Residents of Stuyvesant Town are all too familiar with noise pollution. Since Tishman Speyer purchased the property in 2006, the complex has become a 24 hour construction site. Residents have been complaining to management about the noise for months so in an attempt to placate the testy tenants, Tishman Speyer is tackling the problem in their signature style: Waste money, buy plants.This weekend Tishman Speyer will begin ripping up all of the existing sidewalks in the complex and will be replacing them with plants, lots and lots of expensive plants. George Hatzmann, Tishman Speyer's horticultural go-to guy explains. "We keep replacing the sidewalks but within weeks they crack again and we just can't figure out why," he tells us scratching his head. "We get four or five hundred calls a day about how noisy it is around here so we decided to replace the sidewalks with grass and plants."
Hatzmann, oblivious to the fact that the noise tenants are complaining about is caused by construction and not footsteps, thinks the additional greenery will solve the problem. "Hopefully the grass will dissuade women from walking around in those noisy high heels and we can all get some peace and quiet again."
Photo submitted by a Sty Spy.
Mavericks!
Which will happen first? A bank foreclosure or an end to the the landscaping project? My guess is the former.
There is a hilarity to much of what goes on at this site--and I never respond, though I laugh and cry a great deal. But the notion of a "day care" center without appropriate security for children's safey must be questioned. Day Care centers are supervised by a number of regulatory and child welfare agencies in this city and state. In some cases, a form of licensure is required and, of course, background checks on all employees. In some cases there are child-to adult-ratios, and special facilty requirements There are loop holes in the definition of a "child care" and/or "day care." So parents and guardians need to be aware of the regs and definitons.
Do any of you remember this childhood rhyme? "Step on a crack, break your mother's back, step on a line, break your mother's spine." Finally Georgie Hatzmann, with 2 "m's", has found a way to free us of sinful thoughts. I'm already feeling cleansed.
George's bio is unimpressive. Seriously.
You think this is bad? Wait until you see what Hatzmann plants after he realizes that grass doesn't muffle the sound of flip-flops!
Zzz, Hatzmann, with 2 "m's" has good credentials. I think Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone must be turning in his grave knowing that a scholar who received an award in his name is working for the super greedy Speyers.
"Mr. Hatzmann joined Tishman Speyer in 2002 and is responsible for development in the New York area.Prior to joining the company, Mr. Hatzmann was associated with the New York office of Shearman & Sterling.He graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Purchase in 1992 and earned a J.D. at Columbia Law School in 1997, where he was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar."
The fact that Hatzmann (with 2 "n"s ) is a lawyer is not comforting. My guess is he has figured out that if you do enough construction with the landscaping , that TS can apply for an MCI in StuybTown for all their unnecessary plantings and consrtuction. Believe me TS isn't doing this because they have nothing better to do or even to annoy tenants but rather so they can increase rent stabilized rents. That is why we must get a Democractic controlled State Senate next month ,although some of them ,including our new governor have been taking more money from landlords.
That would be a brilliant strategy if they pull that off!