I'm not saying this is the worst place to live. On the contrary, there have been improvements in our landlords, and the improvements have been appreciated and, I hope, noted, at least someplace. That said, when I walk through the property for a brief time, I have to state that things are "out of control." Oh, there is a measure of control and Management memes that will state that this is just normal living in the city. Don't believe these memes. As someone who has been living here for around 30 years, I can tell you that these Management memes are a lie, and just meant to pacify and explain to the "new tenants" (who are paying a lot of money for their Stuyvesant Town or Peter Cooper Village rooms) that things were always like this, so don't bitch, be happy.
When I step outside, I am aware of more and more "out of control" visual incidents around here. It could be outside dogs and their owners that are never escorted by Public Safety out of this property, it could be the amount of dog stains and smears on the pathway (and increasing in number), it could be the thrown-out uncovered mattresses or general garbage that is on the loops, it could be the outdoor "gym" that is rarely used by a lot of tenants, it could be the "golf" carts that are increasing in number and going this way and that (watch out!)--it could be a lot of things that tell me that this place is "out of control." And some tenants have it worse, depending on their building and neighbors.
I don't plan to "give up." But I will take photos, I will speak my mind. And I will try to change certain things even though it can be a very uphill struggle. I also have a life that is not focused all the time on what is happening here. I have other things to do. And there are tenants who are trying to change this place for the better, as I am. Nothing is easy, so the saying is. And indeed nothing is easy.
Monday, June 25, 2018
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Stuy Town Jumps the Shark--Big Time!
I thought I had seen it all. But this morning, Sunday, June 24th, 2018, I saw with my own eyes (and I took photos) that this place has really, really "jumped the shark." (Check the expression if it's unknown to you.)
This was a moment of inspiration. Not only are there photos of "jumping the shark," I decided to take some limited photos of what I see in the property. Time: a little past 8am. Enjoy!
If you can't fix the clock, put up a smiley face!
You, too!
Ah, wait, wait. The workers will be here soon. You can forget about Officer Joe. He doesn't pick up garbage.
You know, I could have eaten there, too. Night, morning? Whatever....
Hard to see in this photo, but there are bits of paper strewn all over the curb. You may get hit by a passing ST cart, so watch out!
How many times do I have to call Management? That is a fire hydrant. Against the law to be near it so close. Then again, at least you can see it; sometimes it is covered up all over with garbage.
Looks nice. But what is that newspaper doing there? I saw it...yesterday morning in the same place!
Bon appetit!
Priceless. Not a single item has been moved by me for the photo.
Sorry. I just had to. Near the small security booth, by those new "Have a Great Day" signs.
It seems like 20 years since this has been fixed. Of course, it is not 20 years, more like months. What gives?
------------------------
I'm sorry, again. The shot was too perfect. So I went back and took a more telling photo.
This was a moment of inspiration. Not only are there photos of "jumping the shark," I decided to take some limited photos of what I see in the property. Time: a little past 8am. Enjoy!
If you can't fix the clock, put up a smiley face!
You, too!
Ah, wait, wait. The workers will be here soon. You can forget about Officer Joe. He doesn't pick up garbage.
You know, I could have eaten there, too. Night, morning? Whatever....
Hard to see in this photo, but there are bits of paper strewn all over the curb. You may get hit by a passing ST cart, so watch out!
How many times do I have to call Management? That is a fire hydrant. Against the law to be near it so close. Then again, at least you can see it; sometimes it is covered up all over with garbage.
Looks nice. But what is that newspaper doing there? I saw it...yesterday morning in the same place!
Bon appetit!
Priceless. Not a single item has been moved by me for the photo.
Sorry. I just had to. Near the small security booth, by those new "Have a Great Day" signs.
It seems like 20 years since this has been fixed. Of course, it is not 20 years, more like months. What gives?
------------------------
I'm sorry, again. The shot was too perfect. So I went back and took a more telling photo.
Friday, June 15, 2018
"Packed"
A reader, Edmund, sent in the following photos and a video that shows how packed with residents was the music at the Oval yesterday. And the photos were not taken at the beginning or at the end of the event.
I want truth. Residents that BS other residents into thinking that the events are well-attended have been proven, so far, as liars. They have an agenda. Mine is just telling and showing the truth.
The photos. The proof.
I want truth. Residents that BS other residents into thinking that the events are well-attended have been proven, so far, as liars. They have an agenda. Mine is just telling and showing the truth.
The photos. The proof.
Look what I found:
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Revisiting "For Residents and Their Guests"
While there has been a plus for some the issues confronting residents, there have been others which have remained and seem incapable of being properly addressed or enforced. And some issues have gotten worse. In going through some of the older posts at blog, I see that some of these issues are the same years ago.
This main post will deal with some of these issues....
We kinda laugh at the warning "For Residents and Their Guests," but nowadays even that warning or post (take your pick) is being ignored. Management has no one to go around and check that this notice is up, so either it doesn't care or just doesn't know. (It should have someone going around, period.) It is an amusing notice in a lot of ways, but necessary for this place to be properly zoned. It is missing from, say, Five Stuy Cafe, which should have that notice visible, unless the ruling has been dismissed.
This is a post from November 3rd, 2011:
An ice-skating rink is a pretty big straw, but it seems it has had the effect of mobilizing tenants and making both residents and politicians hyper aware of zoning and the commercialization occurring inside Stuyvesant Town. This week's Town & Village carries a front page article, "Garodnick Questions Legality of Commercial Activity in ST/PCV." Though commercial activities have been happening inside the complex since Tishman Speyer took over as owner and manager, though we've seen the Farmer's Market, Food Trucks, tables for Verizon and Zip Car, charges for the Oval "Essentials," etc, make their way into Stuy Town with some push-back from tenants, this ice-skating rink may just have tipped the balance into getting residents finally fed up with the commercialization inside this property. Or perhaps not. To be seen.
The T & V article carries quotes from councilman Garodnick and management's Adam Rose. Garodnick: "People want to make sure it is legal and I am currently exploring that question. There's a lot of concern over the variety of commercial activities, including the food trucks and now an ice rink and the paid storage facilities." Rose contends that "We believe the minor commercial activity in Stuy town such as food trucks and the ice rink are completely legal, and provide additional amenities and attractions to the vast majority of our residents, especially families." While the legality of commercial activities is yet to be determined by the Department of City Planning (I'm not holding my breath), it has to be stated that the "vast majority" of residents are not using any of the amenities being offered at Stuyvesant Town. We're talking about a resident population of anywhere from 25K to 30K, and certainly you don't even see a tenth of that number using the Oval Essentials, the food trucks, etc, or attending the summer concerts and events, which, at best and on rarer occasions, can draw in a few hundred people.
It can't be stressed enough in these discussions (even T & V skips this point) that these amenities are being used to sell the place to prospective renters, and it must be admitted that some amenities are directed at prospective renters with families, which is a good thing, as we'd like to increase a more stable population rather than the transient student one we see continually growing.
The T & V article reveals more of what Garodnick asked of the Department of City Planning: "Does zoning allow for food trucks to be positioned within the Stuyvesant Town Oval? Management recently announced that they would be installing and opening an ice rink in a Stuyvesant Town Playground. Does the present zoning allow for an ice rink on the property? And if so, would charging for admission or equipment change that?" These are pivotal questions.
Garodnick also stated to T & V that he believes the ice-rink should be complimentary to residents. "An hour a day in a playground that is normally open and free is not a good policy and it will not have a good outcome." Dan must be really hopping mad now, as the updated schedule for free use of the ice-rink allows for just two hours of free use to residents per week, not the previously publicized seven hours per week. (Perhaps I'm wrong, but I smell a slight set-up here, with a "generous" gesture forthcoming that will go back to the one free hour a day schedule.)
A bulging letters column in T & V contains responses from tenants. A couple of tenants are for it, including a familiar voice who calls the rink's detractors "cranky" and "better suited to a gated community in Florida than apartment living in a dense urban environment."
Other letter writers share their concerns, which have also been addressed repeatedly on this blog and Lux's website and Facebook.
The heart-warming surprise comes from an opinion piece by Steven Sanders, who had been our state assemblyman for 28 years. As someone who grew up in Stuy Town, Sanders takes a nostalgic journey in his piece, writing about Playground 10.... "Every kid growing up in Stuy Town or Peter Cooper had 'their' playround and #10 was mine." His article is well worth reading as giving insight into what that playground means and meant. He begins to finish it off this way:
"There are just some places, which are just really special, that corporate America, in such a hurry to make a buck, just does not really get." And: "I may be entirely wrong but I am not sure that there has been an outcry from the residents demanding an ice skating rink which is a very specialized activity that only a relatively few will participate in." Finally:
"When Tishman Speyer bought this community five years ago and over spent literally billions of dollars, they did so in the belief that they could make big changes to our already successful and iconic community that would make it more profitable. In hindsight I am sure they wish that they would have just let well enough alone. So a word to CW Capital and Rose management... 'If it ain't broke don't fix it.'"
From November 8th, 2011:
This main post will deal with some of these issues....
We kinda laugh at the warning "For Residents and Their Guests," but nowadays even that warning or post (take your pick) is being ignored. Management has no one to go around and check that this notice is up, so either it doesn't care or just doesn't know. (It should have someone going around, period.) It is an amusing notice in a lot of ways, but necessary for this place to be properly zoned. It is missing from, say, Five Stuy Cafe, which should have that notice visible, unless the ruling has been dismissed.
This is a post from November 3rd, 2011:
An ice-skating rink is a pretty big straw, but it seems it has had the effect of mobilizing tenants and making both residents and politicians hyper aware of zoning and the commercialization occurring inside Stuyvesant Town. This week's Town & Village carries a front page article, "Garodnick Questions Legality of Commercial Activity in ST/PCV." Though commercial activities have been happening inside the complex since Tishman Speyer took over as owner and manager, though we've seen the Farmer's Market, Food Trucks, tables for Verizon and Zip Car, charges for the Oval "Essentials," etc, make their way into Stuy Town with some push-back from tenants, this ice-skating rink may just have tipped the balance into getting residents finally fed up with the commercialization inside this property. Or perhaps not. To be seen.
The T & V article carries quotes from councilman Garodnick and management's Adam Rose. Garodnick: "People want to make sure it is legal and I am currently exploring that question. There's a lot of concern over the variety of commercial activities, including the food trucks and now an ice rink and the paid storage facilities." Rose contends that "We believe the minor commercial activity in Stuy town such as food trucks and the ice rink are completely legal, and provide additional amenities and attractions to the vast majority of our residents, especially families." While the legality of commercial activities is yet to be determined by the Department of City Planning (I'm not holding my breath), it has to be stated that the "vast majority" of residents are not using any of the amenities being offered at Stuyvesant Town. We're talking about a resident population of anywhere from 25K to 30K, and certainly you don't even see a tenth of that number using the Oval Essentials, the food trucks, etc, or attending the summer concerts and events, which, at best and on rarer occasions, can draw in a few hundred people.
It can't be stressed enough in these discussions (even T & V skips this point) that these amenities are being used to sell the place to prospective renters, and it must be admitted that some amenities are directed at prospective renters with families, which is a good thing, as we'd like to increase a more stable population rather than the transient student one we see continually growing.
The T & V article reveals more of what Garodnick asked of the Department of City Planning: "Does zoning allow for food trucks to be positioned within the Stuyvesant Town Oval? Management recently announced that they would be installing and opening an ice rink in a Stuyvesant Town Playground. Does the present zoning allow for an ice rink on the property? And if so, would charging for admission or equipment change that?" These are pivotal questions.
Garodnick also stated to T & V that he believes the ice-rink should be complimentary to residents. "An hour a day in a playground that is normally open and free is not a good policy and it will not have a good outcome." Dan must be really hopping mad now, as the updated schedule for free use of the ice-rink allows for just two hours of free use to residents per week, not the previously publicized seven hours per week. (Perhaps I'm wrong, but I smell a slight set-up here, with a "generous" gesture forthcoming that will go back to the one free hour a day schedule.)
A bulging letters column in T & V contains responses from tenants. A couple of tenants are for it, including a familiar voice who calls the rink's detractors "cranky" and "better suited to a gated community in Florida than apartment living in a dense urban environment."
Other letter writers share their concerns, which have also been addressed repeatedly on this blog and Lux's website and Facebook.
The heart-warming surprise comes from an opinion piece by Steven Sanders, who had been our state assemblyman for 28 years. As someone who grew up in Stuy Town, Sanders takes a nostalgic journey in his piece, writing about Playground 10.... "Every kid growing up in Stuy Town or Peter Cooper had 'their' playround and #10 was mine." His article is well worth reading as giving insight into what that playground means and meant. He begins to finish it off this way:
"There are just some places, which are just really special, that corporate America, in such a hurry to make a buck, just does not really get." And: "I may be entirely wrong but I am not sure that there has been an outcry from the residents demanding an ice skating rink which is a very specialized activity that only a relatively few will participate in." Finally:
"When Tishman Speyer bought this community five years ago and over spent literally billions of dollars, they did so in the belief that they could make big changes to our already successful and iconic community that would make it more profitable. In hindsight I am sure they wish that they would have just let well enough alone. So a word to CW Capital and Rose management... 'If it ain't broke don't fix it.'"
From November 8th, 2011:
STATEMENT FROM COUNCIL MEMBER DAN GARODNICK
Re: Commercial Activity in Stuyvesant Town
The
Department of City Planning (DCP) has responded to the questions I
posed to them about commercial activities in Stuyvesant Town.
With
regard to the planned ice skating rink, DCP has advised that, due to
“the unusualness of this circumstance,” we should seek the review of the
Department of Buildings (DOB), which enforces zoning regulations. My
office has already reached out to the DOB for a final word on whether
an ice skating rink, for a fee, conforms to the R7-2 zoning regulation
applicable in Stuyvesant Town.
Further,
I have asked the DOB for a complete review of the construction permits
and the work that is actively being performed – including the electrical
wires being strung through trees – to ensure that any construction
activity is being conducted without risk to residents or workers, and
within appropriate hours of the day. We expect the appropriate enforcement of any violations.
I
have also asked the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct a
test of the sound that will be emitted from various ice machines in
order to ensure compliance with the noise code, and to confirm the
safety of chemicals that appear to be used in connection with the rink.
With
regard to other commercial activities – such as food trucks and
greenmarkets – that are not permitted in an R7-2 residential zone, we
expect CW Capital/Rose Associates to bring themselves into compliance
with the law. I am happy to offer
the assistance of my office in helping to relocate the Stuyvesant Town
Greenmarket to an area around the property that would be both legal and
convenient for the many residents who enjoy making use of it.
Residents
who want to know what you can do to expedite enforcement on the ice
rink or any other issue are advised to call 311 and to contact my office
with your 311 reference number which will be helpful to us in following
up. Residents should also feel free to contact my office at (212) 818-0580 with questions or concerns on any of these matters.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Seen on Facebook, June 9th -- That's Today!
Added another ad, 6/10:
Not really. I tried. The only place that Wifi is free is via the Oval Cafe. Otherwise, the property here is very unfriendly toward Wifi.
Thursday, June 7, 2018
The Event
Some photos taken last evening of "the Event," which in this case was a movie showing GREASE. Not much attendance, children bored and playing with each other, bicycles not being stopped by a usually absent PS. Oh, yes, and our loops still filled with discarded garbage and, for the mattresses, illegally disposed.
