definitely a serious issue, and it gets worse every day.
My eyes are beginning to have blood shoot out them! I was just at the TA Facebook and some of the comments regarding this mugging last night... Yeah, New York City. Where, aside from being in the military, I've lived most of my life. So let me make it plain, New York style: The guy who invited over to his apartment a group who mugged him is A FUCKING JERK! How's that!
12:31, I am a dog owner too, and I second your sentiment. My one question about ticketing is whether it would go to the landlord, or if the tickets would have to go to the city. If Blackstone can't make money from the tickets, why bother? I imagine that would be their thinking.
STR, how dare you! The snowflake(s) that are commenting on the mugging don't want anyone to get hurt, even if the victim was a complete jackass. I have no sympathy for him, and I am just glad nobody else got hurt by his drunken stupidity.
4:50. I wrote the 12:31 comment. I as far as I know, it goes to the landlord. We've had neighbors ticketed for not having their puppy on a leash. They caught him on the security cam. I think the fine should go right onto your rent bill. Maybe with a still photo like Easy Pass has. As for off property owners, who shouldn't even be walking there dogs here, it should be a written city ticket just like they do for cars on the loops. BR should get a kickback for filling the NYPD coffers.
My wife got a ticket a few years ago for having the dog off the leash, and the money went directly to the City of NY. They are peace officers for the city, so the tickets they write are for the city.
To clarify...PS here is supposed to act on behalf of the city when it comes to issuing tickets. The fines are paid to the city. (I doubt if any portion of this gets sent back to management here.) The violations are sent in to the Environmental Control Board and if the violators wish to contest, hearings are scheduled. All the violations are captured in NYC Open Data under OATH ECB hearings. Anybody can look at it using Excel. Several tickets have been given for leash violations, I've only seen 2 for canine waste clean-up. Believe it or not, in 2016 two tickets were given for 'illegally riding bike on sidewalks'. Not to residents. Were definitely delivery guys.
My boss lives uptown, they hand out tix left & right for not picking up after your dog. guessing we live in shitsville. Post on yelp post it on yelp post it on yelp
Again I say, I see what I see and I take the occasional photos. Management and PS disagree, but what have they got to show for it? Take a look outside.... It really has reached the point, several months back in fact, where the negatives about Management and PS are real and not made up. I don't want it to be so: I would want Management, in particular, to take these issues seriously. Oh, not just to say that they are taking them seriously, but to actually do something about it. So I, and others, can see it. Otherwise I have to believe the negatives.
Actually management here doesn't say very much about the tickets they've given out. I think it's bad for business. When people complain directly, they can respond directly that they've done this or that, but they don;t advertise. In fact, canine waste fines are $250 each, leash violations are $200 each. And most of them stick.
The data show that 90% of the tix are given out on peripheries: 20th St, Ave C, 14th St, 1st Ave. Which means the violations are probably being spotted from the patrol cars.
Walking to the Oval today, I saw one mess left not far from 21 Stuy Oval and another left in the No Dog area just to the east of the Oval fountain. It's typical of the lack of patrolling that occurs in the interior areas. And as STR has pointed out, even when PS is present, they don't really pay much attention.
"Believe it or not, in 2016 two tickets were given for 'illegally riding bike on sidewalks'." ----- PS will write four tickets this year, then send out P.R. trolls claiming Blackstone doubled enforcement in response to recommendations from Garodnick-TA.
Garodnick-TA will send out the same P.R. trolls congratulating themselves claiming credit for improving our QOL directing Blackstone to enforce rules.
In turn, Blackstone will send out the same P.R. trolls publicly praising Garodnick-TA guidance, always publicly reminding everyone how smart they are and how lucky we are having Garodnick-TA represent us always acting in our best interests.
The false narrative operates in a recurring cycle maintained and controlled by P.R. trolls feeding a mostly lazy, often complicit media.
Occasionally truth disrupts the false narrative. STR is a longstanding STPCV resident. While nobody likes seeing their home covered with dogshit everywhere all of the time, the images are constant, stark, "disruptive" reminders that everything connected with Blackstone owning STPCV is just P.R. trolls trolling dogshit.
1) There are only a few weeks left in the 2016-2017 school year. This means that all tenants should prepare themselves for extra partying on all nights of the week.
2) All tenants should expect a massive number of move outs and move ins between now and June 1 as the school year comes to a close. The wait time for an elevator will increase dramatically as the moves take place, and elevator padding will be the norm. Please be courteous to your new neighbors and don't unlatch the door if they have it propped open for extended periods while moving in or out.
3) Along with saying goodbye to our current neighbors and hello to our new ones, the summertime is also a great time for tenants to rent out their apartments via AirBnB. Please welcome our guests with open arms, and point them in the right direction if they seem lost. We all know the signs are no good, so your help is greatly appreciated.
4) Please remember that this is a family friendly community. We all want to enjoy our spring and summer on the Oval, so parents need to make sure to keep their kids away from coeds in bikinis, bros with solo cups, and squirrels.
(How did I do? You think Rick might hire me to be the Chief Communications Officer?)
Blackstone doesn't care how shit-pasted the property is just so long as they lure suckers in with their false advertising. These people aren't interested in running a property well and in an ethical and professional manner. They are interested in raking in the money and they care not a flying shit about the quality of life, sanctity of life or anything else in the common decency and professional ethics sense.
Has management informed tenants that Airbnb not allowed? I think not, not therefore we rent, want to rent, make money. Extra signs with addresses shows me that they do not oppose.
I'll tell you who I feel empathy and compassion for. I feel this for the people who need walkers or someone to help them "walk" the steps that we take for granted. I feel for the person (actually more than one) who in the morning, with help, has to wait for those small buses that take this person to a special school where they feel wanted. I feel for the person who takes baby steps around the Oval fountain, with someone front and back to steady this person while they attempt to walk. I feel for the older RS person who bravely walks the Oval and exercises around it to make himself feel better and as whole as possible. I don't feel empathy and compassion for someone who gets drunk, almost at morning time, and invites a group of people (surely, Hasidim) to continued his partying.
Can't wait! The school year will be over. IKEA furniture posted on Facebook for inflated prices (preview of the next weeks damage). The next set of out of state plates, can't figure out alternate street parking. Oh how the seasons change. Good riddance, now Blackstone keep your promises
If BS doesn't get the cash for dog enforcement? I can see why they don't care. There's nothing in it for them.
For the parties, and the idiots, and gross dog walkers, why isn't there a neighborhood watch who patrols, takes pictures and calls PS or the cops? I've lived in other towns that have organized them when the residents feel the regular police were not enough.
Yes, I know we have security we pay for but doing something has got to be better than the endless complaining.
Good people of this exceedingly filthy sty, it is not my intention to dispute the authenticity of the photos posted. Suffice it to say we have the absolute best and most responsive property manager available in Rick Hayduk. He has been very clear that when people know what they are supposed to do they will do it, and has posted signs and stickers around the sty town slum to this end. This is why, personally, I feel these pictures must be staged. Yes, staged.
At any rate, Mr. Hayduck will not take too kindly to any of this, and views piles of shit, puddles of piss, and shit stains as a reflection on himself and his ability to manage the sty. I can promise you, it will be addressed in a timely fashion. We're lucky to have him at the helm.
Furthermore, I need not mention that if he rests on his laurels he will have the STPCVTA and little Dan to answer to. I can assure you, he will not let it reach that point.
Endless complaining does something, otherwise we have no complaining and everything is fine according to Management and PS. They can say this, of course, but the endless complaining tells them something is wrong.
That said, please remember that the wheels turn, however slowly.
Cant get into buildings easily to be on watch. That's burbs stuff. Perhaps we should have a specific page, FB or post site between us for pot smoke, loud parties, hall smoking, bad behavior.
and complaining warns other potential tenants to beware. they deserve that. Had I known this, yeah yeah, you can call me dumb, i would have staid in queens.
Again, I'm not negating complaining, the reasons already given. As to doing something, each resident has his or her own take. Some residents do speak up, some do not. As I said, and I repleat, the wheels turn but they turn slowly. I hope to have a report soon, which has many downs and few ups, if any. But this does not mean "let's give." Not in the least.
And, though I don't think of it as such, I should consider this blog one of the successes. Yes, readers do bitch, but so what? The blog's existence, a blog which has been mentioned outside of the blog, indicates that Management and PS and to a certain extent the TA (!) would want it to disappear.
BTW, still "pending" at the TA Facebook despite following all the procedures. Hey, at least give me a chance to post and then banish me if my post breaks the rules. I am a good boy at heart, but I admit I have a low threshold for BS.
But does management take this blog seriously? Or just a clearinghouse for voiceless people to scream into the abyss. While at times it's funny, sad, infuriating and a hoot to read It seems mostly to eat at itself from the inside out.
Yes. It is an annoyance and they can say that they do not read it, as they say, technically, about the TA Facebook and "social media," but I do not believe them. I have my sources.
Again, and I think it is the third time, I welcome bitching if it is about real things. I don't mind. And not to put a fine point on it, my reasons are enough for me.
... how can management take this so called blog seriously? All everyone ever writes about are falsely made assumptions based on individuals' interpretation of whatever. As long as every effort management makes is met with nothing but negativity stemming from many years of bad experiences they'll never stand a chance with you who post your comments.
Many of you have lived here for decades and you've been through the ringer, but and as I wrote before, if you really hate it here so much then move away...
About 6 months ago I called Garodnick's office to get official positions from him about quality of life issues here. Thought it at least worth a try. Spoke with "Howie" who gave me responses that while not "official" more or less sided with management. In passing I made mention of the STR site, and the response I got was one of sudden intense interest. Howie really wanted to know if I was behind STR. Don't know if he believed me when I said I was not.
So is other side aware of this blog? I would guess 'yes'.
I don't advocate for giving up. I was just suggesting an "and" not an "or". Nor was I suggesting that a neighborhood watch ever go inside a building. I ever seen a watch group go into someones house. But to let PS know they have roving groups of drunken kids or herds of tourists asking directions. I think knowing neighbors have there back by being out and about at night might make nervous residents feel a little better.
Management has said and it has been confirmed to me by various Management people I have asked that they read the TA's Facebook page.
STR - If you haven't asked to join the TA's Facebook page recently, you're probably no longer on their radar. You should submit again and see what happens.
>>... how can management take this so called blog seriously? All everyone ever writes about are falsely made assumptions based on individuals' interpretation of whatever. As long as every effort management makes is met with nothing but negativity stemming from many years of bad experiences they'll never stand a chance with you who post your comments.
Many of you have lived here for decades and you've been through the ringer, but and as I wrote before, if you really hate it here so much then move away...<<
Yes, falsely made assumptions and photos to prove how false these assumptions are. Move away? You'd love that. And fat chance of that happening. Sorry. Most true RS tenants are here to stay.
I appreciate the truth that comes out on the STR blog, but I fear that all this complaining and talk is going nowhere. Even if management reads the blog, they really could care less. They continue to turn this property into a Pig Sty. Without a viable TA we are nothing. I have seen no improvement in Blackstone's attitude toward QOL here. The churning goes on. When I enter the lobby of my building I either smell skunk pot or garbage. All I see are dogs, students, suitcase people and bicycles. I do call PS when I have issues with the dorm downstairs, but I fear it is all for naught. I am not surprised that calling Garodnick's office resulted in his staff siding with management. I do not see any wheels turning, although I do appreciate being able to vent on this site. I do not know what the answer is.
The number of posted comments questioning the validity of STR outright confirm the validity of STR being more than a "so called blog" or "mere annoyance" calling out the false Shangri-La narrative depicted by Blackstone-Garodnick-TA propagandists.
1:54...if you dislike the complaining so much, you should think about moving out yourself 'cause it's not going to stop. And here's another good idea for you if you dislike the complaining. It might not have occurred to you, but you could do yourself a big favor and just stop reading this blog. As a matter of fact, you shouldn't even read what I just wrote because I'm quite sure it's just going to upset you and you won't like it.
Public safety has been reduced and defanged. Blackstone reduced their numbers. Blackstone has ordered them to do nothing.
Bill McClennan has been stripped of all ability to protect anyone here.
On weekend nights, sometimes there are only 5, or possibly 6 Public Safety officers on duty. 3 out of 5 of them may be assigned to stay within a particular building.
110 buildings.
80 acres.
6 Guards.
Blackstone is doing this to us.
And worse.
Several Public Safety officers have now related this to me independently of each other.
I believe what 10:01 says. That's the only explanation that seems plausible to me. And if what you say is true about them telling you this, I'm not surprised by that. It was only a matter of time before they started speaking out, even if anonymously.
This blog started with me telling off Rob Speyer as he walked about the property with his pen-waiting assistants. I was pissed at what this property was becoming, and when I saw Robbie, blood started shooting out of my eyeballs, and I spoke my mind. Of course, Robbie gave a smart alecky answer and kept on going, him and his cadre. I also remember my first, and certainly not last, meeting with the Security Chief (hi, Chief!). I remember one of the actions he did: he turned his name card around so I wouldn't see his name.
Not much has changed since those days. You can go back on the blog, years, and basically read the same problems and the same responses. Some residents have actively fought back, and I thank them. One resident even sued the property and won! No help or encouragement from the TA, of course. The lawyers made some good money on the deal, naturally, as they have done on every "deal."
As for the rest, it does take time and effort. Nothing is quick. I once belonged to the TA and paid my dues. But they really don't represent the tenants, aside from this and that, which can be listed on one hand. Basically, if you want change, you have to do it yourself.
What I don't understand, though I do in a way, is the reluctance of Blackstone to deal with some of the problems without bullshitting tenants. I get it that they want to sell the rooms, I get it that they are not that pleased with true rent stabilization. The fight over affordability and rent stabilization are matters that are in another terrain. But the property, how it is run, is another affair.
It is simple for Blackstone to set up a site for tenants that just deals with "issues." No bullshitting, just the truth, and true reporting as to what is being done about this or that problem. I see the bicycles around the Oval all the time; I see the overweight dogs being walked casually; some residents hear the noise of neighbors at odd hours; etc. But Blackstone dares not set up a truthful page, even for tenants. You have seen their official pages. Living in Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village seems wonderful. The sell and nothing more.
That is not the way to run a property. Yeah, go and sell, but do not lie to tenants who are already here. Chances are that many of these tenants have been here far longer than you, and even longer than you were born!
Continual BS-ing has this effect: It dampens the morale of tenants and ST/PCV workers alike. No one cares any more, or rather few care.
The fight goes on. I wish it were not so, but I and others have taken the time and energy to push back if we see something wrong. And, again, it will take time, maybe lots of time. And there will be failures. Some big ones.
The only other option is to keep quiet while one assumes the prone position and says, "Yes, master, one more please."
that was probably the best written piece of yours I have seen in a while. Frustrations are out there and heard very loudly, but rather than bitching non stop and adding opinions based on interpretations, not facts, I wish you and your readers would make suggestions that are actionable.
You just wrote that your dissatisfaction goes back to the days of Rob Speyer. That is a mighty long time to hold a grudge and to complain about the same old thing.
Speaking of dogs, noise, suitcases, etc: rules are only as good as people (tenants in this case) sticking to them. Example: express bus lanes are meant for express busses, yet how many times do cabs and Ubers pull over, turn on their flashers and load or discharge passengers. A convenience for one, major hassle for those sitting on the express bus.
I have personally attempted on a number of occasions to stop folks from riding their bikes around the Oval. Most of the time my requests are met with an incredulous look, a few choice words, and then a happily carried on bicycle ride. And believe me, the offending riders are not (always) young people, but mostly more mature folks who certainly fit the category of what you refer to as the truly RS tenants.
Same with dogs: I have personally asked people around the walk ways to pick up after their dog craps while they are texting away, only to have same walk on as if nothing happened, and I have personally asked folks to leash their dogs only to be met with the same choice words I mentioned above.
People today very freely determine which rules and what standard of behavior applies to them.
My only disagreement is the grudge-holding. Chances are people don't know me to say I'm holding a grudge, at least in this case. I laugh a lot, and as to Robbie Speyer I just shake my head in partial amusement. But I do take photos. And, admittedly, sometimes I get pissed.
I don't see mgt creating any forum for issue discussion or resolution. It's just not in their interests. Quite the opposite. Open up Pandora's box and you're likely to see that there are many more dissatisfied than you imagined. Results unpredictable.
Right now they have the best of all possible worlds. The state senate is under GOP control so there's nothing to interrupt the deal with the city which will mostly kill rent stabilization here in 2020 when j-51 benefits run out.
Renting to students is a real goldmine. Students don't care about dog shit or piss stains on the sidewalks and they love flex units and riding bikes on sidewalks.
Also there are many European corporate families here now. Husbands moved here for 1-3 yrs by their companies. They won't be here too long so they don't care either.
Others just see the glitz here at first. The grass, landscaping, playgrounds, amenities. They don't see the staining at first and know nothing about bikes, student issues and noise.
Given that the rent destabilization-decontrol game plan is on track, why rock the boat? The best strategy is to keep things under raps. Keep up appearances.
There is only one thing that mgt has to fear under these circumstances. Truly open disruption.
Well, you have a TA that is all about cooperation with mgt, and a councilman who is in the tank for REBNY, a mayor who is desperate to make deals with real estate developers to meet campaign promises and a deputy mayor for housing & economic development who is of the real estate investment industry and will return to it when her time with the city is up.
So where is the disruption possibly coming from? Nowhere. There ain't none.
We should not have to police the property. As an above poster said, people ignore us when we remind them of the rules. That is the job of Rick and management. Of course, they are not doing it. That is why I believe that there is little or no hope for change here.
I wonder if the dorm residents' mommies and daddies know that we have just about no PS here and that Blackstone specializes in Bullshit? BS and their BS have to be experienced to be believed.
When we've had a few more rapes, a couple of catastrophic accidents caused by speeding bicycles, someone's kid's face being chewed off by a dog, then, and only then, will be possibly see some enforcement. Of course, it may also take a catastrophic fire in a dorm and maybe a drug-induced rampage or two, but it will all happen. Blackstone may recover from all the money it will cost them, but the entire world will be aware of what a criminally negligent landlord it really is and, hopefully, that will have some affect on its bottom line.
I could have missed it, but it appears that no one has commented here or there on one thing. The mugging of the 24 year old. Okay from reports we know he was mugged at his building at 20th and Ave C by seven people he met at a bar. Where was the security camera then? Seven people placing hoodies over their heads, in the early morning hours, and not one of our PS officers is suspicious? Did this occur in a matter of seconds? A few minutes? Once again the publicized monitors and security cameras seem not to be around during a serious incident. Don't forget, we are paying for those monitors and cameras via a MCI forever.
Neighborhood watch is not one person scolding another person. It is an organized group taking pictures, alerting security and providing a visual presence. Safety in numbers. A little sir, are you still breathing as you lie in the gutter? Let's give security a call since their cameras don't work. Take pictures and post them. Here. Or on the TA pge. Heck, that guy who seems obsessed with yelp can put them there.
24 years old isn't that young! I was a responsible married woman caring for a family when I was 24. Married to an equally responsible husband who was also 24. Boozing it up all night and coming home with a crowd of strangers at 4 am was not part of our lifestyle and we certainly wouldn't have wanted it to be. They say that the younger generation mature earlier than those of us who are considerably older, but I think otherwise. My generation (Boomers) didn't depend on our parents to pay our way. We worked out way through college, contributed to household expenses if we lived at home and didn't expect to be on the parental dime until we were in our thirties or later! I think that some of today's twenty-somethings are still on mother's milk.
You know, I was very close to giving John Marsh credit for his post on the TA FB page. Very, very close! Then he has to go and pat himself and slimy Dan on the back, as if they personally stopped AirBnB in Stuy Town. News flash John, you talk about what you accomplished in the comments, but your initial posting shows that the fight you and Dan put up was a failure. AirBnB is as strong as ever here, and like a true political ally you do nothing more than pat yourself on the back for a failed job.
Air BnB is extremely strong here because management looks the other way. It is a great way of satisfying the ridiculous market rate rents as is the dorm strategy. Blackstone must use both methods to rent these apartments. Otherwise the apartments would be empty. They are definitely not proactive in stemming Air Bnb. They could care less about who and what is renting these spaces.
John Marsh is an unmitigated self-serving, self-promoting fraud. The entire TA apparatus is corrupt and in bed with Danny Boy G and the political establishment. If the TA had any credibility they would open their books for public scrutiny. Ain't gonna happen! Go away, Johnny M. No one cares what you have to say.
You are suggesting tenants should volunteer to perform security functions they are already paying Blackstone to perform, but Blackstone refuses to perform without raking in more profit?
You are suggesting tenants should volunteer to provide a "visual presence" (Uniforms? Badges? Equipment? Vehicles?) they are already paying Blackstone to provide, but that Blackstone refuses to provide?
You are suggesting that tenant volunteers seeing someone requiring an emergency response should call Blackstone PS instead of EMS, NYPD, FDNY?
You are suggesting STR should be "volunteered" to work as an unpaid employee of Blackstone performing a video security function for Blackstone that STR is already paying Blackstone to perform, but that that Blackstone apparently refuses to perform?
Why not just one tenant volunteer sitting inside a PS room monitoring the hundreds, if not thousands, of surveillance cameras tenants are already paying Blackstone for and already paying Blackstone to monitor, but that Blackstone apparently refuses to monitor without raking in more profit?
Better yet since tenants are already paying for the massive, expensive video surveillance system, why not enable all tenants 24/7/365 access from inside their homes to monitor the entire video surveillance system, including the locations and activities of all PS personnel they are already paying Blackstone for?
I like the email response from Kehoe about AirBnB. Seems like template that they probably use A LOT, but do nothing about. Makes people happy for a minute and management hopes they forget.
>>You are suggesting tenants should volunteer to perform security functions they are already paying Blackstone to perform, but Blackstone refuses to perform without raking in more profit?<<
Can't disagree with that logic. Though anyone who volunteers is welcome.
>>I like the email response from Kehoe about AirBnB. Seems like template that they probably use A LOT, but do nothing about. Makes people happy for a minute and management hopes they forget.<<
The thing is to follow these AirBnB places and state, here is okay, how many are around months later, still doing business. I know some places have been "outed" for a while, but a rigorous effort is needed. Of course, once again, the TA should be doing this and sending out reports online and also to Management. BS responses, which Blackstone and PS are adept at, should not be welcome after a while.
Funny story, but true: A few weeks back two young Asian females were looking in the bushes and looking. They both had those luggage on wheels that we are now familiar with. A PC security guard was even helping them. I don't know if he reported the incident, but it seems they were looking for a key to get into the AirBnb apartment and couldn't find it. I kinda felt sorry for them because it is not their fault, at least 100%, that they get screwed temporarily. Of course, Management will say how do you know they were not family or friends. I know all the answers--and excuses.
I don't think that either management or the TA really care about the AirbnB or any of the QOL issues here. In fact, I don't know why the TA even exists anymore. It seems to be a totally useless and obsolete organization. Why don't they just go away? The TA serves no purpose.
>>You are suggesting tenants should volunteer to perform security functions they are already paying Blackstone to perform, but Blackstone refuses to perform without raking in more profit?<<
Funny, other communities pay taxes for police, fire and emergency, but also organize and help keep their communities safe.
You refuse to think of any solutions and you put down others who do. Keep on keeping on.
The TA is worthless. Their only response to any issue is"e-mail Rick Hayduk". I doubt that they will ever have a meeting again. Their meetings were always sickening with the politicians patting each other on the back. Garodnick has been invisible as has the TA. Both are arms of management now.
LOL. I thought the TA was very sensitive, but not so, apparently. There was a "joke" about Europeans and how they look (in particular a lady in a hallway) that Johnnie joined in on and provided no rebuke. Be careful, "Hayduk" sounds Eastern European. Meanwhile, when the questioning got to the TA, there indeed was a warning of sorts from Johnnie about off-topic.
You can't make this stuff up; the real stuff just keeps coming.
STR @ 8:50 PM: John Marsh was perfectly ok with the "European lady" walking into his apartment. Even when another commenter mentioned that she had seen that same person, it did not seem to faze John Marsh. I really do believe that AirBnB is ok with management and the tenants association because it keeps the type of tenant they want happy. They don't care about the dangers to regular rent-paying tenants (especially the real rent stabilized tenants) because they are in some kind of financial arrangement together. We have no tenants association and saying that we do is just a great big lie.
I got a charge out of John Marsh's inane comments on the TA blog. His OT remarks were funny when the criticism of management got serious. I am sure that management is well aware of AirBnB issues here. Since they fill apartments, management looks the other way. There is no other way to rent these overpriced apartments. Management needs the dorms, city subsidies, and Air BnBers. Both rolling suitcase people and students on the increase here. Despicable.
Since Blackstone took over last April, three market rate families have been priced out of their apartments on my floor. They were paying a lot to begin with, but they planned to stay here if things remained fairly reasonable. $800-$1000 increases made the decision very easy for all three of them, and they all live in very nice buildings with a doorman, gym, pool, and they pay much less than they were originally paying.
Nobody has consistently lived in those apartments since then, and the entire floor knows exactly what is going on - management has these apartments set aside for short-term rentals. One of my neighbors complained to management at first, but that went nowhere, so we started asking the people that were coming in and out of the apartments. Two very nice southern gentlemen told us that their company was putting them up here for a few weeks. These were different apartments and different companies at different times.
There was a member of the TA on my floor that brought this to their attention. The response??? Please contact Rick and let him know about this, his office is trying to stop this. Almost 6 months later and the same stuff is still going on, with Rick being aware. The lady has obviously left the TA since then as well. This is in 3PCR - yes, the building that our esteemed councilman lives in.
Where to begin? And I was just walking to my usual places.
1) There is very visible dog turd, not picked up, by the side of one of the PCV buildings.
2) By the side of Associated and near or at Ave A, on this side, is a favorite meeting of AirBnb hosts and their customers. Seen accidentally was an Indian-looking chap with a young lady with luggage on wheels. Both had cell phones and the lady had just contacted him. I was going the opposite way, but they went into Stuy Town after the introductions.
3) Another AirBnb host showing the way to a customer. This time, my business at Associated being done, I could see how she led the customer to her building.
4) Do I have to mention bikes around the Oval?
5) A large dog, probably no lanyard from what I could tell, lying on top of one of the chess tables on the east side of the Oval. Bon appetit!
6) No PS officer around, but does it make it difference?
As 12:26 said market rate renters can get nicer apartments with real amenities elsewhere in Manhattan for what they pay here. That is why we have the situation of dorm dumps and airbnbs.These families and couples that move in at an already high rate are priced out and find better places to live. Blackstone knows this, it is their strategy.
3 pcr and 5 pcr have short term and it's obvious. The thing is, we don't own these, Blackstone does. they sure as fuck all can do whatever they want with their land, their buildings.
8:25: I respectfully disagree. They cannot do whatever they want to do if we stop them. This is our home, for which we pay. It cannot be turned into a dorm or a hotel. It is a residence and there are long-standing tenants here. If we organized and fought back, we could stop them.
As with everything else, we have been conditioned and brainwashed to believe lies and cruelty concocted by those who hurt us. We abide by their rules and agree with their dictates.
If enough of us said, "no," we could stop this from happening.
stuy and pC are chasing away families and anyone over 35. They want students, section 8 so they can drive out the older tenants with rents under 2,000$
Yes, Blackstone wants air bnbers, section 8 tenants and students. The only way they can rent those over 4 grand a month apartments. They can deny it all they want, but that is what is happening here and will keep happening on a larger scale. They will keep trying to fool some residents with their crumbs like flea markets, concerts, photo memoir shows, and easy access to Hayduk by e-mail, but many of us know the truth.
I think that Section 8 is great for low income families, but I was under the impression that it had been eliminated by either Bloomberg or Cuomo a few years ago. I seem to remember there was a lot of outrage about its elimination because it would result in putting people out onto the streets or in shelters. Maybe they changed their minds about eliminating it, or maybe restored it. I have heard that it is an absolute life-saver for a lot of people.
Have any of you learned about the Civil Rights Movement? Ghandi in India?
The destruction of this very land by European bullies (imperialists)? The invasions and rapes of country after country by various European nations, America? The invasion of Tibet by China?
For thousands upon thousands of years, greedy, soul-dead human beings have invaded, tortured, starved, raped, murdered, and more . . . other human beings who did not fight back, but instead allowed themselves, their homes, countries, children, other animals, be murdered and tormented.
Yesterday afternoon sitting with friend in Union Square Park when two women in t shirts which read: "need an apartment? We can help you" approached us and handed us card which offered a "prize" for coming to leasing office and taking a tour of the complex! Prize was $50 dollar gift card. If you sign lease, get a $500 gift card.
Being a lifer here, I am so tempted to take this card in and see what happens!
3:03 PM - that's outrageous! It seems like Blackstone has become a Real Estate Pimp! They must be really, really desperate to do that. Those two women are no better than whores, only our homes are the bait. I wonder how much Blackstone pays its RE Whores?
"Being a lifer here, I am so tempted to take this card in and see what happens"
Please take it in and see what happens! I wonder if management is behind this "pimping" or if these two women are tenants who are looking for a payday. Sheesh! This place has hit a new low! Rock bottom!
Would not be surprised if the women advertising apartments here were sponsored by Blackstone. They can think up many corrupt and obnoxious methods to rent in this dump. Despicable. Dorms, air bnb, section 8 and now this.
If they are offering prizes to come to the Stuy Town Leasing Office, they are obviously employees of Stuy Town Management, and therefore, Blackstone. Real estate agents for other companies wouldn't be handing out flyers with monetary guarantees from our leasing office unless they were employed by the office. Probably some college girls that they are paying off the books to hand the flyers out, then once you are in things change (bait and switch).
I have no problem with section 8 tenants living here. They are probably quiet and respectful and respectable. Cannot say that much for the airbnb and student and transient trash.
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As a dog owner who follows the rules, I get so mad at this. BR would make money hand over fist if they started ticketing. They could use the money to run that little sweeper more than once a season. It could probably pay for more security too. For a company that wants to turn a profit, It's pretty shortsighted.
ReplyDeleteOf course, me being me, I have to say something. The first photo is priceless. I'm so glad I took my camera. The "view" is smeared dog turd. A photo for the official website and the leasing office. But will they use it? I give all my permission.
ReplyDeleteThe second photo is of the inside of the Oval and there is a wooden bench. Ha, what is Management going to do? Put in benches so we can picnic? Possible...
Third photo. Hmm... Is that moped even legal? Perhaps it is, but what is Management inviting residents to do?
Fourth photo. Some mighty big dog feces. Not picked up... In the no dog area. Job well done, Blackstone!
Yep. They're putting in benches.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe a Sabrett hotdog wagon.
And, of course, I shouldn't be doing this. Nor any individual tenant. We have a TA. They should have someone out taking photos and posting them. But no...
ReplyDeleteYou should post some photos of some rent bills here, names blanked out. That's even a bigger crime than these photos. WHAT ABOUT THE OVERCHARGES?
ReplyDeleteI can't post photos of other people's rent bill. I can tell you that I am a true RS tenant and have lived here for what is now close to three decades. My rent for a two bedroom, unrenovated, is about 2K a month.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have a TA. The group that calls itself a TA is a bunch of liars. Let them open their books and give an accounting of where they get their money and what they do with it.
ReplyDeletehttp://roommates.roomiapp.com/stuytown-openhouse/?gclid=CPvH7sLNuNMCFYpXDQodxe0New
ReplyDeleteNot a surprise.
From the above:
ReplyDeleteStuyTown is the chillest, greenest neighborhood in Manhattan. Blocks away from the LES, but when you’re home, it feels like a zen getaway. Some of the pinch-me-I’m-dreaming perks: State-of-the-art gym, gourmet cafe, on-site laundry facilities, weekly greenmarket, outdoor sports facilities!
Are we going to have fucking mopeds tearing around the property now? Isn't this dump dangerous enough with the bikes, golf carts, club cars? It is totally out of control already. The elderly and people with small kids are going to be afraid to venture out of their buildings.
ReplyDeleteThe one good thing the TA managed to do in the last decade was to rid the Oval of food trucks. Are they going to sit by and do and say nothing (their usual m.o.) if a Sabrett truck is allowed on the Oval?
RS rent. Here since 1982. 1 bedroom unrenovated - under 1200/mo.
ReplyDeleteI think it was a joke but if you ask us all if we're paying too much we will agree, for this place and for this location. Yes, the grass is nice, but RS is fading fast and I don't expect it to be in place in five years. I pay 2100 for a 2 bedroom.
ReplyDeleteJohn Marsh has been lauding Danny Boy Garodnick on the TA site. They all belong together, he and the TA, Rick, and Dan---destroyers of this community. Seen today in Pig Sty Town, many u-hauls moving the dorm dumpers in and out.
ReplyDelete>>StuyTown is the chillest, greenest neighborhood in Manhattan. Blocks away from the LES, but when you’re home, it feels like a zen getaway. Some of the pinch-me-I’m-dreaming perks: State-of-the-art gym, gourmet cafe, on-site laundry facilities, weekly greenmarket, outdoor sports facilities!
ReplyDeleteAND DON'T FORGET SPEEDING BIKES, DOG SHIT SMEARS, DOG PISS STAINS AND ALL NIGHT BRO-HO SKUNK WEED PARTIES!!
Discussing with a neighbor today. On our 3rd and 4th floors there are large stains in front of the elevator that service cannot get out. For sure, dog urine. Dogs inside all day, just can't make it outside while waiting for the elevator. One dog defecated all over the lobby. At least the owner cleaned up. But according to my neighbor, a dog defecated in the elevator and the owner did not clean up. Was reported, caught on video and fined $250.
ReplyDeleteI think no one quite expected dog ownership would grow to the numbers we have today. Much to my surprise, it seems like more than half of the owners are older couples and singles...empty nesters and those just lonely. And somehow cats just don't do it for them. Anyway our building is chock full of dogs. The front of the building is soaked through with urine stains. The flagstones in the lower part of the lobby have urine stains. Our service guy is trying to scrub them out. They won't come out.
Though their dogs do, the dog owners really don't give shit. Cannot believe these people who seem to feel there are no issues here. There clearly is an issue. There is definitely a serious issue, and it gets worse every day.
Were those photos taken on March 22 or April 22, STR? You say March 22, but March 22 fell on a Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteSorry, my mistake which I will change. April 22.
ReplyDeleteMy eyes are beginning to have blood shoot out them! I was just at the TA Facebook and some of the comments regarding this mugging last night... Yeah, New York City. Where, aside from being in the military, I've lived most of my life. So let me make it plain, New York style: The guy who invited over to his apartment a group who mugged him is A FUCKING JERK! How's that!
ReplyDelete12:31, I am a dog owner too, and I second your sentiment. My one question about ticketing is whether it would go to the landlord, or if the tickets would have to go to the city. If Blackstone can't make money from the tickets, why bother? I imagine that would be their thinking.
ReplyDeleteSTR, how dare you! The snowflake(s) that are commenting on the mugging don't want anyone to get hurt, even if the victim was a complete jackass. I have no sympathy for him, and I am just glad nobody else got hurt by his drunken stupidity.
ReplyDelete4:50. I wrote the 12:31 comment. I as far as I know, it goes to the landlord. We've had neighbors ticketed for not having their puppy on a leash. They caught him on the security cam. I think the fine should go right onto your rent bill. Maybe with a still photo like Easy Pass has. As for off property owners, who shouldn't even be walking there dogs here, it should be a written city ticket just like they do for cars on the loops. BR should get a kickback for filling the NYPD coffers.
ReplyDeleteI can't stand my neighbor. She lets her dogs pee on the marble outside the lobby. Poor babies don't like the rain. So gross!!
ReplyDeleteMy wife got a ticket a few years ago for having the dog off the leash, and the money went directly to the City of NY. They are peace officers for the city, so the tickets they write are for the city.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify...PS here is supposed to act on behalf of the city when it comes to issuing tickets. The fines are paid to the city. (I doubt if any portion of this gets sent back to management here.) The violations are sent in to the Environmental Control Board and if the violators wish to contest, hearings are scheduled. All the violations are captured in NYC Open Data under OATH ECB hearings. Anybody can look at it using Excel. Several tickets have been given for leash violations, I've only seen 2 for canine waste clean-up. Believe it or not, in 2016 two tickets were given for 'illegally riding bike on sidewalks'. Not to residents. Were definitely delivery guys.
ReplyDeleteMy boss lives uptown, they hand out tix left & right for not picking up after your dog. guessing we live in shitsville. Post on yelp post it on yelp post it on yelp
ReplyDelete>>Believe it or not<<
ReplyDeleteI believe it. And that very small number gives Management and their reps an opportunity to say that they are doing something....
Again I say, I see what I see and I take the occasional photos. Management and PS disagree, but what have they got to show for it? Take a look outside.... It really has reached the point, several months back in fact, where the negatives about Management and PS are real and not made up. I don't want it to be so: I would want Management, in particular, to take these issues seriously. Oh, not just to say that they are taking them seriously, but to actually do something about it. So I, and others, can see it. Otherwise I have to believe the negatives.
ReplyDeleteActually management here doesn't say very much about the tickets they've given out. I think it's bad for business. When people complain directly, they can respond directly that they've done this or that, but they don;t advertise. In fact, canine waste fines are $250 each, leash violations are $200 each. And most of them stick.
ReplyDeleteThe data show that 90% of the tix are given out on peripheries: 20th St, Ave C, 14th St, 1st Ave. Which means the violations are probably being spotted from the patrol cars.
Walking to the Oval today, I saw one mess left not far from 21 Stuy Oval and another left in the No Dog area just to the east of the Oval fountain. It's typical of the lack of patrolling that occurs in the interior areas. And as STR has pointed out, even when PS is present, they don't really pay much attention.
"Believe it or not, in 2016 two tickets were given for 'illegally riding bike on sidewalks'."
ReplyDelete-----
PS will write four tickets this year, then send out P.R. trolls claiming Blackstone doubled enforcement in response to recommendations from Garodnick-TA.
Garodnick-TA will send out the same P.R. trolls congratulating themselves claiming credit for improving our QOL directing Blackstone to enforce rules.
In turn, Blackstone will send out the same P.R. trolls publicly praising Garodnick-TA guidance, always publicly reminding everyone how smart they are and how lucky we are having Garodnick-TA represent us always acting in our best interests.
The false narrative operates in a recurring cycle maintained and controlled by P.R. trolls feeding a mostly lazy, often complicit media.
Occasionally truth disrupts the false narrative. STR is a longstanding STPCV resident. While nobody likes seeing their home covered with dogshit everywhere all of the time, the images are constant, stark, "disruptive" reminders that everything connected with Blackstone owning STPCV is just P.R. trolls trolling dogshit.
STY TOWN NEWS ALERTS:
ReplyDelete1) There are only a few weeks left in the 2016-2017 school year. This means that all tenants should prepare themselves for extra partying on all nights of the week.
2) All tenants should expect a massive number of move outs and move ins between now and June 1 as the school year comes to a close. The wait time for an elevator will increase dramatically as the moves take place, and elevator padding will be the norm. Please be courteous to your new neighbors and don't unlatch the door if they have it propped open for extended periods while moving in or out.
3) Along with saying goodbye to our current neighbors and hello to our new ones, the summertime is also a great time for tenants to rent out their apartments via AirBnB. Please welcome our guests with open arms, and point them in the right direction if they seem lost. We all know the signs are no good, so your help is greatly appreciated.
4) Please remember that this is a family friendly community. We all want to enjoy our spring and summer on the Oval, so parents need to make sure to keep their kids away from coeds in bikinis, bros with solo cups, and squirrels.
(How did I do? You think Rick might hire me to be the Chief Communications Officer?)
Blackstone doesn't care how shit-pasted the property is just so long as they lure suckers in with their false advertising. These people aren't interested in running a property well and in an ethical and professional manner. They are interested in raking in the money and they care not a flying shit about the quality of life, sanctity of life or anything else in the common decency and professional ethics sense.
ReplyDeleteHas management informed tenants that Airbnb not allowed? I think not, not therefore we rent, want to rent, make money. Extra signs with addresses shows me that they do not oppose.
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling some empathy and compassion for our 24 year old neighbor. Let me find that hanky....
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you who I feel empathy and compassion for. I feel this for the people who need walkers or someone to help them "walk" the steps that we take for granted. I feel for the person (actually more than one) who in the morning, with help, has to wait for those small buses that take this person to a special school where they feel wanted. I feel for the person who takes baby steps around the Oval fountain, with someone front and back to steady this person while they attempt to walk. I feel for the older RS person who bravely walks the Oval and exercises around it to make himself feel better and as whole as possible. I don't feel empathy and compassion for someone who gets drunk, almost at morning time, and invites a group of people (surely, Hasidim) to continued his partying.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait! The school year will be over. IKEA furniture posted on Facebook for inflated prices (preview of the next weeks damage). The next set of out of state plates, can't figure out alternate street parking. Oh how the seasons change. Good riddance, now Blackstone keep your promises
ReplyDeleteThe biggest snowflake of them all just appeared on the TA FB page about the 24 year old. You should lend her your hanky, STR!
ReplyDelete8:17pm - Rick would never hire you, as you speak the truth.
If BS doesn't get the cash for dog enforcement? I can see why they don't care. There's nothing in it for them.
ReplyDeleteFor the parties, and the idiots, and gross dog walkers, why isn't there a neighborhood watch who patrols, takes pictures and calls PS or the cops? I've lived in other towns that have organized them when the residents feel the regular police were not enough.
Yes, I know we have security we pay for but doing something has got to be better than the endless complaining.
Good people of this exceedingly filthy sty, it is not my intention to dispute the authenticity of the photos posted. Suffice it to say we have the absolute best and most responsive property manager available in Rick Hayduk. He has been very clear that when people know what they are supposed to do they will do it, and has posted signs and stickers around the sty town slum to this end. This is why, personally, I feel these pictures must be staged. Yes, staged.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, Mr. Hayduck will not take too kindly to any of this, and views piles of shit, puddles of piss, and shit stains as a reflection on himself and his ability to manage the sty. I can promise you, it will be addressed in a timely fashion. We're lucky to have him at the helm.
Furthermore, I need not mention that if he rests on his laurels he will have the STPCVTA and little Dan to answer to. I can assure you, he will not let it reach that point.
--TA Supporter
Endless complaining does something, otherwise we have no complaining and everything is fine according to Management and PS. They can say this, of course, but the endless complaining tells them something is wrong.
ReplyDeleteThat said, please remember that the wheels turn, however slowly.
Cant get into buildings easily to be on watch. That's burbs stuff. Perhaps we should have a specific page, FB or post site between us for pot smoke, loud parties, hall smoking, bad behavior.
ReplyDeleteand complaining warns other potential tenants to beware. they deserve that. Had I known this, yeah yeah, you can call me dumb, i would have staid in queens.
But couldn't there more doing and complaining? And isn't complaining here just yelling into the void? Heard only in a bubble of like minded residents.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I'm not negating complaining, the reasons already given. As to doing something, each resident has his or her own take. Some residents do speak up, some do not. As I said, and I repleat, the wheels turn but they turn slowly. I hope to have a report soon, which has many downs and few ups, if any. But this does not mean "let's give." Not in the least.
ReplyDeleteAnd, though I don't think of it as such, I should consider this blog one of the successes. Yes, readers do bitch, but so what? The blog's existence, a blog which has been mentioned outside of the blog, indicates that Management and PS and to a certain extent the TA (!) would want it to disappear.
ReplyDeleteRick could care less. It's simply out of control here. Can't wait to leave this dump.
ReplyDelete"let's give up"... is what I meant to write of course.
ReplyDeleteBTW, still "pending" at the TA Facebook despite following all the procedures. Hey, at least give me a chance to post and then banish me if my post breaks the rules. I am a good boy at heart, but I admit I have a low threshold for BS.
ReplyDeleteBut does management take this blog seriously? Or just a clearinghouse for voiceless people to scream into the abyss. While at times it's funny, sad, infuriating and a hoot to read It seems mostly to eat at itself from the inside out.
ReplyDelete>>But does management take this blog seriously?<<
ReplyDeleteYes. It is an annoyance and they can say that they do not read it, as they say, technically, about the TA Facebook and "social media," but I do not believe them. I have my sources.
Again, and I think it is the third time, I welcome bitching if it is about real things. I don't mind. And not to put a fine point on it, my reasons are enough for me.
1:33pm...
ReplyDelete... how can management take this so called blog seriously? All everyone ever writes about are falsely made assumptions based on individuals' interpretation of whatever. As long as every effort management makes is met with nothing but negativity stemming from many years of bad experiences they'll never stand a chance with you who post your comments.
Many of you have lived here for decades and you've been through the ringer, but and as I wrote before, if you really hate it here so much then move away...
About 6 months ago I called Garodnick's office to get official positions from him about quality of life issues here. Thought it at least worth a try. Spoke with "Howie" who gave me responses that while not "official" more or less sided with management. In passing I made mention of the STR site, and the response I got was one of sudden intense interest. Howie really wanted to know if I was behind STR. Don't know if he believed me when I said I was not.
ReplyDeleteSo is other side aware of this blog? I would guess 'yes'.
I don't advocate for giving up. I was just suggesting an "and" not an "or". Nor was I suggesting that a neighborhood watch ever go inside a building. I ever seen a watch group go into someones house. But to let PS know they have roving groups of drunken kids or herds of tourists asking directions. I think knowing neighbors have there back by being out and about at night might make nervous residents feel a little better.
ReplyDeleteManagement has said and it has been confirmed to me by various Management people I have asked that they read the TA's Facebook page.
ReplyDeleteSTR - If you haven't asked to join the TA's Facebook page recently, you're probably no longer on their radar. You should submit again and see what happens.
I have asked twice. How many times should I ask?
ReplyDelete>>... how can management take this so called blog seriously? All everyone ever writes about are falsely made assumptions based on individuals' interpretation of whatever. As long as every effort management makes is met with nothing but negativity stemming from many years of bad experiences they'll never stand a chance with you who post your comments.
ReplyDeleteMany of you have lived here for decades and you've been through the ringer, but and as I wrote before, if you really hate it here so much then move away...<<
Yes, falsely made assumptions and photos to prove how false these assumptions are. Move away? You'd love that. And fat chance of that happening. Sorry. Most true RS tenants are here to stay.
I appreciate the truth that comes out on the STR blog, but I fear that all this complaining and talk is going nowhere. Even if management reads the blog, they really could care less. They continue to turn this property into a Pig Sty. Without a viable TA we are nothing. I have seen no improvement in Blackstone's attitude toward QOL here. The churning goes on. When I enter the lobby of my building I either smell skunk pot or garbage. All I see are dogs, students, suitcase people and bicycles. I do call PS when I have issues with the dorm downstairs, but I fear it is all for naught. I am not surprised that calling Garodnick's office resulted in his staff siding with management. I do not see any wheels turning, although I do appreciate being able to vent on this site. I do not know what the answer is.
ReplyDeleteThe number of posted comments questioning the validity of STR outright confirm the validity of STR being more than a "so called blog" or "mere annoyance" calling out the false Shangri-La narrative depicted by Blackstone-Garodnick-TA propagandists.
ReplyDelete1:54...if you dislike the complaining so much, you should think about moving out yourself 'cause it's not going to stop. And here's another good idea for you if you dislike the complaining. It might not have occurred to you, but you could do yourself a big favor and just stop reading this blog. As a matter of fact, you shouldn't even read what I just wrote because I'm quite sure it's just going to upset you and you won't like it.
ReplyDeletePublic safety has been reduced and defanged. Blackstone reduced their numbers. Blackstone has ordered them to do nothing.
ReplyDeleteBill McClennan has been stripped of all ability to protect anyone here.
On weekend nights, sometimes there are only 5, or possibly 6 Public Safety officers on duty. 3 out of 5 of them may be assigned to stay within a particular building.
110 buildings.
80 acres.
6 Guards.
Blackstone is doing this to us.
And worse.
Several Public Safety officers have now related this to me independently of each other.
"Move away? You'd love that. And fat chance of that happening. Sorry. Most true RS tenants are here to stay."
ReplyDeleteYa got that right, STR!!!
I believe what 10:01 says. That's the only explanation that seems plausible to me. And if what you say is true about them telling you this, I'm not surprised by that. It was only a matter of time before they started speaking out, even if anonymously.
ReplyDeletewonderful blog...
ReplyDeleteThis blog started with me telling off Rob Speyer as he walked about the property with his pen-waiting assistants. I was pissed at what this property was becoming, and when I saw Robbie, blood started shooting out of my eyeballs, and I spoke my mind. Of course, Robbie gave a smart alecky answer and kept on going, him and his cadre. I also remember my first, and certainly not last, meeting with the Security Chief (hi, Chief!). I remember one of the actions he did: he turned his name card around so I wouldn't see his name.
ReplyDeleteNot much has changed since those days. You can go back on the blog, years, and basically read the same problems and the same responses. Some residents have actively fought back, and I thank them. One resident even sued the property and won! No help or encouragement from the TA, of course. The lawyers made some good money on the deal, naturally, as they have done on every "deal."
As for the rest, it does take time and effort. Nothing is quick. I once belonged to the TA and paid my dues. But they really don't represent the tenants, aside from this and that, which can be listed on one hand. Basically, if you want change, you have to do it yourself.
What I don't understand, though I do in a way, is the reluctance of Blackstone to deal with some of the problems without bullshitting tenants. I get it that they want to sell the rooms, I get it that they are not that pleased with true rent stabilization. The fight over affordability and rent stabilization are matters that are in another terrain. But the property, how it is run, is another affair.
It is simple for Blackstone to set up a site for tenants that just deals with "issues." No bullshitting, just the truth, and true reporting as to what is being done about this or that problem. I see the bicycles around the Oval all the time; I see the overweight dogs being walked casually; some residents hear the noise of neighbors at odd hours; etc. But Blackstone dares not set up a truthful page, even for tenants. You have seen their official pages. Living in Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village seems wonderful. The sell and nothing more.
That is not the way to run a property. Yeah, go and sell, but do not lie to tenants who are already here. Chances are that many of these tenants have been here far longer than you, and even longer than you were born!
Continual BS-ing has this effect: It dampens the morale of tenants and ST/PCV workers alike. No one cares any more, or rather few care.
The fight goes on. I wish it were not so, but I and others have taken the time and energy to push back if we see something wrong. And, again, it will take time, maybe lots of time. And there will be failures. Some big ones.
The only other option is to keep quiet while one assumes the prone position and says, "Yes, master, one more please."
STR at 8:25:
ReplyDeletethat was probably the best written piece of yours I have seen in a while. Frustrations are out there and heard very loudly, but rather than bitching non stop and adding opinions based on interpretations, not facts, I wish you and your readers would make suggestions that are actionable.
You just wrote that your dissatisfaction goes back to the days of Rob Speyer. That is a mighty long time to hold a grudge and to complain about the same old thing.
Speaking of dogs, noise, suitcases, etc: rules are only as good as people (tenants in this case) sticking to them. Example: express bus lanes are meant for express busses, yet how many times do cabs and Ubers pull over, turn on their flashers and load or discharge passengers. A convenience for one, major hassle for those sitting on the express bus.
I have personally attempted on a number of occasions to stop folks from riding their bikes around the Oval. Most of the time my requests are met with an incredulous look, a few choice words, and then a happily carried on bicycle ride. And believe me, the offending riders are not (always) young people, but mostly more mature folks who certainly fit the category of what you refer to as the truly RS tenants.
Same with dogs: I have personally asked people around the walk ways to pick up after their dog craps while they are texting away, only to have same walk on as if nothing happened, and I have personally asked folks to leash their dogs only to be met with the same choice words I mentioned above.
People today very freely determine which rules and what standard of behavior applies to them.
Just sayin...
Goodness. No one said to stop commenting. It was commenting and..... commenting and....commenting and......
ReplyDeleteMy only disagreement is the grudge-holding. Chances are people don't know me to say I'm holding a grudge, at least in this case. I laugh a lot, and as to Robbie Speyer I just shake my head in partial amusement. But I do take photos. And, admittedly, sometimes I get pissed.
ReplyDeleteOh, and thanks for trying around the property!
I don't see mgt creating any forum for issue discussion or resolution. It's just not in their interests. Quite the opposite. Open up Pandora's box and you're likely to see that there are many more dissatisfied than you imagined. Results unpredictable.
ReplyDeleteRight now they have the best of all possible worlds. The state senate is under GOP control so there's nothing to interrupt the deal with the city which will mostly kill rent stabilization here in 2020 when j-51 benefits run out.
Renting to students is a real goldmine. Students don't care about dog shit or piss stains on the sidewalks and they love flex units and riding bikes on sidewalks.
Also there are many European corporate families here now. Husbands moved here for 1-3 yrs by their companies. They won't be here too long so they don't care either.
Others just see the glitz here at first. The grass, landscaping, playgrounds, amenities. They don't see the staining at first and know nothing about bikes, student issues and noise.
Given that the rent destabilization-decontrol game plan is on track, why rock the boat? The best strategy is to keep things under raps. Keep up appearances.
There is only one thing that mgt has to fear under these circumstances. Truly open disruption.
Well, you have a TA that is all about cooperation with mgt, and a councilman who is in the tank for REBNY, a mayor who is desperate to make deals with real estate developers to meet campaign promises and a deputy mayor for housing & economic development who is of the real estate investment industry and will return to it when her time with the city is up.
So where is the disruption possibly coming from? Nowhere. There ain't none.
We should not have to police the property. As an above poster said, people ignore us when we remind them of the rules. That is the job of Rick and management. Of course, they are not doing it. That is why I believe that there is little or no hope for change here.
ReplyDeleteHow much more crap can Blackstone throw at us posing as "amenities". Concerts, movies and dog days all garbage.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the dorm residents' mommies and daddies know that we have just about no PS here and that Blackstone specializes in Bullshit? BS and their BS have to be experienced to be believed.
ReplyDeleteWhen we've had a few more rapes, a couple of catastrophic accidents caused by speeding bicycles, someone's kid's face being chewed off by a dog, then, and only then, will be possibly see some enforcement. Of course, it may also take a catastrophic fire in a dorm and maybe a drug-induced rampage or two, but it will all happen. Blackstone may recover from all the money it will cost them, but the entire world will be aware of what a criminally negligent landlord it really is and, hopefully, that will have some affect on its bottom line.
I could have missed it, but it appears that no one has commented here or there on one thing. The mugging of the 24 year old. Okay from reports we know he was mugged at his building at 20th and Ave C by seven people he met at a bar. Where was the security camera then? Seven people placing hoodies over their heads, in the early morning hours, and not one of our PS officers is suspicious? Did this occur in a matter of seconds? A few minutes? Once again the publicized monitors and security cameras seem not to be around during a serious incident. Don't forget, we are paying for those monitors and cameras via a MCI forever.
ReplyDeleteNeighborhood watch is not one person scolding another person. It is an organized group taking pictures, alerting security and providing a visual presence. Safety in numbers. A little sir, are you still breathing as you lie in the gutter? Let's give security a call since their cameras don't work. Take pictures and post them. Here. Or on the TA pge. Heck, that guy who seems obsessed with yelp can put them there.
ReplyDelete24 years old isn't that young! I was a responsible married woman caring for a family when I was 24. Married to an equally responsible husband who was also 24. Boozing it up all night and coming home with a crowd of strangers at 4 am was not part of our lifestyle and we certainly wouldn't have wanted it to be. They say that the younger generation mature earlier than those of us who are considerably older, but I think otherwise. My generation (Boomers) didn't depend on our parents to pay our way. We worked out way through college, contributed to household expenses if we lived at home and didn't expect to be on the parental dime until we were in our thirties or later! I think that some of today's twenty-somethings are still on mother's milk.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I was very close to giving John Marsh credit for his post on the TA FB page. Very, very close! Then he has to go and pat himself and slimy Dan on the back, as if they personally stopped AirBnB in Stuy Town. News flash John, you talk about what you accomplished in the comments, but your initial posting shows that the fight you and Dan put up was a failure. AirBnB is as strong as ever here, and like a true political ally you do nothing more than pat yourself on the back for a failed job.
ReplyDeleteAir BnB is extremely strong here because management looks the other way. It is a great way of satisfying the ridiculous market rate rents as is the dorm strategy. Blackstone must use both methods to rent these apartments. Otherwise the apartments would be empty. They are definitely not proactive in stemming Air Bnb. They could care less about who and what is renting these spaces.
ReplyDeleteHeck, that guy who seems obsessed with yelp can put them there.
ReplyDeleteOr you can! There are way too many people waiting for other people to act around here.
John Marsh is an unmitigated self-serving, self-promoting fraud.
ReplyDeleteThe entire TA apparatus is corrupt and in bed with Danny Boy G and the political establishment.
If the TA had any credibility they would open their books for public scrutiny.
Ain't gonna happen!
Go away, Johnny M. No one cares what you have to say.
RGB is going to really stick it to us this time! Most of these units are market rate anyway!
ReplyDeleteLEAVE US ALONE!!
Neighborhood Watch?
ReplyDeleteYou are suggesting tenants should volunteer to perform security functions they are already paying Blackstone to perform, but Blackstone refuses to perform without raking in more profit?
You are suggesting tenants should volunteer to provide a "visual presence" (Uniforms? Badges? Equipment? Vehicles?) they are already paying Blackstone to provide, but that Blackstone refuses to provide?
You are suggesting that tenant volunteers seeing someone requiring an emergency response should call Blackstone PS instead of EMS, NYPD, FDNY?
You are suggesting STR should be "volunteered" to work as an unpaid employee of Blackstone performing a video security function for Blackstone that STR is already paying Blackstone to perform, but that that Blackstone apparently refuses to perform?
Why not just one tenant volunteer sitting inside a PS room monitoring the hundreds, if not thousands, of surveillance cameras tenants are already paying Blackstone for and already paying Blackstone to monitor, but that Blackstone apparently refuses to monitor without raking in more profit?
Better yet since tenants are already paying for the massive, expensive video surveillance system, why not enable all tenants 24/7/365 access from inside their homes to monitor the entire video surveillance system, including the locations and activities of all PS personnel they are already paying Blackstone for?
I like the email response from Kehoe about AirBnB. Seems like template that they probably use A LOT, but do nothing about. Makes people happy for a minute and management hopes they forget.
ReplyDeleteNah. Yelp is for the burbs.
ReplyDeleteAnd this PLACE is for the Birds!
ReplyDelete>>You are suggesting tenants should volunteer to perform security functions they are already paying Blackstone to perform, but Blackstone refuses to perform without raking in more profit?<<
ReplyDeleteCan't disagree with that logic. Though anyone who volunteers is welcome.
>>I like the email response from Kehoe about AirBnB. Seems like template that they probably use A LOT, but do nothing about. Makes people happy for a minute and management hopes they forget.<<
ReplyDeleteThe thing is to follow these AirBnB places and state, here is okay, how many are around months later, still doing business. I know some places have been "outed" for a while, but a rigorous effort is needed. Of course, once again, the TA should be doing this and sending out reports online and also to Management. BS responses, which Blackstone and PS are adept at, should not be welcome after a while.
Funny story, but true: A few weeks back two young Asian females were looking in the bushes and looking. They both had those luggage on wheels that we are now familiar with. A PC security guard was even helping them. I don't know if he reported the incident, but it seems they were looking for a key to get into the AirBnb apartment and couldn't find it. I kinda felt sorry for them because it is not their fault, at least 100%, that they get screwed temporarily. Of course, Management will say how do you know they were not family or friends. I know all the answers--and excuses.
I don't think that either management or the TA really care about the AirbnB or any of the QOL issues here. In fact, I don't know why the TA even exists anymore. It seems to be a totally useless and obsolete organization. Why don't they just go away? The TA serves no purpose.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete>>You are suggesting tenants should volunteer to perform security functions they are already paying Blackstone to perform, but Blackstone refuses to perform without raking in more profit?<<
Funny, other communities pay taxes for police, fire and emergency, but also organize and help keep their communities safe.
You refuse to think of any solutions and you put down others who do. Keep on keeping on.
The TA is worthless. Their only response to any issue is"e-mail Rick Hayduk". I doubt that they will ever have a meeting again. Their meetings were always sickening with the politicians patting each other on the back. Garodnick has been invisible as has the TA. Both are arms of management now.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I thought the TA was very sensitive, but not so, apparently. There was a "joke" about Europeans and how they look (in particular a lady in a hallway) that Johnnie joined in on and provided no rebuke. Be careful, "Hayduk" sounds Eastern European. Meanwhile, when the questioning got to the TA, there indeed was a warning of sorts from Johnnie about off-topic.
ReplyDeleteYou can't make this stuff up; the real stuff just keeps coming.
Johnnie is very sensitive about question about the TA. Anything that gets too close for comfort is "OT,." LOL!
ReplyDeleteSTR @ 8:50 PM: John Marsh was perfectly ok with the "European lady" walking into his apartment. Even when another commenter mentioned that she had seen that same person, it did not seem to faze John Marsh. I really do believe that AirBnB is ok with management and the tenants association because it keeps the type of tenant they want happy. They don't care about the dangers to regular rent-paying tenants (especially the real rent stabilized tenants) because they are in some kind of financial arrangement together. We have no tenants association and saying that we do is just a great big lie.
ReplyDeletePeople with these rolling suitcases ALL over the place. THEY know exactly what's going on around here.
ReplyDeleteI got a charge out of John Marsh's inane comments on the TA blog. His OT remarks were funny when the criticism of management got serious. I am sure that management is well aware of AirBnB issues here. Since they fill apartments, management looks the other way. There is no other way to rent these overpriced apartments. Management needs the dorms, city subsidies, and Air BnBers. Both rolling suitcase people and students on the increase here. Despicable.
ReplyDeleteThis place is a joke!
ReplyDeleteManagement does not care about us. They are getting away with murder. Where is the TA on all of this? They are useless!
ReplyDeleteSince Blackstone took over last April, three market rate families have been priced out of their apartments on my floor. They were paying a lot to begin with, but they planned to stay here if things remained fairly reasonable. $800-$1000 increases made the decision very easy for all three of them, and they all live in very nice buildings with a doorman, gym, pool, and they pay much less than they were originally paying.
ReplyDeleteNobody has consistently lived in those apartments since then, and the entire floor knows exactly what is going on - management has these apartments set aside for short-term rentals. One of my neighbors complained to management at first, but that went nowhere, so we started asking the people that were coming in and out of the apartments. Two very nice southern gentlemen told us that their company was putting them up here for a few weeks. These were different apartments and different companies at different times.
There was a member of the TA on my floor that brought this to their attention. The response??? Please contact Rick and let him know about this, his office is trying to stop this. Almost 6 months later and the same stuff is still going on, with Rick being aware. The lady has obviously left the TA since then as well. This is in 3PCR - yes, the building that our esteemed councilman lives in.
Where to begin? And I was just walking to my usual places.
ReplyDelete1) There is very visible dog turd, not picked up, by the side of one of the PCV buildings.
2) By the side of Associated and near or at Ave A, on this side, is a favorite meeting of AirBnb hosts and their customers. Seen accidentally was an Indian-looking chap with a young lady with luggage on wheels. Both had cell phones and the lady had just contacted him. I was going the opposite way, but they went into Stuy Town after the introductions.
3) Another AirBnb host showing the way to a customer. This time, my business at Associated being done, I could see how she led the customer to her building.
4) Do I have to mention bikes around the Oval?
5) A large dog, probably no lanyard from what I could tell, lying on top of one of the chess tables on the east side of the Oval. Bon appetit!
6) No PS officer around, but does it make it difference?
Keep up the good job Rick! We are all soo proud of you. You have certainly made a difference, for the worst!
ReplyDeleteWord is that the Rent Guidelines Board will raise our rent. Bad for De Blasio--and tenants.
ReplyDeleteAs 12:26 said market rate renters can get nicer apartments with real amenities elsewhere in Manhattan for what they pay here. That is why we have the situation of dorm dumps and airbnbs.These families and couples that move in at an already high rate are priced out and find better places to live. Blackstone knows this, it is their strategy.
ReplyDelete3 pcr and 5 pcr have short term and it's obvious. The thing is, we don't own these, Blackstone does. they sure as fuck all can do whatever they want with their land, their buildings.
ReplyDelete8:25: I respectfully disagree. They cannot do whatever they want to do if we stop them. This is our home, for which we pay. It cannot be turned into a dorm or a hotel. It is a residence and there are long-standing tenants here. If we organized and fought back, we could stop them.
ReplyDeleteAs with everything else, we have been conditioned and brainwashed to believe lies and cruelty concocted by those who hurt us. We abide by their rules and agree with their dictates.
If enough of us said, "no," we could stop this from happening.
Unless something unexpected happens, I should have report due the first.
ReplyDelete7 37 you are incorrect. They can & and they will.
ReplyDeletestuy and pC are chasing away families and anyone over 35. They want students, section 8 so they can drive out the older tenants with rents under 2,000$
ReplyDeletehow would they even know i was subletting? LMAO
ReplyDeleteIt does seem younger and younger and younger these days.
ReplyDeletePardon my ignorance, but what is Section 8?
ReplyDeletehttp://www1.nyc.gov/site/nycha/section-8/about-section-8.page
ReplyDeleteYes, Blackstone wants air bnbers, section 8 tenants and students. The only way they can rent those over 4 grand a month apartments. They can deny it all they want, but that is what is happening here and will keep happening on a larger scale. They will keep trying to fool some residents with their crumbs like flea markets, concerts, photo memoir shows, and easy access to Hayduk by e-mail, but many of us know the truth.
ReplyDeleteI think that Section 8 is great for low income families, but I was under the impression that it had been eliminated by either Bloomberg or Cuomo a few years ago. I seem to remember there was a lot of outrage about its elimination because it would result in putting people out onto the streets or in shelters. Maybe they changed their minds about eliminating it, or maybe restored it. I have heard that it is an absolute life-saver for a lot of people.
ReplyDelete8:59 a.m.: Of course, oppressors and bullies will do what they want to do if their victims play dead!
ReplyDeleteCivil rights. Civil disobedience. Rent strikes. Pickets.
Have any of you learned about the Civil Rights Movement? Ghandi in India?
The destruction of this very land by European bullies (imperialists)? The invasions and rapes of country after country by various European nations, America? The invasion of Tibet by China?
For thousands upon thousands of years, greedy, soul-dead human beings have invaded, tortured, starved, raped, murdered, and more . . . other human beings who did not fight back, but instead allowed themselves, their homes, countries, children, other animals, be murdered and tormented.
Organize and fight back.
Yesterday afternoon sitting with friend in Union Square Park when two women in t shirts which read: "need an apartment? We can help you" approached us and handed us card which offered a "prize" for coming to leasing office and taking a tour of the complex! Prize was $50 dollar gift card. If you sign lease, get a $500 gift card.
ReplyDeleteBeing a lifer here, I am so tempted to take this card in and see what happens!
3:03 PM - that's outrageous! It seems like Blackstone has become a Real Estate Pimp! They must be really, really desperate to do that. Those two women are no better than whores, only our homes are the bait. I wonder how much Blackstone pays its RE Whores?
ReplyDelete"Being a lifer here, I am so tempted to take this card in and see what happens"
ReplyDeletePlease take it in and see what happens! I wonder if management is behind this "pimping" or if these two women are tenants who are looking for a payday. Sheesh! This place has hit a new low! Rock bottom!
Would not be surprised if the women advertising apartments here were sponsored by Blackstone. They can think up many corrupt and obnoxious methods to rent in this dump. Despicable. Dorms, air bnb, section 8 and now this.
ReplyDeleteIf they are offering prizes to come to the Stuy Town Leasing Office, they are obviously employees of Stuy Town Management, and therefore, Blackstone. Real estate agents for other companies wouldn't be handing out flyers with monetary guarantees from our leasing office unless they were employed by the office. Probably some college girls that they are paying off the books to hand the flyers out, then once you are in things change (bait and switch).
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with section 8 tenants living here. They are probably quiet and respectful and respectable. Cannot say that much for the airbnb and student and transient trash.
ReplyDelete