I've come to the realization that it can take some time and a lot of patience to implement any change in the city and, more particularly, in this complex. Aside from the usual infractions here, I have decided to zero in on two: One, motorized bikes. They are illegal to use, but there is a loophole, and it's a big one. The bikes can be around, but the motor can't be running. In other words, one can have a motorized bike but the motor can't be on. Doesn't make sense, but this is what the rule is. So, you have, for instance, Ess-a-Bagel, a tenant here, using motorized bikes, particularly in the busy weekend, but their "drivers" can turn off the motorization near Ess-a-Bagel and turn it back on once they are in the city proper, out on the streets. The police can't do anything if the bikes are not seen and running. (Of course, they are seen all the time, but that is another issue.) There is one way to stop this game: Make motorized bikes illegal in the city whether they are running or not. Only the City Council can do that. It seems simple, but were it so.
The second change is enforcing the dog lanyard rule. This is not my rule, but that of current management, with the General Manager, Rick Hayduk, stating:
"We'll be introducing a new process to identify registered dogs thus
enabling Public Safety Officers to clearly approach offending dog
owners. The registration will hang from the leash handle; clearly
identifying the dog as registered.
"If the dog
is not registered by May 1; a summons will be issued at the point of
contact. If we learn the dog owner is not a resident, they will be
escorted off the property."
This was stated in February, 2016.
As we know, the rule is continually not enforced. I have been here a long time (decades) but I've yet to see someone escorted out for not following this rule. My impression, from reading a couple of blogs dedicated to this complex, is that the ignoring of this rule is common knowledge. I would want this rule enforced and I will work toward that, despite the lack of will power to enforce it.
As I stated, there are other infractions, but these are the ones I will be reporting on and trying to change. And I am not the only one.
All is well in the Sty as long as we have solar paneling. Safety is not a priority. The Blackstone fan club is lauding the big PR announcement on solar paneling but not a word on bike dangers.
ReplyDeleteI will have a report on Blackstone's latest promotion, which has gotten a bit of attention. I've read several items on solar paneling: some claim no problem, others are wary, if not concerned. What about the noise of putting all these panels up? Right now, we have noise from several angles, and with continual apartment "upgrades," it seems this noise will never stop. It other words, noise and disruption will be added. Not much of a problem if you leave for work (though with the closure of the L line, another problem added). If you are at home or work from it, this noise could be a big problem. And anyone who talks of "sustainability" without addressing other issues is muddled in the brain.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at times at how much we can take and keep on taking. And there are cheerleaders who welcome this change without investigating its impact.
ReplyDeleteThe cheerleaders are a couple of annoying Pollyanna types. They are the type of people who, if you fell downstairs and broke a leg, they'd tell you not to complain because you still have one good leg!
ReplyDeleteUsually, though, this type of person doesn't cope too well when trouble comes to their lives. Then they whine that other people are not being sympathetic and good enough to them because they are not the ones who are suffering. You can never win with that lot.
Will these solar panels = MCI?
ReplyDeleteA resident flagged a security guard down last week because he didn't see my lanyard (which was on my leash).
ReplyDeleteSaid resident walked behind me thru Peter Cooper. He then saw the security guard and told him to check.
My interaction with the security guard was fine. I showed him the lanyard and we were good.
Just reporting my experience with the lanyard issue.
>>Will these solar panels = MCI?<<
ReplyDeleteNo, but someone is going to make money, and you can bet it won't be the residents!
https://www.stuytown.com/questions
ReplyDeleteSilly me. Even a month may be too much time to wait for answers. We got the questions, though.
Going on 18 months with lanyard in pocket and never being stopped by tenants or security. It’s getting dusty in my pocket.
ReplyDeleteWhy oh why did they paint all the roofs white if they're going to cover them with solar panels??? Great planning.
ReplyDeleteThis is the most whiny and obnoxious blog I have ever read in my entire life. Don't you have anything better to do than walk around and take photos of the neighborhood? Jeeze. Get a life, pal. I bet you won't approve this comment because I'm not bashing Stuytown, but this is pathetic.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Are you going to say something that is debatable or are you just going to insult? You have a problem with photos, I see. What's wrong with them? They are not showing what you like?
ReplyDeleteThe cheerleaders on the TA blog are a nasty bunch of know-nothings. They accept everything they management does as an improvement while ignoring real issues. It is almost as if Blackstone hired them. When they saw that solar panel announcement they viewed it as sensational without considering any repercussions. I was particularly interested in the poster who mentioned possible electric bills down the road.
ReplyDeleteThere can't be "electric bills" unless they submeter.
ReplyDeleteSolar panels potentially allow the owner/user to sell excess power back to the utility, thereby cutting their own electric bills. Don't discount this as an incentive for Blackstone to do this installation, plus there are tax credits for putting them in.
7:16 pm, just don't read this Whitney blog if you don't like it. We won't mind.
ReplyDeleteObviously 7:16 doesn’t like that STR posts pictures about the truths of this place. That person needs to go back through old posts, and just take a look at the many many travesties facing this community with actual photographic evidence from STR. You don’t need to read the “whiny” comments, but don’t discredit what STR sees and posts about on a daily basis.
ReplyDeletehttp://nypost.com/2014/09/22/new-yorks-cycles-of-death-our-arrogant-biker-nightmare/
ReplyDeleteA few years old, but you get the message.
"7:16 pm, just don't read this Whitney blog if you don't like it. We won't mind."
ReplyDeleteOf course, I meant "whiney blog." Damn iPad!
I do have to mention that I saw a PS officer (whom I have not seen before) talk to a main guy at Ess-a-Bagel. The talk went on for some minutes. Not sure if motorized bikes were talked about, but I did see that. If so, kudos.
ReplyDeleteThat said, a few minutes later I saw one of those ST pick-up vehicles, without license plates, cross a red light on the island by Gracefully. I don't know if the vehicle is allowed to do that here.
This is the most whiny and obnoxious blog I have ever read in my entire life.
ReplyDeleteThe cheerleaders on the TA blog are a nasty bunch of know-nothings.
STR There are insults on both sides. But you only criticize the ones that don't agree with you.
You should read this blog more often. Though that suggestion may infuriate you.
ReplyDeleteThe response to "get a life" is simple. The place where I live is a part of my life, so why should I not post photos and comment on where I live? I wish I had more time, not less, to devote to this place.
Seen today in front of my building a guy with suitcase calling his probable air bnb host. Was still there three hours later. Should have been questioned but no PS around of course
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately Airbnb will continue to be a growing issue as long as management requires tenants in renovated apartments to pay a three month penalty to terminate their lease early. I agree there should be a penalty, but three months makes it virtually impossible to break early, hence Airbnb is the only option. These are things the TA should be fighting.
ReplyDeleteOnly 14% of registered voters participated in the elections. People are still fed up with a broken process and unworthy candidate choices that dominate the process.
ReplyDeleteThe last 4 years and the 12 before that are historic levels of corruption with one Mayor following in the others footsteps each making certain they get a big fat piece of pie for themselves by putting their family and friends on the receiving end of city policies and practices enrichment.
Up to 86% of the constituency withheld votes. The victories are hollow.
7 of many letters from constituents sent to the Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/nov-9-de-blasio-trump-weinstein-article-1.3619960
ReplyDeleteNovember 8, 2017 at 10:02 PM
True. Plus this is a bailout for the Governor. But also it does look to be a better alternative to fossil fuels.
Even as Gov. Cuomo hopes to shell out another $500 million for Buffalo, there’s new reason to worry that much of the first billion he spent there — for a solar-panel plant — may be going to waste.
A report last week by the Solar Foundation, a pro-solar group, said New York lost about 1 percent of its solar jobs last year. What lousy timing: Buffalo’s huge new solar-panel plant, which Cuomo used $750 million of taxpayer funds to build, is gearing up to begin production this summer.
http://nypost.com/2017/02/12/cuomos-risky-solar-jobs-bet-is-starting-to-backfire/
This blog and the photos on this blog tell the true history of what went down here to the middle class.
ReplyDeleteThis piece in the Guardian is one of the best written pieces on the middle class and the flat out lies told to us like subways and docks being built for our commute when really it is for the politically connected yacht crowd in a system they game. Instead of a deal where tenants own our homes in a co-op, deBlasio gave us to an offshore-banking small group of a few very wealthy friends.
"Why have we built a paradise for offshore billionaires?"
Thomas Frank
"This week we are coming face to face with a big part of the right answer: it’s that the celebrities and business leaders we have raised up above ourselves would like to have nothing to do with us. Yes, they are grateful for the protection of our laws. Yes, they like having the police and the marine corps on hand to defend their property.
Yes, they eat our food and breathe our air and expect us to keep these pure and healthy; they demand that we get educated before we may come and work for them, and for that purpose they expect us to pay for a vast system of public schools. They also expect us to watch their movies, to buy their products, to use their software. They expect our (slowly declining) middle class to be their loyal customers.
But those celebrities and business types would prefer not to do what it takes to support all this. That burden’s on us. Oh, they’re happy to haul billions out of our economy and use us up in the workplace, but maintaining the machinery that keeps it all running – that’s on us.
I don’t want to go too far here. I know that what the billionaires and the celebrities have done is legal. They merely took advantage of the system. It’s the system itself, and the way it was deliberately constructed to achieve these awful ends, that should be the target of our fury.
...
part two
ReplyDeleteIn reality, though, it was never about us and our economy at all. Today it is obvious that all of this had only one rationale: to raise up a class of supermen above us. It had nothing to do with jobs or growth. Or freedom either. The only person’s freedom to be enhanced by these tax havens was the billionaire’s freedom. It was all to make his life even better, not ours.
...
Think, for a moment, of how this country has been starved so the holders of these offshore accounts might enjoy their private jets in peace. Think of what we might have done with the sums we have lost to these tax strategies over the decades. All the crumbling infrastructure that politicians love to complain about: it should have – and could have - been fixed long ago.
Think of all the young people saddled with catastrophic student-loan debt: we should have – could have – made that unnecessary. Think of all the decayed small towns, and the dying rust belt cities, and the drug-addicted hopeless: all of them should have – could have – been helped.
But no. Instead America chose a different project. Our leaders raised up a tiny class of otherworldly individuals and built a paradise for them, made their lives supremely delicious. Today they hold unimaginable and unaccountable power.
We endure potholes and live in fear of collapsing highway bridges because our leaders wanted these very special people to have an even larger second yacht. Our kids sit in overcrowded classrooms in underfunded schools so that a handful of exalted individuals can relax on their own private beach.
Today it is these same golden figures with their offshore billions who host the fundraisers, hire the lobbyists, bankroll the think tanks and subsidize the artists and intellectuals.
This is their democracy today. We just happen to live in it."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/09/paradise-papers-offshore-billionaires
A money launderer's billionaire row penthouse in foreclosure. The building is still not sold out. The developer is building another atrocity two blocks down suitable again for the offshore bank account types who need to park cash or launder money or whatever. Laughable that the Mayor campaign slogan is "This Is Your City"
ReplyDeletehttp://nypost.com/2017/11/09/billionaires-row-penthouse-in-foreclosure-sells-for-36m/
http://nypost.com/2017/07/07/developer-behind-one57-set-to-launch-new-4b-building/
Re people with suitcases in front of my building: I immediately call Security informing them that these people look lost and distressed and need their help. Security will come for this.
ReplyDeleteRe hot apartments and solar panels.....
ReplyDeleteDo Solar Panels Cool or Heat Your Roof?
1 REPLY
Solar panels don’t just power your AC on blisteringly hot summer days – they also take over some of the AC’s work themselves. This is according to a study from researchers at the University of California at San Diego, which says that rooftop solar panels not only produce emissions-free electricity, but also cool roofs and buildings to which they are attached. This lowers cooling costs, and offers an additional benefit of going solar.
Solar Panel Cooling: PV Systems Reduce Heating Costs in Cold Seasons
The idea is simple: when sunlight hits your house it warms your roof and pushes heat into your home. Installing solar panels will block this sunlight from hitting your roof, thereby preventing heat from entering your house. The researchers found that solar panels can lower a roof’s temperature by 5 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 3 degrees Celsius. This can significantly reduce cooling costs over the life of the solar panels. In fact, the researchers determined that the savings from reduced cooling amount to a 5 percent discount on the solar panels’ price.
Solar panels cool roof and cool usa home
Like this Alabama home, your solar roof as well as the house itself could benefit from efficient cooling generated by solar panels.
Do Solar Panels Generate Heat?
As explained briefly above, there is a common misconception that solar panels generate heat amidst converting sunlight into usable electricity. Instead, solar panels absorb heat that otherwise would have been passed onto your roof. The panels block the heat from being absorbed by your roof and eventually your home and actually prevent extra heat from being generated.
I've seen info online that contradicts the above, but is it just frightening and not informing?
ReplyDeleteThat said, a basic question must be asked. If solar panels are harmless and reduce cost, is the landlord going to pass the savings to the tenant?
According to T & V, the solar panel work will start this winter and finish...in 2019. Is anyone asking about noise and disruption?
ReplyDeletehttps://cleantechnica.com/2009/01/14/danger-solar-panels-can-be-hazardous-to-your-health/
ReplyDeleteFrom the link:
It’s easy to think that solar panels can do no wrong— after all, they will help lead us out of our energy crisis, right? Unfortunately, these shining beacons of hope produce toxic e-waste just like cell phones, TVs, and computers. A report released today by the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition admonishes the solar industry to face its e-waste problem head on or risk “repeating the mistakes made by the microelectronics industry.”
The SVTC warns that solar panel production creates many of the same toxic byproducts as those found in semiconductor production, including silicon tetrachloride, dusts, and greenhouse gases like sulfur hexafluoride. These byproducts aren’t anything to scoff at— silicon tetrachloride, for example, makes land unsuitable for growing crops. And for each ton of polysilicon produced, four tons of silicon tetrachloride are generated.
There are steps that the solar industry can take to minimize toxic risks, however. The SVTC recommends that manufacturers test materials for toxicity before using them. Additionally, the group asks manufacturers to ramp up takeback programs.
But getting solar panel manufacturers to take back their products after 25 years (the average lifespan of silicon-based panels) could prove difficult, especially since other electronics manufacturers that make products with much shorter lifespans can’t get their takeback programs off the ground.
The only way manufacturers will aggressively pursue recycling and anti-toxicity campaigns is if we stop giving the solar industry a free pass and start demanding accountability.
A bit from http://education.seattlepi.com/dangers-solar-panels-6127.html :
ReplyDeleteConcerns on the Rooftops
The Fire Protection Research Foundation reports that emergency responders must find new ways to perform their jobs in an era when alternative energy sources exist. John Drengenberg, a consumer safety director, says that firefighters face a new threat caused by solar panels. Solar panels can make it more difficult for firefighters to maneuver on rooftops. Firefighters may also find it hard to turn solar panels off because light can keep them energized.
Before You Go Solar
Solar panels still cost more than traditional energy. Because it takes many of them to produce a large amount of energy, large solar panel arrays can consume a lot of land area. Don't expect a single solar panel to power a large device such as your air conditioning unit. When night falls and the sun vanishes, solar panels cannot provide electricity unless you have batteries or other storage devices that store the energy that the solar panels produce when the sun is visible. These solar power storage batteries contain lead and sulfuric acid, which are hazardous materials. Also, lead batteries can explode when they get wet. However, the safety concerns relating to these batteries are relatively minor.
This pattern is awful and still no statement from deBasio on any of this. Not the first time, the second time and now this third time where one of deBasio's closest friends who was working with him on a big, secret tv project.
ReplyDeleteBill de Blasio staffer arrested on child pornography charges: Report May 2017
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/26/bill-de-blasio-staffer-arrested-on-child-pornograp/
Fundraising, LifeSci meetings and cocktail parties with Seattle Mayor who resigned after fifth child sex-abuse allegation April 2017 / September 2017
https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2017/04/de-blasio-will-head-to-california-for-fundraiser-110849
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-mayor-ed-murray-resigns-after-fifth-child-sex-abuse-allegation/
The New York Times
Louis C.K. Crossed a Line Into Sexual Misconduct, 5 Women Say
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/arts/television/louis-ck-sexual-misconduct.html
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160427/williamsburg/louis-ck-bill-de-blasio-brief-history-of-their-budding-bromance
From https://healthyliving.azcentral.com/solar-energy-health-effects-on-humans-12295523.html :
ReplyDeleteElectromagnetic Radiation From Solar Panels
Modern solar systems use components that radiate high levels of radio frequency electromagnetic radiation, which poses health risks to those with electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). The primary health hazard involved with solar energy generation is that people with EHS get sick from electromagnetic radiation in even very small amounts. Such a health problem may be triggered by small frequencies from cell phones, computers and other electronic appliances. The production of solar energy can further aggravate the situation. Since some of the symptoms of this health risk are common and non-specific, such as headaches and restlessness, a person inside a solar-powered home or building may not even realize what's going on.
Silicon Dust from Solar Panels
A solar panel’s basic component contains pure silicon. Silicon dust is a harmful substance when inhaled, especially over long periods of time. Exposure to this dust can result in a lung disease called silicosis, which causes scar tissue to form in the lungs. This scar tissue reduces the lungs’ capacity to process oxygen. Solar cells are also made of non-recyclable materials. Therefore, the absence of an environment-friendly way to dispose of non-functioning solar cells could pose a threat to the environment as well.
Exposure to Electrical and Chemical Components of Solar Heat Systems
A solar hot water system takes the heat of the sun to warm up bath water. Some solar heat systems can heat up an entire house. These technologies usually have a solar collector that processes the energy to generate heat. These methods pose health risks to chemically or electrically sensitive people, especially if they are constantly exposed to these systems.
The Future of Solar Energy
With more research and development projects, the health risks related to the acquisition and utilization of solar energy can be better managed and addressed. Hopefully, new solar energy technology will be free from these negative health effects.
Wow
ReplyDeleteWhy the hell did they paint all the roofs with solar reflecting paint????
ReplyDeleteRiddle me that Rick Heydick!!!!!
Posted by Adam Rose on the other blog was this info found on T&V:
ReplyDelete"Operation E-Bike
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) teamed up with the NYPD's 13th Precinct on November 2nd to crack down on illegal motorized bicycles. These bikes are commonly used by delivery people passing through property and cause an unsafe condition for residents.
With the help of our friends in the nearby precinct, 7 of these bikes were confiscated with a summons written to the offending business. The NYPD will be back on property for another patrol next Thursday. StuyTown Property Services thanks the 13th Precinct for their help and cooperation."
Me: The crackdown is certainly welcome. Hopefully it will continue and not be advertised of when the police will show up. This news confirms what I've been seeing.
A lot of people are wondering about the painting of the roofs, to then put on solar panels a few months later. Seems to me like they are fishing for ways to charge an MCI, even though they claim otherwise.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we will see some progress on the MCI front, since we have a community fighting councilman who is on the TA board. We are watching Powers.
"A solar panel’s basic component contains pure silicon. Silicon dust is a harmful substance when inhaled, especially over long periods of time. Exposure to this dust can result in a lung disease called silicosis, which causes scar tissue to form in the lungs. This scar tissue reduces the lungs’ capacity to process oxygen. Solar cells are also made of non-recyclable materials. Therefore, the absence of an environment-friendly way to dispose of non-functioning solar cells could pose a threat to the environment as well."
ReplyDeleteThat is nuts. That alone should halt manufacturing until it is, with due diligence, completely resolved so it is not a health hazard for humans and not a health hazard for the environment.
A nickel here, a dime there. Re: the higher rates coming for laundry. Also, higher rates for parking in the ST garages. Luckily, the fee for using a plastic bag is no more, for now. Yeah, "sustainability" (hurrah!) is another word for spending more money. It is NOT used to save money.
ReplyDeleteFURNISHED 3 BEDROOM CONDO FOR RENT IN STUYVESANT TOWN
ReplyDeleteCALL
Charles Rutenberg, LLC 641 Lexington Ave., New York, New York 10022 | 212-688-1000 | e:info@rutenbergnyc.com
540 East 20th Street, 1-F
http://www.rutenbergnyc.com/detail.aspx?id=1623796
Charles Rutenberg has been renting out units in Stuyvesant Town for years. This listing is from 2012 and it had been listed since 2008. That is a lot of flipping so yes, the ad even says after this last rental the apartment will go market rate. The apartment was offered for 6-7 months. No the usual 12 year rent stabilized lease.
http://www.blocksy.com/nyc/rental/163827-274-first-avenue-9e
Lease Assignment. 6-7 month unfurnished rental. Sep Win Kitch. Dining Area. 5 Closets. Great light/9th fl. BR's 18x13 & 13x10. Electric Included. The apartment will be renovated after lease is up and the rent will likely be in the mid-low 4k range.
This home for rent listing was added to Blocksy on Oct 16 2008 (or approximately 3312 days ago).
It's located in the Stuyvesant Town - Peter Cooper Village neighborhood in New York at 274 First Avenue.
This home has 2 bedroom(s) and 1 bathroom(s). In terms of its size, the number of square feet is not presently available.
Hoping the Mci stop cause they keep coming and now my rent is too high.
ReplyDeleteThe solar panels sound very "iffy" as to their safety and efficacy. I think Management is getting some kind of financial break from the City for doing this and the health and safety of the tenants is not a priority for them. I dread the noise and disruption when these dubious "improvements" are added. Blackstone always goes for the cheapest materials and manpower when engaging in any kind of "improvement" or construction work.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Keith Powers is going to live up to all his hype and not be another tool of Management and REBNY like his predecessor. I wonder if we will see photographs of him being dandled on Rob Speyer's knee at the REBNY Liars Ball and if he will fall into lockstep with everything that REBNY demands of its bought and paid for political ass-kissers.
Solar power could be good for this community, but the right questions are not being asked. Regarding fire, it certainly sounds feasible that there would be difficulty for firefighters on a solar paneled roof. But we do have to ask when were firefighters on a roof here?
ReplyDeleteThat said, I am glad I am not right under these things. Just an impression that it is not great to be right near them.
Also, I keep coming back to the noise issue.
Let's not cheer, until we know all the facts.
Considering all the work that this community will have to endure for the next two years or so, I remain perplexed. When is enough, enough? Never?
ReplyDeleteBlackstone is obviously getting some financial benefit from the solar panels. Whether it is money from the city or tenants paying gas bans electric down the line, they are getting some gain . Also a lot of positive PR which they thrive on,
ReplyDeletewhoever posted this:
ReplyDelete"Proof! Not long ago the woman in the office stated that the upstairs neighbors had been checked for carpets and reminded about carpet rule.
Just had a discussion with said neighbor. Never has anyone checked her apartment and she admits, they have no carpets.
November 6, 2017 at 3:12 PM"
PLEASE, I ASK YOU, post this to yelp, with as many identifying details as you are comfortable providing, and please confront management directly with proof of their lies. I know they are lying every time these sack of sh!t people tell me they already inspected for carpets. never had proof. you have it, at least email that smarmy little a$$hole who responds to everyone on yelp:
He is Peter Walterspiel
email is peter.walterspiel@stuytown.com
he is the disgusting vermin who is charged with lying to residents to get them to keep quiet all the illegal practices management engages in.
Blackstone has a worldwide reputation for buying distressed properties and then making the lives of the tenants as miserable as possible while raking in the gelt.
ReplyDeleteBloodsucking Shite.
"With the help of our friends in the nearby precinct, 7 of these bikes were confiscated with a summons written to the offending business. The NYPD will be back on property for another patrol next Thursday. StuyTown Property Services thanks the 13th Precinct for their help and cooperation."
ReplyDeleteWhy do these dumbfuck morons announce what day the cops will be on the property to catch e-bikes? Don't they realize that the people who own and operate the restaurants that send out those guys on the motorized bikes are a helluva lot more intelligent and savvy than Management is? The people running this place really and truly are the most abysmally STUPID losers I've ever come across. They add a whole new dimension to the meaning of STUPID! Unbelievable!
I think, though don't know for sure, that the warning of Thursday is just so a summons will not have to be written and there will be "no problems." I blame the NYPD and Management here, as both should make these "raids" a surprise and not give out the day the cops will be there. If it were up to me, I would made all these raids a surprise, and only mention them when they are done.
ReplyDeleteThat said, one has to also wonder why the NYPD has to be involved. Isn't PS enough? Of course, the street (meaning 1st Avenue in this case) may not be under PS jurisdiction. If so, then we know more about these ST club cars that want to appear that they can ride anywhere nearby, which doesn't seem to be the case.
And this, dear folks, is something the TA should be involved in. Are these streets that are not INSIDE Stuy Town or Peter Cooper Village, legally able to have golf cars on them? My impression is no. What does the powerful TA say?
ReplyDeleteThe game is being played. Seen this morning: two motorized bikes coming out of Ess-a-Bagel. Not pedaling.
ReplyDeleteManagement does not have to wait for the City Council to rule all motorized bikes illegal, pedaling or not. They CAN act on their own. Unless they have nothing to do with a tenant.
Get the name of the restaurant, laundry that is using the motorized bikes. Report them, visit them, write them This is first class dangerous nonsense.
ReplyDeleteRiding bikes on sidewalks in nyc is illegal, motor or not. Since Stuy Town claims to have control over the sidewalks on this property, this initiative is on them. As others have said, it’s going to talk an accident and lawsuit to get them to act. The person who eventually gets hurt will win big, because it’s well documented that management is not doing nearly enough to stop this practice that’s getting completely out of hand.
ReplyDeleteSeen in the oval last night during a quick walk through - 4 electric delivery bikes zooming past the security office with the chief and Gamba sitting right there. They are being 100% reactive at this point, and failing miserably.
Any FOOL who gets suckered into paying $50 to "join" the Tenants Association at their phony pep rally on November 19th is just that...a FOOL!
ReplyDeleteA truly corrupt, venal, dishonest crew of political hacks who do NOTHING.
Open your books, TA.
Let's see where the Roberts Settlement money went.
A bunch of thieves.
The TA looking for $50 handouts on their FB page yet again. I call them handouts because you get absolutely nothing in return for the $50 you hand over to them.
ReplyDeleteThey talk about lawyers fees, and I once again ask, where did the tens of thousands of dollars from the Roberts settlement go??? They should be giving away memberships for $50.
And again, when does someone address our Councilman Powers status on the TA board? This group needs to be investigated, but their parade of politician pals will protect them.
>>Get the name of the restaurant, laundry that is using the motorized bikes. Report them, visit them, write them This is first class dangerous nonsense.<<
ReplyDeleteI have done that. Nothing. And Ess-a-Bagel always uses motorized bikes. They are a tenant here, and have been mentioned. Other residents have alerted Management, too. But the "game" is still being played. Only the City Council can do something. Management seems not to care enough.
Again, management wants to claim control over these sidewalks, this is on them. They don’t have to wait for city Council in order to start enforcing bikes of any type riding on sidewalks... it’s already illegal in the city, management is just behind the times.
ReplyDeleteManagement doesn't care about anything except collecting rent and gouging renters. Disregard everything they claim to do or plan to do if it is something that would benefit tenants or bring Management's actions to be within the laws of NYC.
ReplyDeleteNovember 11, 2017 at 11:28 AM lawyers fees for what? They have not won a single MCI challenge. The lawyers have achieved nothing for tenants in years. Whoever these lawyers are they should be fired.. not hired.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bicycling.com/culture/new-york-city-just-declared-war-on-e-bikes
ReplyDeleteArticle from just last month.
https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/illegal-electric-bikes-will-get-restaurants-slapped-fines
ReplyDeleteNo comments about Veterans Day in the Oval? I thought it was a lovely morning. I guess if you can't complain about it it won't get mentioned here.
ReplyDelete"They talk about lawyers fees, and I once again ask, where did the tens of thousands of dollars from the Roberts settlement go??? They should be giving away memberships for $50."
ReplyDeleteAgree. Where is the Robert's money? On what did the TA spend that? Didn't they just recently get that? What lawyers are they giving money to? What are these lawyers doing? Where is the hourly bill with the details on the work these lawyers are supposedly doing? How much have these lawyers been paid? For what?
Open the books already!
1. November 10,2017 poster writing about Peter Walterspiel: I had a personal conversation with him when he first came onboard. He was sarcastic, insulting, patronizing and nasty. He strikes me as a pretty miserable person.
ReplyDelete2. Re: Vehicles on sidewalks: NO wheels are safe on sidewalks. Wheelchairs, and SINGLE occupancy (NOT DOUBLE-WIDE) carriages are fine.
Everything else? Exceedingly dangerous. They are not only a potential health risk; they are actual, ongoing dangers to health since their presence raises the blood pressure and has all of those stress hormones/chemicals pouring into your body continually. Strokes, heart disease, immune system diminishment and such are what happen when you are constantly on the alert, startled, nearly hit by a bike (ANY bike), skateboard, scooter, motorized vehicle.
I have found that the worst offenders are not the restaurant engine-powered bikes, although they are scary. More threatening are grown morons of all ages, sexes, colors, races, creeds, faiths, economic classes who: (1) may well live here; (2) may regularly come here from outside to exercise their "rights" to be dangerous, self-indulgent jackasses; (3) shop and carry packages in their hands as they balance on scooters; (4) are "mothers" who race their tiny children - both on skateboards; (5) mothers or "nannies" (everyone is an upper-class imbecile who does not pay a "babysitter," but instead has a "nanny") who allow tiny children to go whizzing around without control near roadways, solid objects, and softer solid objects such as people; (6) ride their bikes straight out of doorways, badly endangering any poor soul walking up the pathway to their building.
The list goes on, and of course, EVERY engine-powered conveyance Blackstone has placed onto the walkways in Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town.
"I WANT TO." "I CAN." "IT'S MY RIGHT" are the justifications for all of this. The Blackstone bastards: some are deliberately hurting us for a number of reasons. Others are what so many people are: stupid as hell.
AND: Your NEIGHBORS are doing this to you. It is not only the ignorant, unthinking, self-absorbed students or young "yuppies." It is every single person who lives here who chooses to behave this way. Even too many old people in their sixties and seventies who once had manners and standards have decided to join the millions upon millions of sick, wayward young ones in their obnoxious, dangerous, antisocial behaviors.
Blackstone is doing it themselves with their employees as proxies ("Management" and every person working here in any capacity when they behave in these ways).
Blackstone is also inviting, soliciting, encouraging and rewarding these behaviors from anyone who lives here.
Solar power, I imagine we should see a reverse MCI for the Air Conditioning per room, since the price will be cheaper?
ReplyDeleteI am a dog owner who has no problem providing showing my dogs ID or lanyard at request by PS, please no amateur Nancy Drews or Hardy Boys take heed.
Motorized bike, loophole! It is illegal to ride any bicycle, motorized or not on City Proper sidewalks, period!
Actually, STR, I said that the e-bike info came from mis-Management's weekly email blast, but, no matter. The real point I was making was that Public Safety should be on patrol and cracking down on e-bikes EVERY DAY. It shouldn't take them teaming up with the police from our local precinct for a crackdown to take place. Can't stand mis-Management's self-congratulatory BS on this subject and many others.
ReplyDelete>>November 10,2017 poster writing about Peter Walterspiel:<<
ReplyDeleteI've met him, too, and had a nice conversation. As to a person's private life or how a person feels, I don't know and I don't think anyone, except that person, knows. That said, I still have to check my lease. According to the info I was given by Peter, the lease states that the 80% floor covering is when added to the entire apartment and not the individual rooms. The website says differently, however.
>>No comments about Veterans Day in the Oval? I thought it was a lovely morning. I guess if you can't complain about it it won't get mentioned here.<<
ReplyDeleteWrong again, and thank you for thinking also of me, a veteran.
I was and still am going to link to the Veteran's Day memorial set up in at the Oval.
ReplyDeleteForget whether the morning was "lovely," but the display was moving, too moving for someone like me, and maybe others, too.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Stuyvesanttown/
ReplyDeleteEdmund posted this in a couple of places, that blog included.
The mystery around the hush-hush departure of StuyTown Public Security Chief Officer McClellan lingers. One minute the T. A. gushes gratitude for him and the next minute he is gone. What is the truth behind the gratitude and behind the departure?
ReplyDeletehttps://town-village.com/2016/12/01/letters-to-the-editor-dec-1-2/
Want further proof that the infrastructure is going to be shot within the next 5 years? They are adding washers/dryers to newly renovated apartments.
ReplyDeleteSo here’s the tally of infrastructure killing practices that have become the norm:
1) Elevators - the scariest infrastructure problem of all. The added people means less downtime, which is needed. These elevators were not made to be service elevators, but with the large number of move outs, they are.
2) Apartments - how much deconstruction and reconstruction of apartments can these walls take?
3) Roofs - let’s throw solar panels, wireless antennas up there and test the load. Wouldn’t want to live on the top floor.
3) Wiring - with all the apartments being reconfigured, the wiring is getting majorly tested.
4) Plumbing - apartments built for families of 2-5 are now housing dorms for 5-10.
Again, this is all on Blackstone, but also our TA and local politicians for not speaking up.
As a vet, I did appreciate yesterday’s event.
According to the info I was given by Peter, the lease states that the 80% floor covering is when added to the entire apartment and not the individual rooms. The website says differently, however.
ReplyDeleteMore Blackstone spin because they don't want to deal with the many problems being created by the tenants they allow to live here who don't cover their floors. It's absurd and conveniently twisted logic on management's part to think that a tenant can wall-to-wall carpet their living room and because that room is covered more than 80% they are then absolved from 80% covering their bedroom. Sorry, but no, that is not how 80% covering works or was intended. Here's a video of GM Rick Hayduk admitting what is obvious to anyone who's ever been affected by it: the sound of footsteps is a problem here. So, if the GM is admitting this, then, logically, 80% coverage means in each and every room and all hallways, excluding the kitchen and bathroom.
https://vimeo.com/234764004
Seen, once again, the motorized bikes lining up in front of Ess-a-Bagel. The ones I looked at drove off, with hot bagels and motors running.
ReplyDeleteIt is a game, yes.
Rick and management don’t do a damn thing, unless it affects PR. They throw these nice events, like yesterday, to show a positive PR spin. But at the same time they COMPLETELY IGNORE bikes, non-lanyard dogs, Airbnb, no carpets.
ReplyDeleteRick and his staff are failures, plain and simple.
@7:54 AM: Well Said! You are right on the money! This place has become a stress-filled hellhole and the constant having to watch out for and jump out of the way of wheels is one of the major factors. I think we can empathize with what the New Yorkers of the 19th Century had to deal with when there were no traffic lights and horses and carriages could just plough through. The result, of course, was many deaths, not only to the humans, but the poor horses as well. So much for "civilization." PCVST used to be very civilized in a city of little civility. Now it is a free-for-all race track and Natural Born Killers training ground.
ReplyDelete" Can't stand mis-Management's self-congratulatory BS on this subject and many others."
ReplyDeleteThey remind me of the Commander-in-Chief!
"Rick and his staff are failures, plain and simple."
ReplyDeleteNot so sure they are failures because they have succeeded in the Bullshit, Lies and Deceit departments. Their success in those areas is astronomical.
Post on twitter, post on Facebook. ESSA PLEASE DONT USE ILLEGAL MOTORIZED BIKES.
ReplyDeleteAdd the holes in the exterior walls where they removed bricks to install the air conditioners that now need to carry the weight of the roof solar installations November 12, 2017 at 9:54 AM
ReplyDeleteBlackstone is one big PR machine. They love to put on events, brag about new enterprises such as solar paneling that sound good. On the other hand, they ignore QOL here as this community turns into a dorm/hotel dump.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe big TA Board Airbnb Con Game on this Community
Obviously the TA Board was never going after Airbnb or they would have called out the 100 illegal hotels advertising on Airbnb between 2008 and 2016. Truth is the TA Board lawyers at Paul Weiss, also the city councilman Garodnick's law firm, defended and promotes Airbnb.
Paul Weiss lawyers Dan Garodnick and Roberta Kaplan long time friends
https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/at-the-desk-of-dan-garodnick/
Paul Weiss law firm defends its client Airbnb in court against the state AG office who is pursuing a StuyTown tenant
Roberta Kaplan defends Airbnb against the state AG subpoena
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/technology/albany-judge-hears-case-against-airbnb.html
Attorney General subpoena to Airbnb pursuing a Stuy Town tenant page 14
https://www.eff.org/files/2013/11/11/ny-ag.pdf
Paul Weiss lawyers Roberta Kaplan 2015 promote Airbnb
Page 4 Paul Weiss lawyer Roberta Kaplan says Airbnb makes housing affordable and that Airbnb does not cause loss of affordable housing as the city council and city hall and state attorney general tried to claim
http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=uclrev_online
Airbnb is and was always allowed to operate here. The TA board did not and does not oppose Airbnb nor does their law firm Paul Weiss who defends and promotes Airbnb. TA PR firm Berlin Rosen promotes Airbnb. It was all a Con Game - protecting Airbnb and 100 actual illegal hotels while the TA board targeted a specific tenant the TA board members hate.
They ignore all the illegal hotels!
ReplyDeleteA couple of thoughts:
ReplyDeleteRick and staff are NOT failures. Their directive is to destroy this place, pander to selfish, demanding, shallow people; LIE LIE LIE LIE; misdirect attention and create sometimes truly idiotic distractions (more below); drag in as much money as they can.
I've worked for companies and institutions which made their employees miserable. THAT was part of the plan. DESTRUCTION and DEMORALIZATION were part of the plan. THAT is THE PLAN here.
It is the selfsame plan in health "care" these days, in teaching, and in a whole slew of other services, professions. Just speak with doctors, nurses, teachers and other similarly involved folk. Hell, years back a New York City police detective detailed to me the ways in which detectives were being hounded and hurt by their "superiors."
McClellan: as has been pointed out here previously: he was hamstrung and rendered unable to protect and serve. Period. He was also marginalized. Blackstone and their minions demanded what we are have already started to see here:
Hands off any real safety and security on the part of "Safety and Security." Just, "make nice to everyone; wave and talk to them and smile at their children. DO NOT ENFORCE any rules which would limit any jackass from doing exactly as he/she/it pleases. You are not here to stop residents and others from disturbing or harassing anyone here. You are NOT here to ensure any resident's guaranteed right to quiet enjoyment. You are here to take it easy, smile a lot, hobnob with the residents. Emergencies and situations like disabled old folks are okay for you to respond to intelligently and effectively. Most anything else? Emphatically NO!"
This is not acceptable. Our schools must have zero tolerance policy for crimes as rape, kidnapping, any and all predatory crimes. Zero tolerance for predators in our school system, predators of any kind, to any degree.
ReplyDelete"The Tweed Courthouse, which houses the NYC Department of Education
More than 5,000 teachers, aides and other city Department of Education workers have been busted in the last three years on charges ranging from rape and kidnapping to assault and shoplifting.
The number of arrested employees rose from 1,696 in 2014 to 1,766 in 2015, then dipped to 1,730 in 2016, according to DOE data obtained by The Post through a Freedom of Information Law request."
http://nypost.com/2017/10/28/thousands-of-doe-workers-have-been-busted-in-last-3-years/
Rick and his staff know exactly what they are doing . They are not failures but successes at their work. They intend to flaunt the PR while smiling and filling the apartments with students and transients. They intend to ignore infractions particularly those committed by market rate tenants. This is not mismanagement folks. This is all intentional and they know what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteTHE NOISE FROM THE V.A. PLEASE STOP PLEASE STOP BABY WOKE, KEEPS HAPPENING. WINDOWS SHUT, WHITE NOISE. WHAT THE F IS , EARLY BEEPING NOISES WE JUST MOVED IN. I CAN'T TAKE IT. HELP US PLEASE SOMEONE.
ReplyDelete7:46, this is the stuff they don’t want you to know about. The obvious relationships they claim ignorance about when confronted about. The TA is shady and corrupt and in bed with politicians. Look at this upcoming meeting... all it is is politicians. Sickening!
ReplyDeleteHow can I get the TA to pay me $50 per year for having to endure their malfeasance year after year after year after year.........
ReplyDeleteWhat a toxic bunch they are.
BTW management has called off the meet & greets for tenants on Thursdays on the oval. Great we get the only Canadians who can't handle the cold. I guess Boxing Day is a no go too!
ReplyDelete@9:30 PM, 11/12: what does all that have to do with Stuy/PCV?
ReplyDeletelet's just all do our places in airbnb. why the hell not make bags of money as Rick and BS does?
ReplyDeleteNovember 12, 9:30 P.M. Post:
ReplyDeletePlease be aware: for over a decade now, many arrests and charges and even attempted convictions of teachers have been based upon lies. Pure and simple.
Since at least 2000, when Michael Bloomberg took office and hired dozens, perhaps hundreds, of lawyers to devise ways to torture, harass, and fire teachers, public education has gone straight through the toilet into the sewer system.
Teachers, for years, have been psychologically brutalized and terrorized when: (a) they taught their students: (1) the multiplication tables, (2) grammar, (3) history, (4) cursive writing; (b) they told a joke at a staff meeting ("insubordination" and fired for this behavior); (c) advocating for their students, especially Special Education students.
Thousands of good-to-excellent New York City Public School teachers have been fired, harassed and injured into: cancer, uncontrolled bleeding caused by uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart attacks, divorce, strokes, homelessness, permanent and debilitating mental suffering.
This is a nationwide and worldwide initiative. Teachers in Michigan and California, as well as New York, have committed suicide after being tormented, libeled and slandered in newspapers and other media.
Yes, some teachers (like bankers, carpenters, parents, window cleaners, et al.) hurt children. Be very careful what you believe of the establishment media's writing. Much of it is based on a lie . . . as so much of what we read and hear and see is a lie these days.
VA HOSPITAL is a terrible neighbor!!! Never reached out to PCV residents to offer an info meeting about this ridiculous renovation . A flood wall - so all the water can now go into PCV!!! Every day the noise is terrible - as noted by another PCV resident - the beeping as the trucks back up. It's non stop & starts very, very early in the morning. How inconsiderate. What are they doing ??? When will this end??? When will some politician intercede ??? They have been building this wall for years!!! They could have built the Empire State Building - twice!!! Does the VA administration have any sense of being a considerate neighbor?? I have called 311 a number of times. Let's block all the VA employees from using out community as a picnic ground. Maybe then they will realize how important neighborliness is. Shame on you- VA
ReplyDeleteWell, there is the VA and there is the VA. As for this constant noise, you are correct.
ReplyDeleteAnd it goes without saying, but needs to be said, where is the TA in all this? Wake up and do something, TA!
ReplyDeleteThe TA is dead. RIP.
ReplyDeleteThen they need to disband and turn over the books and tell everyone where the Roberts money is and where and how all the money was spent each and every year.
ReplyDeleteNovember 14, 2017 at 11:40 AM if only that were so. They have got to go away already.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteNovember 12, 2017 at 7:46 PM
They never disappoint to disgust to no end.
PART ONE
ReplyDeleteThis post starts with "Slowly but surely?
I've come to the realization that it can take some time and a lot of patience to implement any change in the city and, more particularly, in this complex."
THIS STR POST IS A MOST INSIGHTFUL AND IMPORTANT POST
1. STR hits the nail on the head and STR commentors raise legitimate concerns.
Citywide corruption and flat out criminal acts are negatively effecting quality of life to a point of deadly consequences. We have NYCHA apartment managers here overseeing quality and safety hazards for half the apartments here. Health concerns from right to quiet enjoyment of home violated with noisy carpetless neighbors and loud music concerts to concerns of those who have black mold are unanswered or covered up.
"With Tuesday’s bombshell report on the Housing Authority, it’s fair to ask: Is anybody in charge at City Hall?
The city Department of Investigation report accuses NYCHA of failing to conduct required lead-paint inspections — and then lying about it to federal officials. Those inspections are meant to see that young kids aren’t at risk for lead poisoning.
Yet not only were the inspections not done, and kids’ health jeopardized, but officials then filed fraudulent statements to the feds. Can you spell c-o-v-e-r-u-p?
“DOI’s investigation found that NYCHA failed to do critical lead-safety inspections and then falsely certified that they were meeting these legal requirements,” said DOI Commissioner Mark Peters. And this was “the fourth time in two years that DOI has found NYCHA to be careless when it comes to tenant safety.”
Nor was this a mere oversight: Top officials, including agency boss Shola Olatoye, were specifically “made aware” that NYCHA was out of compliance, DOI says. Yet they nonetheless submitted “certifications” claiming inspections were done.
Now Peters & Co. want a monitor to protect some 55,000 apartments..."
http://nypost.com/2017/11/14/bombshell-report-on-nycha-proves-it-de-blasio-is-mia/
2. STR hits the nail on the head and STR commenters make legitimate concerns. Until we have a zero tolerance the changes needed will Surely Be Slow. Even when the offenders are our neighbors or friends.
We will not see the change we want until we put our foot down firmly demanding zero tolerance for health hazards or violent crimes like the recent wave of crimes against women since Tishman Speyer increased the dorm population so yes, the commenter who posted about crimes in schools and by school employees is relevant to this community. StuyTown is a school campus. Period.
Fact, StuyTown is a dorm. Fact, StuyTown is a college campus. The commentor who posted about crimes by educators, teachers, principals, is right since the topic is relevant for the StuyTown community that is now a campus. The only way to keep safe in our is to adopt a zero tolerance of predatory acts and crimes even when they are by teachers, principals, neighbors, or friends.
ReplyDeletePART TWO
It took society falling to a historic low point with the 2016 election and a lifetime for these victims to have a minute of peace. StuyTown is an oppressed community that is being bullied by those with an insatiable appetite for money. They will keep stomping all over our rights with their entitlement, above the law greedy acts until we tenants have zero tolerance.
This community recently suffered a ten minute rape, a violent hockey stick robbery, a meth dealer using apps, and how many safety, health hazard, and quality of life cover ups?
Fact is there are some things in which a zero tolerance policy is the only answer and should have been all along. But here we are.
In this historic moment of reckoning for bipartisan oppressors and bullies, it will take a zero tolerance of offenses that violate our quality of life and our safety.
This article sums up the leadership that got us to this point of degradation of our quality of life in StuyTown and across the country. The oppression of the Stuyvesant Town middle class and frankly across the country happens because we are too tolerant. It should not take a ten minute rape to wake up a community.
http://nypost.com/2017/11/14/thank-liberals-if-roy-moore-survives-the-charges-against-him/
Any and all predatory behavior is unacceptable.
Any and all quality of life oppression is unacceptable.
City Hall administrators covering it up with fraudulent statements and filings in unacceptable.
Slowly but surely is unacceptable.
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes is correct, the time is overdue for a reckoning...for ALL the bullies, oppressors, greedy, corrupt, predators of all types. The "complete criminality" of predatory equity is no different then sexual predators, both types of predators plague this community.
http://nypost.com/2017/11/14/thank-liberals-if-roy-moore-survives-the-charges-against-him/
This article on Stuyvesant Town, on New York City, on predatory equity in Stuyvesant Town and all of New York City lays out what happens when predators are under the guidance of current and former Mayors of the past 17 years or worse, are complicit predators who make fraudulent statements in the press saying one thing while by their actions they are doing another.
Predators are predators. Period. Sexual predators. equity predators, are alike. They want and feel entitled to everything that you have, everything you own, everything you hold dear, everything you have a right to they believe is theirs for the taking.
Zero tolerance for any and all predators whether they be landlords, neighbors, politicians or principals.
ReplyDeletePART THREE
"When Predatory Equity Hit the Big Apple
By Laura Gottesdiener
How Private Equity Came to New York’s Rental Market — and What That Tells Us About the Future
Today, private equity firms like the Blackstone Group, now the largest owner of single-family rental homes in the nation, believe the money to be made in the housing market lies in snapping up cheap homes in the cities where housing prices crashed most spectacularly. Back in the early 2000s, in the eyes of private equity, New York City’s comparable corner of the market was “affordable housing.”
In that city, hundreds of thousands of apartment units were still designated as “rent regulated,” meaning that landlords were prohibited from dramatically raising the rent. The only significant way around that constraint for a landlord was to wait for a long-time tenant to move out. Then the rent could be raised to whatever the market would bear.
To private equity firms, this dynamic seemed to offer a profit opportunity. All they had to do was buy up rent-regulated buildings and replace the current tenants with higher paying ones. (In industry-speak, this was called “transitioning” the building.) About a decade ago, private equity firms or private equity-backed developers began gobbling up rent-regulated buildings across the city at extraordinarily overvalued prices.
...Within three years, private equity firms or developers backed by private equity money had scarfed up 90,000 rent-regulated apartments, a full 10% of the total stock, according to the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development.
In their spreadsheets, everything looked good. The buildings were saddled with huge mortgages, but the companies also calculated big rental income increases once they were “transitioned.” In some cases, the projections reported on corporate filings were downright extraordinary. In 2005, for instance, the Rockpoint Group, a private equity real estate firm, bought a complex of apartment buildings in Harlem known as the Riverton Houses. To justify the whopping $225 million mortgage, the company projected that it would be able to more than triple the rental income from $5.2 million to $23.6 million by forcing out half of the rent-regulated tenants within five years.
There was only one big miscalculation, not just in the Riverton deal, but in almost all of them. Inside the apartment buildings were actual, live tenants who didn’t want to be “transitioned” out and fought like hell to stay.
ReplyDeletePART FOUR
Complete Criminality
Big money and cutthroat landlords have never been strangers to New York’s real estate market. But the descent of private equity firms on the city in the early years of this century was so striking that housing advocates dubbed the practice “predatory equity.” The name refers to the tactics these companies resorted to once it became clear that longtime tenants weren’t going to leave.
Generally, the average turnover rate for rent-regulated apartments is close to 5% a year. Landlords whose business plan depends on tripling that figure soon find themselves orchestrating a host of harassment tactics, some of them quite illegal, to get people to move, ...
“You don’t get 30% of tenants to move out without harassing them and committing some type of fraud,” explained Desiree Fields, an assistant professor of urban studies at Queens College. ...
For tenants, these private equity purchases were essentially a lose-lose situation. For the deal to succeed, tenants had to be forced out. If, on the other hand, the deal failed and tenants got to stay, landlords immediately disinvested from the buildings, making the living conditions worse than ever.
By that time, the private equity owner of Riverton Houses was already in danger of falling into default. Other deals would soon sour. The biggest was the unprecedented $5.4 billion purchase of two Manhattan complexes, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, by private equity giant BlackRock Realty and real estate company Tishman Speyer Properties in 2006. By 2010, BlackRock and Tishman had defaulted on the mortgage and walked away from the properties. ...
Looking back, nothing may be more striking than the fact that when these predatory equity purchases blow up, the private equity firms themselves rarely seemed to lose all that much. In the collapse of the Stuyvesant Town deal, for example, Black Rock lost only $112 million. In other cases, the firms appear to have made money even though the deals failed. ...
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-gottesdiener/when-predatory-equity-hit_b_5110461.html
ReplyDeletePART FIVE
the article goes on to say
"Writing in the New York Times in 2011, a year before Vantage unloaded the complex to cover the outstanding mortgage, Charles Bagli summarized the Delano Village deal and another similar one: “In each case, they have not exactly suffered: despite plunging the buildings into financial despair, each has been able to take tens of millions of dollars in cash out of the properties.”
But that doesn’t mean some players didn’t lose big, even if these aren’t always the high-flying, risk-taking investors that you might expect. In the Stuyvesant Town deal, for instance, the California public employees’ pension fund lost more than $500 million. The California teacher’s retirement fund lost $100 million, and a Florida pension fund lost $250 million."
But we now know that is not the case as the City made a deal to re-sell the property at the same precise price Tishman paid so that the pensions managed by politicians are covered thus covering the politicians butts but still leaving the tenants in the lurch. The 5 billion dollar was politicians covering up for politicians. Politicians who used city pensions to push the very same citizens out of the and home.
"But what really caused controversy was that both the city and state pension funds had money wrapped up in the deal, and city workers were often residents of Mitchell-Lama-designated buildings. “Their own pension funds were going to finance deals that were hoping to push them out,” says White."
Same game, new predator. StuyTown is owned by Canadian pensions funds. It is diabolical using middle class pension money to push middle class out of homes, out the home ownership, out of the housing market, out of existence.
The DEBLASIO GLEN Blackstone deal, the TA BROOKFIELD deal, the TISHMAN SPEYER deal are all predatory. The only non-predatory deal was a Penn South co-op deal for tenants but tenants are not a concern of politicians.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-gottesdiener/when-predatory-equity-hit_b_5110461.html
PREDATORS OF ALL TYPES ARE PREDATORS. PREDATORS ARE CRIMINALS. PERIOD.
All of these reports of lack of heat in the Sty are despicable. Worse than a tenement. Where are all the cheerleaders now?
ReplyDeleteSome people claim that their apartments are too hot. The heating system they have is very flawed and needs to be replaced or adjusted. I called about lack of heat last winter and told the person in RS that I had to use space heaters. He told me that if I was using a space heater that the heat would not come on because the sensor would "think" that the apartment was warm enough. I did explain to him that I did not live in an apartment with the heat sensors and he said that what was probably happening was that somebody on my line who did have the heat sensors in their apartment must be cooking and had got their apartment very hot.
ReplyDeleteWhat that boils down to is that we are at the mercy of our neighbors through no fault of our or their own. Maybe if a tenant in an apartment with the heat sensors goes out and leaves the windows open, the sensors will pick up that the apartment is too cold and then everybody on that line gets smothered in heat.
I think that the heat sensor system was installed by the cretinous Rob Speyer and it works just as well as the junk washing machines that the vile creep installed.
Our apartment is freezing cold all the time.
ReplyDelete