East Side Bars Donate

Several East Side bars (Drop Off Service, Planet Rose, Forbidden City, Common Ground, Habibi Lounge, and Superdive) are donating 50% of their take on Monday, Aug. 31 (all day and night) for a college fund for Eric "Taz" Pagan's two children. Pagan was the victim of last week's shooting outside of Forbidden City.

More info and updates can be found at:

http://evgrieve.com

Stuy Town's New Bicycle Obstacles - A Failure

Well, at least Stuyvesant Town is trying, but a random check of the success of the green barricades to stop bicycle riding in the complex on the weekend showed that not one bicyclist stopped or got off his or her bicycle despite the barriers and the "Bicycle Riding Prohibited" signs in display on the outer barricades and at the window top of the security booth. Many bicyclists didn't even slow down, weaving between the barricades as if they were part of a fun obstacle course. The only slow down seemed to be coming from pedestrians in groups, who had to disengage from talking with each other and file through the open spaces between the barricades. Part of the time, a security person was inside the guard booth nearby, but he never got out to enforce the no bicycle riding rule. The other part of the time, at least for over an hour, there was no security staff in sight anywhere in the Oval area.

Once again, the failure of this plan rests on the general non-involvement of security to actually go out and stop bicyclists. Barricades and notices just won't do it. But, perhaps, this is just phase one of an overall plan, and the second phase will involve the active, not sporadic, use of security.

The no-bicycle rule needs to be amended, I think, to reflect reality. Delivery men and residents on bicycles will naturally try to ride in or out through the lengthy complex. What is important to safety is that this riding be done at slower, and not killer, speeds.

Public Access, Dogs, Bicycles, and Security

Here’s a recent e-mail I received from a reader of this blog who has given me permission to publish it online:

I’d like to inform you of a visit I made to the Management Office. Armed with a few questions and the patience of Job, I tried to find someone in the office who I could speak to about four issues that appear to bothering longtime Stuy Town residents such as myself:

1) How can this be a private community, with signs stating that trespassers could face prosecution, when it seems that security doesn’t stop non-residents from walking through and using the property, such as the Oval?

2) What are the rules concerning dogs relieving themselves in Stuy Town and Peter Cooper? Where are they allowed to do “the numbers”?

3) What’s the status of the “no bicycle-riding” rule?

4) And why is there so little security presence in the Oval?

After speaking to a couple of people behind the desk, one of whom was clearly annoyed with my questions, I spoke to a security guard who tried to be helpful, but who didn’t have tangible explanations. Could I speak to someone else, please? Finally I had a sit-down with the head of security (who had artfully turned his badge around so I couldn’t read his name). It was a pleasant give and take, however, and I appreciate the time he took to answer my questions. Here are the responses:

1) This is “private property with public access.” Unless someone is being a nuisance, security is not going to throw them out.

2) Dogs are able to do “the numbers” anyplace, except in the areas they are not allowed on, such as the grass. This means that, yes, a dog is allowed to defecate on a walkway, as long as the owner picks up the droppings. The “curb your dog” policy has been replaced by the “pick up after your dog” policy. (The security head appeared not to know that retractable leashes that extend beyond six feet are illegal, however.)

3) Bicycle riding is still prohibited in Stuy Town and Peter Cooper. Security on occasion will hand out notices informing riders of this and each tenant has the bicycle rule on their lease when they move in. (I got the sense, though, that this rule is one that security is not too concerned about enforcing, which we all know is true.)

4) Security is always around the Oval someplace. If not in the security booth, then walking the around the Oval or investigating one of the adjacent buildings. (I assured the head of security that this has not been the case through personal observation and the observation of my neighbors I’ve spoken to.)

I did notice an increase in security presence the week following my conversation at the Management Office. Though I’m not saying that this was a direct response to the concerns I had voiced, I do think we should make sure to contact the appropriate people at Management (in person is the best and most effective way) if we want things to get done or taken seriously. I’m sure there’s a point beyond which matters will not change, but without more personal involvement from tenants, matters will certainly not change.

"Fatal Shooting in Stuyvesant Town" - Not Really

1010 Wins is reporting a fatal early morning shooting "in Stuyvesant Town," but according to their own report the incident happened on Ave. A "outside a Mediterranean restaurant." Very sloppy headline that I'm sure Jerry and Robbie don't want to see. Let's see if other news sources make the same mistake.

Update: The Daily News has an accurate report about the above incident, which was not even outside of a "Mediterranean" restaurant, unless China has moved. Forbidden City is the place, and you can familiarize yourself with it from the comments on Yelp. Forbidden City mostly gets an Asian crowd, but can get diverse, too. Located less than a full block from Stuy Town.

8/24 Update: NY Daily News. The dead bouncer is 42 year old father who tried to break up a fight at the tail end of a Latin Night at the lounge.

8/25 Update: "An ex-con from East Harlem was busted Monday for gunning down a bouncer and wounding two other men outside a popular East Village club...." NY Daily News.

More Bad Press For Tishman Speyer

Another media hit, this time from the NY Post:

Developer Tishman Speyer has nearly depleted a $650 million cash reserve needed to prop up iconic apartment complexes Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, and thanks to an unresolved court case, can't replenish its coffers.

Sources tell The Post that the real-estate developer led by Chairman Jerry Speyer has had to put its fundraising plans on ice because the properties' revenue potential is tied up in the legal battle....

Under normal circumstances, savvy, well-respected developers like Tishman would simply go out and raise more money, either through loans or by selling stakes to new investors.

But an unresolved court case that could affect its revenues from the property is crimping those plans, sources said....

On Sept. 10, the New York Court of Appeals will hear Tishman's appeal of the decision. But even if the courts ultimately rule in Tishman's favor, sources said a decision could take months.

And until Tishman can answer if and when it can convert the complex's apartments to market-rate units, investors are likely to stay away from any deals the developer tries to put together.

"It's a material risk," said one real-estate lawyer. Losing the case will have a "very, very, very, very material impact," and investors just aren't willing to take the chance, he said.

Tishman officials declined to comment, but people close to the firm said the developer and its investors are banking on the cash reserves lasting through at least March or April, giving them time to rebuild the cash coffers once the case is settled....

The full article by Kaja Whitehouse is here.

How to Drive Seniors Out of Stuy Town

In case you missed the Oval "concerts" this summer....

You know, there are still just too many rent-stabilized seniors living in Stuyvesant Town. Probably a bunch are living around the Oval. Even those 30/40/50 somethings are a pain in the ass if they are RS tenants. So here's a gift from Tishman Speyer: Music to Make You Wish You Lived Someplace Other Than Stuy Town or How to Pack More NYU Students into Stuy Town

Another Failure for Robbie Speyer

Looks like Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village is not the only financial headache for Rob Speyer:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125063689346841513.html

A partnership led by Tishman Speyer Properties is in default on debt tied to one of the largest office portfolios in the Washington area, the latest in a line of humbling turns for the prominent property developer. Tishman Speyer paid $2.8 billion in late 2006 for what was known as the CarrAmerica portfolio, a collection of 28 buildings leased to law firms, lobbyists and other upscale tenants in and around Washington. But in taking advantage of the easy credit terms of the time, Tishman ended up overpaying....

It is proving a test of the business mettle of Rob Speyer, a 39-year old former newspaper reporter. The son of Jerry Speyer -- former chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and chairman of the Museum of Modern Art -- is being groomed to take over Tishman Speyer, a closely held 31-year-old firm that owns or manages real estate valued at over $35 billion from Brazil to Germany to China.

Pressurized Walls - Again

To mail or not to mail, that is the question.

By now or Monday, Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village tenants should have in their post office boxes, a "Temporary Wall Survey" from Tishman Speyer. As the enclosed letter states, "In order to get an accurate inventory, we must identify those apartments in which temporary walls have been installed and then inspect those apartments to determine if the temporary walls are Code-compliant." The company requests that tenants fill out the single one-sided page form that will identify whether their apartment has a temporary wall and, if so, where it is placed. The letter concludes with a paragraph thanking tenants for their "anticipated cooperation." A postage paid envelope is included.

Concern over pressurized walls came to a fore when the complex's Tenant Association informed the city that Tishman Speyer was not in compliance with city regulations via pressurized walls. This resulted in New York City's Department of Buildings and FDNY demanding that the illegal walls be removed, which also put a stop to the installation of new walls until their design and placement would be cleared by the DOB, which eventually, after a long wait by tenants who use these walls, happened.

So why the survey now? It may be a final requirement from the DOB or a preemptive move by Tishman Speyer just in case trouble over pressurized walls begins again, as a signed form appears to take the legal burden off of TS by placing it onto the tenant. There have been a slew of new tenants coming in of late (chiefly college kids) and probably just as many new installations of pressurized walls, a good number of which TS may not be aware of. Legally, TS may have no other option than to have a list of apartments that contain pressurized walls and make sure those are code-compliant.

Certainly, if we look at the situation from the point of view of what is right (safety concerns) everyone should fill out the form truthfully. After all, this was the motive behind the involvement of the Tenants Association in this matter. The only people who may regret filling out the form are those tenants who have illegal walls (or who may think they have illegal walls) and tenants who have placed such walls to accommodate more roommates than are listed on their lease. If their walls do not comply with building codes, the tenants themselves will have to pay for their removal and the installation of new, code-compliant walls. If an apartment contains a half-dozen roommates not on the lease, well, that's another critical issue.

Of interest is this: Can Tishman Speyer eventually enter every apartment to verify the presence or lack of pressurized walls?

To be continued, no doubt!