Associated Open Letter to its Customers

Flyers with the information below are located at the 14th Street Associated Supermarket. I've copied all the info. It is vital that the Small Business Jobs Survival Act gets passed. As you will read, Dan Gardonick, our councilman, has so far refused to support this legislation, which not only affects Associated, but the remaining Mom & Pop stores in the city. Though our Tenants Association took a welcome proactive part in supporting Associated, it has likewise not taken a decisive step to publicly support this legislation, priding itself, instead, on getting, with Garodnick, a "promise" from our future landlord that some type of affordable supermarket may replace Associated.

Dear Customer:

We need your help to survive in business. Even though we are willing to pay a reasonable rent increase and our customers want us to stay in business, our landlord refuses to give us a new lease.

In NYC residential tenants have rights and protection when their leases expire; unfortunately for us and other business owners there are no rights to renewal for commercial tenants when our leases expire. For every business owner, their future and the future of their employees is solely in the hands of the landlord. With long established small businesses being forced to close in record numbers due to exorbitant rent increases or landlords refusing to negotiate with them, the majority of progressive Council Members sponsored a bill, The Small Business Jobs Survival Act (SBJSA), which gives rights to business owners to negotiate fair leases and survive. Every Manhattan Council Member, except one, is a strong sponsor of the SBJSA and committed to stopping the closing of small businesses. The Council Member who refuses to support any legislation to give small business owners rights is CM Dan Garodnick. While CM Garodnick claims he is concerned about The Associated closing, the only action he has taken is reaching out to the landlord who "promised" him that in the future, another supermarket will be at this location.

This is not what the public wants, empty pledges from landlords. Instead of investing energy in making deals and promises with landlords, CM Garodnick could easily join the Manhattan delegation by adding his name to the SBJSA that would literally save The Associated, and every other local Mom & Pop in NYC. Please contact CM Garodnick and demand he sponsor the SBJSA, a bill that will save your supermarket, and demand he ask Speaker Mark-Viverito to hold a Public Hearing and vote on this vital bill. The very few remaining small business owners in CM Garodnick's distrcit who are struggling to survive and are at the mercy of greedly landlords deserve and are entitled to a full vote by the City Council.

E-Mail: dgarodnick@council.nyc.gov
Call: 212-818-0580

Leaf-blowers out in Full Force on Thanksgiving Weekend

Dear Residents,

We hope you are having a pleasant and peaceful Thanksgiving Weekend with your friends and/or family.

Happy Thanksgiving from CWCapital and CompassRock!

New Yorkers for a Human-Scale City

http://www.humanscale.nyc/

Whereas:

1) We are angered when developers seize our commonly shared light, air, gardens, and iconic views for private consumption.

2) We are aggrieved when we see developers plunder our historic neighborhoods and bury them in a sea of glass, all for luxury housing that destroys more affordable apartments than they create.

3) We are dismayed that small businesses are being hounded out of their premises by an army of banks and chain stores.

4) Many parts of our city are already too dense such that the public infrastructure in those places cannot support more people without a decline in the quality of life, destruction of historic fabric, and deterioration of the urban experience that makes New York so great.

5) Economic growth and affordable housing are indisputably compatible with both a human-scaled city and the preservation of our historic neighborhoods and architecture.

We conclude that reform must take place or the unique character of New York City will be lost forever.

More at the above link, including a link to sign a petition.

I wonder if our councilman Dan Garodnick will sign this petition?

There's also a long list of sponsor organizations. Perhaps the TA can be induced to join this effort???

(If your organization would like to be a co-sponsor, please email coordinator@humanscale.nyc)

After 20 years "the entire Stuy Town-Peter Cooper complex can be converted into market-rate apartments, or for any other purpose at the joint venture's discretion."

A lot to read here and think over, including conflicts of interest by some important parties:

http://www.progressqueens.com/news/2015/11/7/officials-with-conflicts-of-interest-in-the-blackstone-ivanhoe-purchase-of-stuyvesant-town-peter-cooper-village

Basically, after reading this, you will realize that, long-term, it's over for affordable housing in ST/PCV. The impetus behind creating ST/PCV ("that families of moderate means might live in health, comfort and dignity in park-like communities"), the goal that was met for decades, officially expired with the "deal" with Blackstone. Everyone lied to us while they went about their business.

Congratulations, New York!

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/nyregion/half-of-new-yorkers-say-they-are-barely-or-not-getting-by-poll-shows.html?_r=0

"51 percent of New Yorkers said they were either just getting by or finding it difficult to do so."

I wonder how many live in our community?

TA Board of Directors Had a Meeting With Blackstone

It happened Thursday, November 12. Of course, tenants didn't know about it until after the fact, but whatever.

http://www.stpcvta.org/post/blackstone-and-ta-leaders-discuss-resident-concerns-in-a-meeting-held-novem

One issue appeared solved:

"One current issue raised by board members was addressed: Blackstone confirmed a commitment to keeping an affordable supermarket in the 14th Street space, even if the tenant is not Associated."

I wonder why not a commitment to keep Associated?

Former TA President Welcomes an MCI for A/C Configuration Upgrade

Former president of the Tenants Association, John Marsh, posted on the TA Facebook: "I would happily pay and [sic] MCI to have my a/c's relocated to below my window. I would pay because I value light and the ability to open more windows in the fall."

Thankfully, admin "Peter Stuyvesant" replied: "There are many people here who can't afford another MCI, and the A/C through the wall MCI would be huge, especially if it's done in every room that can accommodate an A/C. The TA, as you well know, has fought every MCI large and small, and the community has been behind that. Be careful what you wish for."

Also of concern is the issue of forcing tenants to have this upgrade (placing A/C units in the wall below a window). I don't think this is in works from the landlord, but who knows? So far this upgrade has only been done to an apartment whose tenant has vacated and in preparation for a new tenant. (I'm not sure if a tenant can request such an upgrade, but it's possible.)

This reminds me that in the Spring or early Summer, I saw a couple of young people studying the exterior of buildings and jotting things down on pads. Were they investigating how many A/C units there were? Obviously, management knows how may apartments have A/C, but perhaps this was a study to verify the number. Of course, this activity could have been completely unrelated. I just thought it strange.