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Senate Bill Guaranteeing Protections for Tenants of Foreclosed Buildings Signed into Law
August 19, 2010 by New York RealEstateRama
Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (35th District – D/WF) announced that a new law guaranteeing greater protections (S7139) for tenants of buildings in foreclosure has been signed into law.
   Under the new law, rent-regulated tenants are now required to receive a notice of their housing rights, along with a notice of the building owner’s foreclosure. The bill takes effect 30 days from the date of signing.
   A review of the state’s prior notification requirement for renters revealed that existing law failed to effectively communicate to rent-controlled and rent-stabilized tenants that their housing rights are unaffected by a foreclosure proceeding.
   To empower tenants and curb misleading landlord behavior, this law also requires...
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August 7, 2010
Senate Democrats Betray Tenants

 

Fifty tenants from New York City and Westchester County took the nearly three-hour trip to Albany this past Tuesday morning, responding to an emergency mobilization call for our final push to pass pro-tenant bills this session. The Senate leadership had promised us they would vote on a number of bills from our pro-tenant legislation package. We've been promised this before.

We waited. We chanted. We were told to wait even more - that the leadership was still working on the agenda for the day.

The Vote On Our Bills:

As the night grew later, people had to return home. After most of the tenants had left, the Senate put two bills to a vote at 10:30PM. One was a bill to reform the Preferential Rent loophole to stop landlords from being able to lure tenants with lower rents and then hit them with huge increases when the lease is renewed. Every year, thousands of tenants are priced out of their apartments owing to this loophole. The other bill would reform the Individual Apartment Improvement program by reducing the amount of money that landlords can increase rents for renovations or new appliances, and create a system for monitoring landlord fraud in this program.

Democrats Carl Kruger of Brooklyn, Craig Johnson and Brian Foley of Long Island, and Darrel Aubertine, William Stachowski, and David Valesky, who represent parts of Upstate New York, voted against both tenant bills. Pedro Espada of the Bronx voted no on the Preferential Rent reform bill but yes on the Individual Apartment Improvement reform bill.

Among Republicans, only Frank Padavan of Queens voted in favor of the bills. The rest of the Republicans voted no. The bills were five and six votes short of passing, respectively. The Senate laid these bills over rather than recording the votes, allowing them to be brought up again for a vote later this year.

What happened?

The Senate leadership did nothing to apply pressure to members from outside of New York City. Pedro Espada, Carl Kruger, and Craig Johnson were clearly among those working closely with landlord lobbyists to defeat these bills - but it's clear that John Sampson, Jeff Klein, and others in the Senate leadership at best ignored us, and possibly also worked closely with landlords to assure the defeat of our bills. (For a good article on the emerging relationship between landlords and Democrats, see Big Real Estate Warms to Senate Dems.)

Liz Krueger, Tom Duane, Bill Perkins, Daniel Squadron, and Kevin Parker, along with many others, pushed extremely hard for our legislation throughout the session. Without support from the leadership, however, their advocacy was not enough.
 
In the fall, Met Council will host strategy sessions with our membership to examine the strengths and shortcomings of our efforts, re-evaluate our power, and develop a plan of action to move forward on the tenant agenda.

There have been many times in New York's history when tenants set the housing agenda in New York. When tenant power outmatches landlord money in politics, anything is possible. Keep an eye out for announcements about our strategy meetings in the fall. Get ready to help us organize to come back stronger!

In the meantime, let your Senator know what you think about last Tuesday's vote. Find the name and contact info of your Senator here.

If you're not already a member of Met Council on Housing, visit our membership page and add your voice to the growing city-wide movement of tenants fighting for change.

 

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Controversial owners Gluck, Bistricer set to buy separate UWS buildings
The RealDeal July 16 By Adam Pincus The Real Deal Online 7-16-2010
Two unrelated apartment owners with checkered ownership records, Laurence Gluck and David Bistricer, are each in contract to buy large apartment buildings on the Upper West Side, according to several sources.
   Gluck, through his Stellar Management, has partnered with Moshe Azogui to buy 666 West End Avenue, a 403-unit 22-story apartment building at the corner of 92nd Street, for $72 million, the sources said....
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Met Council on Housing - RGB REPORT RGB RAISES RENTS AGAIN!

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NYTimes.com  June 24, 2010
N.Y. Panel Hikes Rent Less Than Usual
By CARA BUCKLEY
Rents for New York City’s one million rent-stabilized apartments will rise less than in the past several years under increases set Thursday evening at a typically raucous public meeting.
   The city’s nine-person Rent Guidelines Board approved rent increases of 2.25 percent for one-year leases and 4.5 percent for two-year leases. The increases apply to leases renewed between Oct. 1, 2010, and Sept. 30, 2011.
   While the proceedings resembled those of other years, the meeting this year, at Cooper Union, had some differences: One boardmember lashed out at elected leaders, while another broke down in tears.
   “I know this is going to have an impact on tenants, and I’m so sorry,” Adriene Holder, a board member who had initially pushed fora rent freeze, said tearfully before voting for the increase.... CONTINUED HERE

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Rent Guidelines Board Approves Rent Hikes
NY1.com June 24, 2010
By: Grant Greenberg
The city's Rent Guidelines Board voted Thursday night to raise lease renewals on the city's more than one-million rent regulated apartments.
   Following a public hearing inside Cooper Union in the East Village, the board approved a 2.25 increase for one-year lease renewals and a 4.5 percent increase on two-year lease renewals.
   Tenants who attended the meeting argued for a rent freeze, saying they already pay enough.
   "It's the wrong timing because people are losing their jobs, ya know? My granddaughter lost her job, a lot of our family members lost their jobs. So how are they supposed to control the rent like this, if it goes so much higher? They need to eat, you know what I'm saying? It's the wrong timing," said rent-stabilized tenant Josephine Colon....
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Crain's New York Business
The opening salvo in the next war over rent control
By GREG DAVID June 7, 2010
The most comprehensive report in years on New York's unique system of rent regulation was issued last week by the Citizens Budget Commission and...
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Fear (and Shopping) When Big Stores Move In
NYTimes June 4
By JOSEPH BERGER
Rhoda and Edward Green sat in the lobby of their building on 100th Street recently, engaged in a classic Upper West Side activity: collecting signatures on a petition.
   Their protest, they said, was against a danger to the character of the Upper West Side. A remodeling is in the works at Columbus House, a 33-story tower on Columbus Avenue and 95th Street, and they worry that a cluster of mom-and-pop shops there will be wiped out and replaced by big-box stores.
   “We’ve lost a lot of feeling of being a community,” said Mrs. Green...
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Paterson Housing Plan
Neither tenants nor landlords like governor’s proposed legislation
West Side Spirit June 2, 2010
By Dan Rivoli
With the state’s rent stabilization laws set to expire next year, Gov. David Paterson announced a package of proposals that would change when landlords can charge market rate for regulated apartments. The package also addresses the uncertainty...
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NYTimes May 27
Tenants and Landlords Criticize Paterson’s Rent Regulation Proposal
By CARA BUCKLEY
Gov. David A. Paterson proposed changes to housing laws on Wednesday that would make it harder for landlords to lift apartments out of rent regulation but would also override a landmark pro-tenant court ruling so that it could not apply in future cases.
   Under existing rules, landlords of rent-stabilized apartments can begin charging market rates when apartments become vacant and monthly rents hit $2,000. Citing “a chaotic housing market,”...
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MET COUNCIL ON HOUSING REPLY TO PATERSON PROPOSAL
May 28, 2010
Governor Paterson introduces bill to thwart rent reforms
You may have heard that Governor Paterson has proposed a bill to change the rent laws while renewing them in 2010. Some in the media portray this as a pro-tenant bill, but the bill is actually a complete sellout to the landlord lobby.
   Instead of ending vacancy decontrol, this bill would simply...
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COMPROMISE ON COLUMBUS AVE. RETAIL PLAN
West Side Spirit May 26
By Dan Rivoli
A compromise in the retail expansion proposal that will change the landscape of Columbus Avenue in the West 90s may be near.
   The Witkoff Group, the company that owns 248-unit Columbus House, wants to create 4,950 square feet of commercial space with a two-story ground-floor structure. This would extend all the way to the sidewalk, cutting down on the open space between West 95th and 96th streets.
   The expansion would wrap around the base of the 33-story tower, closing off pathways between buildings. Community Board 7’s land use committee disapproved of the plan, and the full board is slated to discuss the proposal at its June 1 meeting.
   But a co-chair of the land use committee has drafted a compromise proposal that would preserve some open space between the ground-floor stores and the residential building.
⇒article continued here

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DOG RUN ALERT!
⇒ DOWNLOAD HERE!
Please print this flyer and send us your opinion and comments.
Write to the Dog Run Committee at DogRun@PWVTA.org.

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Raccoon Rabies Advisory
MManhattan (UWS, UES Central Pk and Morningside Pk Areas)   

Rabid raccoons were recently found in Central Park and Morningside Park. For current information on rabid animals visit www.nyc.gov/health/rabies The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene requests that you: 1) Get your cat or dog vaccinated for rabies. It's the law.     · Check with your vet to see if your pet is up to date on its shots.     · Keep your dog on a leash except for during off leash hours.   Always keep a close eye on your dog when outdoors, especially when off leash. 2) Stay away from wild or stray animals. Keep children and pets away from them too.    ·Raccoons, skunks, bats, and stray cats are more likely than other animals to have rabies.      - Observe and enjoy healthy wildlife from a distance      - Do not feed wildlife.      - Never approach a wild, stray, sick, or injured animal, no matter  how helpless it looks. Instead call 311 or notify a Parks employee.    · Throw your trash in an appropriate trash container. 3) If you are bitten by an animal, wash the wound, consult a doctor, and call 311 to report the bite.    · First, wash the wound with soap and water IMMEDIATELY.    · If you are bitten by a pet, get the owners contact information.    ·Talk to a doctor right away to see if you need tetanus or rabies shots. If you don't have a regular doctor, go to a hospital emergency room.    · Call 311 to report the bite. Visit www.nyc.gov/health/rabies for more information and updated facts. Above message sent from:

Community Board 7/ Manhattan 250 West 87th Street  New York, NY 10024-2706  Phone: (212) 362-4008   Fax:(212) 595-9317 Web site: nyc.gov/mcb7  e-mail address: office@cb7.org

⇒ DOWNLOAD, PRINT, AND POST THIS PDF ALERT
NOW FOR YOU, YOUR PET, AND YOUR NEIGHBORS!

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NY Times June 24, 2010
Legislature Passes Bedbug-Notification Law
By CARA BUCKLEY
A bill passed by both houses of the State Legislature on Thursday would require New York City landlords to tell prospective tenants about a building’s recent bedbug history.
   Under the measure, which will become law once Gov. David A. Paterson signs it, landlords must inform incoming tenants whether the apartment under consideration or another in the same building had been infested within the previous year.
   “Bedbugs are bipartisan when it comes to snacking on blood,” said the bill’s prime sponsor, Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, a Democrat from the Upper West Side. “So it’s a bill that appeals to everybody regardless of political affiliation.”
   If the measure becomes law, landlords will have to include disclosure forms when they hand over vacancy leases, in a process to be overseen by the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal...
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NY Times July 28, 2010
In the War on Bedbugs, a New Attack Strategy
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ
Robert Stolarik for The New York Times
A bedbug-infested apartment in Brooklyn in 2006. Bedbugs, the seed-size insects that have invaded mattresses, couches and laundry baskets everywhere, are now officially on New York City’s hit list.
   With the bravado of military commandos, city officials on Wednesday declared war on bedbugs...
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NY Times July 27, 2010
Bedbugs II: The City Strikes Back!
By J. DAVID GOODMAN
By all accounts, the bedbugs are swarming our defenses. Now after months of planning and, one can only assume, military-campaign-like preparation, the city is ready to release its counterattack strategy on Wednesday at 2 p.m. on the steps of City Hall.
   “If fully implemented, the recommendations could reverse the current increase in bedbug activity and actually improve our situation,” Gil Bloom, president of Standard Pest Management, told Brick Underground...
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BEDBUGS IN PARK WEST VILLAGE
Yes, the citywide infestation has reached PWV too: see http://manhattan.about.com/od/citylife1/a/bedbugsbites.htm for a recent story that explains it all. One of the ways to fight back is at http://nybedbugdogs.reachlocal.net/
    You should report any evidence or suspicion of an immediate problem to management directly at the office: 792 Columbus Avenue, or call 212-222-5121.
    If you suspect a local problem, please let us know by reporting it at bedbugs@PWVTA.org, which will be directed to our Quality of Life Committee for investigation and appropriate action.

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BEDBUG BUSTING BILL INTRODUCED IN ASSEMBLY
“There’s a bed bug outbreak,” said Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal. “It’s an epidemic—East Side, West Side—it’s all over the place.”
   Rosenthal introduced a bill requiring landlords to give prospective tenants a bedbug infestation history when signing a lease. Another bill that she sponsored would provide a tax credit of 15 percent, up to $750, of the cost incurred from replacing clothing, furniture and other household items that are often tossed in the trash when bedbugs are discovered.
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Westside Independent 12-21-09
Opinion: Stop the Chetrit Land-Swap!
By Hillel Hoffman
Once again, there is a real estate scheme afoot that should set off community alarm. The players are Jewish Home Lifecare, a non-profit nursing home, and the Chetrit Group, one of the developers responsible for Columbus Village – five residential towers and a big-box commercial mega-development, spanning three uninterrupted blocks on Columbus Avenue between 97th and 100th Streets.
    The victims are Upper West Siders in the increasingly overburdened Park West Village neighborhood. . .
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See West Side Spirit article by BP Scott Stringer

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STREET TREES TO BE SAVED, TRANSPLANTED
The Park West Village Tree Committee reports that due to construction, most of the street trees along the east side of Columbus Avenue between 97th & 100th Streets will be transplanted by authority of the Parks Department to other NYC streets and parks from late March to early April, 2008.
     Trees of comparable size and type will be planted when construction is finished. A formal agreement and a performance bond will be signed by the developers, as required by the Parks Department.
     To alert the neighborhood, the Park West Village Tree Committee has prepared a flyer that you can download, print, and post -- click here.

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History Corner

The rich history of PWV and this neighborhood over two hundred years has been published in an illustrated brochure entitled "Park West Village: History of a Diverse Community." Prepared by the Park West Neighborhood History Group, the pamphlet was printed with a grant from NYC Council member Melissa Mark Viverito and has been distributed to all PWV residents and to local public officials and libraries. Additional copies are available at the Bloomingdale Library or by calling 212-865-3078.

NOW YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE a href="pdfs/PWV0801-Brochure.pdf">BROCHURE PDF HERE!

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MORE HISTORY HERE

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PARK WEST VILLAGE CONSTRUCTION FAILURE
LINKS  STORIES  STATEMENTS  BLOGS  PHOTOS

See HERE

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DEVELOPMENT REPORTS BY CURBED HERE  

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CONSTRUCTION COMPLAINTS - CALL 311  DOWNLOAD PDF HERE FOR INFO

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KEEPING HEALTHY & SANE DURING CONSTRUCTION: SEE HOW-TO HERE!

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