Via The New York Observer

Via The New York Observer

In case there was any doubt, it's going to be a mess to legally untangle rent issues at Stuyvesant Town.

Today, a judge handed a victory to market-rate tenants at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village by ruling against prior property owner MetLife. The ruling--part of the same ongoing lawsuit that last year forced the re-regulation of thousands of market-rate apartments at the property--denied a bid by MetLife to block the retroactive application of the newly-interpreted rent laws. In English: MetLife didn't think market-rate tenants, whose apartments were re-regulated, should have been able to collect overcharges. Tenants contend they should be able to get back, in the form of a check, the difference between the rents they paid and the stabilized rents they should have been paying.

Justice Richard B. Lowe III said he found MetLife's arguments "unpersuasive."

"The Decision should be accorded full retroactive effect," he wrote.

Should the tenants proceed with their suit against the owners, this could go on for a while. The lawsuit was initially filed in spring 2007 by a set of market-rate tenants, was denied by Mr. Lowe at the time, made its way up to the state's top court, and now has been sent back to Mr. Lowe.

A spokesman for MetLife said the firm is "studying the opinion in order to determine our next steps."

Continue reading "Tenants Win, Again, in Stuy Town Rent Case" @ The New York Observer

Related Articles:

Judge issues rent ruling on NYC apartment complex [Business Week]
Stuy-Town tenants take home big win [Crain's]
Stuyvesant Town Tenants To Get Rent Rebates [NY1]
Stuyvesant Town Decision Applies Retroactively, Judge Says [NY Law Journal]

From yesterday's Observer online:

What do you get when you can't afford a spacious apartment on your own? Hack it to pieces with fake walls and create you own private Kowloon Walled City!

"Attached is the actual floor plan that ST-PCV sent me showing the new permitted set up for dividing the living room in Stuy Town one bedroom apartments.

FYI, the floor plan is for a one bedroom in the G line on the highest floors. It's similar to the floor plan for the standard one bedroom, except that a corner chunk of the bedroom is missing and replaced with a long double walk-in closet that is not shown on the floor plan.  

But I think that the living rooms are the same for all Stuy Town one bedrooms -- be they a standard one bedroom, a corner one bedroom, or a G line high floor one bedroom. I think that the attached floor plan's depiction of the permitted dividing of the living room is universal."

Via Town & Village

Via Town & Village

Via PBS's Need to Know

Curbed.com's real estate listing section currently has an ad for a "condo" in Stuyvesant Town. The ad is for an available 5 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in the complex for $6,201/month. Why the apartment is referred to as a condo is anyone's guess. On the plus side there's no stove in the closet.

What are some of Stuyvesant Town's self-entitled parents up to these days? Well, when they are not letting their kids wildly race on their scooters through the Oval or allowing them to scream like rabid brats outside your window bright and early on Saturday mornings, it seems they are willing to risk electrocution for a dive in the fountain!