What Does Desperation Smell Like? New Car Smell!

Comment of the week.

I read the fine print on this contest last week. First, the terms state 'available stock', which could mean a used 2007, former Zip Car model for all we know.

Secondly, the contest states the ARV (actual retail value) of the one-year lease on the Cooper to be a super-inflated $10,000, which means the montly lease payment is $833.

$833 A MONTH FOR A ONE-YEAR LEASE ON A MINI COOPER? SERIOUSLY?! I pay $354 a month for my lease on a brand (effing) new Audi and they have a USED Cooper for $833?

God, do these people think we're that slow that we can't crunch some numbers?

The parking is a better value than the car, and it costs TS ZERO. BTW, you have to pay gift taxes on that ARV, so it could cost you almost what you would actually pay privately for a lease.

If you go to Edmunds.com and do the lease calculations, you'll find that the 1yr lease is $900+, but the 3yr is only $400. That's because you pay the bulk of the depreciation upfront, so one would be a fool to take the vehicle on a 12 month lease, and not a 36.

Is PT Barnum registered on this board ??

It was P.T. Barnum who MetLife sold the property to!

No .PT Barnum sold STPCV to TS on behalf of Metlife

Thank you, Ziggy. That's what I meant. I got it ass-backwards!

Actually it would be income to the recipient which if you are in the 28% IRS bracket adds up to about 40% combined federal , state and local taxes (higher if you are subject to AMT). So a hyper-overpriced lease on a mediocare car (which may be a used car) will cost the "winner" about $4,000 in taxes.
What a deal !!!!!-NOT

Great minds think alike. LOL

Farley is Mrs. Jerry. They marry the scum.

Thanks--I must have missed that paragraph. Or maybe I was in the bathroom retching.

Espada is Chairman of the Senate Housing Committee and was reportedly holding up RS legislation for months. This despite the fact that his district has many RS tenants. Of course, why should Espada care? -he doesn't even live in his district.
Hopefully he will be indicted soon (he is the subject of at least 2 criminal investigations) and even if doesn't then resign (which I am sure he won't) either a conviction will force his resignation or the indictment will enable a challenger to defeat him next year.

I wonder if Lord Mayor (for life) Bloomberg has a dirty hand in any of this? I don't feel that we live in a democracy any more. Politicians just do whatever they want without giving a damn about the people who voted for them. We might as well be living in Iran for all that our vote seems to count.

The garage use (over $5500 per) is also taxable, so add another $2K.

I think what will happen is that minor improcvements and an extension of the RS laws will occur in 2010 or 2011. Not matter how much money Espada has received from RE interests he will not be able to get reelected if he opposes RS entirely. I think in this environment the RE lobby would consider this a victory and wait for the Rep to again gain control of the State Senate ( which given the abysmal performance of Paterson and Smith might happen in 2010. If the Senate remains tied in 2010 we will then have elected a new Lieutenant Governor who very likely will be a Dem and breaks ties in the Senate. Since there is no Lt. Gov. in NY now, noone can break the tie (although Espada is making the argument that he somehow gets 2 votes)

Let's just hope Espada gets indicted and then either gets convicted or isdefeated
By the way , Espada has refused to disclose his list of donors , in violation of NY election law. Eventually, he will be forced to provide this information and then we will know how much TSand other RE interest groups have been giving him

Definitely something of a "fait acomplit" (forgive my bad French!) about this.

According to reports, Espada kept all pro-tenant legislation bottled up in his committee on minor procedural grounds.
What I find amazing is that the Dems can't turn a single Republican. It is obvious that the Republican Party in NY is on the downswing.
Why isn't there something the Dems can offer one or 2 Republicans to either switch sides or at least vote with the Dems on issues like RS.
Hell even Obama was able to get Spector to flip parties and can often find support from 2-3 other Rep. Senators.When Bruno controlled the Senate the Rep. moved in virtual lockstep. Paterson and Smith cannot maintain party discipline.

You might want to check out this very astute post on the NY political blog Room 8 from back in 2007. It's called THE JOE BRUNO DEMOCRATS. Here's an excerpt:

Joe Bruno should be toast in the long term, and no one knows it better than he. His once robust majority has gradually evolved into a naturally occurring retirement community of old men sadly serving out terms of life imprisonment without parole on their way to the elephant’s graveyard. It survives in a hothouse environment supported by the artificial sunlight of member items, “member services”, legislation sold to the highest bidder, malapportionment and inertia; its greatest enemies are actuarial tables and changing demographics.

Bruno’s known this for years, but he’s had a strategy for the new century he’s gradually evolved over the last decade. Run 'em as Dems, keep em as Dems, but have their votes to organize the Senate if the Dems ever take the majority. It's called "the Kruger Plan".

The Senate Republican majority is doomed in the long-term unless they find a way to corral some non-Republicans into either switching parties or voting with them to organize. This has now been their long-range strategy for many years. They find "Democrats In Name Only" and run them in prohibitively Democratic districts, so they can hold them in reserve in case the Dems ever take the majority.

Bruno is a hell of a lot smarter than the Dems. I still can't stand him and hope he spends the rest of his life in jail but he was a very better politician (in the pure sense of the word) than the Dems.
Also look at the post above yours. Looks like Nick or one of his buddies is back

"And now they are giving away a car."

No, they're not "giving away a car"! Interesting to see that you lack basic comprehension and reading skills. Kind of like Nick!

I saw it. He's trolling, and I chose to ignore him.

He spells like Nick. "Complainig"

Don't you people at LeFrak have anything better to do?

ROFL! First New York Living Solutions and now LeFrak? Lux, how did you find him?

http://www.lefrak.com

"Giving away a car or getting a car for a year. Does it really matter?"

Yes, it does, dumbass. As dryamaka explained it above:

"I read the fine print on this contest last week. First, the terms state 'available stock', which could mean a used 2007, former Zip Car model for all we know.

Secondly, the contest states the ARV (actual retail value) of the one-year lease on the Cooper to be a super-inflated $10,000, which means the montly lease payment is $833.

$833 A MONTH FOR A ONE-YEAR LEASE ON A MINI COOPER? SERIOUSLY?! I pay $354 a month for my lease on a brand (effing) new Audi and they have a USED Cooper for $833?

God, do these people think we're that slow that we can't crunch some numbers?"

Thank you, dryamaka!

Nick, you ignorant slut, you're so stupid. You don't get it and no one cares what you think or what misinformation you spew. Go sunbathe face down in the "glorious" blooming Oval.

Well, those dark wood finishes and stainless steel appliances make up for it, right? They're like a spouse that abuses their girlfriend and thinks expensive gifts make it all better.

I am Nick. I live in glorious Stuyvesant Town. The photos speak for themselves. What a majestic day. Gotta run. Lunch with Manny. Enjoy the online news journals and the blogosphere. Until next time.

"They're like a spouse that abuses their girlfriend and thinks expensive gifts make it all better."

Comment of the Week!

That was a really good recent Law & Order.

Mr. LeFrak....seems you were one of the bidders for Stuy Town, but lost to your pals:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqXtnBkmhj8s&refer=worldwide_news

"Rent-regulated buildings which ``were once a stepchild, are now prized assets'' because rents ``can only go up,'' said Richard S. LeFrak, the billionaire real estate tycoon and president of the LeFrak Organization, which bid on the properties."

Up is the new down.

Looks like everyone else here thinks you're an asshole too ! (that's a fact, not a complaint).

Guess your opinions are outvoted.

Well, now we know that things wouldn't be much better around here if the LeFrak family's bid had won! LOL.

Nick or no Nick, you're an idiot. As a lawyer, I try my hardest to see things from both sides, diplomatically, and fairly. This is honesty talking. When you weigh everything against everything, I fail to see how anyone benefits from being a PCV-ST resident under TS.

First: rent-stablized tenants run the grave risk of being kicked out illegally. That is a rather serious allegation that surely wasn't simply invented overnight. It took a few people with similar experiences to get together and realize they all had a shitty TS and perhaps an illegal TS eviction.

Market rate tenants, like myself, run the risk of having a neighbor move in next door for almost a THOUSAND dollars less just 6 months after me for the same market rate apartment, effectively encouraging people like me to become disenchanted with anything ST or ST have to offer. Let's not forget how big of a slap in the face it is to know my landlord is receiving a massive government benefit in the form of a tax abatement (which I, as a taxpayer, contribute to) while charging me market rate.

Both parties can agree that TS can't seem to do anything right. Oval Kids had leaky windows; security (one of the sales pitches that was made to me on my tour before signing) has gone to a basic skeleton crew while crime in the area is on a steep rise; 'water efficient' washing machines use a cup of water, offer no repair service, are always broken, and just underwent a rate increase (meanwhile we have a fountain that is on seemingly 24/7, and I tihnk I saw it on in the winter?); temperatures range from an abyssmal low to a desert high. The list goes on and on, my friend.

One theory I have as to why new rents are starting so low is that when TS loses its appeal, a judge will have to decide exactly how much the cap should have been on each unit that was flipped to market rate whlie they were receiving tax benefits. For example, my rent is $3300 for a 1-bedroom. A judge may decide that so long as TS was receiving benefits, the unit should have had a rent capped at $2400, meaning I will be owed the difference of $900 times the number of months I paid $3300.
That being said, starting a lease to a tenant at $2400 or so would mean less of a difference, if any, that TS would be required and liable to pay once the appeal is lost; and the entire time the excuse can be said that TS is lowering rates just to keep with the tanking market. Too much logic for your little brain, I know, but re-read a few times and see how it makes sense.

Additionally, let us not negate the fact that TS DID lose their case in court and that they are only exercising their right to appeal.

Do you live here? Do you know the staff we have to dael with? Everything seems to be answered by an answering machine or faq list on a phone maze. I got a notice under my door last month that told me a member of the city's building department would accompany a TS staffer into my apartment (even if I wasn't there) to check the electrical wiring and that both people would have their respective identifications. Fair enough, right? Except that when they came, both presentesd TS ID's and did not once check any outlet or wiring. They were checking the pressurized wall and made a note that I had painted the wall in my living room and had hung some pictures. Creepy, huh? It's almost like they're looing for reasons to charge me upon moving out a full 18 months before I'm supposed to move out.

Everyone will agree: TS should stick to commercial property and get out of the residential business. Yes, I agree an investor should have a right to capitalize on his investment; but he should also learn when to call it quits, admit defeat, and walk away and cut losses once he realizes it was a poor, poor choice.

"You money grubbing, charity leaching loser.

Grow up and stop complaining. Get a better paying job or move out of the city. Are you on food stamps as well???"

- Richard Wernick,
Executive Leasing Agent, LeFrak

Is this what you call the prospective tenants you show Stuyvesant Town apartments to you piece of shit?

Looks like your friend is going to join Nick Hetherington in Google infamy.

Oh snap !.

Maybe these leasing companies should have their employees sign a contract that says they won't publicly humiliate themselves and their employers online.

"Well Mr. Wernick, we are pleased with your overall performance though we're a bit disturbed that you referred to Stuyvesant Town residents as "pathetic whiners" and "money grubbing, charity leaching losers" and "illegally living in your dead grandmothers apartments."

Sorry, you're fired."

Wow. Not what I would call executive behaviour!

You are so right; just take a look at all the cluck for buck these 'whiners' are getting:
Pets: What child wouldn't want a flea infested, lice ridden rat, the size of a small dog to love and cuddle?
Trees and/or greenery: Brown is the new green and those tall, dead sticks are an excellent haven for wildlife. (see 'Rats').
Parks and playgrounds: Can you say, 'needle park', sex and the city; it's where Coney Island whitefish come to spawn and die; HIGHLY educational.
Students: How much better does it get than to be able to study biological functions first-hand than to have college kids blowing chunks and defecating in the halls!

SUCK IT UP!! Just like Jerry & Robbie do at the glory hole!

Better to be on food stamps then hallucinogenic drugs. What's in your med cabinet?

Brilliant detective work, girl! How did you figure it was he who was Complainig? What a dirtbag! (Him, not you!)

He started following Lux Living on Twitter under his real name at the exact time of his post.

It's always a pleasure to expose a charmer that works in real estate who writes lines like,"How many of you are illegally living in your dead grandmothers apartments???"

Hey, did anyone catch the story of the guy who was impersonating his dead mother so that he could continue to collect her Social Security checks? He was arrested earlier this week.
Next we will be accused of impersonating dead relatives to keep our RS apartments.