As of today, there are three major construction projects taking place on the grounds of Stuyvesant Town. There's the perpetually forthcoming Oval Amenities, the 14th Street Loop that's behind schedule as well and the mystery project at Avenue C and 18th Street. Workers have been demolishing a large portion of the building for reasons Tishman Speyer have not shared with the residents that reside in it. An annoyed tenant took these photos of dump trucks hauling away the debris and dumping it on the Avenue C Loop. She writes, "for some inexplicable reason, TS has seen fit to use the street in front of 287 Avenue C as a (illegal?) dumping spot for the demolition debris. Why they couldn't put this into a dumpster instead of on the street amazes me. I wonder if there's asbestos in this debris...it's right under my window."
Photos submitted by Sty Spies.
Dump trucks unload construction debris on the Avenue C Loop, one of Stuyvesant Town's main access roads.
Dump trucks unload construction debris on the Avenue C Loop, one of Stuyvesant Town's main access roads.
The source of the debris: Avenue C and 18th Street.
With all of the construction going on here I am starting to lose track of their projects but wasn't the avenue c loop recently repaved within the past year or so? These pictures make it clear they are using the road as a construction dumping ground so will the road have to be re re repaved again?
Tenants should be calling 311 and reporting management for not complying with the brownfield soil remediation guidelines.
There's a huge pile of sand on the 20th street loop and an army of plants by the playground with the astro turf off the oval. Why are they having such a hard time keeping the plants and trees alive?
* SEPTEMBER 30, 2008, 5:13 P.M. ET
"Mayor Bloomberg Seeks Third Term
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided to push for a change in the city's term-limits law and run for another four years, according to a person who has been briefed on the matter.
Mr. Bloomberg, who has been wrestling with the decision for the past couple months and only decided over the weekend, will announce his plans Thursday, according to the person who is close to the mayor but spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement hasn't been made.
The Democrat-turned-Republican-turned independent has long been a staunch supporter of the term-limits law but had hinted in recent months that he'd be willing to overturn the measure.
[Mayor Michael Bloomberg is set to announce his plan to revise New York City's term-limit laws in order to seek another four years in office.] Associated Press
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is set to announce his plan to revise New York City's term-limit laws in order to seek another four years in office.
News of his change of mind was first reported by the New York Times, which said he changed his mind because he believes the financial crisis roiling Wall Street demands a leader with his strong business expertise. A former Wall Street trader who founded the multibillion-dollar financial data firm Bloomberg LP, the mayor is reported to be worth an estimated $20 billion.
On Tuesday, the New York Post reported that Ronald Lauder, the billionaire cosmetics heir who pushed through the city's term-limits law, was willing to make a one-time exception so Mr. Bloomberg could run again.
"I've been reading that Mayor Bloomberg might be interested in serving a third term," Mr. Lauder told the Post. "Because of the unprecedented times, this is welcome news. To me, Mayor Bloomberg's brilliance in the financial sector, particularly Wall Street, would be invaluable."
Mr. Bloomberg's change of heart comes amid the nation's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The turmoil has dealt a serious blow to the city's economy, which relies on heavily on Wall Street profits for its tax base.
If Mr. Bloomberg did seek another term, it will be politically risky. Polls have shown that the public supports the idea of term limits, and Mr. Bloomberg himself vetoed a bill in 2002 that would have extended the terms for some officials.
At the time, he said the proposed law was wrong because it amounted to changing the rules for personal political gain.
Mr. Lauder spent millions of dollars of his own money on the referendum that led to the enactment of the two-term limit in 1993. Just weeks ago, his spokesman announced that he would bankroll television commercials arguing that term limits were still needed. The commercial compared politicians to diapered babies, saying they needed "to be changed regularly."
Mr. Lauder's office and his spokesman didn't immediately return calls for comment on Tuesday.
Any change in the law would send shock waves through the ranks of the city's politicians, many of whom have been campaigning for different jobs, including Mr. Bloomberg's. The law currently on the books will force the mayor from office at the end of next year, as well as the city comptroller, two-thirds of the city council and the city's public advocate.
Democrats lining up to run include city comptroller William Thompson, city Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Rep. Anthony Weiner and City Councilman Anthony Avella. On the GOP side are supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis and lawyer Bruce Blakeman.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani floated the idea of a three-month extension to his term to ease the transition of power. He also suggested overturning the city's term-limits law, but ultimately decided against it. Even in the wake of the attacks, with Mr. Giuliani's approval rating at 90%, one poll found that 55% of New York City voters opposed repealing term limits.
Other mayors who have served three terms are Fiorello H. La Guardia, Robert F. Wagner and Edward I. Koch."
Copyright © 2008 Associated Press
Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserve
Couldn't you just vomit at the idea of four more years of Miguelito? The good news, however, is if the mother decides to run and if Stuy Town is still in existnece then, we can expose him and his buddies
Walking on First Avenue at 11PM on Tuesday night.... Full freight construction - generator lights, scaffolding, hammering wood planks into place - over the store fronts by Citibank. 11PM, goddamit, on a work night!!! Guys yelling, building store front sheds, apparently to replace the old marble with the new aluminum fronting, etc.
This is luxury living???
If I lived in the apartments surrounding that area and was trying to get to sleep, I'd have had a fit.
When are we going to act to stop this insane situation and others like it?
I am ready to ACT!!!
There is definitely a connection between the Bloomberg administration and the illegal activity that TishShit engages in. They would never get away with it if they did not have the blessing of His Dishonor. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can get some investigative reporting done on this? I would love to see the 60-minute News Team show up at TishShit's offices. Anybody know anybody on the "inside" of the news industry? I can't believe this is happening in 21st Century New York City. It's like living in some kind of fuedal system from the Middle Ages!
This has got to stop. We live on the 14th Street loop. They are repaving the driveway that they just paved. They are uprooting cement blocks they just installed.
They are making these "changes" and calling them "upgrades" or "improvements," which gives them the ability to raise the rents of the rent stabilized tenants. But all of us, stabilized or market rate, are waking up before 7 am to jack hammers.
This is nothing short of harrassment. I find it hard to believe that Tishman Speyer can be THAT stupid and inept that they are fucking up over and over. They are doing this on purpose to drive tenants out. They want the buildings emptied so that they can tear them down. There is nothing accidental about any of this. Of course, the market rate tenants will be out of there the moment their leases expire, but we rent stabilized tenants are going to have to live through this and it is probably going to get a lot worse unless something is done to crack down on these illegal activities.
Despite the indignation of my earlier comment above, I move here for moderation and lack of emotional overload in our response to Tishman.
Grumpy as I may get when the countless construction projects begin well before the time I need to awaken, or when the collegians vomit in the stairwells, or when the Cowboy almost runs me down in his amped-up golf cart, I believe we gain more credibility as justified plaintiffs if we avoid unsubstantiated accusations or charged language.
Does anyone know how we can get the advocate reporters from local news stations to investigate our justified claims against T/S? I do believe it's time to stop hurling epithets and making clever jokes, and try to get some action that will assist tenants and confront TS. Where is the infamous Tenants Association when the construction work begins at 6:30am?
Does anyone know what concrete things we can do to stop this daily barrage from Tishman?
jaygates, I don't know what we can do. If we complain, we're called problem tenants and they'll evict us. But if we don't say anything then you just sit in your apartment furious and powerless. I'm glad this website is here because it has plenty of photo documentation of what's going on in Stuyvesant Town, photos sent in by many different people. It has email correspondence now that can be verified. I hope the right person comes across this site and DOES something about the Tishman Speyer regime. How was that midnight construction work on First Avenue last night legal??? They don't even TRY to hide anything anymore.
I think we should have a rent strike. Seriously.
Define an explanation of the problem in as concise and succinct manner as you can so that when you speak to someone you can present a brief yet compelling story. Then....
Call the switchboards of ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, WOR, WPIX and NY1. Ask to speak to the LOCAL NEWS ASSIGNMENT DESK. Try to get an Assignment Editor on the phone. Make a brief pitch, and ask if they would mind sharing an e-mail address (either theirs, or a producers) so you can send them links to Lux Living and to relevant threads at the TA website, along with any other good media articles that have been recently published. Also, several of the local stations have investigative units/reporters that you can contact directly.
All that said, you must make the complaint about a SPECIFIC issue(s), and not a general complaint. Illegal dumping of waste, Construction done outside of normal hours, Golf carts being driven illegally on City streets, Diminishment of services like the decrease of the Security force, the Laundry Room saga, etc.
Personally, I'd go with Construction and Golf carts as the 2 main oppressors of Quality of Life that the average person will relate to. That's the target audience for the local newscasts. They want to deal with issues that the "guy on the street" can sympathize with.