On Monday, President-elect Trump officially named his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as a senior White House adviser. Later that day, Mayor de Blasio praised Kushner during an unrelated press conference.
"About the person of Jared Kushner — I respect him a lot," de Blasio, who has opposed Trump, told reporters, as reported by Politico. "He's certainly someone I’ve been talking to over these last weeks. He's someone I intend to stay in touch with on behalf of the people of New York City. He's someone who really cares about New York City and is someone that would be very helpful to us. So I’m certainly pleased he’ll be in that role.
"And I can say clearly compared to many other people who've been named to other positions, I find him to be a lot more reasonable and a lot more moderate."
The mayor's praise and endorsement drew a response from two East Village-based community groups. Here's s a copy of the statement signed by Steve Herrick, executive director of the Cooper Square Committee, and Risa Shoup, executive director of Fourth Arts Block released yesterday:
Mayor de Blasio seems hopeful that his friendly relationship with Jared Kushner may be of some benefit to New York City, but our community has not benefited at all from Kushner’s ownership of close to forty buildings in the East Village.
Kushner has brought nothing but unaffordable, luxury housing to this community and to NYC at large. While we are in the grips of an intense housing crisis, and homeless rates are at an all-time high & virtually every regulated tenant in the city is facing harassment, Kushner has converted scores of affordable rent regulated apartments into luxury housing that rent for $3,000-$5,000 per month. In doing so, Kushner has faced allegations of harassment and lack of essential services repeatedly. Numerous articles have chronicled Kushner’s bad-acting over his four years of ownership here in East Village.
We say to the Mayor that Jared Kushner’s actions are not those of somebody who “cares deeply about New York City.” We say that Kushner’s actions have contributed greatly to the loss of affordable housing. Furthermore, if the Mayor stands by his words and thinks Jared Kushner is “reasonable and moderate,” we suggest the Mayor come meet with Kushner tenants in the East Village to hear what they’ve been through under his ownership.
There haven't been any shortage of tenant horror stories since Kushner started buying up properties here in 2013.
The Village Voice spoke with some of those tenants for a piece titled "Jared Kushner's East Village Tenants 'Horrified' Their Landlord Will Be Working in the White House."
Per the article:
"Trump's appointment of Kushner is in keeping with his cabinet selections of amoral billionaire crooks, liars, and thieves," says another East Village rent-stabilized tenant, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation. "This guy's company preys on the feeble and infirm, lies, charges illegal late fees, puts tenants at risk in myriad ways, whose overall message to tenants is a shrug and a 'you get what pay for' re: heat, gas, hot water, modern plumbing, and electricity."
"We felt the complete lack of empathy and compassion from our landlord," she adds. "The whole country’s going to experience what we’ve been going through."
Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Report: Jared Kushner buys $130 million portfolio of East Village rental buildings
Report: Jared Kushner paid $49 million for 7 more Ben Shaoul-owned properties in the East Village
More about Jared Kushner's East Village buying spree
Soon, we will all be writing our rent checks to Jared Kushner
Tenants claim: Kushner and Westminster want to destroy this building's beautiful garden
Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.
Local politicos join residents of 2 Jared Kushner-owned buildings to speak out about poor living conditions, alleged harassment
Jared Kushner's residents at 118 E. 4th St. would like gas for cooking and some heat
Jared Kushner's East Village tenants wish he'd resolve issues closer to home
22 comments:
Bill DeBlasio is nothing more than a lackey/shill for NYC real estate. He's a current day Boss Tweed. He's a fucking piece of pandering suckup sh it who needs to be challenged then defeated by a monied progressive.
He also has to be the least visible NYC mayor since Abe Beame who might've been more visible (I was an infant/little kid when Beame was mayor.) Koch, Dinkins, Giuliani, and Bloomberg were much, much, much more in the public eye than DeBlasio who rarely calls for a press conference and seems to pop up only when tragedy strikes. He's an invisible mayor who has to go next November.
Hillary Clinton should declare residency in NYC and run for mayor, I'm not kidding. She would crush DeBlasio and drive Trump (and Giuliani) up the wall. Much more importantly, she could do on a micro level what Russia and the FBI via their henchman James Comey didn't allow her to do on a macro level (all USA.) She would be Kushner's worst nightmare and the best NYC mayor since before the city went to shit in the '70s, definitely better than the last five including DeBlasio who is such an ineffectual weakling he couldn't even ban horse carriages (animal cruelty) like he promised he would.
Kushner has nothing but a legacy of upscale development and low income harassment. De Blasio is not to be trusted. He changed the make up of the Rent Guidelines Board and that helped low income tenants. But along with that he's let development run rampant to the point the neighborhoods he's says he's saving have become unaffordable to those of us still hanging on.
Of course De Faustio respects and finds Trump's boy wonder a reasonable guy, look no further than downtown goddamn Brooklyn, where little Kush bought the jehovah witness building to build faux-affordable luxury towers which happens to be in the vicinity of the mentally ill plans to build a light rail tram there, the BQX. The plans for this are trudging through despite the fears and rejections of the residents and small businesses there, even the ones that are upscale.
Lil' Kush also shares with our corrupt mayor, an affinity to appear ideologically progressive, make that fauxgressive, to further his own agenda and an inherent sociopathic lust for power and superfluous wealth.
As alarming as it is right now with the hubris displayed by these kindred subhumans, the day of reckoning will come for both, for they assume they are smart enough to pull these hustles.
Everyone should pay close attention to the confirmation hearings involving HUD with that idiot Ben Carson, because this greedy bastard will make it possible for public housing to be privatized nationwide, which would work out like gangbusters for predatory developers including the ones being run by Trump's next of kin and Kushner's brothers.
Resist!
Wow great comments people. His dimples are not fooling anyone that has been a victim of his housing crimes. Deblasio must go and I will support any decent candidate who will oppose his in the next election.
@5:45 AM
Clinton could easily kneecap Deblasio in the primary but she'd lose to any generic republican third rate Trump in the election. Despite what her cult members believe with all their hearts she has no connection to any New Yorkers outside some of the well employed multicult privilege examiners and pantsuit nation. Shrieking "It's Her Turn" and smearing DiBlasibros(tm) won't work against a Republican, and Republicans that might tune out against Diblasio will organize nationwide to take her out. Why would we want to run a female Cory Booker anyway? Just because she's female? That sure didn't work last year. She's just a famous rich white lady who lost to Trump to most of the city and that won't drive votes.
And just by declaring she can lock in a Republican Mayor next year because, if she doesn't get through the primary her cult members will pout and stay home and if she does she'll get beat as an out of touch corrupt Clinton who just needs power for powers sake. Which is an accurate description.
DiBlasio's okay on some stuff but he sucks on a lot and is totally incompetent and damaged already. Somebody else is needed, but a real New Yorker not running on the consolation prize It's Her Turn entitled rich white lady and her cult platform.
DeBlasio was against carriage horses because the stables are in the way of some Hudson River real estate development. What a disappointment he has been.
BizarroWorld'17
The Yelp reviews of Kushner's management company are telling -
https://www.yelp.com/biz/westminster-city-living-new-york
Not only does he not care at all about his tenants, his unresponsiveness to gas leaks is downright criminal (read the accounts in the reviews).
His slimeball ways have been reported here numerous times, but from what I can tell, the rest of the country sees that prep school face and thinks they're getting something good.
@10:53 A.M.
While I'm not one of the people calling for Hillary to run, the notion that she would lose to a republican candidate is laughable. Unfortunately for you, New York City voters aren't 4chan trolls who use terms like "multicult privilege examiners".
@10:53 AM
Please don't "fake news" us by saying H Clinton does not have support in NYC when she captured 79% of the vote this past November. Look at our city's voting record to see how often we have voted for a Republican for mayor. Bloomie was a longtime Dem that switch parties to get a foot into the election to what appeared to by a strong Dem at the time (Green) opponent. Rudy was elected when the city wanted someone to take on the crime, he wasn't even spooked by the mob. Hilary would win a run as Mayor, she did get the most votes in the last election just not from the right districts.
Regarding the New York magazine article...
Perhaps I missed it, but I do not recall seeing any mention of issues relating to Jared Kushner as a landlord, no mention of any complaints or controversy?
Hard to believe that the NY Magazine author was not aware of Jared Kushner's EV landlord history....
Thoughts?
Bill de Blah is a Clinton surrogate, which explains it all: money over everything. And Hillary supporters deny that she's a moderate Republican and deny things like this and all of her corporatist stances like TPP/NAFTA, Goldman Sachs, etc cost her the election.
Anonymous 5:45 AM: you're insane. Hillary is 10 x's worse than BdB. Wake up.
@1:43
Anybody who's lived or is living in one of his buildings can tell you how bad he's been as a landlord. If NY magazine missed this side of Kushner then it bad reporting.
Maybe Mayor DeB is looking for a job in Washington when he loses re-election next Fall.
@cmarrtyy - You may not be wrong there.
You people won't be happy until every apartuin NYC is free and you don't have to pay for food or utilities or anything else. Just soak things from every.one else
10:53pm, 5:45am here - BS
2:48pm LOL Clinton would crush DeBlasio then the Republican nominee (slimeball like Lhota)
@3:15
My comment was meant to be critical of NY Magazine's omission of JK's landlord history - but I see now the comment reads differently.
It is alarming that NY Magazine did not cover this
Now is the time to bring attention to all your landlord complaints about Kushner owned buildings, now that the nation's attention is on Kushner. Everyone wants to hear about him. Don't delay, because who knows how long this will last.
We Need a Mayor Who Can Stand Up to Trump
Donald Trump is one of the worst things to happen to NYC. But to stand up to Trump we need a mayor who is up to the job.
https://youtu.be/MVvYXm9ez6k
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