October 2008 Archives

"Does anyone know anything about the EPA and the last three weeks of dirty water? [In the past] I have had brown hot water because of Stuyvesant Town's hot water heating system, lack of maintenance (blowing down the line) and old pipes but this is the cold water. I just called 311 AGAIN. They said they had no information as to when the problem would be resolved.

I am going broke trying to live with this. Now not only do I have to drink with and cook with bottled water, I have to wash my salads and vegetables with it as well. We are showering in it, washing dishes in it and laundering our clothes with it. An inspector told me it wasn't the EPA doing their "routine maintenance." It was all the construction on the complex that was causing it. Someone is lying. I e-mailed the mayor's office. As usual, I have received no response. I cannot believe I am still living with this. "

"As someone who lives in these buildings, I can report that gas is definitely NOT back on. In fact I haven't even seen that letter you posted. There were 3 guys in my apt today ripping out my kitchen cabinet and making a huge mess. None of them could tell me when gas would be restored. They were, however, nice enough to leave my stove standing in the middle of the kitchen so I couldn't access my sink."

"Property Alert
October 29 , 2008: Gas Has Been Restored in Your Apartment

Con Edison has fixed the leak and gas has been restored to your apartment. Your laundry room is also operational.

Maintenance employees are currently going through your building to replace the hose connecting your stove to the pipes. Carpenters will go through at a later date to repair walls if and when necessary.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation with us during this time.

Thank You,
Stuyvesant Town Management" 

"...rancid salads, wraps and baked ziti. Most of the people eating there were the Stuyvesant Town security guards and the maintenance workers. Not surprising it is being served in the cinder block basement instead of one of the Oval Amenities. Go figure. The food is from Bruno's and I don't eat food from there as they consistently get poor inspection ratings from the NYC Department of Health.

The StuyTown Resident website they have suggested we use in the past few months, still only has the original posting from 10/20 and no updates."

"Since it was raining today I decided to take my toddler to the Oval Kids room, the only "amenity" of any use to us.

Once there I noticed water dripping from those glass ceilings which protrude out from the structure. Obviously the ceilings were not sealed properly and were causing quite the mini-flood, because under one of the leaks was a giant plastic trash can, already halfway full of water. The other leaks did not have trash cans underneath them yet so they were soaking the floor.  In the photo you can see the trash can and one of the floor puddles.

It should be noted that little kids were running around this area and none of the staff members tried to stop them, or close off the area."

"Three buildings in Stuyvesant Town have been without gas for a week, leaving angry residents of more than 300 apartments unable to cook or dry clothes.

"There are a lot of senior citizens in this building and they haven't been able to cook," said Eva Grubler, 53, who lives in one of the buildings. "I think we should be compensated."

The gas for the E. 20th St. buildings was turned off last Monday due to a leak in the main feeder pipe, said Robert Lawson, a spokesman for owner Tishman Speyer. The management said it's working with Con Edison to get the gas back as soon as possible.

Con Edison can't turn the gas on until all necessary repairs have been made, said Con Ed spokesman Alfonso Quiroz.

"We're not going to restore gas until the situation is safe," he said.

Lawson said management has been providing meals for residents. Residents said the food doesn't fit some folks' dietary restrictions and often runs out because nonresidents are sneaking in to eat."

"This whole change over to new laundry machines at 444 E 20th has been a disaster. First they tell us September, then they tell us October...then they finally tear out the old machines and post this sign that they can't even bother to put in the new ones. So we have a laundry room with nothing but wires sticking out of the walls, and the one we are supposed to use - for 2 buildings to share - has 5 washing machines and 6 dryers."

"As you can see, the falling leaves (and we now have PLENTY of trees producing leaves!) clogged the storm sewers and turned the outlet of the 20th Street Loop into a swimming pool!  The tide reached higher than the top of the curb and was sloshing onto the sidewalk. Several cars were nearly swamped and some were even forced to back out of the loop in the wrong direction! And where was security you ask?
 
We called them at about 10:00 to report a "dangerous water condition"...and waited for them or maintenance to show up to at least block off the road...and waited...and waited...until we got fed up and went home about a half-hour later!"

"Starting October 20, 2008: Gas Shutdown in Your Building Today

Con Edison has turned off the gas due to a leak in the main line. The lack of gas means your stoves will not work until the situation is corrected. Our plumbers will be accessing every apartment today to manually turn off the gas connection to the stove while repairs are being made. Please leave your top lock unlocked today.

We will provide updates as the situation changes.
We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation."

"Workmen (contract plumbers, not Tishman Speyer or ConEd employees) came in and ripped up my kitchen wall, informing me that they would be back by the end of the week to connect the gas lines. When I asked what the problem was they said the gas line connection to the apartments in my building were "illegal" and that each apartment MUST have a shut off valve for gas outside the wall.

Coincidentally, when workmen came last Monday, the 20th, they actually installed a shut off in the wall where one did not exist. I guess no one really knows what they are doing and Tishman Speyer is just wasting time, money and inconveniencing us in our homes. When I asked if this lack of compliance to building code is unique to these three buildings, the worker said, "The other buildings will be fixed as leaks occur.""

"Residents of iconic apartment complexes Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town will soon be paying for their own electricity, The Post has learned.

The 11,000-unit apartment complex is in the process of converting to a metered system as part of a series of cost-saving initiatives being pushed by Stuy-Town's new owner, real estate developer Tishman Speyer, people familiar with the matter said.

The metered system is expected to be announced to the complex's 19,000 residents in the next few days. It will be rolled out as part of a larger plan to reduce overall energy usage by 20 percent over the next three years."

Just five days after Tishman Speyer christened Stuyvesant Town's Oval Lounge with a private party the ended with a bloody and violent attack, Oval Lounge is now open to its Oval Amenities / Essentials members. Did you hear that? It's OPEN! You can go in now. What? No, you will not be attacked by beer bottle wielding brokers. Wherever did you get an idea like that?

Photo submitted by a Sty Spy.

"State Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, Council member Dan Garodnick, Congressmember Carolyn Maloney and other officials today announced legislation they will be introducing requiring landlords to pay attorney's fees and/or expenses incurred by tenants wrongly accused of breaking rent-stabilization regulations. In cases where a landlord if found to have knowingly served a notice containing facts or allegations that are not true, the landlord shall be liable for three times the tenant's legal fees."

"...About 10 seconds after snapping my first photo I was approached by two security officers.  One tall lanky one whose name I didn't get and a short stocky younger guy, Officer F,  who - swear to god - was eating a slice of pizza the entire time he talked to me.

The two come up to me and Officer F says, smiling, "Can I help you?"

"No, thanks, I'm OK," I respond.

"You a resident here?" the lanky one asks.

"Yes I am. Is there a problem?"

"You can't take pictures. This is a private party on private property," continues Lanky, his voice getting louder.

"Uh, I was just walking by on my way home. I can't take a photo of an event happening in the complex I live in?"

"You need permission from Management to take photos. Those are the rules," Officer F answers, mouth full of pizza.

"It's just that I don't see any signs up anywhere stating those rules," I offer.

No answer from either, just stares.

"Let me understand this," I continue. "Is taking pictures something you could arrest me for?"

"No, no, no" they both say.

"Or write me a ticket for?"

"No, no arrest, no ticket, no one is saying you're getting arrested here," says Officer F.

"So I can snap a few more pictures then?"

Before they can answer a woman comes up to them, a middle-aged ST resident complaining about something in her lobby. She's pretty upset, and during a break in her rant I say to the guards, smiling "Looks like you guys have your hands full tonight," and walk away, but not before snapping three more shots of the oh-so-private event inside.

The fact that Management holds a private party for themselves in space dedicated to serving the residents is ludicrous enough. Add to that the wall of trees put in at the last minute so no one can see inside, and the apparent no picture-taking "rules" and you're getting into the land of the surreal.  But when management uses PCVST Security to deliberately harass and intimidate residents from exercising basic rights, well the only word I can think of is shameful."

"Community Announcements - Tenant Association Speak Out

The next meeting of the ST/PCV Tenants Association is set for October 19th at 2 PM at the Simon Baruch Middle School, located at 330 East 21st Street, Between First and Second Avenues. Please use the East 20th Street entrance.

The agenda is attached in PDF format.  Please post one in your building.

Please forward this e-mail to a neighbor and print one out and give it to a neighbor(s) without Internet access. You will help us to save time and money and reduce our need to distribute flyers.

Your Tenants Association is run exclusively by volunteers.
Please help defer the cost of legal, communication, and meeting expenses and save time and effort.  Donate online."

"Stuyvesant Town residents have been alerted that a controversial electronic photo key card system will replace lobby door keys starting Thursday.

The move is already drawing criticism from some residents who say it would make it easier for Stuy Town to identify and remove tenants who illegally sublet there.

Still, signs posted in the massive World War II-era rental complex state that lobby keys will no longer work after Wednesday, October 15th.

In order to obtain the key cards, residents must present a photo ID such as a current driver's license, student ID or passport at the complex's management office. Tenants may obtain cards for employees or guests by accompanying them to the office.

The key cards are part of a new security system at the complex that includes cameras in elevator cabs, sensors on roof doors, and roof alarms, the flier states."

"None of the Oval Essentials are still 100% complete, but today marked the start of open house for two Essentials--Oval Study and Oval Film--with Oval Lounge and Oval Kids holding open houses tomorrow. Remarkably (well, not really) Oval Kids is way behind schedule, with the patio still a mess and the interior an equal mess. If this opens tomorrow, it may well be called Oval Death Trap, as surely parents will have to watch out that their kids don't trip over work either sloppily done or still not done. So bring your cameras and collect yourselves in front of Oval Kids between 11am and 2pm to see how many accidents you can manage to catch in the making!"

"I live in 451 E. 14th St and every time I go to do laundry 3-4 washing machines are broken. They told us the new card machines would take credit cards--they do not.  They only take cash. The management sucks and won't do anything about these machines.

I called Mac Gray today to tell them how many were broken and they acted like it was new news--they said there was no report of any broken machines. WTF? One of those machines has been broken for 4 weeks! Please write up about our horrible 'new' machines and encourage all of your readers to call 1.800.MacGray"

Is Oval Kids a daycare center? Do you drop your kids off or do you attend to them yourself? For all the money they sink into their website and glossy brochures they really don't provide any real information. I'm still a bit confused."

- Go Ask Alice in response to "Oval Kids: Almost Time to Put Your Children on Display"

Dear Oval Essentials Member,

We would like to cordially invite you to our preview week leading to the grand opening of Oval Essentials on October 18th.

Throughout this period members and guests can experience a sample of programs included with your membership. Additionally, Oval Lifestyle associates will be on hand to answer any questions you may have from programs, schedules, and membership.

Bring a friend or your neighbor. All residents that attend are eligible to enter the raffle drawing whether they join or not. One lucky winner will receive a private party rental in any of the 4 spaces for up to 50 people. We hope to see you all there.

This is our preview week please join us for the event that you are interested in."

"Deer Tenints,

Okayshinily we listen to yor complaints and have deesidid to give you the doormens you have bin asking 4. Starting this week we have skedooled some building to have new

Thank yous

Mariano Meeker
Ovsal Manigment"