The unending story of Stuyvesant Town continues! Once again tenants in Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village are trying to buy the 80-acre property so as to convert its 11,232 apartments to condominiums or a cooperative under a plan in which residents could buy their apartments or remain as rent-regulated tenants. If it happens it "would be the largest conversion in the country." Seriously! more ›

Way back in the rosy-colored days of 2009, tenants of Stuy Town and Peter Cooper village rejoiced after a the Court of Appeals ruled that their landlords illegally raised rents on 4,400 formerly rent-stabilized apartments while simultaneously collecting city tax breaks. But how would the poor landlords get out from under the steel-toed boot of "the law" so they could once again nobly raise rent, for capitalism? Easy! Just "empty [your] piggy bank" into a legislator's piggy bank and voila! A law is born! more ›

Last month the acerbic Stuy Town blog Luxe Living—which previously chronicled hallway defecation and other abominations that have befallen the development since it fell into the maladroit hands of real estate giant Tishman Speyer—scared some Stuy Townies. In a post criticizing parents for letting their children raucously play outside on a Saturday morning, Luxe Living published an e-mail from a resident complaining about "two little velociraptors having at each other while their parents, both of whom are with them, do nothing. Parents, nobody likes your kids. THEY ARE ONLY CUTE TO YOU. Keep them indoors, tied up, gagged, drugged, WHATEVER, and stop letting them loose at 8AM on Saturday mornings." As illustration, the post featured an image of a crying child in a rifle scope's crosshairs. more ›

Residents of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village will get another half year of rolled back rents. The rents were originally lowered last December after a court ruling that found owner Tishman Speyer raised rents illegally. Now the Post reports that the tenants and owner Tishman Speyer "announced yesterday they'll extend the agreement for another six months because they have yet to come up with the final rent tally." This comes as residents of the huge complex are still exploring ways to buy the property. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Just around 11 a.m. a three alarm fire broke out at 502 East 14th Street, right across from Stuy Town. As of 11:25 a witness told us the fire was "still going and flames are visible." And another witness pointed out that it seems to have engulfed Stuyvesant Convenience, Pete's-A-Place and Jackson Hewitt. We'll update when we have more details... more ›

Now that Bloomberg won't help Stuy Town residents buy the foreclosed complex, hedge fund Appaloosa Management is taking a stab. The Times reports that the New Jersey based fund, led by David Tepper, filed a legal challenge yesterday against CW Capital Management, the company currently overseeing the Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village complexes on behalf of the lenders. Appaloosa says CW has acted “irrationally and imprudently." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg says he won't dig into the city's wallet to help tenants of Stuyvesant Town take ownership of the foreclosed complex, saying he'd rather the deal go elsewhere. "That's not what we're here to do. We want to make sure that whomever does take it over has a profitable deal," he said. But the Daily News reports that residents think he's judging them unfairly. According to City Councilman Daniel Garodnick, who lives in Stuy Town, "the mayor should not underestimate what the city can do." more ›

The NY Times reported that though the default is bad for Tishman Speyer, it's not fatal. “This is a big black eye for them,” said John McIlwain, a senior fellow for housing at the Urban Land Institute. “But it’s not the end of Tishman. They own a lot of property. It’s a dent, but not the end.” Those who really stand to lose are the investors: Fortress Investment Groups, the Church of England and the nation of Singapore (which could be in the hole for $775 million) just to name a few. more ›

After one of the largest ever defaults on an individual property last week, the future of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village is looking more confusing than ever. Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village debt holders have demanded payment from Tishman Speyer Properties LP within 10 days, with foreclosure looming on the horizon, says Bloomberg.com. While a restructuring is certainly in order for the housing complexes, Tishman Speyer, tenants, and elected officials all have different ideas about what that means. more ›

When the state's highest court ruled in October that the new owners of Stuyvesant Town should not have raised rents beyond certain set levels while also receiving tax breaks from the city for major renovations, other landlords started to sweat. Tishman Speyer, which bought the sprawling housing complex in 2006 but must now pay back millions of dollars in rent rebates, is not the only property owner in the city to raise rents on formerly rent-stabilized units, while also getting a J-51 tax break. Smelling fresh meat sensing injustice, the lawyers have sprung into action! more ›

Yesterday one ebullient Stuyvesant Town tenant said he expected his market-rate apartment to revert back to rent-regulated rent levels "immediately," now that the state's highest court has ruled that property owner Tishman Speyer improperly raised rents while also receiving tax breaks from the city. But tenants are almost definitely in store for more legal foot-dragging from Tishman Speyer, which could be liable for some $200 million in damages. After fighting off the tenants' lawsuit for years, Tishman Speyer isn't just going to roll over, especially since the company is at high risk of default on some $4.4 billion in loans. Every million counts! more ›

Yesterday the state's highest court ruled that it was illegal for Tishman Speyer to raise rents at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village beyond certain set levels while also receiving tax breaks from the city for major renovations. Now landlords are afraid the ruling will impact their ability to flip rent-regulated apartments into luxury units. Ed Kalikow, whose family owns 2,000 apartments in town, tells the Times, "It's terrible for the industry. A lot of people bought property with the thought that they would get the rents up. People made decisions on that. Banks made loans. This decision is another nail in the coffin." There is not a violin on Earth tiny enough to play at that funeral! more ›

Today's Times exposé on the financial woes gripping the owners of StuyTown and Peter Cooper Village is filled with insider analysis that makes our eyes glaze over, such as, "At Stuyvesant Town, there is a $3 billion first mortgage, or commercial mortgage-backed security, and a $1.4 billion second loan, known as “mezzanine debt” held by SL Green, the government of Singapore and others." But the bottom line is easy enough to grasp; as one analyst puts it, "I’d say their equity has been wiped out, given the decline in apartment values." more ›

A sodden young man in Stuy Town recently took the adage about not shitting where you eat quite literally, and decided to do his business in one of the stairwells. The incident, described vividly by a commenter on StuyTown Lux Living, highlights the roiling tension between longtime rent-stabilized tenants and rowdy arrivistes who've moved in since landlord Tishman-Speyer pushed out some of the old-timers and raised rents. more ›

Never ones to shy away from a wild night out, The Thermals had three in town over the past week. The Portland band returned to their three-piece roots this time through, hitting up Bowery Ballroom on Friday and Saturday and Music Hall of Williamsburg on Monday. The band consistently brings out some of the best crowds the city has to offer and encourages them to let loose. The crowd banged around to a rapid fire set of songs from their latest, Now We Can See, as well as what has become quite an impressive back catalog of tunes. Friday night's Bowery crowd started getting so rowdy (there was nearly a fistfight in the mosh pit) that bass player Kathy Foster had to check in that everyone was all right and threatened, "Don't make us go Fugazi on you guys." While Foster played the show barefoot, singer Hutch Harris showed the dapper side of pop-punk, sweating through the sets in a full suit (before treating fans to some shirts-off time in the encore). It's nice to see a band that revels in the intimacy of a small room to stretch out a run like this, rather than settling for one, big, impersonal gig. more ›

As landlords and tenants await what happens next regarding the ruling that found Stuyvesant Town rents were wrongfully raised while its owner received tax breaks, the NY Times looks at how the real estate industry is nervous. The J-51 tax break program was "meant to encourage building renovations," and after significant renovations, landlords "are allowed to pass along a portion of the renovation costs to the tenants’ rent. As a result, landlords can raise rents that exceed or approach the $2,000 deregulation threshold." In the case of Stuyvesant Town, it's argued rents went up too much (the Observer has some examples). Right now, the ruling has been stayed, but a court must decide whether to let Stuy Town owner Tishman Speyer appeal; if upheld, the Times reports, "Industry officials say the decision could affect as many as 80,000 apartments in the city, trigger widespread defaults on loans, eliminate construction jobs and reduce property tax revenues for the city." Tenants' advocates, though, say the real estate industry is exaggerating. more ›

After 21 years in business, beloved David's Bagels on 1st Avenue and 14th Street closed at the end of August. According to Vanishing New York, the landlord opened a Hot & Crusty franchise next door and refused to renew David's lease. In retaliation, a group of devastated neighbors have banded together to hit the Crusty where it hurts, with a weblog BLAZING WITH CAPS: "It is TERRIBLE and a downright SHAME...It hurts that they are gone because of your corny EYESORE of a “Hot and Crusty” that doesn’t even serve a decent bagel nor an “OK” pizza. In addition, it is NAUSEATING to walk by your pizzeria to see your Spanish guys leave half-made UNCOOKED pizzas to linger in the sun for long periods of time. Leaving the uncooked pizza dough in the sun while the chintzy layer of sauce dries up, is plainly NOT HEALTHY, UNSAFE and UNBELIEVABLY UNAPPETIZING." But what really burns is that David's lovers must now traverse five blocks to the owner's other location. more ›

Fleet Foxes came to town this week, riding a wave of slightly understated buzz into a sold-out Bowery Ballroom. The band was excellent, playing jams off their critically acclaimed record and constantly thanking the crowd for showing them so much love. Those in attendance were remarkably supportive of the act, especially considering the often indifferent attitude our local crowds often take. Between songs, they hooted and hollered from the first note, while staying deathly silent during -- letting the band's complicated harmonies and mellow sounds shine through. While frontman Robin Pecknold was a little under the weather, with a brutal cough during breaks, you could never tell from listening to them. It was about as close to perfect as a show at Bowery could be. A great first impression for a stunning new band. more ›

TREE LIGHTING: Earlier this year, New Yorkers Fountains of Wayne transformed Demetri Martin into a lonely suit living in Brooklyn in this video. Tonight the band will be rockin' around the Stuy Town Christmas tree. A reader writes in:I just happened to see this flyer hanging up for the annual christmas tree lighting. And what the hell is this...7:30-8:00pm, FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE. Seems like it's top secret, but there are flyers everywhere.Random! But if you're... more ›

With the $5.4 billion purchase of the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village apartment complex by Tishman-Speyer, some longtime rent-stabilized tenants have been worried about whether they will be able to stay. Well, now tenants are complaining that Tishman-Speyer has been spying on them. more ›

New York City's budget surplus just got a little bigger. The previously projected surplus of $3.9 billion has been upped to a projected $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30th. Despite the additional projected surplus, Mayor Bloomberg is being prudent with the extra money. more ›

It looks like some advances in technology are causing some problems at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. The $5.4 billion complex of buildings is replacing all its regular old keys with fancy electronic key-cards - in the case of Peter Cooper Village, the cards are already being used. The Post reports that Stuy Town residents could be using the new key system as early as next week. This is somewhat of an issue for Orthodox Jews on the Sabbath and religious holidays because they are forbidden to use the key technology during those days. One Stuy Town resident told The Post, "They are making us prisoners in our own homes. What do they want us to do? It's not like we can go somewhere else. It's our home." Well, what they obviously want you to do is move out so they can charge more rent to the next tenant. more ›

When you shell out $5.4 billion for thousands of apartments in Manhattan, some of them rent-regulated, clearly the next course of action is to oot out the illegal subletters. The NY Sun reports that private detective Fred Knapp has been hired by Tishman-Speyer to find out if tenants are violating rent stabilization rules. more ›

We got this email:

I was just curious if you guys heard anything about the noise coming from the Con Ed plant at 14th Street and D last night. I live in Stuy Town, on 14th between B and C (well, I'm actually inside a bit, but between those blocks). Last night a little before 11 there was a ridiculously loud roaring sound coming from the plant. It seemed to be controlled because it would be on for like 5 seconds, then off for 30, then repeat. Seemed to go on for at least 20 minutes. Something like this has happened before, but it is usually for only a few seconds and never so late at night. I wasn't that concerned, but after watching a suitcase nuke go off on 24 last night, I was a little jumpy. I called 311, who connected me to Con Ed, who connected me to 911, who connected me to the fire department. By the time I was able to explain myself, I was disconnected, but was able to over hear "another explosion complaint at 14th and D," so apparently I wasn't the only one that thought something may be wrong.

With the record setting $5.4 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village to Tishman Speyer last year, many residents suspected that the new owners would shake things up. But we doubt few tenants would have anticipated the rent increases sent in lease renewal papers. The NY Times speaks with some tenants about their sticker shock. The verdict? A lot of people are moving out. Check out these rents and the increases: more ›

Sometimes people just don't like dogs, and one of those people is Jeanne Farley. Farley is suing her apartment's management company to, as she tells the Daily News, "get rid of the dogs and play by the rules." Sixty-four year old Farley has a fear of dogs (cynophobia) points out that the rules at Penn South does have a ban on dogs and her lease says "no animals of any kind" (!!) are not allowed. She says, "I can't go in the elevator if there's a dog in there, and I'm afraid to go in some of the hallways. I've never been bitten, but the growling, the teeth and the jumping just scares me." more ›

Midtown Subway Monkey by |Shrued. more ›

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It's not a deal of Stuy Town proportions, but the sale of the Apthorp building on Broadway between West 78th and 79ths Streets on the Upper West Side is still a big deal. According to the NY Times, Maurice Mann agreed to pay more than $425 million for the building that takes up the entire block (Broadway to West End, 78th to 79th). Mann called it "the greatest trophy building on the Upper West Side." What about the Ansonia? Or all the buildings on Central Park West? Anyway, Mann intends to keep it as a "very high-end rental and to keep it exactly the way it is." The building currently has monthly rental prices of $8,000-$20,000. With prices like that, it's no wonder celebrities and media executives are popular tenants. more ›

+ The Sky Mirror is leaving! Which makes us wonder if Tishman Speyer will put public art installations in at Stuy Town when they officially own it. more ›