Results tagged “stuyvesanttown”

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!

In a decision that could have major repercussions for landlords of rent-controlled buildings citywide, the state’s highest court has ruled this morning that owners of the sprawling Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village complexes in Manhattan improperly charged market-rate rents on thousands of apartments. In what is probably the final deathblow for Tishman Speyer's ownership of Stuy Town, the Court of Appeals ruled that the owners should not have raised rents beyond certain set levels while also receiving tax breaks from the city for major renovations.

When we last checked in on the state of the sprawling Manhattan apartment complex known as Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, it was at high risk of default on some $4.4 billion in loans. That was the beginning of September, and the prognosis is still negative. At the end of the month, it had $33.7 million left of the $400 million in interest reserves set up to service its debt, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. This means that at its current burn rate of about $16 million per month, the reserve could be depleted before the end of the year.

Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village tenants suing property owner Tishman Speyer had another big day yesterday, when the state's highest court heard arguments in a trial that could set a costly precedent for landlords at rent-regulated buildings citywide. The tenants' lawyers said Tishman's conversion of rent-regulated apartments into market-rate units was illegal because the developer received tax abatement, something the state legislature forbids. But Tishman's lawyers argued that the law doesn't apply to them because the apartments became rent-stabilized 18 years before the developers got the tax breaks. A semantic debate about the word "become" ensued, with Judge Robert S. Smith finally asking, "You might say that I became a grandfather for the third time last month. Isn’t that normal English, even though I was already a grandfather?" (His point, seemingly, was that the law's use of the word "became" shouldn't be so strictly interpreted by Tishman.) But the bigger question yesterday hinged on what impact a verdict for the tenants would have—they're seeking some $200 million in damages from Tishman, whose lawyers warned that landlords could have to repay “tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars” to tenants who were overcharged, should the Appeals court uphold the lower court's ruling.

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."

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.

The state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, will hear arguments between Stuyvesant Town owner Tishman Speyer and Stuy Town tenants. The NY Times reports that Tishman and BlackRock Realty were given permission to appeal a ruling that said it wrongfully raised rents at the huge complex. Tishman bought the rent-regulated complex for $5.4 billion, hoping to profit on market-rate rents, but an appellate division found the rent increases shouldn't have happened since it was receiving tax breaks associated with rent-regulated properties. City Councilman Daniel Garodnick thinks the tenants will win in the end, "This is a landlord-tenant dispute that hinges on basic principles of fairness to taxpayers and fairness to tenants. We look forward to a speedy hearing and resolution by the state’s highest court." If the tenants succeed, Tishman will have to pay a rumored $200 million in back rent, and other landlords around the city who took advantage of the tax breaks may also have to pay back rent to their tenants.

Developer Tishman-Speyer was granted a stay that pauses a ruling which found it wrongfully raised rents at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. Tishman bought the rent-regulated complex for $5.4 billion, hoping to profit on market-rate rents, but a state appeals courts found the rent increases shouldn't have happened since it was receiving tax breaks associated with rent-regulated properties. The Observer reports, "Rather than immediately re-regulate the 4,000-plus apartments in Stuyvesant Town that have been converted to market rents since 1993, as the appellate court’s decision would require, the stay calls for Tishman to calculate how much money it would owe in back rent to market-rate tenants and put that money in an escrow account." A lawyer for Stuy Town tenants says that Tishman could owe tenants $200 million and the ruling affects many other landlords who got tax breaks for property improvements and then deregulated apartment.

Yesterday, the state appeals court ruled that developer Tishman Speyer "had wrongfully raised rents and deregulated thousands of apartments after receiving special tax breaks," the NY Times reports.

Every $5.4 billion purchase of a sprawling apartment complex during the height of the boom has its problems! Bond analysis firm Fitch Ratings released information about Tishman Speyer's Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village complex and found the developer "has approximately six months of reserves remaining to cover the trust portion of the total debt on the property." The Observer puts it more bluntly: "When the reserve is completely eroded, Tishman Speyer... would need to put in more cash or potentially face default on its loans." The threat of default is something that observers had been suggesting since last summer, after an earlier analysis of Tishman revenue. While Tishman Speyer hasn't commented, a tipster told Curbed yesterday that much of the complex's staff seemed to be laid off.

After a Monday article about how the middle-class Harlem housing complex Riverton Houses' owners might default on their loan, the NY Times now looks other big real estate deal that might go sour. Like the Riverton Houses, Stuyvesant Town was bought by a big real estate company who hoped to convert more rent-stabilized units to market rates and make a profit (but it's been slow-going so far). And there are other possible victims, like Harlem's Savoy Park, a development bought by Credit Suisse. A Citizens Housing and Planning Council fellow tells the Times, "[Financiers] all got caught up in the bubble mentality.”

The NY Times reports analysis of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village finances shows revenues for the huge complex dropped last year. And that's in spite of Stuyvesant Town owner Tishman Speyer converting 560 rent-regulated units into market-rate units!

While the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular was definitely spectacular (see the photos), the show's organizers moved the displays further south, closer to the Williamsburg Bridge, in order for more of the NYC skyline to be seen in the TV broadcast. Not only did NBC broadcast from Brooklyn, but NBC also added a chyron (graphic) noting that the fireworks were taking place near at least seven times during the half-hour show.

Aw, there's a NY Times real estate "The Hunt" feature about Curbed editor Joey Arak's, his girlfriend's and their dog's transition to Stuyvesant Town. After deciding to pay more to stay in the East Village, they opted for a market rate apartment in Stuy Town at $2,850/month (steep, but a tenement nearby was charging $2,600). Even though he's read many horror stories about the complex, Arak said, "I love living here...I never thought I would have a dishwasher in my whole life.”

The turmoil at Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village continues, as behemoth real estate developer Tishman Speyer Properties, is flushing out rent-stabilized tenants who it believes do not live in Stuy Town-Peter Cooper anymore.

One month's free rent! Pets allowed! These are some of the new strategies from Tishman Speyer for its market-rate rentals at Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village complex. Which is a far cry from its past as a complex where building workers would be rewarded with $150 gift certificates if they narced on pet-owning tenants.

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...

Kingswood: Aussie owner of Nolita's Ruby's takes the leap from sandwich shop to sit-down restaurant. With the feel of an indoor garden, Kingswood serves up dishes like cured duck breast with fig chutney, a roasted peach salad with crispy prosciutto and white balsamic or a rack of lamb with tomato orzo. In late October, the space will expand to include a downstairs lounge. 121 West 10th Street between Greenwich and Sixth Avenues. (212) 645-0044.

Sure, there are many subway stations with chipped and peeling paint. And the MTA even has the money to start repainting them. But the MTA can't figure out a plan to get started!

We don't know if that's brilliant or frightening.

Yesterday, it was announced Tishman-Speyer, the real estate firm that bought Stuyvesant Town for $5.4 billion, along with Lehman Brothers would buy real estate investment trust Archstone Smith in a $22.2 billion deal; the Observer calls it the "largest public-to-private acquisition ever among apartment REIT’s." Archstone Smith has over over 85,000 rentals nationally and almost 3,800 in NYC, which would given Tishman-Speyer over 15,000 apartments for its portfolio.

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.

• Cabbies are worried about their safety after robberies on the Lower East Side
• The city's problem-laden high schools for pregnant girls are closing; check out this article about how one student was facing the difficulties of her school, which included teachers not showing up and student fights
• Culturegrrl speaks with William Griswold, the future head of the Morgan Library, who actually left the Morgan a few years ago, with stings at the Getty and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
• Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village has become a symbol of the high cost of living in NYC and the place for people to join hands in protest
• Green thumbs in Red Hook and plans are not yet approved for Whole Foods in Gowanus
• The end is nigh: Donald Trump agrees with Rosie O'Donnell regarding Lizzy Hasselback
• A baby was found wandering around Staten Island; an elderly couple took care of the baby until the police arrived, and the baby has since been identified
• After their hostess kicked them out of her apartment, two people beat her up in Central Park
• When it smells like vomit but it's really just the crap rotting in a vacated apartment

Last night, the Rent Guidelines Board voted 5-4 to propose rent hikes for rent-stabilized apartments on the order of 2-4.5% for one-year leases and 4-7.5% for two-years leases. Loft rent increases would be 2-4% for one-year leases, 4-7% for two-year leases.

• The city wants to do repair work to buildings that need it - and charge the landlords - in legislation proposed by the City Council and supported by the Mayor and other housing groups
• City Comptroller William Thompson thinks Wal-Mart is spying on its shareholders - is that better, worse, or the same as keeping employees locked up?

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.

The Mayor unveiled his Fiscal Year 2008 Preliminary Budget and was very upbeat, if cautious. Mayor Bloomberg said of the $57.1 billion budget:

“Because of our strong economy, tax revenues are running higher than expected this year. That’s good budgetary news, including $1 billion in tax cuts for the people of New York City. If conditions permit, we’ll propose extending that tax cut in the future. But with slower job growth and other indications of economic uncertainty on the horizon, it’s wiser to take a wait-and-see approach, while also putting $500 million more into our Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund and using $1.4 billion to close the expected budget deficit in 2009.”

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:

Two months after Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village were sold by MetLife to Tishman Speyer for a record-breaking $5.4 billion, an epic review of the deal by Charles Bagli of the NY Times ties up loose ends and brings several underlying issues into sharper focus. Reading between the lines:

Happy New Year, by Pixietart. If you're going out tonight, send us pix of your revelry: photos (at) goth dot com.