Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

Good "End Warehousing" rally - with photos

There are some 60,000 homeless people in New York City shelters, many of those people working families.  There are some 70,000 vacant rent-regulated apartments.   What's wrong with this picture?!  Stellar is warehousing 7 vacant rent-stabilized apartments in this building alone - refusing to offer them for rent even as it offers bonuses to tenants who refer applicants to market-rate apartments. 

The BrooklynPaper reports, 

Ever since the state legislature passed a package of tenant-friendly bills in Albany last year, real estate bigwigs have been keeping more units empty in the hopes that politicians will undo some of those laws, and the consequences could be lethal for the unhoused facing down the pandemic without shelter, according to Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal.

“People who are homeless will get sick and they have nowhere to go, this spells death for them and their families,” the Big Apple lawmaker said at the protest last week. “What [landlords] hope — although this won’t happen — is that we will roll back some of these tenant protections and they will once again be able to increase the rent and be able to take apartments out of rent regulation.”

So we had a rally on Wednesday. It was a companion to the larger End Warehousing Coalition rally in Brooklyn that same day.  Here are some great photos. Thanks to Laura Koulish,John Rodriguez, and Frank Leonardo for their photos, and to State Senator Brian Benjamin, whose aide Neil Douglass Reilly can be seen in the bottom-most photo on the left. 

General Tenants Meeting - Dec. 9, 2020 at 8 PM by Zoom

​

CENTRAL PARK GARDENS TENANTS' ASSOCIATION 

ON-LINE MEETING

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 9, 2020 at 8 PM

Michael McKee, a leader of TenantsPAC​,​

will speak on the effects of the federal and state elections on the Albany budget and on us as tenants and as citizens of NY.

  

We'll also go over some building issues. 

Join our Zoom Meeting from the comfort of your own home. 

If you're not on our tenant association email list, please contact CPGTenAssoc  @gmail.  com to get a link to the Zoom meeting.

Rally to End "Warehousing" of vacant stabilized apartments

Despite the crisis of homelessness and the pandemic and all the anticipated evictions, many landlords are refusing to rent out vacant rent stabilized apartments.  Partly it's to pressure the State legislature to rescind the tenant protections that prevent owners from making huge profits by deregulating apartments or claiming false improvements, and partly it's to wait for adjoining units to become vacant so the two can be combined for a new unit with a new rent. 

Whatever the reasons, it's unconscionable at this time.  

Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal has proposed a bill to end this practice, and City Council bills are pending.  

So while the End Warehousing Coalition is having a rally in Brooklyn on WED., NOV. 18 - we're having a companion rally (masked and socially-distanced of course) in front of our building that same day at 4 pm.  Join us.

Wear a mask in the hallways and in the elevator - covering your nose and mouth

The Centers for Disease Control says that wearing a mas protects you, not only those around you. 

 

Wear a Mask to Protect Yourself and Others

·       Wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth to help protect others in case you’re infected with COVID-19 but don’t have symptoms, and to protect you from breathing in virus particles in the air.

·       Wear a mask in public settings when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when it may be difficult for you to stay six feet apart, and in the elevator even if you’re alone: the previous passenger could have been infected.

Wear a mask correctly for maximum protection:

•     Do cover your nose as well as your mouth.  You don't want unfiltered air with virus particles coming into your nose.  And you don't want your breath coming out without filtering it: you could be infected with COVID and accidentally infect others.  (You’ll get enough oxygen:  Surgeons often wear masks for 8 hours at a stretch while doing delicate work requiring a lot of focus and energy.  They don't lack oxygen. )

•    Don’t put the mask around your neck or up on your forehead.

•       Don’t touch the mask, and, if you do, wash your hands or use hand sanitizer to disinfect​.

Biden and Harris won, and . . .

Federal Election

NY State elections: 

Our representatives, State Senator Brian Benjamin and Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell, both won re-election. 

Otherwise, the State Senate remains Democratic (although apparently not with a supermajority that would override vetoes), and the State Assembly remains Democratic with a supermajority.  Absentee ballots are still being counted. 

Samar Khurshid: The state of play in the state senate as preparations continue for counting of absentee ballots (Gotham Gazette)

 Amandra Fries: New York State Legislature leans further left as DSA candidates win new seats (Albany Times Union)

Meanwhile, the State Budget is running a big deficit

Karen DeWitt: With elections over, NYS must resolve a multi-billion dollar deficit (NPR) (AUDIO)

Anna Gronewald: NYS financial update predicts $15 billion revenue loss (Politico NY)

Nick Reisman: Cuomo counts on Biden to make deal on coronavirus aid (NY State of Politics)

Conservatory Garden in bloom - check it out!

 Enjoy the Conservatory Garden in Central Park, at 102nd Street near Fifth Avenue. The northern end of the garden is at its peak.   Thanks to Barbara Geller, a volunteer there, for these photos.