STEPS: HOW TO SAVE STUY TOWN/PCV

I am not just going to complain here – I have some very constructive, concrete ideas as to HOW this can be done. They will allow you , Tishman Speyer,to save a ton of money as well as make the place attractive again. THIS is what the tenants want and need and what will make the place attractive again. I can say that I speak with complete authority here – I’ve lived here for 47 years.

HOW TO SAVE STUY TOWN:

• Invest in infrastructure rather than” lifestyle upgrades “– address these issues FIRST: plumbing, electricity and gas.

• Hire a professional, skilled maintenance staff that will focus on cleanliness and the physical maintenance of the interiors of buildings. Hire enough of them.

• Stop renovating apartments and instead focus on basic elements when preparing newly vacated ones to be rented: electrical wiring, decent paint/plastering jobs/vermin eradication, cleanliness, some decent appliances and air conditioners (that we are not charged for).

• Lower the rents on the “market rate” apartments so that families can afford to live here. Offer long term leases and include in the lease provisions for modest and gradual rent increases so that families will not be forced out. You can charge higher rents for the renovated apartments, and lower rents for unrenovated ones. Your vacancy problem will soon be solved.

• PLEASE stop renting out the apartments as dorm rooms!!!

• Offer the following incentive program to long time rent stabilized tenants to encourage them to vacate rent stabilized apartments. This would be a much more effective and “friendly” way to bring more apartments to market rents rather than sending scary legal letters. Offer a renovated apartment for a lower than market rate rent, locked into a long term lease with a guaranteed cap on rent increase percentages. A reasonable rent, along with the security of knowing there will not be a devastating rent increase down the line would ease a renter’s anxiety about taking such a risk. In addition, you would also be renting market rate apartments to stable families rather than groups of transient students. This is what the complexes are designed for.

• STOP LANDSCAPING! Give us back our lawns! Stop the constant planting, uprooting and replanting. Uproot and donate at lease three quarters of the trees that were planted last year to parks around the city. Plant perennials that will grow back each spring rather than annuals, like the hideous ornamental cabbage, which are ripped out every few weeks. You’ll save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

• STOP the “entertainment” in the oval. We do not need or want concerts, movies, elaborate holiday displays, or greenmarkets. These things and more are already available to us – we live in the middle of Manhattan, for god’s sake! We want a clean, quiet and peaceful place to live, that’s all.

• Open the “Oval Amenities” to all tenants, free of charge. The only ones that are being used are Oval Kids and Oval Fitness. The others are a waste.

• Here is a lawn care tip for the gardening staff: When mowing the lawn in the oval, allow the grass clippings to mulch into the ground. This will build up healthy soil which will anchor and “feed” the existing grass. For the same reason, do not collect the leaves off the oval when they fall. These too will mulch into the ground, creating healthy, more solid soil. Also, rather than laying sod when grass is needed, plant a mix of grass seed, some annuals and some perennials. The annual seeds sprout quickly, creating a more solid base and will retain moisture for the perennials to then sprout and develop.