Blackstone and TA Leaders Discuss Resident Concerns in a Meeting Held November 12, 2015

MANHATTAN (November 16, 2015) Top members of Blackstone’s team overseeing the transition to its takeover of the STPCV property in December met informally with the Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association’s board of directors on Thursday evening, November 12.

The TA Board set two goals for the meeting: to establish a cooperative working relationship with the new owners, and to familiarize Blackstone with the most important resident concerns about quality of life and current management. The discussion covered a wide range of issues, among them the effect of maintenance staff cuts on building cleanliness and response time for service calls; cuts in Public Safety and the increase in muggings, robberies, and sexual assaults; leasing arrangements that threaten to turn STPCV into a student dormitory; fees for maintenance items that tenants were never charged for in the past; failure to enforce the 80 percent carpeting rule, a major contributor to the noise problem; and the flouting of the rules concerning weight and breeds of dogs.

One current issue raised by board members was addressed: Blackstone confirmed a commitment to keeping an affordable supermarket in the 14th Street space, even if the tenant is not Associated. There was considerable anxiety among residents after it was learned that CWCapital had refused to renew the Associated lease, which expires in two years. The fear was that Associated would be replaced by a supermarket with far higher price points or by no supermarket at all. During the past few weeks, the TA created paper petitions that were placed with every cashier in the market, and used email and social media to ask people to sign the paper petition as well as an online petition.

The meeting was cordial. Blackstone listened to our concerns, and we are hopeful of a collaborative working relationship—even as the TA continues to energetically advocate for our residents.

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