Sunday, February 4, 2024
Week in Grieview
Friday, February 2, 2024
Report: Kushner Cos. continues East Village exit plan
The multifamily sale is Kushner's third in the neighborhood in as many months. The firm unloaded six East Village properties to David Gleitman's Targo Capital Partners for about $58 million in late December. In November, Kushner sold 504-508 E. 12th St. to Sabet Group for nearly $20 million. Kushner’s East Village exit was over a year in the making.The firm started shopping 18 buildings in the Manhattan neighborhood in late 2022. Since 2018, it has turned its focus to building a suburban apartment portfolio that spans Maryland, Virginia, and the firm’s home state of New Jersey.
• More about Jared Kushner's East Village buying spree
• Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Week in Grieview
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Reports: Kushner sells 6-building East Village portfolio for $57 million
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
EVG Etc.: Veselka continues its support of Ukraine; CBGB memories 50 years later
Thursday, September 7, 2023
Reader report: This tree could use some help on 4th Street
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
The Village Voice is returning, and is this a good thing?
Brian Calle, the chief executive of Street Media, the owner of LA Weekly, said on Tuesday that he had acquired the publication from its publisher, Peter D. Barbey. "I think a lot of people will be hungry for this and I'm superoptimistic," Mr. Calle said in an interview.
He added that he planned to restart The Voice's website in January and would publish a "comeback" print edition early next year, with quarterly print issues to follow. On Tuesday he hired Bob Baker, a former Voice editor, as a senior editor and content coordinator. Mr. Calle said he wanted to bring back more former staff members who know the paper's tone. He has not yet named an editor in chief.The Voice website, which is still active repurposing its archived articles, ceased publishing new content in August 2018 ... this after the final print edition in September 2017 — a 176-page commemorative issue with Bob Dylan on the cover. The paper occupied several floors at 36 Cooper Square from 1991 to 2013 ... with a return toward the end of its run.
Nothing like the most vaunted counter-cultural publication in America bought by the former head of the Claremont Institute, the West Coast's preeminent right wing ghoul factory.
— Otto Von Biz Markie (@Passionweiss) December 22, 2020
Brian Calle makes Jared Kushner look like George Plimpton. This is a laughable disgrace. https://t.co/hSGRlxU1jD
Is this a better or worse fate than staying dead https://t.co/yTpPDIJHro
— Kris Vire (@krisvire) December 22, 2020
I am uncertain about the savvy of anybody who lived through the new LA Weekly experience and thinks, "hell yeah, more of this" https://t.co/erVQLHo1ND
— Matt Pearce 🦅 (@mattdpearce) December 22, 2020
The good news is, the Village Voice is coming back. The bad news is, it’s a branded drop-ship influencer real-estate trust. https://t.co/Pu9Dq1riMO
— Ian Bogost (@ibogost) December 23, 2020
"The Village Voice Rises From the Dead" is an odd headline. Seems more like "Right-Wing Grifter Digs Up Decaying Skeleton of the Village Voice and Parades It Around, Pretending It's Alive."https://t.co/FOc4L7xJrK
— Zach Schonfeld (@zzzzaaaacccchhh) December 23, 2020
Hey, NYC! Former New Yorker now living in Los Angeles who's here to tell you: this news SUCKS. LA Weekly is a zombie publication now. The whole former staff formed @theLAndmagazine and it's way better. Don't get on board with this version of the Voice. https://t.co/8B3zGGCc6P
— Chris Conroy (@ConroyForReal) December 22, 2020
it would be great if the Village Voice could be revived with a nice owner who really cared about it, but... https://t.co/QVyXs13qew pic.twitter.com/kTALaRpO9v
— Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) December 22, 2020
If Calle's relaunch looks anything like what he did to LA Weekly, it will surely involve unmarked spon-con, pay-to-play coverage of the company's unnamed investors, and a complete desecration of everything the paper once stood for. RIP Village Voice. https://t.co/6JwRmH3RVJ
— Jennifer Swann (@jenn_swann) December 22, 2020
Anyone celebrating the revival of the Village Voice hasn’t done the reading of what its new owner did to the LA Weekly. https://t.co/cJTxl6tgyChttps://t.co/q5BeMTYHLphttps://t.co/qpSoch0Db9
— Monica Castillo (@mcastimovies) December 23, 2020
Both cities & their readers deserve better. https://t.co/H8b18NzPmA
I just... Well, I really wish this article would have included literally anything about Calle's unethical mismanagement of LA Weekly. I cannot imagine a worse future for The Village Voice. https://t.co/5guIblmWiJ
— April Wolfe (@AWolfeful) December 22, 2020
Headline accurate in the sense that things that rise from the dead are zombies and should be avoided at all costs unless you can lop off their heads. https://t.co/gRMhOSnYyf
— Scott Tobias (@scott_tobias) December 22, 2020
The Village Voice Rises From the Dead, says the headline. https://t.co/wCBlwNzVjC Well, it has a new owner who says he is bringing it back. There is not a word about the business model said owner has in mind, the first question I would ask. A storied past is not a business model.
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) December 22, 2020
This quote from @mshalhoup about how the quality of @LAWeekly's content plummeted under Calle is the diplomatic understatement of the year.
— Elina Shatkin (@elinashatkin) December 22, 2020
Hey NY, hope you like stories about weed and crappy bro-step bands. pic.twitter.com/YE9mKu2jae
Previously on EVG:A conspiracy theory that I believe without any real evidence is that this cretinous dingus is a cutout for much richer people who want to defile critical alternative media outlets both on principle and "for yuks." https://t.co/mjDGlYLfY5
— David Roth (@david_j_roth) December 22, 2020
Monday, March 30, 2020
Report: These 9th Street tenants don't have to pay rent until building has C/O, judge rules
[Photo by Steven]
ICYMI: Tenants at 331 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue will not have to pay rent until their landlord, Kushner Companies, secures a certificate of occupancy for the building.
Details via The Real Deal:
Residents of the building at 331 East 9th Street will also be allowed to stay in their apartments without paying any back rent, according to the decision that State Supreme Court Judge Frances Ortiz handed down ...
The nine-unit East Village property is one of several that Housing Rights Initiative and Bronx Councilmember Ritchie Torres announced Kushner was operating illegally at a press conference last March.
The property was built around 1900, meaning it was exempted from the city’s certificate of occupancy requirement, according to HRI. However, after buying the building in 2013 for $20.25 million, Kushner Companies added a floor to build luxury penthouses, a substantial alteration that meant the property would now require a certificate of occupancy, HRI said.
Ortiz agreed with this in his ruling, writing that “the addition of an entire floor on the top of the building constitutes a substantial alteration, thereby requiring petitioners to obtain a C of O for the entire building.” He added that “no rent is collectible by the petitioner [Kushner] when a building lacks a valid certificate of occupancy.”
The real estate company never received a permanent certificate of occupancy because of building code violations, according to HRI. The housing watchdog group helped the building’s tenants organize and refuse to pay rent.
Kushner Cos. COO Peter Febo said the the judge's ruling was wrong. They plan on appealing once courts reopen after the coronavirus crisis.
The Kushners started buying up East Village buildings in early 2013.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Trash talk on 7th Street
Someone has made homemade signs pointing out who is managing the buildings on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue where the trash routinely overflows on the sidewalk...
The signs are in front of buildings owned by the Kushner Companies and managed by its subsidiary Westminster, per a tipster on the block... (they note "A Kushner Production")
Per the tipster: "They refuse to hire a super on Sundays to prevent this mess every week. And the fine from sanitation is less than what they’d pay him anyway. Saving money by trashing the hood."
Last March, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Kushner Companies, formerly led by current White House adviser Jared Kushner, planned to sell five of the 30-plus buildings in their East Village portfolio.
The company was also accused of illegally operating nine apartment buildings in the East Village and Williamsburg, according to an investigation by City Council member Ritchie Torres and the watchdog group Housing Rights Initiative. A DOB spokesperson told the Associated Press that the issues stemmed from "paperwork lapses" and characterized the investigation as "pure grandstanding."
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Week in Grieview
[Not new high atop the Village East theater on 2nd Avenue]
Stories posted on EVG this past week included...
Probation for plumber indicted in deadly 2nd Avenue gas explosion (Thursday)
Local elected officials urging the MTA/DOT to keep local service in M14 SBS plan (Friday)
A visit to Peter Jarema Funeral Home on 7th Street (Friday)
A good egg in Tompkins Square Park? Hatch watch for red-tailed hawks Amelia and Christo (Thursday)
At the 10th Annual Zoroastrian Fire Jumping event at La Plaza Cultural (Wednesday)
The mystery of Moishe's (Thursday)
Y Cafe has closed on Avenue B (Monday)
RIP East River Park (Thursday)
Kushner selling 5 East Village buildings; report cites illegal occupation in EV properties (Wednesday)
This week's NY See (Monday)
2 reports of fires (Monday)
Citi Bike unveils new valet service on St Mark's Place and 1st Avenue; more to come (Tuesday)
Renovations underway in the former Grassroots Tavern space on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)
Team behind the Wayland and the Wild Son eyes St. Mark's Place for 2 restaurants (Monday)
Auriga Cafe announces itself on Avenue A (Monday)
Paper Daisy debuts on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)
Report: No plans to remove the Michael Jackson mural from the wall on 11th Street (Tuesday)
Now the Sidewalk looks closed (Monday)
Jiang Diner coming soon to 5th Street (Wednesday)
Now-closed Classic Man Barber Lounge space for rent on 9th Street (Friday)
Village Square Pizza debuts on Avenue A (Friday)
"To all the young geniuses breaking into this building" (Tuesday)
Shibuyala softly opens on St. Mark's Place (Friday)
Comedy gold? Upright Citizens Brigade selling off contents from its former East Village theater (Thursday)
Food for thought: Milk Bar's Crack Pie is not a cute name, critic says (Wednesday)
Durden has not been open lately (Monday)
... and this scene on Seventh Street was tentatively titled "Mix-n-Match"...
[Photo by Derek Berg]
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Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Kushner selling 5 East Village buildings; report cites illegal occupation in EV properties
[EVG compilation of Kushner-owned EV buildings from 2013]
The Wall Street Journal reports that Kushner Cos. has hired a broker to market five apartment buildings with a total of around 100 units in the East Village.
As the paper reports, the company, formally headed by current White House adviser Jared Kushner, remains under fire from New York politicians and tenant activists, and is increasingly looking at buying properties in suburban areas.
Per the Journal:
The firm has sold 10 properties for more than $1.5 billion in New York and was the buyer of one since January 2017, according to Real Capital Analytics. That is when then-Chief Executive Jared Kushner left to join the White House as President Trump’s senior adviser.
Over this same period, the firm has spent more than $1.4 billion in a series of transactions for properties primarily in suburban Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and other states, RCA data shows.
And...
Even with the recent sales and its plan to sell another 100 apartment units in the East Village, Kushner Cos. still owns a sizable portfolio in New York City. That includes apartment buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn, a downtown office building, a lending business and the lower floors of the former New York Times building.
It's not known at the moment which East Village properties will be sold. One estimate puts the number of Kushner-owned East Village buildings at 31. (Only Steve Croman reportedly owns more East Village buildings.)
Meanwhile, City Councilmember Ritchie Torres held a press conference yesterday to announce the results of an investigation alleging that Kushner Cos. is operating eight East Village rental buildings illegally. (The Journal article went to press before the results of this report were cited by other media outlets.)
Per The Real Deal:
Torres said that his investigation, launched in cooperation with the nonprofit Housing Rights Initiative, found the buildings had expired certificates of occupancy, meaning tenants should not be allowed to live in the properties.
The buildings, according to HRI’s Aaron Carr, have unpaid fines stemming from violations and unauthorized construction, which prevents Kushner Companies from being able to obtain a COO.
Torres and Carr called on the city to quickly ensure these buildings are safe.
A spokesperson for Kushner Cos. said the firm is "committed to the safety of our residents and the proper maintenance of our buildings. Similar to many other landlords, we inherited from prior owners Certificates of Occupancy with various issues. Kushner will continue the long and detailed process to work with our consultants and the Department of Buildings to correct every issue outstanding."
The DOB blasted the report from Torres and Carr, accusing the two of "pure grandstanding," as Curbed reported. A DOB spokesperson said their investigation "identified nothing more than paperwork lapses that have nothing to do with tenant safety."
The Kushners started buying up East Village buildings in early 2013.
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
Tenants claim: Kushner and Westminster want to destroy this building's beautiful garden
Jared Kushner not done buying every walk-up in the East Village
Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.
Report: 9th Street resident battling with Kushner Cos. to clean up black mold infestation
Jared Kushner's East Village tenants wish he'd resolve issues closer to home
How many East Village properties do the Kushner Cos. actually own?
Report: Kushner Co. filed false paperwork with the city over number of rent-regulated tenants
New state legislation aims to combat predatory equity
Report: Residents of Kushner-owned 118 E. 4th St. learn building had 10X legal levels of lead
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Week in Grieview
[Tompkins Square Park shadows the other morning]
Stories posted on EVG this past week included...
Photos: Holidays in the East Village (Thursday)
Storm center: Questions linger over updated plans for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project (Wednesday)
Report of a fire at 93 E. 7th St.; Luke's Lobster temporarily closed for several weeks (Friday)
After fire, Fiaschetteria Pistoia closed until January (Wednesday)
Report: Residents of Kushner-owned 118 E. 4th St. learn building had 10X legal levels of lead (Thursday)
A visit to Mashbill Wine & Spirits on Avenue C (Friday)
Bar Virage has closed on 2nd Avenue (Friday)
The unknown future of the Sidewalk (Monday)
Joyface debuts on Avenue C (Thursday)
Rue-B adds daytime café service (Thursday)
Christmas Eve Eve, ruined (Sunday)
Holidays on 5th Street (Monday)
Engineering the return of CBGB in this model train set at Grand Central Terminal (Monday)
Coming soon to 13th Street: On the Mark Cleaners (Friday)
48 Clinton St. has new owner; first property sold in an NYC Opportunity Zone (Wednesday)
The rush to be the first tree in the Tompkins Square Park MulchFest pen (Wednesday)
Tonight's Con Ed blue light special brings back Sandy memories (Thursday)
The French connection: Salon Chérie Chéri opening soon on Avenue B (Wednesday)
A year-end look at the Streit's-replacing condoplex (Friday)
Retail moves at 250 East Houston (Tuesday)
[Time to renew]
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Thursday, December 27, 2018
Report: Residents of Kushner-owned 118 E. 4th St. learn building had 10X legal levels of lead
[Image via Streeteasy]
The following report was released last week via the Cooper Square Committee and the Lead Dust Free New York City coalition.
Tenants of 118 E. Fourth St. recently received notice that work crews hired by Jared Kushner’s Westminster City Living contaminated their building with lead-laden construction dust. The contamination was the result of unchecked dust from demolition work being performed in the building.
A report issued by New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene from November shows elevated levels of lead in four of the five samples collected in the building. The sample with the highest level was nearly 10X (383 µg/ft2) the acceptable standards prescribed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for floors/treads of 39 µg/ft2.
In the fall of 2015, tenants of 118 E. Fourth St. endured bouts of no heat, mounting trash, and a longstanding cooking gas outage. The tenants then filed an HP Action in January 2016 for repairs and services to be restored. A motion was also filed in court to hold Westminster in contempt of court due to the lack of restoration of services.
Tenants of 118 E. Fourth St. and the Lead Dust Free NYC coalition are now calling the unsafe conditions to be remedied immediately and for safe work practices to be put in place for all work being performed. Tenants, advocates and elected officials are calling on the City to improve enforcement around lead and to increase penalties for landlords who contaminate buildings.
Many provisions with NYC’s lead laws, Local Law 1 of 2004, are not being utilized by the City. A City Council hearing in September of this year called to attention major deficits within the enforcement and regulations surrounding Local Law 1.
"I was in my apartment on a day when they began demolition. A dust cloud invaded my entire apartment from the demolition happening in the apartment below me. I felt a burning in back of my throat along with feeling of grit. I decided to leave for my own safety," said David Dupuis, a tenant of No. 118 for 35 years. "When I returned in the evening, the halls and everything in my apartment was completely covered in dust. The burning sensation at the back of my throat lasted for days."
You can find the full release, including comments from elected local officials, as well as the health department's report from November, at this link.
In an article on the report for The Villager, a spokesperson for the Kushner Companies said: "As soon as we were alerted to the condition, we instructed the contractor responsible to immediately clean the public areas and to implement stricter measures to prevent construction dust or debris from escaping the work area. Kushner always uses a lead-certified contractor who fully complies with the law."
Kushner bought the buildings during his East Village land grab in February 2013.
Previously on EV Grieve:
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
Get the lead out: Tenants call for protections from lead dust during renovations
Tenant activists praise lead reform, urge for more protections from city against predatory landlords
Thursday, December 13, 2018
EVG Etc.: NYCHA plans to sell land and air; Mercury Lounge announces anniversary shows
[Taking the gloves off on 2nd Ave via Derek Berg]
The NYCHA plans to sell air rights and open some land to private development in order to raise money for repairs (The Real Deal)
The Opportunity Zone program promoted by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, whose company owns many EV properties, could also benefit them financially, an Associated Press investigation found (TPM)
Details on the Mercury Lounge’s 25th anniversary shows (Brooklyn Vegan)
MTA fare hikes loom (AMnewyork)
Gov. Amazon Cuomo will tour the L-train tunnel, cause disruptions tomorrow (Gothamist)
The Sanitation Department is hosting a design contest for a new corner waste basket (Curbed)
MC5's Wayne Kramer revisits old EV haunts (The New Yorker)
Under financial duress, the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy theater has announced lay offs. Their theaters, including the U.C.B. East on Third and A, are not in danger of closing. (The New York Times)
Who's that kid with the New York Dolls outside the Gem Spa in 1973? (Dangerous Minds)
A homes feature on Adam Elzer, who lives above his restaurant Sauce on 12th Street (6sqft)
About those mysterious sidewalk markings on Avenue C (Town & Village)
The U.S. theatrical premiere of "Dead Souls," the eight-and-a-half-hour documentary (shown in three parts) by Wang Bing that documents the testimony of survivors of the hard-labor camp in the Gobi Desert in Gansu, China (Anthology Film Archives)
A film series featuring grifters (Metrograph)
41-year-old Cornelia Street Cafe closing on Jan. 2 (JVNY)
And people have been lining up to get into the new Nutella Cafe over on 13th Street and University Place. Save some time and month and head to Key Food on Avenue A...
Thursday, October 25, 2018
I Am a Rent-Stabilized Tenant
East Village resident Susan Schiffman has been photographing the apartments of rent-stabilized tenants living in the East Village for her Instagram account, I Am a Rent Stabilized Tenant. She will share some of the photos here for this ongoing EVG feature.
Photos and text by Susan Schiffman
Tenant: Sheila, since 1991
What is your background?
My parents raised us in New York and when they retired they moved to North Carolina. My dad still lives in North Carolina. He retired from the MTA and my mother retired from the Board of Ed. I grew up in Queens and went to Stuyvesant High School when it was on 15th Street. I loved Stuyvesant. It was the first time I was around kids who were geeky like me and we didn’t have to worry about getting beat up. Except when we left.
The first day of school they told the freshmen “don’t ever go below 14th Street.” We couldn’t wait to go below 14th Street. It was scary but there were really great bakeries and thrift stores. That is when I fell in love with thrift shopping. There were methadone programs around Stuyvesant and all the junkies would mess with us. Not in a bad New York street menacing way. They would just curse at us and try and get us to buy liquor for them. There was a liquor store on the corner.
When I was in high school in the late 1970s, the drug being used in the neighborhood was heroin. When I moved to the East Village in 1991 it was crack. The crack vials would crunch under your shoes like snow. At least a crack addict would say “good morning” to you. Now I say good morning to these young tenants and they look at me like “why are you talking to me?”
Why did you move to the East Village and how did you find your apartment?
I was living in Harlem and I found a rat in my closet. I went to the super and I said “oh my g-d there’s a rat in my closet and he said “get a cat.” I said “are you kidding me?” I did get a cat because I did love my apartment. The cat started attacking me. The cat was probably pissed off at me. “Why do you have me in here trying to kill this rat? You terrible woman.”
Most of my friends lived in the East Village. One Saturday I got up, took the train downtown and walked over to the Village Views Realty. I had a friend who lived on that block. I walked into the realty office and a woman named Martha was there. She said, “yeah we’ve got something you might be interested in." We got up and walked over here. I could tell that the floor slanted but it was love at first sight. I definitely wanted the apartment.
By the time we got back to Village Views Realty there were three people waiting to see the apartment. I took it right away. I felt like I got the last rent-stabilized apartment in NYC because the neighborhood starting changing so fast. Like this block changed so quickly. It went from squalor to luxury with nothing in between.
It went away so fast. I knew it was over in 1993 or 1994. I was doing my laundry. I came home and Kate Moss was sitting on the step out front smoking a cigarette. “Excuse me,” I said, “I need to get in.” She said, “oh, I’m sorry love” and got up. Wow, Kate fucking Moss. “What are you doing here?”
We used to have really cute boutiques on this block. They all had to move. A combination of rents rising and retail changing. I have such cute stuff from those stores that don’t fit anymore. There was a girl down the street who had a boutique where she would sit and sew and make clothes and sell them. If you had an idea she wouldn’t make it for you, she would show you how to make it. She’s gone. I guess Kate Moss was down here shopping picking up some cute stuff. That was the beginning of the end. Everytime I went out I would see something new.
Westminster, Jared Kushner’s property management company, runs my building now. I have to say the maintenance got better after they bought the building though I've heard and believe all the horror stories of other Westminster buildings. They do very aggressive renovations. But unlike my previous management company when something breaks, it gets fixed right away. I have an awesome super. Shout out to Ruben. We had a terrible super before. I had horrible landlords before. It was my first experience going to housing court — they never fixed anything, ever. Westminster has brought some stability but people don’t stay. The young people don’t stay.
What is the story with the angels?
Before when I was living in Harlem, I had an awful boyfriend. He was demonic. My sister gave me angels to protect me from him. It kind of caught on and a lot of friends started giving me angels. All of those are gifts. I’ve never purchased an angel for myself. I can’t put any more figurines up.
When all of your stuff is showing you want to like what you see. I have weeded down to the books I like and the pictures I like. I don’t have all of my pictures up. That picture is when I met Betsey Johnson in Bloomingdale's. I was such a big fan of hers. When I moved down here I had this fantasy that Betsey Johnson would open up a store in the East Village and I would be the manager of that store. It didn’t happen.
What do you love about your apartment?
I love the exposed brick. The bathtub is in the kitchen, which is quaint.
I have had such good memories here. When I first moved here I was in my 30s. I had a lot of parties here. It would be unbelievable the amount of people I could fit in here. People would have a good time. They would actually stay. It was a good neighborhood for that. I was near the clubs. Post or pre club, people would come here.
From my 40s, I have very romantic memories, I had some good relationships, it’s a romantic little spot. Now in my 50s it’s more of a work space. I don’t do that many parties anymore and I’m not in any romantic entanglements at this time. So I work out a lot. I do all kinds of different exercises on YouTube. Everything folds up. I push that chair against the fireplace, this goes over here. I put my yoga mat down and go.
I like the architectural details. It’s shabby in here but in my mind’s eye I can see that around the cornice in the bedroom, if I had the time I could paint this a color and that a color.
I was freelancing and then I took a job with a nonprofit, and when I got laid off it was 2011. There were no jobs. I was doing public relations. I had worked at big corporations all of my life. We had a social media department but by 2011 they expected a PR person to tweet and do everything. I didn’t know how to do that. I’ve learned how to do that now because those are the kind of skills you learn by doing. I knew the best way to find a job was to start working.
I went over to the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, MoRUS, on Avenue C. I started volunteering with them. At MoRUS, we do walking tours of the gardens on Saturdays and activist spaces on Sundays. We have an exhibit now for political punk. How punk music intersects with politics. Usually we have pictures of direct actions that happened over the years that gave rise to the community gardens and the squats. We also show photos of how the neighborhood looked before.
Eventually I got a job. I work in Union Square so I walk to work. I make very little money but I don’t care. You can’t put a price on being able to walk to work. I can meet my needs fortunately because I have a rent-stabilized apartment. I’m an administrative assistant now. I was a senior director at one point. I didn’t realize the level of stress I had at that job. I don’t want to do PR ever again. I do customer service now. I like helping real people solve real problems.
If I didn’t have a rent-stabilized apartment I would probably have to move to North Carolina.
If you're interested in inviting Susan in to photograph your apartment for an upcoming post, then you may contact her via this email.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Noted
An EVG reader shared this spray-painted marker from outside a building owned by the Kushner Cos. on Avenue A.
The message reads in part: "Jared Kushner owns this building. Know your enemy."
Not sure how widespread these are. I walked by four other Kushner-owned properties and didn't spot similar messages. One estimate puts the number of Kushner-owned East Village buildings at 31. (Only Steve Croman reportedly owns more East Village buildings.)
Jared Kushner stepped away from running the family real-estate business when he entered the White House in January 2017 to work for his father-in-law.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Jared Kushner not done buying every walk-up in the East Village
Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.
Jared Kushner's East Village tenants wish he'd resolve issues closer to home
Report: Kushner Co. filed false paperwork with the city over number of rent-regulated tenants
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Week in Grieview
[Weekend view of the Odessa on Avenue A]
Stories posted on EVG this past week included...
Tuesdays at Sophie's (Tuesday)
Local elected officials urge Boys' Club officials to postpone sale of the Harriman Clubhouse (Monday)
A look at the East River Park Track, due to reopen Sept. 10 (Wednesday)
The EVG podcast: More hawk talk with Laura Goggin (Friday) ... Health scare for remaining red-tailed fledgling in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)
Report: DOB fines Kushner Cos. for falsifying dozens of permit applications (Tuesday)
Reader report: Body found in car on 12th Street (Friday)
An empty lot awaits the future home of the new Mt. Sinai Beth Israel Hospital on 13th Street (Monday)
Baking news: Westville Bakery coming to 9th (Friday)
Check out this week's NY See strip (Thursday)
[The front doors of the former Grassroots Tavern on St. Mark's Place]
The Village Voice has ceased publication (Friday)
Summer's end (Wednesday)
Churro Cone by ChikaLicious bringing another dessert option to Avenue A (Monday)
Video: The dog days of summer (Wednesday)
Renovations for rooftop cottage on 1st and 1st (Friday)
Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company opens Tuesday on 8th Street (Thursday)
A good happy hour (Tuesday)
A new look outside for the 11th Street Bar (Tuesday)
How you all doing tonight? Grand opening at the New York Comedy Club on 4th Street (Thursday)
Chi Ken, the Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken Store, no longer coming to St. Mark's Place (Thursday)
New lobby unveiled at 250 E. Houston St. (Monday)
All about EVE, the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office-replacing rentals on 14th Street (Thursday)
... and speaking of EVE...
Got an email this morning for a new building opening in the EV. It reads:
— John Norris (@Jonnynono) September 1, 2018
First the East Village had The Velvet Underground
Then The Ramones
Coming Soon
EVE
Designer Studio, One and Two Bedroom Rental Residences
I'll just leave that there and cc: @evgrieve
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Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Report: DOB fines Kushner Cos. for falsifying dozens of permit applications
As The New York Times first reported, the DOB cited Kushner for 42 violations in which it submitted false permit information in those 17 buildings, "where many of the tenants were protected from steep rent increases and eviction."
Landlords are required in New York City to disclose whether tenants in their buildings are rent regulated to obtain a construction permit. This requirement is designed to safeguard rent-regulated tenants from harassment. Unscrupulous landlords sometimes push out rent-protected tenants so they can sharply increase rents on those units.
A DOB spokesperson told The Real Deal that "the falsifications were a matter of not disclosing the existence of rent-stabilized tenants." Among the properties: 331-335 E. Ninth St. (pictured) and 211 Avenue A.
In a statement to TRD, the Kushner Cos. blamed the misfiled paperwork on a third party. Per that statement: "No fines were assessed against the company [yesterday]. There were some violations issued for paperwork errors of the same type identified back in March and as we noted then, the company relied on third party consultants for the preparation of these forms and if in error they have been corrected or will be. In no case did the company act in disregard of the safety of our tenants."
The Associated Press first reported in March about the Kushner Cos. allegedly routinely filing false paperwork with the city declaring that it had zero rent-regulated tenants in buildings it owns when, in fact, they had hundreds.
Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Trump, resigned as head of the Kushner Cos. after joining the White House as a senior adviser in 2016. His father Charles Kushner is currently running the company. The published reports note that the false applications were filed while Jared was at the helm.
Also yesterday, the DOB confirmed that they’re investigating complaints by tenant advocates against an investment group led by Michael Cohen, the president’s former personal lawyer, for similar violations.
Per the Times:
At 172 Rivington Street, for example, the Cohen group indicated that there were no rent-regulated tenants in the 20-unit building, after the company purchased it in October 2011 for $2.1 million. But records indicated that there were 19 protected tenants there, but only 11 remained after the Cohen group sold the building three years later for $10 million.
As the Times noted, neither Cohen nor the Kushner Cos. have been cited for tenant harassment.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
EVG Etc.: NYCHA's staggering repair bill; CitiBike's new owner
[Sunset and shadows on St. Mark's Place]
The NYCHA needs $32 BILLION for repairs over the next five years (Curbed) More than 800 kids tainted by lead in NYCHA buildings, city says (Daily News)
Why Gabrielle Hamilton, chef/owner of Prune on First Street, would want to team up with an accused sex harasser (The Post)
Lyft buys CitiBike (Gothamist)
Should you worry about falling window A/C units? (Curbed)
Q-and-A with writer/DJ/goth scholar Andi Harriman (Flaming Pablum)
Grand/Clinton Street gridlock update (The Lo-Down)
Opening a fire hydrant is a long city summer tradition (Ephemeral New York)
The business success of Luke's Lobster, which got its start on 7th Street in 2009 (CNBC)
1986 Tonya Harding doc "Sharp Edges" gets a 1-week run starting Friday (City Cinemas Village East ... and background here)
U.S. premiere of the documentary "A Skin So Soft" begins on Friday (Anthology Film Archives)
About that cartoon video for Richard Hell's "The Kid With the Replaceable Head" (Dangerous Minds)
NYC’s first bike counter is at the base of the Manhattan Bridge (Streetsblog)
There's a special breakfast-taco menu tomorrow from 6:30-11 a.m. at Superiority Burger on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...
An EVG reader shared this photo ... showing that GoLocker has set up shop at 508 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B in a building owned by the Kushner Companies.
The Brooklyn-based company, which launched in 2014, delivers parcels to lockers stored in neighborhood businesses. There was a set of GoLockers in the back of the Gentle Wash Laundromat on Avenue A, though those were recently removed.
... and EVG reader Andy Reynolds reports that an equipment truck for "The Deuce" shoot on Seventh Street this week took out a nice-sized branch near Second Avenue...