Thursday, September 24, 2020

Do you have a car in our garage? Want the garage open 24/7 as it used to be?

Since ICON is dragging its heels about reopening the garage 24/7, as it was before the pandemic - and since the sole reason is financial, we'll be filing a reduction in services complaint with the state's housing agency.

If you're a rent stabilized tenant with a car in the garage, please contact Sue to sign the complaint. 

The law only protects rent stabilized tenants from such reductions, so only rent stabilized tenants will be signing onto the complaint.  But non-stabilized tenants are welcome to submit letters of support. 




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Rally to Cancel Rent - 11 AM on Thursday, Oct. 1 at Foley Square




















The principle is simple:  





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Thursday, September 17, 2020

Where and how to vote


Make sure you are REGISTERED TO VOTE.  If you're not, you can register to vote on line by filling out
Then print it, sign and date it, and send it BY OCT. 9, 2020
to the 
NY County Board of Elections
200 Varick Street, 10th Floor, NY, NY 10014


or register to vote on line at https://www.ny.gov/services/register-vote. This site requires a NYS driver's license or a non-driver ID from the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles.

Once you are registered, you can vote by ABSENTEE BALLOT, or IN PERSON.  However you vote, wear a mask!


IN PERSON VOTING:

Early Voting

Where: at West Side High School, 140 West 102nd St (between Columbus & Amsterdam)

When: 
Saturday, Oct. 24 , 10 AM to 4 PM
Sunday, Oct. 25, 10 AM to 4 PM
Monday, Oct. 26, 7 AM to 3 PM
Tuesday, Oct. 27, Noon to 8 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 28, Noon to 8 PM
Thursday, Oct. 29, 10 AM to 6 PM
Friday, Oct. 30, 7 AM to 3 PM
Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 AM to 4 PM (Halloween)
Sunday, Nov. 1, 10 AM to 4 PM

What: You can vote in person, OR you can drop off your absentee ballot.

Regular Voting

When: Tuesday, November 3rd
Where: PS 163 on 97th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam 
What: You can vote in person OR you can drop off your absentee ballot. 

ABSENTEE BALLOT

Apply:

Apply online for a general absentee ballot for the November 3rd election. Click here to apply now. New Yorkers can also mail, email or fax their absentee ballot applications. Click here to learn more. All applications must be submitted by October 27th. If you are mailing your application it must be postmarked by this date. New Yorkers may apply in-person until November 2nd. 

Important: if you applied for an absentee ballot for the primary election, you must apply again for the general election.

The NYC Board of Elections will begin mailing out absentee ballots later this month. 

The Board of Elections now provides an Absentee Ballot Tracking System.  Click here to check the status of your application and track your ballot. The system is updated every 24 hours, and applications take up to 72 hours to be entered. 

Return the absentee ballot in any of the following ways:

1. Put it in the mail to the NY Board of Elections, 200 Varick Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10014.
2. Drop it off at an early voting poll site from October 24th through November 1st.
3. Drop it off at a regular poll site on November 3rd BY 9 PM
4. Drop it off at the NY Board of Elections, 200 Varick Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10014. 


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Friday, August 28, 2020

New lease form for rent stabilized tenants for Oct. 2020-Sept. 2021

In June 2020, the Rent Guidelines Board voted that for rent stabilized tenants whose lease renewals begin any time from Oct. 1, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2021, a 1-year lease renewal would have NO increase, and a 2-year lease renewal would have NO increase the first year, and a 1% increase the second year.   This does NOT apply to you if your lease renewal does not begin during that period. 

So if you are rent stabilized and your renewal lease will start any time between Oct. 1, 2020 and September 30,20201,  your lease renewal form will look a little different than it has before.  (Click on the link for what the new one looks like.)

Under line 2, it should say:  

**Rent Guidelines Board Order #52 applies to leases commencing between 10/1/20 and 9/30/21.  It allows the two(2) year lease guideline increase to ONLY be collected in the second year of the lease. There is no increase in the first year. 


https://hcr.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/06/rtp-8.pdf




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Thursday, August 27, 2020

Black lives matter! Join some neighbors in a vigil each evening.

While this isn't a tenant association activity, many tenants meet each evening for a 9-minute silent vigil in front of our building.  Our signs say "Black Lives Matter.  Vote" and similar messages. Of course we wear masks and stay 6 feet apart.

With the recent shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, it's clear that the message hasn't reached those with guns.  A Black man can still be shot in the back 7 times, in front of his three children, and two people peacefully demonstrating in support of Jacob Blake were shot by a white teenager.  So Jacob Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber can be added to the antii-Black violence.

Please join us.  We're meeting at 7:30 PM these days - and will make it earlier along with the earlier sunset.  And join other community members every Friday evening at 5 PM at 96th and Broadway to "say their names" - recite the names of Black people killed by the police.


                         Thanks to Laura Koulish and Frank Leonardo for photographs.
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Have you been counted in the Census?

Do you want money for schools? for hospitals? for libraries? for roads? for the MTA?
GET COUNTED!

  • Even if you're here temporarily, 
  • Even if you're staying out of town during the pandemic,
  • Whether you are a U.S. citizen or not,
  • Even if privacy is very important to you, 
We need to be counted if we want enough representatives in the U.S. Congress.

It's easy.  Click on MyCensus2020 and fill it out. Even if you don't have the ID number they sent you, you can do it with your address.  Or you can do it by phone: 



Stellar initially refused to admit the U.S. Census worker who came with the names of 48 tenants who hadn't yet filled out their forms. But with the help of Congressman Nadler, Community Board 7, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, the U.S. Census office in NYC sent Stellar a letter, and  Stellar has agreed to let in the Census workers. But you don't have to wait. Do it now!
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Thursday, June 4, 2020

Black lives matter - some tenants rally in front of building

At exactly 8 PM on June 3, 2020, several tenants rallied in front of the building - standing silently for the 9 minutes that the police held down George Floyd until he died.  Some of those tenants will be doing it again on June 4, 5 and . . . , and urge others to join them.   Of course tenants stayed 6 feet apart and wore masks.  The only sign said "Black Lives Matter.  Vote!"  Other tenants are welcome to bring their own signs.


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