Thoughts On "Taking The Village"

Thoughts and feelings concerning the NY Times article on Ben Shaoul, "Taking The Village" run the gamut here on East 4th St. There are some facts however that must be corrected immediately.
Here is a quote from the story:

This is incorrect. The NYTimes story omitted the STOP WORK order issued for 118 East 4th, for working without a permit. Our blog posted this here. Also, there are numerous complaints and infractions for our buildings listed on the DOB website. Far too numerous to list here, but they are on public view at the DOB website. Our tenant association went to Housing Court over these issues and things were settled in favor of the tenants.

The NYTimes story did not convey the problem with the Department Of Buildings. DOB might not show up to inspect until a week or more after tenants reported a violation. The violation may not be apparent by then. We tenants have recorded photographic and video evidence of these violations, but DOB does not take these into account.

Another serious issue not covered in the story is the issue of "Josh". You will see his name mentioned in some of the comments to the New York Times story. Josh works for Ben. Usually he does not give his last name, but if he does, Josh will say he is Josh Evans, or Josh Greene. This is false. His name is Josh Slepian. He is the one that will knock on your door and try to gain entrance to your apartment by telling you lies. He will say he owns the building. This is a lie. He will tell you that he does not know Ben. A lie.  He has followed tenants down the block on their way to work, grilling them for information on them, and on other tenants. He is the one that has menaced the seniors citizens in our buildings.

Regarding Mr. Shaoul's claim that we are resistant to change. A quote from a TA member:

"I think the article makes a few decent points, but it doesn't address the long-term impact of people who share Ben's philosophy on the neighborhoods they invade.  It can't simply be written off as "resistance to change" when long-term residents and vital members of the community (and I emphasize community) are being driven from their homes by profit-mongering sleazebags without any ties (aside from a singular financial interest) to our city.  When did wanting to continue living in our apartments become some kind of pathological inability to accept 'progress'?"

Regarding Mr. Shaoul's "Hurt feelings".  Another TA member quote:

"Ben complaining about "hurt feelings" is like Jack The Ripper complaining about ruining his manicure while dismembering a victim."

There is more to the story covered by the New York Times. A lot of it is in the pages of this blog.