East Village Nostalgia: Tish Spy Nearly Kills Two

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Tishman Construction a product of the schism between the Tishmans where one went into Tishman Construction and the other into Tishman Speyer.

Regardless of schism or no schism, the same Bud Perrone speaks with forked tongue wherever he goes.

I'm waiting for them to tear down NYC and call it Tish-Spy-sterdam.

In completely unrelated news, city crane inspectors will not be receiving their annual holiday gift from management. Management spokesperson Bud Perrone stated, "We blame the size of the common 6" x 3.5" envelope. You can only stuff enough cash in there to make some problems go away".

Anyone hear anything about when the TA forums willl be up and running?It has been almost 2 weeks.

No Ziggy, the TA hasn't said anything. I guess they borrowed TS's "how not to communicate with people" manual.

I know the TA has limited resources, but the lack of communication around this is creepy.

Does anyone know how you can, like, actually communicate with someone at the TA?

You can leave a message on the Tenant hot line, 866 290 9036. someone should get back to you in a couple of days.

They have limited resources??? Trust me, if I can find the time to write / publish this website on my own dime, in my own time, the TA should be able to install some bulletin board software.

been living (?) in sty for 8 years. in less than a year, you (Lux Living) have done more to arouse awareness and bring this community together than ta has ever done, with their meetings, flyers, demonstrations, forums, etc!

THANK YOU, keep up the great work

*You can leave a message on the Tenant hot line, 866 290 9036. someone should get back to you in a couple of days.*

Thanks, Ziggy.

That would be pretty good, if this were the early 1800s.

TA, put back those boards!

I think that some of the commentors are being a bit unfair regarding the StuyTown Tenants Association. I may be wrong, but I don't think that the officers of the association are paid. I believe the jobs are voluntary and the officers, like the rest of us, need to make a living too. The dues are $10, so there's not a lot of money coming into the organization. They need to pick their fights and were nearly successful in purchasing the property on behalf of the tenants. [MetLife "Bank" is greedy; I cannot bear to look at Snoopy now, another sellout.] What's needed is not the unbridled criticism that is being unleashed here because the website is down or it takes a few days to get a call back. Rather a few good men and women should step up and volunteer their time to address the additional issues that are affecting the residents of this community. It's easy to kvetch; it's far more difficult to step up and do something constructive.

How does one get in touch with the TA in order to do something constructive? What do you, Anonymous, regard as constructive? Given the number of problems here, what makes you think that fixing a website so that tenants can submit complaints is not fostering kvetching and is therefore constructive? Leadership should be coming from the TA and it is conspicuously absent.

How does one get in touch with the TA in order to do something constructive? What do you, Anonymous, regard as constructive? Given the number of problems here, what makes you think that fixing a website so that tenants can submit complaints is not fostering kvetching and is therefore constructive? Leadership should be coming from the TA and it is conspicuously absent.

The TA just organized a huge general meeting only 3 or 4 weeks ago! It was almost entirely devoted to the questions and concerns brought up by tenants. I noticed the auditorium was only a little over half full, and was almost entirely made up of senior citizens. As a result, almost all of the complaints issued were from those same seniors. That means the issues that the TA understands are of utmost concern to our community largely came from retired seniors, and not from single market raters and young families. So if that meeting was inadequate, as some commenters here and on the TA site have suggested, who's at fault do you think? The TA volunteers who arranged it, or the mostly seniors who attended it? Did any commenters here address an issue or ask a question at that meeting besides me? (I asked Duane about when Urstadt would be repealed). If the meeting so generally sucked, why didn't you say so at the meeting? If the TA is so generally unresponsive to tenants, why didn't you say so at the meeting?

These people are not inaccessible. There is a Tenants Hotline, again maintained by unpaid volunteers. If they are not responsive to us it's because there aren't enough hours in the day and there isn't enough volunteer staff.

Don't assume that the TA is expert at organizing, public relations, putting up and maintaining websites, putting together a flyer, or whatever else you think they should be. Here's my observation/suggestion: If you see a gaping hole in the TA that needs to be addressed and you really care enough about it and think you can address it, step up to the plate. They will welcome you with open arms. And that's a fact.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming, I hope. The satire here has been hugely effective, IMO, but I've noticed the comments have gotten way too earnest since the TA site's been down. Even for that one reason alone, I hope it's back online soon...

When it comes to self interest, our Jerry is the greatest!

Fire hydrant controversy

From Wikipedia article on Jerry Speyer.

In 1996 Speyer became involved in a controversy regarding a fire hydrant. He sought to move a hydrant 50 feet, so that it would rest in front of a town house that he has been building for himself on the Upper East Side of Manhattan on the site of two razed town houses. In New York City, it can be handy to have one at your front door, as people are not allowed to park in front of them, which makes getting out of taxis and loading the car up for trips that much easier. In the end, a new hydrant was installed on East 72d Street: The city decided to let Speyer install his very own hydrant, as long as he paid for it. And the residents of the luxury co-op next door got to keep their hydrant.[3]

The couple's home has a vast collection of contemporary art. Visitors are given a catalog of what is on the walls. Mr. Speyer bought his first piece of art 40 years ago and has not sold a single item since. His favorite artists include Frank Stella and Jeff Koons.

Dear Mr. Jerry,
Why, I think that was very kind of you to have a fire hydrant installed in front of your house at your own expense. It's obvious that you are a really dedicated dog-lover. All those litte oochie koochie pooches that are paraded on East 72nd Street now have an extra hydrant to sniff and raise a leg on. To show our appreciation of how well you treat us tenants in Sty Town and to acknowledge your altruistic concern for our canine friends, Beulette and me are planning to take Beulette's four rotties for a little stroll along East 72nd and allow them to enjoy the luxury "facility" that you had installed in front of your townhouse. Each of the hefty, well fed rotties will be honored to raise a leg as a salute to you, Mr. Jerry. Of course, they may want to leave their "thank you packages" on the steps of the townhouse so that you can dip your Pradas and be assured of continuing good luck. So, Mr. Jerry, you will be getting four large steaming mounds of Grade A Rottipoo left on your top step as a way of expressing our heartfelt sentiments about the luxury you provide us with in Stuyvesant Town. I know it's not much, but it is the thought that counts and we wanted to give you something symbolic of how we feel about your stewardship of Stuyvesant Town. Enjoy it in good health! Oh, I almost forgot to mention that me and Beulette are giving the rotties extra helpings of their favorite spicy chili con carne so that you will really get to enjoy the beautiful aromatic qualities of the gifts. That will live on your Pradas for ever.
Love and kisses,
Beulah and Beulette. xxxxxxx

Dear John,
I attended that meeting which was a platform for elected officials to guarantee their election. It was after one and one half hours that tenants were permitted to speak. Prior to their speaking, Dan Garodnick enumerated all the complaints which are well known to the Stuy Town Ccommunity so that repeating them seemed redundant. Maybe, well intentioned or possibly to show that he is on top of everything, he stole the tenants' thunder.
No, John, the auditorium was more than half-filled. Stop blaming the victims!

Oh! Please stop bickering about the TA! One of the big problems with the TA forums was that there would be one or two people trying to control the content and direction of the discussions; then someone would get totalitarian and dictatorial and try to curtail the discussion; then if the moderator agreed with the dictatorial one he/she would simply shut down the forum. All very Kremlin-like. I hope that Lux Living isn't going to tolerate that here. If I knew who the perpetrators were, I would take Beulette's rotties over to their house and order them to "Kill." And they would. (We have to have a way of dealing with some of Beulette's more difficult customers.)

John,
1. WTF is Urstadt?
2. Tenants at that meeting, and that was the only one I attended after living here for 11 years, were treated like naughty children, told what to say, to line up etc. There was absolutely nothing in that atmosphere that lent itself to discussion of anything, least of all a critique of the TA.
Get real!
I am also the commenter, Retired Person.

Beulah....people should be allowed to express any opinion they like about the TA, even if you consider it "bickering." I certainly don't, and have found their comments interesting and very appropriate. Since you're complaining about folks trying to "control the content" of the TA message board, perhaps you should follow your own advice and not try to "control the content" of the Lux Living commentators. Just sayin'...........

Ellen,

Before 1971, NYC had home rule over rent and eviction protections covering around a million rent regulated city apartments. Then in 1971, NYC’s home rule was taken away through the “Urstadt Law” pushed by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and a GOP controlled State Senate and Assembly. Urstadt took away local control and gave it to the state legislature in Albany. Since then, the state legislature has repeatedly weakened the rent laws, esp under Gov. George Pataki in 1997 and 2003. Now tens of thousands of subsidized apartments are lost each year. As a result, Tenants groups throughout the city have been pushing for home rule by repealing Urstadt. That would give the city council jurisdiction over local rent and eviction laws, which would be much better for us. Most of the weakening of our rent regs has been pushed by upstate GOPers in the State Senate who get big campaign $$$ from NYC real estate groups to do so. These upstate pols have nothing to fear from us for doing so, because we down here in NYC can't vote them out for crossing us. That wouldn't be the case with the city council. Any councilman with a good number of renters in his or her district could easily be thrown outta office for crossing organized tenants.

About the meeting: I agree that the pols went on too long, but they like the limelight and we need them so it is probably politic that we ask them to show up for these things and try to impress us with all they're doing for us.

As far as tenants being told what to say, that was certainly not my experience. I was simply asked by a woman from the TA when I arrived if I would like to ask a question and was given a number. Period. Nobody asked to hear the question or demanded written questions in advance. Not sure what your objections to lines are.

Retired Person

Maybe you saw the auditorium as half full, I saw it as half-empty. At least retirees like yourself showed up to. The audience was a sea of grey hair. The only young people I saw were staffers for the various pols. There was a sprinkling of middle-agers in the audience. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming anybody, just offering some perspective.

Response to Retired Person

By constructive, I mean that people with time and expertise should become active in the Tenants Association to address some of the issues discussed here and on the TA forum. If enough tenants make requests, perhaps the TA will hold a "members only" meeting or two that the politicians cannot dominate as a pre-election forum. Such meetings could be used to develop strategies and tactics to address specific concerns such as noise, brown water, lack of heat, etc, or rent/lease issues. These might include contacting and lobbying politicians; getting media attention; mobilizing tenants to write, phone, or e-mail City Hall and legislators; and aligning with other NYC tenants groups when there are significant problems that need to be addressed or upcoming issues affecting tenants. New and/or current members who are willing and able to take responsibility for implementing these strategies can be identified and organize working groups. But they need to be given a chance to step up. If the current TA officers cannot or do not want to provide more active leadership or to expand what the TA is doing, perhaps they should step aside. However, I believe that the TA officers are dedicated and well-intentioned, but they cannot address every issue that's on the table without some new, motivated membership.

Thank you John and Anonymous for your responses. To paraphrase the infamous, Bud Perrone, your responses were helpful, entertaining and serious.

I am curious about what others think the situation would be if the tenants had been able to purchase PCVST from Met Life. I think, given the current economy, we were fortunate to have lost the bid.

Ellen
NOT winning the bid for STPCV was the greatest triumph of the TA . TS is in a heap of trouble. Normally, I would rejoice but I fear more and more maintenance cuts await us.
As to the meeting. You are "spot on". I was one of the middle-aged folks and i was quite annoyed to have to wait over an hour for the politicians to finish preening before the cameras and giving their campaign speeches at a meeting that was advertised as one exclusively for tenant complaints and then each tenant was limited to 2 minutes which eliminated any real possibility of a meaningful dialogue.
I do agree with other posters that many tenants like to complain but don't step to the plate with ideas and help. I recently discussed some new plans of action with members of the TA Board . They seemed in favor but had to discuss them with the rest of the Board. Hopefully over the next month or so we will see more activity generated by the TA.

To All:

I was at that meeting and thought that the auditorium was pretty full. Unfortunately, I had to work that day, and got there late, so was unable to speak.

I am neither elderly nor middle-aged. I am in my 30's and single and have been living here for more than 10 years. (I had the foresight to put my name on the list the day that I graduated college and got a job, so I am rent stabilized.) I care a great deal about how my home is being ruined.

In my opinion, the problems with the meeting were as follows:

1. The politicians took up too much time (I was planning to vote for them anyway and didn't need a commerical).

2. Susan Steinberg, or whatever her name is, acted like a school-marm in the way that she ordered people to line up, timed them, etc. Crack a smile, woman, and stop acting like you're teaching kindergarten.

3. Other than John S., who asked an intelligent question, the rest of the speakers focused on petty, individualized issues. (i.e., we all know that the new laundry facilities suck. We don't need to hear about the situation in 521 vs. 10 Oval, etc., etc.--it's all bad, and dwelling on the minutiae is not going to fix it!)

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have 10 other things that I could or should be doing on a weekend, and don't need to sit through this. What I was hoping for, and didn't get, was a plan of action--for us to band together, for us to fight back.

You are right, maybe it's time for me to step up and lead the charge myself, because, I for one, think that the current TA leadership has dropped the ball.

As the Dutch say, "Talk doesn't fill holes."

Hi, Girl,

That was my point. That, rather than, sitting here complaining about what is or is not happening, I should get off my butt and do something.

Unfortunately, one of my best friends is in the hospital, fighting a life-threatening illness. So I have been spending much of my free time with her, and do not have alot of time or energy to dedicate to the cause.

But, once this crisis has passed, I intend to ante up. Do you?

URI....I wasn't referring to you, but the stunning ineffectiveness and poor organization of the TA. It's a shame, because we need a powerful, fearless Tenant's Association now more than ever.

Girl: True we need a powerful, fearless TA now but it is hard in today's life in the urban jungle to get volunteers because we are all worn to a frazzle trying to earn a living, deal with commutes, freezing weather and family worries, etc. I used to do a lot of volunteer work (though not with the TA), but now it is all I can do to get through what I absolutely have to do. Of course, I could always get Beulette to loan the TA her rotties because they are all about power and fearlessness even if they do drool all over the trailer and roll over to get their bellies scratched - but then they aren't any different to Beulette's customers (including Bud Perrone) in that respect. ;-)

Leave my Buddy alone. He's not a bad boy, but lied from the time he was a little tyke and liked money way too much for his own good. He can't help himself, it's in his genes or jeans or whatever.

I wasn't referring to you, but the stunning ineffectiveness and poor organization of the TA. It's a shame, because we need a powerful, fearless Tenant's Association now more than ever.

girl

The TA can only be as powerful as we make it.

"Stunningly ineffective?" Two years ago, the TA and Dan Garodnick were able to put together an almost $6 billion bid package to buy this place, to rally the city council to pressure Met Life to do business with us after our old landlord refused to take our bid, and then managed to get over 60% of apartments in this complex to sign no-buy pledges. That's not my definition of stunningly ineffective.

On a related note. Some commenters here have been upset that the TA website's tenant bulletin boards have been down. I'd like to point out that Nospinzone is the only moderator these days (the sole moderator for their entire existence, I believe) and is an unpaid volunteer who works that board full time 7 days a week (and has a regular day job, I hear). That bulletin board cannot function without a moderator. When Nospinzone finally walks away in disgust or exhaustion or for whatever reason, the bulletin boards will have to come down permanently because there has been nobody else out of a community of 30,000 or so willing to step up and help moderate it. Nevertheless, I am fairly certain that will result in howls of outrage directed at the TA and if I were to note here on Lux Living, say, that it's our own fault because none of us stepped up to the plate, I'll likely get flamed for "blaming the victims." Well screw that. The tenant who saw the need for a community website went to the TA with a proposal, they liked the idea, the site up was put up by the volunteer, and now that person is a member of the board. Lux Living saw the shortcomings of the TA's bulletin boards, so he put this site up. If you think the TA is a mess, then go to the TA with your ideas or start your own organization. Please.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-11-19/news/the-transformation-of-mike-bloomberg/1

WOW ! an amazing article by Wayne Barrett of the Village Voice on Bloomberg and his good friend Jerry Speyer (among others). A MUST READ !!

Thank you "Bloomberg and Speyer Hater" for posting the link above.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-11-19/news/the-transformation-of-mike-bloomberg/1

I started my comments by noting the TA's limited resources and commendable efforts. But those same things underscore the fact that it simply isn't a serious source of information or assistance to tenants.

Just the two months, I've received a rent renewal notice with an unlawful demand for information (later reconfirmed by phone when I called management to tell them they can't ask for that), and had a change over to keycards with minimal notice and no explanation as to emergency procedures. Do we know what is to be done in a blackout? I've googled it, and read two different things: (i) security will man each unit's front door to let residents in, and (ii) all front doors are programmed to open automatically in the event of a power outage.

The first will never happen, and the second is scary as hell. But which is it? Where does one go to find out? The forums were the best service the TA provided, because they were at least an information clearinghouse. That's why their disappearance is so noticed, and regarded with such suspicion.

Charge $100 a year or so for TA fees, and provide value, and I believe people would sign up -- because, for the rent-stabilized, at least, they are protecting an asset of far greater worth. But maybe I'm wrong, and the notion of an effective TA is simply impractical. If so, I certainly don't blame the tireless people working there. I'm sure it is very frustrating to play the role of the Washington Generals to managements Globetrotters, which is what has been forced on the TA by the legal and political environment over the past 10-15 years.

It is bewildering that the TA forums have been down for over 2 weeks. They were originally taken down right after a number of posters lambasted the TA leadership for lack of ledership.You think there is any connection between the two events?
I do.

Charge $100 a year or so for TA fees, and provide value, and I believe people would sign up -- because, for the rent-stabilized, at least, they are protecting an asset of far greater worth.

That sounds to me like what our landlord is doing with Oval Amenities. I simply think more tenants need to get personally involved in the TA, and in a big way.

It might be time for the TA to rethink expanding its role, which for years has been mainly about helping get sunsetting rent regulations renewed, and dealing with MCIs and other attempts by our former landlord to get around rent regulations. Our new landlord is a whole 'nother kettle 'o fish. Never before in our history have we tenants in ST-PCV faced issues like rampant Golub notices, service cutbacks, and outrageous declines in quality of life like we face now. I am not talking out of my hat when I suggest that people in our community with a background in organizing need to approach the TA with ideas. The TA was probably overstretched before, but now it's confronting a whole new battle on an entirely different front that it may not have been prepared for, or structured to handle.

I think the first thing to do is to organize each individual building in this complex so that the TA can develop lines of communication with each building and so that representatives of each building can operate as a kind of committee and all of us are aware of what's going on a macro and a micro scale. This is not an easy task. It has been attempted before, most notably during the sale. But I believe it is crucial and requires volunteers from each and every building in this complex to make that happen. We would need a representative from this pool on the board. I think this would address one of the crucial shortcomings of the TA.

Regarding the TA website. I don't know why it's down and am not overly concerned, and I'll tell you why. I don't think anyone other that a relative handful of ST-PCVers pay it any mind. I still think it's valuable though, but unless a few of those bemoaning its absence will consider volunteering their services to help Nospinzone moderate, I think it's probably run its course. (On a personal note. I myself am not volunteering, nor would my services likely be accepted. I am a known hothead, and do not possess the gifts of tact nor patience.)

*Charge $100 a year or so for TA fees, and provide value . . .*

"That sounds to me like what our landlord is doing with Oval Amenities."

Wait; you overlooked the "provide value" part.

I agree with what you say, though. I don't know what fee level, if any, would be appropriate for the TA, but obviously no amount will do any good without commitment from the community.

I would love to know what MCI's are being sought, or will be sought, from the landscaping and help out with a challenge to them (if warranted), for example, and would document and forward things like the two-week-long-garbage-strike levels of trash in my newly-rat-infested storage area. But, without guidance from the TA, I just sorta shake my head and move on. Like countless others, I'm sure, I have limited time for such activity -- but if everyone with just a little time had a way to channel their collective efforts, I'll be progress could be made.

Whatever the larger merits of "community organizers" may or may not be, we should could use a good on in ST/PCV!