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PWVTA WORKS FOR YOU!
Our vision for Park West Village
Remember why you moved here? Large, affordable apartments, trees, Central Park, views, and the diverse population of neighbors who could become a personal universe of good friends!
     All this and more has made Park West Village a very special place. But now new stores and monstrous buildings on Columbus Avenue are upending our wonderful neighborhood. “Columbus Village” would be a destination shopping area like the East Side or Columbus Circle.
     The PWVTA has worked to create a vision of the PWV community that’s manifested in our lives here today. We provide helpful information, protect your rights, and connect with other advocacy groups and local elected officials to resolve issues of common concern.
     Your participation is welcomed too — JOIN US!

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New York's neighborhoods on the brink -- again: How to stop an apartment building foreclosure crisis
By Emily Youssouf Special to NYDailyNews.com
Friday, February 12th 2010
The foundation of New York City's housing system is cracking. The ownership arrangements supporting over 70,000 apartments citywide are on the verge of bankruptcy. While the troubles of a few large complexes such as. . . >> CONTINUED HERE >>

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NO MAHS CONFERENCE MARCH 27
NO MORE “AFFORDABLE” HOUSING SCAMS:
TOWARDS COMMUNITY CONTROL OF LAND IN NEW YORK CITY
Saturday, March 27th  9:30 – 5
Hunter College/CUNY, West Building, 8th Floor
68th and Lexington Ave
NO MAHS is a forum for housing
activists, tenants, squatters, community
organizers and homeless people to
discuss how to secure land and how to
access and preserve truly affordable
housing and community space, through:
• Direct action
• Land trusts and land banking
• Community planning
• Participatory budgeting
RSVP and more info call 212-650-3328
communitylandnyc@gmail.com
conference flyer and THE CALL

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ASSEMBLY MEMBER DANIEL O'DONNELL presents
THE FUTURE OF MANHATTAN VALLEY:
A COMMUNITY VISIONING EVENT
co-sponsored with
Columbus-Amsterdam BID, Pratt Institute & Municipal Art Society
Assembly Member O'Donnell is convening a community conversation and needs your input!
Discuss Manhattan Valley, its many strengths, and what improvements you’d like to see.
    The goal is to get a clear picture of what we can all do together to make this vibrant community even stronger.
    Community members of all ages are welcome. Please spread the word to your friends and neighbors! Youth are encouraged to participate -- all perspectives are important!
Saturday, March 6  3:00–5:00PM
(Doors open 2:45 PM)
Red Oak Apartments; 135 W 106 Street (bet. Amsterdam and Columbus Aves)
Spanish translation services will be provided. Children welcome.
PLEASE RSVP to 212-866-3970
PRINT and POST FLYER HERE!

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RGB APPOINTEE NAMED
Michael McKee reports
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael McKee / Eric Stenshoel <keestone@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 12:43 PM
Subject:  Bloombucks appoints Jonathan Kimmel as chair of rent board

THIS IS ACTUALLY WORSE THAN MARVIN MARKUS. KIMMEL IS THE PUBLIC MEMBER WHO TWO YEARS AGO WANTED 10 AND 15 PERCENT RENT INCREASES, WHICH EVEN MARVIN MARKUS THOUGHT TOO HIGH.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 26, 2010
No. 86 www.nyc.gov

MAYOR BLOOMBERG APPOINTS JONATHAN KIMMEL AS CHAIRMAN OF THE NYC RENT GUIDELINES BOARD
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the appointment of Jonathan Kimmel as Chairman of the New York City Rent Guidelines Board.
   The Board is mandated to establish rent adjustments for the nearly one million dwelling units subject to the Rent Stabilization Law in New York City. It holds a series of annual public meetings and hearings to consider research regarding operating and maintenance costs, the cost of financing, housing supply, cost of living indices produced by staff, and testimony by owners, tenants, advocacy groups and industry experts. It publishes reports based on this research for use by the public, other governmental agencies and private organizations, and provides information to the public on housing questions.
   “The Rent Guidelines Board plays an important role balancing the needs of tenants and building owners, and it requires a thoughtful and steady hand,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “For the past eight years, Marvin Markus served that role with sincerity, and I know Jonathan Kimmel will bring the same degree of commitment. His experience on the board and his diverse background as an attorney, public servant and educator will serve him well as he takes on this new role.”
   “I’m honored to be tapped by Mayor Bloomberg for this great responsibility,” said Board Chairman Kimmel. “The Board takes the job of listening to all stakeholders and making sound independent decisions seriously, and I look forward to working with the members in my new capacity as chairman.”
The Rent Guidelines Board consists of nine members appointed by the Mayor. Two members are appointed to represent tenant interests, two members are appointed to represent owner interests, and five members including the chairperson are appointed to represent the general public.
   Kimmel has served as a member of the board representing the general public interest since 2006. Previously, he served as a member of the New York City Residential Mortgage InsuranceCorporation, and he has worked as legal director of the Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York, executive assistant for Intergovernmental Relations in the Mayor’s Office from 1988 to 1990, assistant legislative representative to the City Council from 1984 to 1988, and a public school teacher in Brooklyn.
   He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook, a master’s degree from New York University, and a law degree from New York Law School. He lives in Manhattan.
Contacts: Stu Loeser / Andrew Brent (212) 788-2958

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[on PREDATORY EQUITY]
NY Times 1-31-10
All Those Little Stuyvesant Towns
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON
WHEN money grew on trees during the late great credit boom, private equity firms plunged headlong into New York City real estate. Not only did these companies snag dazzling Manhattan office towers, they also paid up for thousands of mundane rental apartments across the five boroughs.
>> CONTINUED HERE >>

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Ruling Overturns "Tax"
on Long-term Rent Stabilized Tenants
ANOTHER TENANT VICTORY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, FOR NOW
On January 20th, State Supreme Court Justice Emily Jane Goodman set aside the 2008 order of the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) that imposed a bigger rent increase, in percentage terms, on long-term tenants paying less than $1000 per month than on other tenants.
   Under the 2008 order, tenants who had lived in a rent-stabilized apartment for six years or more and were paying less than $1000 per month could be charged a specific minimum dollar amount for a lease renewal--$45 for a one-year renewal and $85 for a two-year renewal--while rent increases for other tenants were limited to 4.5% for a one-year lease renewal and 8.5% for a two-year renewal.
   Judge Goodman reasoned that the housing emergency, which is the reason for rent stabilization, exists for all tenants. She noted that this new order imposed a much bigger percentage increase on long-term tenants with rents below $1000 than on other tenants. "In other words,"she said, the order "in effect penalizes tenants failing to move in a city that has virtually no affordable housing."She concluded that the RGB did not have the authority to create a separate class of tenants based on length of residency.
   The Goodman decision will be appealed, and it will take some time to play out in the court system. The City Council filed a brief supporting the tenants. The Corporation Council of New York City represented the RGB.
   The Corporation Counsel has indicated that it will prevent action to enforce the decision until all appeals are decided. If the Goodman ruling is upheld, long-term tenants whose rents were under $1000 in 2008-2009 and whose leases were renewed in that year will be owed refunds and will have their rents reduced.
   The decision, if upheld, would also affect the minimum rent increases imposed by the RGB for 2009-2010 lease renewals. A considerable number of PWV tenants will be affected by the final decision, so stay tuned.
By PWVTA Legal Committee Chair Dean Heitner 2-2-10

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Met Council 1-29-10
Court Strikes Down RGB's 'Poor Tax'!
On Jan. 22, the New York State Supreme Court ruled that the New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) exceeded its authority in 2008 and 2009 when it issued minimum rent increases for long term rent-stabilized tenants with rents under $1,000.
>> CONTINUED HERE >>

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POETRY READING -- FEBRUARY 22
PWV resident Irving Polsky announces a poetry reading at Eretz Kosher, 692 Columbus Ave. at 94th St. on Monday, Feb. 22 at 7:30pm.
   His late brother's poems and essays from the book "Thoughts of Being" will be read on topics ranging from the Holocaust, to relationships from his Viet Nam war experience to teenage angst.
MORE INFO AND POSTER HERE

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NY Times January 26
Fallout Is Wide in Failed Deal for Stuyvesant Town
In the beginning, investors and lenders could not get enough of the record-breaking $5.4 billion deal to buy the largest apartment complexes in Manhattan: Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.
    Now, three years later, they cannot get away from it fast enough.
    The partnership that bought the 80-acre property on the East River announced on Monday that it was turning the keys over to its lenders after it defaulted on its loans and the value of the property fell below $2 billion.
    Yet in walking away, the partners, Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock Realty, have left tenants in limbo and other investors with far bigger losses. STORY CONTINUED HERE - PDF
www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/nyregion/26stuy.html?hp

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NY TIMES JANUARY 25
Ruling Could Mean Lower Rents for 300,000 Tenant
By CARA BUCKLEY
To most renters in New York City, it sounds like a modest, even enviable, rent increase: pay an additional $45 if your monthly rent happened to be less than $1,000 and you had been living in the same apartment for more than six years.
   But to the City Council, and advocates for New York’s lower-paying tenants, the increase issued by the city’s Rent Guidelines Board in 2008 amounted to what they called a “poor tax.” And in a ruling that came down last week, Justice Emily Jane Goodman of State Supreme Court in Manhattan agreed.
>> CONTINUED HERE >>

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MARKUS LEAVES RENT GUIDELINES BOARD
Marvin "Markup" Markus leaves the RGB,
Tenants Wonder What's Next

Marvin Markus stepped down as Chairman of the Rent Guidelines Board this past week. During Markus's tenure at the RGB, the board approved some of the highest rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments in years, and repeatedly punished long term tenants who have lower rents with minimum increases - known commonly as a 'poor tax' - earning the chair the nickname "Marvin Markup".
    The departure of Markus from the RGB doesn't necessarily mean that the RGB will start giving tenants relief. All five of the board's public members have stated that they fundamentally don't believe in the system of rent-regulation - which should disqualify them from serving on the RGB.
    Mayor Bloomberg's should not consider any of the RGB's current public members for the post of chair, and should appoint a chairperson with a concern for maintaining affordable rents. Unfortunately, the power to appoint members of the RGB rests in the hands of the mayor alone. Our reform bill in Albany would change this, by requiring the mayor to submit his candidates to the City Council for approval.

    We are watching the situation and will inform members of actions to take as things develop.

Extracted from Metropolitan Council on Housing newsletter 1-15-10

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Sue Susman sends tenant leaders a book review:

Hi, all.
I just finished reading "Going Public, An Oranizer's Guide to Citizen Action" by Michael Gecan - a gift meant to make the rounds of the tenant leaders in the building where I live.
    Gecan, of the Industrial Areas Foundation founded by Saul Alinsky, notes that what any organization should strive for is power - rather than working solely on a single issue. Only with a large base can we confront power in the private and government sectors.
    We have begun that through various efforts in this neighborhood, and I hope we can develop it further. One way to develop it further, he notes, is to get to know one another as people and as supports for one another and resources for particular struggles.
    Along that line, Gecan cites a remarkable person whose strength, dignity and force of effort played a crucial role in the development of the Nehemiah Houses and in the relationship of the East Brooklyn Congregations with many of our elected officials.
    That person is the Rev. Heidi Neumark, then working out of a church in the South Bronx and now the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church on 100th Street.
    So those of us who were impressed by Pastor Neumark's planning efforts and speech at the shopping cart rally before the construction began on Columbus, can now know - if we didn't then - that we have a truly wonderful person - and resource- in our midst.
    Once people in my building finish reading it, we can lend it out to others - and it's available at the NY Public Library.

- Sue  sue.susman@gmail.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
uws mailing list uws@save-ml.org http://save-ml.org/mailman/listinfo/uws_save-ml.org

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PWVTA BROCHURE HERE!

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PWVTA memo to the Mayor and the
Mayor's Office of Environmental Coordination  July 27, 2009
The Park West Village Tenants’ Association sent the letter contained in the PDF file HERE to the Mayor and his Office of Environmental Coordination (MOEC) asking that the City broaden its environmental review procedures to include projects like those underway in Park West Village.
    We cited examples of the efforts made by our community to be included in planning and review processes.
    Development continues at Park West Village and environs. We hope you will join us in letting the Mayor, relevant agencies and other elected representatives know of your concerns on this matter.

Maggi Peyton, President, Park West Village Tenants’ Association
President@pwvta.org www.pwvta.org 212-662-2610

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ARE YOU BEING OVERCHARGED?
If you have moved into an apartment in 784, 788 or 792 Columbus Avenue, there is a strong possibility that you are being overcharged.
   These buildings are covered by the New York State Rent Stabilization Law which requires landlords to follow a specific formula when setting new rents following an apartment vacancy. The owners of Park West Village have a history of overcharging new tenants by inflating the costs of apartment renovations
   What should you do? Call the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) at 718-739-6400 and request the rent history on your apartment.
   Upon receiving the rent history, call the PWVTA Hotline at 212-662-2610 to set up an appointment with a member of the Overcharge Committee who will help you through the process.
   For more information click on homepage link “PAST PWVTA NEWSLETTERS” below. There you’ll find details on PWV’s history of rent overcharges in the March 2008 newsletter.

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784, 788, 792 COLUMBUS AVE MCI RENT INCREASES
[NEW INFO: SCRIE / DRIE]
On Jan 31, 2008, the New York State Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) approved a further increase of 75 cents per room in the basic monthly rent of rent-stabilized apartments at 784, 788, and 792 Columbus Avenue. This increase, for hallway carpeting, was granted in response to a PAR (“petition for administrative review”) filed by the PWVTA and a PAR filed by the landlord of rent increases previously granted by DHCR for roof, boiler/water tank, and elevator upgrades but denied for other items, including hallway upgrade. The PWVTA challenged the amounts previously approved. >>MCI RENT INCREASES CONTINUED ON NEWS PAGE HERE>>

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PWVTA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16,  7:30 pm.
Ryan Health Center Community Room
MORE INFO call PWVTA Hotline: 212-662-2610 or write us at Info@pwvta.org

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JOIN/RENEW THE PWVTA HERE!

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