Stuy Town Security Can't Handle ... Security

Stuyvesant Town residents have been seeing more and more the presence of cops on horses in the complex, with the expected huge deposits from these horses leaving a trail that Stuy Town workers then clean up. What is the reason for this police presence? As reported in this week's Town & Village by Andrew Park, "the mounted units were called in to patrol an area including Stuyvesant Town due to an increase in violence along the 14th Street corridor." But, as we see, these mounted units do not just patrol 14th Street. They have been seen as far up as 20th Street. And within the heart of the complex.

This raises one immediate and overwhelming question: Why is Stuyvesant Town Security, the Security that is publicized in Tishman Speyer promos as 24-hour protection for residents, not taking care of the security in the complex instead of the NYPD?

The answers are pretty obvious--even if depressing and revelatory as to landlord Tishman Speyer's "concern" for its tenants. The security staff of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village has been cut back from previous highs, and the remaining troops have now been placed chiefly inside the cozy security office at Ave C., near the FDR drive, to watch a score of monitors that do not reveal much of what is going on in the complex. If the monitors do reveal something, whatever criminal activity is occurring is certain to be over by the time the ST/PCV squad cars are sent out to investigate. In other words, THERE ARE NO BOOTS ON THE GROUND to monitor 24/7 what's happening in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

With the economy heading south as it is, crime will get worse in the surrounding areas of ST/PCV, and inside this complex itself. As reported by Town & Village, there was a recent mugging on or near Stuy Town property at 14th St and Ave. B, and an open-air heroin drug transaction within Stuy Town. Several weeks ago a female ST resident was mugged at night near 20th St. and Ave. C.--nearby the Security office!!! I guess those monitors aren't working that well or Security is falling asleep on the job (or taking their squad cars to pick up some take-out food).

The last time our Security was present in full force and "boots on the ground" was for a real-estate broker party held last year at Oval Lounge. Security was all over the place and was actually stopping bicycles from riding around, insisting the riders walk their bikes according to the rules. The object was to show these brokers that Stuy Town has all this security protection, so that the impressed brokers would relate this back to their clients. It was a calculated, cynical exhibition staged by Tishman Speyer, a company that has always been far more concerned with selling apartments than being decent stewards of ST/PCV. Even with the maximum presence of Security, a fight ensued among the brokers!

It is obvious that the landlord, Tishman Speyer, is neglecting the safety of this complex for budgetary reasons--and has been doing so for a while now. TS is relying on security cameras to somehow "patrol" the complex. This is not acceptable. Frequently I can walk from one end of the complex to the other without ever seeing a Security car or a patrolman. Criminals can also notice this--and can make good use of it, too.

And now, isn't it embarrassing for the Security here, and Tishman Speyer, their overlords, that the NYPD have to be called in like this? And that NYPD horses take dumps all over Stuy Town? Is the message here that the men have to be called in because the boys can't do the job?

The Dead Forests of Stuyvesant Town

Folks who live in the Stuyvesant Town Oval addresses at the north-eastern part of the Oval have the pleasure of several dead forests surrounding them. Few things say how much Rob Speyer has devastated Stuyvesant Town than the dead trees that have been around for months and which show no signs of life.

Picture above is one of the dead trees. Below is one area, as you head up the hill from the 20 Street Loop.



Here you work your way down, near the loop off of 1st Avenue:



And below is Stuy Town 15 Oval. This looked nice in late summer of last year, when newly put in, but as you can see the once vibrantly green plantings are expiring. All these photos were taken this morning, April 20th.

Easter Photos that Speak a Thousand Words

Residents who have been in Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village longer than the current landlord, Tishman Speyer, will remember how lovely the Oval area looked when Easter came along, with new flowerings in abundance and everything nice and manicured and neat. Granted this spring has been colder than normal, but the Oval area and surrounding regions have never looked worse during this time--under the administration of Tishman Speyer. It really is pathetic how terrible this complex looks now. If I didn't identify the photos below as being from Stuy Town, you might think they were taken in a ghetto complex.

The following pictures were all taken today, Easter Sunday.







Below: The large reflecting areas are mud.



Below: North side building in the Oval, with its "landscaping."




South of the Oval areas:







Near 14th Street and still in Stuyvesant Town. Looks like a dump.



And putting Tishman Speyer to shame, here are a couple of photos taken today of Tomkins Square Park. The difference is striking. Did you ever think Tomkins Square Park would look substantially better than the grounds here in Stuyvesant? Well, thanks to Rob and Jerry Speyer it has happened!

Dog Tales

The subject of dogs is a popular--and acrimonious--one in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. As yet this blog hasn't said much, if anything about dogs. Well, here goes....

Dogs can be wonderful pets. They can enliven a person's life and make it more meaningful, and provide emotionally proven benefits to the dog owner. That said, Tishman Speyer has mishandled the dog situation from the beginning. I'm not going to get into the debate of whether it was a mistake for Tishman Speyer to allow dogs as pet residents. Clearly the previous decades-long policy against dogs was there for a reason, and we are seeing the reason (actually, reasons) every day in the life of Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village.

A day doesn't go by when I don't come across in even a short walk through Stuyvesant Town the residue deposits of someone's dog on the walkways, sometimes even right around the Oval walkway--and in some cases close by to the little guard booth that is occasionally manned by a guard. I wonder if the dog owners responsible for letting their pets do nature's calling on these walkways just don't know the rules (both the city's and Stuy Town's) or, if they do know them, if they just brush them off as so much bother. After all, they reason, they will pick up after their dog--so what's the problem? The problem is, of course, that residue is typically left over, which, being small, is even more of a threat for the pedestrian to step on, as it's not as visible as an unpicked load would be. Oh, and speaking of unpicked loads, those can be found around Stuy Town/PCV, too.

There are other problems.

Dog owners are trying to get a dog run in Stuy Town/PCV, and I say good luck but not in my neighborhood (ie, anywhere near my building). These owners are not to be faulted for this desire, as it's natural that a dog owner would like to have a dog run. I'd probably want one, too, if I owned a dog. But with a dog run will come a concentration of dog noise throughout the day and wafts of doggie smells to nearby residents who open their windows in the warmer months of the year. The instant response from certain owners to the noise issue is typically, "Well, kids make more noise," but even if that is true, that's no reason to double the noise quotient with a dog run. We should be working to lessen unnecessary noise in ST/PCV, not increase it. (For that reason, I'd love to see a ban of skateboarding here.)

In setting the rules for dogs in ST/PCV, Tishman Speyer developed an unrealistic set of expectations and policies. They set rules which are 1) easily broken, and 2) which they don't enforce. Dogs, for instance, are not allowed on any grass area, but it is impossible for a dog not to gravitate to that area and frequently take leak somewhere in that region. Sure a dog owner can insist that his/her dog not go on the grass, but that's rather hardcore, given the nature of a dog (or even a person).

As for leaks, well.... I see ST/PCV dogs taking many at the base of trees, which is never good for the health of tree. And, if you haven't noticed, we have a lot of trees in the complex. Do I fault the dog? No. I fault the owner. And even then, I'm beginning to cut the owner some slack, as it is Tishman Speyer's policies, both in allowing a dog presence in ST/PCV and in setting unrealistic rules, that are at fault here.

Dogs on long retractable leashes. Against the law. Dog owners are either unaware of this or they just flaunt their disregard for this law. I'm just waiting for the sob story when a speeding bicycle gets caught up in one of these extended (and almost invisible) leashes. Both bicyclist and dog will probably wind up in the hospital--the former in a human one and the latter in an animal one.

Barking dogs. Thank heavens that I don't live next to a neighbor that has one--though that can always change. This must be a particular kind of hell--as is living next to noisy human neighbors.

Dog hair in the washers. Yup, I've heard the complaints and I've come across this myself. You open up the washer to throw your clothes in, and there's a ring of brittle dog hairs along the rim of the washer. Please, dog owners, if you wash your dog stuff in the laundry room, have the courtesy to remove your dog's hairs after you are done.

Big dogs--two of them! Another frequent sight in ST/PCV. These dogs come from outside, one would think, as Tishman Speyer restricts the weight of the dogs one owner can have. I've yet to come across a security guard stop any outsider from walking their illegal-in-ST/PCV dogs around the complex.

"Love my dog as I love him/her." This is a frequent, presumptuous attitude on the part of dog owners. From this attitude arises the stance that one's dog can do anything it likes and whatever it does is fine and adorable. Okay, your dog is adorable and everything, but give non-dog owners the courtesy and the space to allow them the feeling that your dog is not the most wonderful creature in the world, human or otherwise. Perhaps the second most wonderful creature, but maybe not the first.

"Be afraid of my dog or he/she can eat you." This is a different kind of attitude. These dog owners scowl and their dogs scowl along with them. The message is: Be very afraid of me and my dog. Only owners with huge beasts, that nearly tip the scale of what's allowed in ST/PCV, have this attitude. These owners tend to hook up with similar owners of big dogs. I pity the people who have to get into elevators with these residents, though my sense is that most of these owners are coming into ST/PCV from outside the complex.

And when it is that Tishman Speyer contacts dog owners to remind them about dog policies in the complex? Things are not in control here. The rules are being violated daily, hourly. (Not just the rules concerning dogs, of course, but dogs are the subject of this blog post.) What is TS going to do about these violations? If you guess not much of anything, you are correct.

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.