- Rent Stabilized Tenants in 70 Stuyvesant Town Buildings -
We are writing to tell you:
How to Respond to the Order Increasing Rent for Elevator MCI
What You Need To Know:
* Filing a PAR is how we Challenge the Rent Increase Order
* Filing a PAR defers Collection of The Retroactive Amount
* PARs have Filing Deadlines, Time is Short
* The More Individual PARs Filed The Stronger Our Voice and Case Will Be
* We Give You the Tools, There is Little Effort to File
We are writing to tell you:
How to Respond to the Order Increasing Rent for Elevator MCI
What You Need To Know:
* Filing a PAR is how we Challenge the Rent Increase Order
* Filing a PAR defers Collection of The Retroactive Amount
* PARs have Filing Deadlines, Time is Short
* The More Individual PARs Filed The Stronger Our Voice and Case Will Be
* We Give You the Tools, There is Little Effort to File
Detail:
If you are a Rent Stabilized Tenant in one of 70 Stuyvesant Town buildings on the list linked below, you may have recently received an "Order Granting MCI Rent Increase" for elevator upgrading. This Order was issued by the NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) and becomes effective on dates that vary from building to building. Outstanding elevator violations have delayed issuing the Order in some of them. The increases, which also vary by building, range from about $9 to $13 per room per month.
We have posted a kit (linked below) to aid you in filling out the Petition for Administrative Review (PAR), which will serve as your objection and challenge to the MCI. We urge you to act quickly, since the law allows only 35 days between the date that your Order was issued and the date by which your PAR must be filed. (If you have not yet received notice of the Order, please save this kit to guide you when it arrives.)
The Tenants Association will fight this Order administratively and in the courts. Keep in mind that once you file an appeal, you are not obligated to pay the retroactive portion of the Order until there is a final Administrative Decision. You are responsible for paying the prospective portion (the monthly increase to your basic rent) starting on the date listed on your Order.
The Tenants Association urges you to file your PAR speedily to force DHCR to review its approval of the Owner's MCI application, which was both legally and factually incorrect.
The more individual PARs that are filed, the stronger our voice and case will be.
To prioritize distribution the Tenants Association needs you to report your Order's Issue Date and will be distributing this PAR Kit to all 70 affected buildings.
We need everyone's help.
You can help in many ways:
* Report vital dates from your Order
* Buzz in a volunteer kit distributor to your building
* Distribute the kit in your own building
* Host a PAR Workshop for your building.
Key Links:
1. List of Affected Buildings
2. Download the Elevator MCI PAR KIT (PDF Only)
Help Now:
Register the Issue Date and Effective Date and/or sign up to help
***********
Using the link found below the body of this message (scroll down! left footer corner), please forward this e-mail to a neighbor and print this email 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 paper.
***********
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.
If you are a Rent Stabilized Tenant in one of 70 Stuyvesant Town buildings on the list linked below, you may have recently received an "Order Granting MCI Rent Increase" for elevator upgrading. This Order was issued by the NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) and becomes effective on dates that vary from building to building. Outstanding elevator violations have delayed issuing the Order in some of them. The increases, which also vary by building, range from about $9 to $13 per room per month.
We have posted a kit (linked below) to aid you in filling out the Petition for Administrative Review (PAR), which will serve as your objection and challenge to the MCI. We urge you to act quickly, since the law allows only 35 days between the date that your Order was issued and the date by which your PAR must be filed. (If you have not yet received notice of the Order, please save this kit to guide you when it arrives.)
The Tenants Association will fight this Order administratively and in the courts. Keep in mind that once you file an appeal, you are not obligated to pay the retroactive portion of the Order until there is a final Administrative Decision. You are responsible for paying the prospective portion (the monthly increase to your basic rent) starting on the date listed on your Order.
The Tenants Association urges you to file your PAR speedily to force DHCR to review its approval of the Owner's MCI application, which was both legally and factually incorrect.
The more individual PARs that are filed, the stronger our voice and case will be.
To prioritize distribution the Tenants Association needs you to report your Order's Issue Date and will be distributing this PAR Kit to all 70 affected buildings.
We need everyone's help.
You can help in many ways:
* Report vital dates from your Order
* Buzz in a volunteer kit distributor to your building
* Distribute the kit in your own building
* Host a PAR Workshop for your building.
Key Links:
1. List of Affected Buildings
2. Download the Elevator MCI PAR KIT (PDF Only)
Help Now:
Register the Issue Date and Effective Date and/or sign up to help
***********
Using the link found below the body of this message (scroll down! left footer corner), please forward this e-mail to a neighbor and print this email 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 paper.
***********
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.
Does anybody remember the upgrades to the elevators in the 90's? That would disqualify this MCI. Those upgrades have not exceeded their useful life expectancy.
Yes. They replaced the entire control and indicator systems. Installed new panels in the elevators and at each floor call station. It's possible that they refurbished the motors and other parts of the system at that time as well, but I don't know if we ever had all the details.
That system had lots of bugs, but I attribute it to inadequate maintenance. If they had hired a competent company to service the system, it's likely they would have operated perfectly. The new elevator systems are buggy as well with indicator lights that malfunction, panel buttons that don't light and locator displays that freeze up.
I remember them updating the elevators in the 90s. I don't think they improved them much over the old ones though. The ones in my building were constantly out of order. They frequently stopped between floors - which was a little hair-raising - and I remember that if the outer door didn't close right the elevator would be stuck on that floor until someone went and slammed the outer door until it "clicked." People were always yelling up the shaft "push the door" and leaving notes reminding people to make sure the outer door was closed completely! Ah, the good ole days! I don't think the new elevators are that much of an improvement. They do shake and shudder and on one occasion I was in one that stopped with a lurch between floors and my liver hit my tonsils. It proceeded on its merry way after about 30 seconds. It's an adventure getting on those things!
Does anyone know why it is necessary to afix a 44 cent stamp and a 17 cent stamp? I am sending mine certified/return receipt requested, but I am curious about the 17 cent stamp.
All the paperwork makes it overweight. It'll cost $.61 to mail, plus proof of delivery if you want to make sure DHCR doesn't try to claim they never got yours. I think the whole thing cost around $1.70-something.
Actually, it doesn't feel overweight (which I could say the same for myself!) with just 5 sheets of paper in it. However, just to be on the safe side, I am sending it by FedEx. That way, it will get there tomorrow and I will have proof of delivery. Thanks for all the help.
Thanks RR for the info on this site yesterday. I sent mine out today.
I also sent mine out today and let the chips fall where they may. And may a crane fall on Rob Speyer's head!
Very well done by the TA. Hopefully they'll get a large %-age of respondents.
The TA needs help in a number of buildings where they have no building captains or volunteers to go door to door. And some of these buildings got notices last month, so time is running out for them. Also consider going door to door in your own building. The more PARs per building, the better the case.
You can volunteer by clicking on one of the links above that Lux Living provided.
Hey-
Did the installation in your building stall for months and months, like it did in 240 1st Ave., leaving your building with only ONE elevator for about 9 months?
Remember to note that too, as you fill out and file your PAR.
Also include any legitimate complaints about frequent elevator breakdowns too.