Baseless notices from Stellar?

Tell the tenant association leadership right away if  you have gotten a notice from Stellar Management or its lawyers in the past few weeks. These notice say that either 

• you haven't renewed your lease when you actually have (they now say it was a computer glitch), or
• the tenants owe money for their electric bills.

IF YOU GET A CIVIL COURT NOTICE, YOU HAVE TO ANSWER IN COURT.  It's not enough to get Stellar to say, "no, it's ok, we see you have actually paid your bill."  Tenants have no right to counsel in Civil Court.  (It's different from Housing Court.)  

Shred Day: Thursday, Oct. 10 behind Park West Village (west of Columbus)

Have any sensitive documents that you don’t need anymore? Please join Senator Hoylman-Sigal, Councilmember Brewer, and Councilmember Abreu, for a free shred day with the Department of Sanitation. The event will take place on Thursday, October 10th, 9 am - 12 pm, at Park West Village (97th St. between Amsterdam Avenue and Columbus Avenue). There may be limitations depending on turnout, so first-come, first-served. For questions, please contact Senator Hoylman-Sigal's office at 212-633-4390 or hoylman@nysenate.gov.

Summary of the 9/18/2024 Tenant Meeting

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Register to vote on or before October 26, 2024 to vote in this year's November election.  You can also check whether you are registered to vote here.   

You can also go to the Voter Registration event on Saturday, October 5 from 11 AM to 3 PM at our neighboring Tower West (65 West 96th Street).  You can 

• register to vote
• update your voter record
• check your voter status
• request a vote-by-mail ballot
• find election information
• get your questions answered
• receive a free backpack (thanks to Council Member Shaun Abreu).

• We had our first (in a very long while) Flea Market on Saturday in the Community Room.  It was so successful we may do another one.  Thanks to Krystina Orellano for the sterling organization and flyers. 

• Fall activities are back:  Games afternoons, Thursday at 2 PM and ShapeUp NYC on Tuesdays at 6 PM, both in the Community Room. 

• Renew your membership in our tenant association - or join us for the first time - at the remarkable price of $10 per year per apartment. You can also contribute to our legal fund ($100 - or as much as you can afford).  Put a check under the door of our treasurer, Barbara Geller, in Apartment 11T.  

IN THE BUILDING:

TRVs (temperature regulating valves) - these are being put in all our radiators in compliance with Local Law 97. 

Tenant meeting TONIGHT (Wed., 9/18) at 8 PM

This is YOUR opportunity to tell our state senator and our next Assembly member what we need. 

We'll also talk about building issues, including the new radiator valves. 

JOIN US!

A touching farewell to Modesto ("Ito") Santiago, long-time handyman

Modesto "Ito" Santiago is retiring on 8/30/2024 after 35 years working in this building - first as a porter and then as a handyman.  Many of us know him because of his kindness and willingness to help. 

So a lot of tenants turned out (not all at the same time) to wish him a wonderful retirement. We've grown older together!

Thanks to Rosa Delgado, the party's main organizer and food provider, Elsa Gonzalez who provided luscious cupcakes on a "Happy Retirement" stand

and Wilfredo Chau for the soda. 

And thanks to Ito for 35 years of friendly, always-there-when-you-need-him service.

You can see all the photos here. 

Tenant Meeting on Sept. 18!

News for Rent-Stabilized and Market-Rate Tenants

Goings-on in the building

There are lots of ways to keep fit and make friends in the building!

·      Tuesdays at 6 PM in the Community Room, join ShapeUp NYC with our own Jodi Brockington, an experienced fitness trainer.   It’s sponsored by the NYC Parks Department. 

·      Wednesdays at 10 AM in the Community Room, do some Tai Ji with seasoned 
trainer Sol Magzamen, who lives down the street.

·      Thursdays at 2 PM in the Community Room, join the Games Group for Trivia, bingo, and other activities.

·      Gardening around the building.  Contact Barbara Geller, barbarageller39@gmail.com.

Join our email list by emailing sue.susman@gmail.com. Your email won’t show to anyone else. You can ask questions and stay in the know!

News for rent-stabilized tenants

The Rent Guidelines Board ordered increases of

·      2.75% for a 1-year lease renewal and

·      5.25% for a 2-year lease renewal

for any lease renewals going into effect from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.  This puts Stellar ahead of the game, since landlords have been getting an increasing return on their investment since 1990.

News for market-rate (unregulated) tenants

Under the Good Cause Eviction law passed in June, Stellar must offer you a renewal lease unless you violated the old lease and

·      as long as your apartment is not part of your employment, and

·      if your current rent Is below $6,005 for 1 BR, $6,742 for a 2 BR, $8,413 for a 3 BR, or $9,065 for a 4 BR apartment.

The rent increase can’t exceed the lower of the Consumer Price Index + 5% (this year it comes to 8.82%) or 10%.  

This bill is a watered-down version of what tenants have been working for, so the law could improve with more tenant action in the coming year or two.

We had a great Pot Luck in May, and our next meeting will be Sept. 18, 2024.

JOIN US!