Time for the 'haves' and 'have-nots' to unite

THIS IS IS A COPY OF THE EMAIL THAT I SENT IN RESPONSE TO THIS LETTER.

I am in agreement with Mr. Stevens about the need for a meeting without or with management and would like to be contacted once a date is given, On the LuxLiving website, people have been clamoring for tenant organization. It does not appear that the Tenants Association is playing any role with regard to the quality of life issues that we are all experiencing in Stuyvesant Town. Until we are organized I would like to remain anonymous, but you have my permission to forward this response to Mr. Stevens. His willingness to speak out makes him a hero in my book.

Granville Stevens has been a leader in our community for many years. I agree with his sentiments that something needs to be done. I disagree however with his supposition that the Speyers are unaware of what has been going on in the community since they purchased the property. Their goal is to push out RS tenants ASAP , if in the process they annoy or inconvenience anyone foolish enough to rent a MR apt in STPCV, so be it. They can't make money unless they reduce the number of RS tenants dramatically and quickly AND reduce the level of services (which clearly has begun).
We need action, not a sit down with the Speyers which would be kind of like the sitdowns Native Americans were encouraged to have with the US Army in the 1800s which almost always lead to the demise of the Native Americans.
Unfortunately, our TA has ignored all requests by me and others for action .
I wish Granville luck in even getting a meeting and if he does I advise him to be wary of offers by the Speyers to move us RS tenants to some reservation in Queens or Brooklyn where the Speyers and their best bud , Lord Mayor Bloomberg, believe people like Granville, me and all other RS tenants "belong".

Ziggy,
Your response indicates to me that you think the situation is hopeless. I think tenants need to be organized around maintenance and quality of life issues. A meeting with management in which tenants' issues are spelled out could be helpful in establishing a legal case if Tish-Spy fails to improve management problems which have been discussed on this website ad infinitum. Sometimes you need to go through steps to get from here to there.

Ellen
My experience in dealing with people like the Speyers leads to my skepticism.
Having said that I left a message for Granville and hope to hear from him. I also left a message on the Tenant's Hotline about a week ago but never got a call back.

I am hope recovering from major surgery and have to stay in bed most of the day because it is too damned cold to get up. The pipes are cold. As cold as a fucking Speyer heart. I am sick of calling the idiots in the management office. They will send someone to check the heat about 5 hours later, by which time my apartment is warmed up because I use a space heater and turn the oven on. The TA forums are down - probably for ever because I don't think they want to hear from us!

I meant to say I am home (not hope) recovering from major surgery. Have given up "hope."

Cold and Miserable
First of all feel better.
Second, the forums were up from Saturday until earlier today by clicking on "Resident Opinions" in the center left of the STPCVTA home page . However that link no longer works.
It is interesting that the forums have been down for about a week for "maintenance". As I noted above I left a message on the Hot Line last week but never heard back from anyone. Either they are planning the second invasion of Normandy and ,therefore , secrecy is paramount or the TA leadership has "left the building".

Ziggy, thank you for your kind wishes.
Concerning the TA, I don't think we should be too critical of them because they are volunteers who are not under any obligation to us. I think they do their best with what they've got and probably don't get an awful lot of support these days because we have such a transient population thanks to the upheavel of the past few years. I don't think they can do much about the day-to-day misery we endure, but they are very proactive and ready and willing to fight for tenant protection laws. At the end of the day it is because these laws have been eroded so badly by corrupt politicians and greedy landlords who bribe these politicians that we are in the sad state that we are in. I think you should ease up on your criticism of the TA - and no I'm not a TA leader! I'm a regular rent stabilized tenant and I appreciate what the TA has done in the past and is striving to do now. Remember how it organized to try to purchase the property? That took some doing, even though it was an unsuccessful bid. We're up against real evil these days and you can't put the burden on a few volunteer shoulders and expect miracles.

Cold and Miserable
I respect the fact that the TA leadership are volunteers and can't do it all themselves. Therefore, I continue to be amazed that they have not responded to requests from me and others over the past several weeks to schedule a meeting of concerned tenants, of which there appear to be many. If they are concerned about a "mole" from TS attending the meeting I have no problem with each attendee needing to produce appropriate photo ID. If anything, such a meeting would give the TA leadership a greater pool of individuals to organize actions.I have also left a message to this effect on the TA Hotline, to no avail.
The only response those of us
who have asked for a meeting have received has been sarcasm and the occassional personal attacks from other tenants.
The only meaningful organized action by the TA in recent memory had to do with the sale of the project. I think TS is betting the TA won't organize now and will continue to "pick off" tenants one -by-one. I hope we can prove them wrong.

The forum is working. Try this link:

http://www.stpcvta.org/forum_takedown/index.php

Girl, I think that is the "back door" to the forum! I don't think they have finished the maintenance yet.

I am not sure why you folks ( rent controlled, stabilized, and market renters) mount a concerted rent strike by placing all of your collective rent payments in an escrow account with your respective counsel. Basis for rent strike? Failure to have quiet enjoyment, deprivation of services, breach of contract, etc.
Tishman is border line in default and your withholding of rent would push them into default and you could finally have a FEDERAL bankruptcy court deal with this matter as opposed to the pathetic landlord - tenant court in NYC (which by the way is heavily influenced by the landlord lobby).

Now THAT sounds like an idea! BTW, Conquer, there aren't any rent controlled tenants in PCVST - only rent stabilized and market rate renters. I think a rent strike might be just the very thing that would make Tish Spy sit up and take notice.

One of a number of good ideas that have been proposed on this site and on the TA site. Now all we need is a private, tenant-only meeting so we can discuss all these ideas without Big Speyer listening in!!!

Ditto, Ziggy.

The complaints must be presented to Tishman Speyer. The meeting needs to draw up a letter which lists the failures of management that affect our quality of life, health and safety. We probably will need an attorney. Then we wait to see what T-S does about them. If, within a specified period of time, things do not change, we then take action. One step at a time. it doesn't matter if a spy for T-S is at the first meeting. It is about drawing up our grievances.

Ellen
We are way, way past just drawing up grievances. I am emailing at this hour because the pipes have been clanging for the past hour, walking us all up. I called security ,yet the pipes just keep on clanging.
WE NEED TO HAVE A MEETING AND DRAW UP A PLAN OF ACTION.TS has heard from many many tenants about a multitude of problems. THEY DON'T CARE.the only thing that works with people like TS is to hit them in the pocketbook.

I agree with you that Tishman Speyer doesn't care, and in no way am I saying that they DO care. What I'm saying is that in order to have a rent strike or a lawsuit that will be upheld in court, we must first present our grievances as a body of tenants.

Ellen
I agree as to lawsuit but we sure can demonstrate. Of course whatever action we decide to take needs to be decided at a tenant-only meeting and, unfortunately, I will point out again that the tA leadership has been completely nonresponsive to requests for such a meeting here, on the TA forums and in phone calls to the TA hotline.

Anyone know when the TA forums will be back up? They've been down a long time now.

They will be back when we agree never to criticize the TA leadership again.

You complain that the TA has been completely UN-responsive... just wondering why Granville Leo Stevens (a TA Board Member) has gone rogue.

Cause maybe he would like to do something. I left him a message yesterday and hope to hear back

Lee is a pain in the ass. No more than an annoying neighbor who defends his friends and to hell with the rest of us.

Today I saw him bitching at some maintence guys--something about black garbage bags. I felt bad for the shnooks since I already know this guy.

He hails himself as a hero while stepping on other tenants.

If he is "TA", then it's clearly time for a real Tenants Association.

Yeah.

Cassie

I know of what I speak.