Tishman Speyer Can't be Bothered to Treat the U.S. Flag with Respect

Alerted by commentary postings on the Lux Living blog, Stuy Town Reporter went out tonight to confirm that, indeed, Tishman Speyer is not lowering the flag of the United States at night as guidelined by the U.S. Flag Code. The flag of the United States is on display at four points in Stuyvesant Town--two at opposite sides of the 14th Street Loop and two at opposite sides of 20th Street Loop. All four flags were up at night, in dark gloom. (I had to brighten considerably the photo above to make one of the flags viewable.)

Here is part of the UNITED STATES CODE TITLE 36 CHAPTER 10, which addresses this issue:

"It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness."

The flags at Stuyvesant Town have NO illumination.

The Flag Code is U.S. Federal Law. There is, however, no penalty for failure to comply with this law, so Tishman Speyer is not in legal jeopardy here.

It is a sorry commentary that Tishman Speyer is disregardful of this law and the courtesy behind it that honors not only this country, but the veterans who have served this country. Just as Tishman Speyer has trampled on the intent of the Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village complex, via the affordable housing purpose of the complex, it is trampling on the history of this place, with its strong connection to veterans. Good going, Jerry and Rob Speyer! How much further can you sink in our estimation of you?

UPDATE 3/21/09: The flags are now being taken down for the night. Only one, on the Ave. B side of the 14th Street Loop, is not, due to the rope being twined around the pole. So the flag is stuck there until the problem is fixed.

The Oval Lawn - Let's Try Again!

Tishman Speyer's stewardship of the Oval Lawn has been abysmal. The lawn has never looked this dismal, with many swampy areas, an ugly central mound that can almost grow no grass (the mound was added last year), and numerous people-made paths crisscrossing what once was a pristine green turf. Well, it's that time of the year again when Tishman Speyer attempts to, once again, do the Oval Lawn right. Will they succeed? By the summer, no way.

Appellate Division Decision is Great News

Much has been made in the past few days about the decision by the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court that Tishman Speyer, according to the NY Times, "wrongfully raised rents and deregulated thousands of apartments after receiving special tax breaks."

The NY Times continues: "The decision ... could ultimately cost the landlord, Tishman Speyer Properties, $200 million if it is required to repay residents of more than 3,000 apartments for improper rent increases over the past four years, said a lawyer for the tenants."

While various voices in the commentary section of the Lux Living blog raise concerns about a lessening of services and security should Tishman Speyer be forced to foreclose on this property, a point to remember is that a landlord must maintain basic services, so that whoever will be in charge has to provide legally mandated services and security to Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. I also don't think it's a bad idea, should the complex start "falling apart," that tenants pick up the slack and spruce up their buildings and adjacent grounds. If tenants became stewards of their own turft, then perhaps we'd see these buildings shine as they are supposed to and residents become more responsible and interested in what goes on in ST and PCV. Certainly the current state of affairs, via services and security, is not that glowing. Energized tenants can do much better than the clowns at Tishman Speyer. And if we can't, then we are just as much the clowns as Tishman Speyer & Company and we deserve what we get.

But....

It's not over till the fat lady sings. It is still possible that Tishman Speyer will get a reversal on the appellate ruling.

Nevertheless, right now this is a very positive outcome for affordable housing in Manhattan. The tide just may be turning.

Is Oval Film Showing Movies Illegally?

Oval Film was created last year to show, via DVD, films old and new to Oval Essential members. So far, Oval Film must have exhibited scores of films since its inception--but were these legal showings? All films on DVD that are not shown in your own home need a license for exhibition. Stuy Town Reporter called the chief dispenser for such licenses and found out there is no record of a license being granted to any film showings in this zip code. The possibility exists, as it was explained to me, that the exhibitor of these films may be licensing them individually, studio by studio, but that would be a troublesome procedure, as generally an umbrella license can take care of a significant number of films.

Oval Film will be showing the following movies this week:

Zach and Miri Make A Porno
Old Yeller
Harold and Maude
Mr. And Mrs. Smith
Australia

So the question arises: Are these legal showings or do they violate Title 17, U.S. Code, Section 106? If they do violate copyright laws, perhaps the next showing at Oval Film will be THE FBI.

Stuy Town Reporter intends to follow this issue up with a query to the MPAA and will report back here with more findings.

BTW, this reporter already contacted Oval Amenities/Essentials on this matter, but did not receive a response to his query. If anyone wants to follow up my query, please feel free to do so.

Hooliganism or Is the Super Glue Not Working?

If you walk around the 20th Street Loop, you should spot this, both handrails damaged and obviously presenting a hazard.





Meanwhile, it appears that the Stuyvesant Town planting graveyard still lives, though it's now a small one and hidden behind a fence:

Peter Cooper Village's Planting Graveyard

Or--you can run, but you can't hide....

Alerted by a comment responding to my previous entry (thank you!), I headed over to Peter Cooper Village to check out its own "planting graveyard." It was late, so the photos are nighttime ones, but you will still be able to see that Tishman Speyer's wasteful non-use of trees and plants continues. Many of the plantings are still alive, but some are clearly already dead, while others are on their way to meet the Gardener in the Sky. In the daylight, all this must look really impressive, in a depressing sort of way.

I wonder what the excuse from management will be now? Perhaps it would be best if they just go with "no comment." After all, what needs to be said?

Liar, Liar, Tishman Speyer Pants on Fire

Or the Planting Graveyard Revisited....

I'm convinced that Stuy Town reps read this blog and Lux Living's blog, as at times I see action being taken when a problem is addressed on either blog. And certainly any mention by the neighborhood's newspaper Town & Village makes Stuy Town notice--and sometimes, though rarely, respond with actual answers from a Tishman Speyer employee.

In last week's Town & Village (dated Feb. 12, 2009), a sidebar mentioned the planting graveyard situation this blog brought up in a pervious entry.

"As of last Friday, some of the plants and trees still appeared to be alive, but others were brown and bone-dry," the article stated. "According to the rep for management the plantings were removed later that day."

Oh, really?

Well, this Stuy Town Reporter checked the area over the weekend. I found that, yes, most of the trees have been removed (curiously a few were left behind), but that many of the potted plants were still around and still in a process of dying or already ensconced in the great green heaven beyond. Here are the photos:













Now, I was tempted to take two or three living plants to adorn my Stuy Town windowsill and save those plants from death, but it would be my luck to be arrested by security somewhere along the way for taking Tishman Speyer's property. (No doubt, all "squad" cars would have decended on me in a scene out of Police Academy.) So the plants remain in the planting graveyard.

What I found most exquisite in the T & V piece is that a spokesperson was quoted on this matter, and here's what this person said:

"In keeping with our ongoing effort throughout the community to produce landscapes that are fresh and vibrant all year round, some trees are removed during the winter season and stored for future installation. The storage area had been maintained temporarily on site but has now been removed."

I have to ask: Where does Tishman Speyer get these idiot spokespeople? For one, take a walk about Stuy Town now and help me find "landscapes that are fresh and vibrant." Pure bullshit spin because there are no such landscapes at this time of the year. Even the winter cabbages are gone because they rotted and were eaten by rodents. And two, does this spokesperson really think that dead or dying trees are being removed "for future installation"? Because there was a significant amount of them in the planting graveyard, and the ones that were still alive have no doubt died by now in whatever storage area Tishman Speyer currently uses. (My bet is that all trees were disposed of somewhere--off site, of course.)

No wonder that TS generally chooses not to offer up any comment when requested! When a response is given it is usually part laughable spin, part obvious lying, and 100% avoidance of the real issue. And it just makes Stuy Town tenants detest these bozos even more.

Tishman Speyer's Planting Graveyard

Before the snows came, Stuy Town Reporter took a journey to find out what happened to the several new trees that were dumped to an area near Ave C a couple of weeks ago. What he found amazed him--not only those trees, but a graveyard of unused, unloved trees and plants that mar this back area between buildings 271 Ave C and 245 Ave C.

This green death perfectly symbolizes the wasteful spending and tragic mismanagement of Tishman Speyer. At least some of these plants could be saved if they were offered to residents. But no, they sit or lie there dying. I can't imagine how residents whose windows overlook this graveyard must feel about their luxury living in Stuyvesant Town, as they look outside. As for the trees and plants themselves, they look as if they feel acutely their abandonment, while they shiver in their death throes.