Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Summary of the Sept. 18, 2019 Meeting and Newsletter

The General Tenants Meeting began with a moment of silence for neighbors we have lost since the last meeting, including Na'ava Ades, Richard Jordan, Carlos Martinez, and Ana Soto. 

Since there was only a single candidate for the opening on our tenant association's executive committee, we acclaimed Andrew Dubin a new member. 

Building issues:

Food waste collection:  If you leave your food waste in a plastic bag (except for compostable bags that you buy), it can't be easily composted. So please dump the contents of your plastic bag into the brown compost bin, and put the empty plastic bag in the small (non-compost) bin next to it. Then close both bins to prevent bugs.

©Susan Susman October 4, 2019




















The elevators continue to be a mess.  Please report all problems on a requisition slip at the front desk so there's a written record.

The garage has been filled to way over its legal 114-car capacity.  The NYC Depart of Consumer Affairs issued a violation, and the tenant association contacted ICON.  As a result, the situation has improved. If you see overcrowding again, file a 311 complaint and send the complaint number to CPGTenAssoc@gmail.com.

Tenant movement issues:
  • Housing Justice for All (the coalition that brought us the new rent laws, with the help of the "No IDC NYC" group that changed the State Senate), is launching its 2020 campaign on Wed., Oct. 16 at 6 PM at Washington Irving High School, 60 Irving Place (near Union Square).  We're a member, so you are invited.  If you'd like to participate in HJ4A's weekly phone calls, contact CPGTenAssoc@gmail.com.



The New Rent Law - Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019. 

Talk about knowing what there is to know!   Legal Aid Attorney Ellen Davidson gave a wonderfully clear presentation based on these slides that she printed out and distributed.  
Some things are answerable. (Click on "read more" for the well-presented Park West Village Tenant Association summary of the new law and more.) Ellen was recently awarded the NY County Lawyers Association’s Public Service Award for her work on this new tenant bill.

She explained that while the State Legislature passed the statute that the governor signed into law, there are two other sources of law:  the administrative agency (NYS Homes and Community Renewal) that enacts regulations to interpret the statute, and court decisions, all yet to come.  Tenants in Housing Justice for All (HJ4A) are working with DHCR (part of NYS HCR) to draft the regulations.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Thursday, September 12, 2019

DHCR posts new lease rider and new rent law summary

The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), which oversees the rent laws, has posted  on its website: 

So far, Stellar has been renewing stabilized leases using the OLD rent rider.  The new one will be binding since that goes along with the 2019 changes in the rent laws.  This rider also shows how market tenants trying to get back into rent stabilization can calculate what their stabilized rents would be.



Sunday, September 8, 2019

Wed., Sept. 18 at 8 PM: Know Your Rights!

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER

THE NEW RENT LAWS
as a rent stabilized or
unregulated tenant

In June 2019, NY State passed landmark legislation establishing the strongest new protections for rent regulated and market tenants in a generation.  Learn about how the new laws will affect us, and get answers to your questions. 

Speaker:  Ellen Davidson
Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society, and Board Member of Tenants & Neighbors

at our
GENERAL TENANTS MEETING

on
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
8 PM
in our Community Room

with election of a replacement executive committee member.