Windowless rooms, filthy living conditions, wrecking balls! Tishman Speyer's plan for Stuyvesant Town / Peter Cooper Village seems heavily inspired by this 1947 documentary on the Gas House District. Manhattan's Gas House District - 1947 [Prelinger Archives, via Flickr]
Prelinger Archives (founded 1982), the largest privately held collection of 20th-century American advertising, educational, industrial and amateur films (and possibly the largest such collection in existence), is an unparalleled historical and cultural resource. It collects "ephemeral" (advertising, educational, industrial) films; historical and actuality footage; documentary films; and amateur films/home movies. Its holdings constitute a vast resource of imagery documenting both familiar and obscure aspects of twentieth-century North American culture and society: its life, leisure, history, industry, technology and landscape. The archives focuses primarily on collecting, cataloging and documenting films not held in other repositories, and attempts to preserve a broad cross-section of ephemeral film for the use of scholars, researchers, producers and interested members of the general public.
Just like those who tore down the gas house district and dilapidated tenements to put up STPCV thought that was an improvement, I am sure that Jerry and Robbie and , of course, their best bud, The Lord Mayor (for Life) Bloomberg , The All- Knowing One, believe that kicking all of us out of our homes to build housing fit for those who they believe "deserve" to live in Manhattan would be an improvement too.And all the Speyers have to do is make sure 1 corrupt Democratic State Senator (Espada) who is under multiple investigations and one low-life Democrat State Senator (Monserrette) who so cut up his girlfriend's face that the judge in the case was revolted by what he saw, are "taken care" of to prevent the strenghtening of RS and possibly its renewel in 2011.
Even Tom Duane has been thinking of going to the dark side although according to the latest reports he is sticking with the Dems because of numerous constituent calls and emails (including mine)
Here's the original link:
http://www.archive.org/details/pages_from_an_open_book_1
Report on Metropolitan Insurance business operations for 1947.
Start around 15:00
Thanks for posting the link, I downloaded and viewed the whole clip but boy, it's such a depressing reminder of what this place was intended to be, and what it's become.
How Metropolitan lost it's ethical way is one of the great business failures of the 20th century.
Thanks for posting the link to the entire film. I love watching and learning about how the world was--especially in an area in which I live.
Off-topic (but the STPCVTA board is "down for maintenance...")
Why does the "Tenant Information Sheet" enclosed with lease material ask for drivers license information? The form is supposedly to help them contact someone in case of emergency. I don't see how that information is relevant. Do I need to supply that? I don't want it used for identity theft.
Ignore that request. They have no right to that information
Is that so they can send the info to their private investigators to search for your other "primary" residence?
Re; the Tenant Information Sheet.
Last week dropped off my renewal lease and other forms except the Tenant Information Sheet at the mgmt. office. It was returned to me on 12/31 (the last day of the 60 day period I had to submit the renewal lease.
I called DHCR to see if I had to give them any of the information the sheet demands. They said,
"No" to most of it.
Has anyone not submitted the sheet at all, or only a partially completed sheet? What was the result?
Another fishing expedition on the part of TS!
You do not need to fill out the tenant information sheet fully. I think it's smart to give a phone number in case of emergency, though.
The only thing we are required to tell the landlord is the names of the people living in the apartment. I declined to fill out the sheet, and it was returned to me, as yours was. I called the tenant legal hotline that Garodnick set up. I think it is the Urban Justice League or something like that (the same people giving advice on the golub notices). You can get the number from Garodnick's office.
A lawyer got back to me in about a day or so. He said that I did not need to give the information. He cited a case where there was a fire in a landlord's office, and everyone's social security numbers were lost. Even in that case, the lawyer said, tenants were not required to give their SS numbers to the landlord again.
I sent the basically blank sheet back to management with a note saying that legal counsel said I wasn't required to fill it out, and I had my lease renewal in about two weeks.
So they're bluffing. They know darn well they're not supposed to ask for the info. I think the TA should get involved and put a stop to it.