Jane Says

 “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody,    only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”   

The Devil We Know...

It's official,118-120-122 East Fourth Street are for sale.

Our 3 buildings hang in the balance between the devil we know and, ahem, whoever may purchase them. It's hard to imagine the purchaser could be worse. For the 1-1/2 years of Ben Shaoul/Fortune East ownership, the management has shown nothing but contempt for tenant apartment maintenance and building issues while also imposing on us the hardships, discomfort and inconveniences of living in a construction zone. Now they are trying to make a quick profit, their fortune in the east: turning their $11.5 million purchase into a $25 million sale.

From the property listing:

Memorial Day

Flier Down !

This just in from a Tenant Association member via iPhone. It appears that there was a violent reaction to the Mgmt flier addressing the "Vandalism" at 120 East 4th Street. The TA  member emphasized quite strongly that "this is NOT a black and white photograph".

This too is NOT a black and white photo. No... Really! its not. 

Does flyer falling constitute vandalism?  Could you consult your lease and get back to us?  What is the penalty for illicit flyer removal.  Unauthorized flyer removal?  Surely not eviction.  (It would make for a fun court case.)  ("Immediate eviction" per the flyer sort of demonstrates the keen grasp of legalities that management has and their commitment to proportional punishment.  But I don't think "immediate eviction" is a legal concept.  Quick!  Call the sheriff!  A tenant has painted a graffito on the wall.  Out Out Out said the grinch!)

The Joyful Vandal

There was an episode of mischief at 120 East 4th a couple of days ago. In middle of the night, between midnight and 4AM someone went on a bit of a painting spree. Painting banana like shapes with yellow paint on all the floors of 120. Some are using the word paint "swoosher" rather that vandal. The shapes are quite joyous and exuberant. Preferable to what is there now. No one knows who created these delightful fun shapes on the walls of 120. Obviously some sort of point was being made with them. What that point is remains a mystery. Where is the East 4th St Agatha Christie? 

Though the shape is like a frown, it still says smiley face to me. The marks have a bit of the cow jumped over the moon feel. There have been many interpretations of the shapes. The consensus  among the TA is diverse.  Matisse cutout anyone? Perhaps the Joyous Vandal was going for Andy Warhol's Banana. Either would be welcome in  generous doses within the stark grey prison like atmosphere that dominates the hallways of 120 and 118 East 4th Street. Its as if the grey were some sort of severe punishment. Jeez what ever the crime was.... we didn't do it. Give us a bit of color, a bit of joy.

One of the TA members suggested that the lovely yellow paint gestures were like the Nike logo.

This is the official response from Mgmt. Note the lack of managing agent's name, and no signature.

Positively 4th Street

Extermination

This new sign was posted above the mailboxes on the first floor. Its good news for those with infestations. As stated before in a previous post on this particular issue, the insects and vermin do not discriminate between the Rent Stabilized and the Market Rate tenants. 

Yes, this is good news. With the warm weather of summer approaching these infestations can spread rapidly. They must be nipped in the bud. There is however, a bit of a SNAFU here. This sign was posted in the lobby of 118 East 4th St. There is no such posting on the first floor of 120-122 East 4th St. The 3rd Saturday of this month fell on the 19th. As far as anyone knows there was no exterminator on the premises that Saturday. It might have been difficult for an exterminator to find us, as our building numbers are still MIA. For some goofy reason Fortune East will not replace the building address numbers that they removed. Does anyone know what SNAFU means? It stands for "Situation Normal All Fucked Up"

Shattered Glass

Fortune East has begun demolition on another apartment. Number 21 on the top floor of 118 East 4th St. It started on Friday May 18. At about 10:30AM a loud explosive crash was heard. The glass of one of the windows was smashed, and the glass feel out onto the fire escape, creating deadly shards that rained down upon the street below.

A public school is located directly across the street. PS 751. There were some children out on the street at the time of the incident. Some of those kids are often on the 118 side of the street on a warm day. It has the shade. Its lucky for Fortune East there were no children on the shady side of the street. If there were children present at the time on the incident, they would have gotten sliced. One of our Tenant Assoc members was able to take these pix with their iPhone before the evidence was quickly removed.

Does a quiet block even exist in the East Village?

Does a quiet block even exist in the East Village?

EV Windows

                                             

East 3rd Street

This is some info on the situation on East 3rd Street, sent to us by the tenants of 50-54-58 East 3rd St.

“tenant blacklist”

check out their blog here,  http://e3rdst.tumblr.com/

The Time Is Now

I

It is up to individuals to protect their own rights, and the rights of their neighbors.

Spies & Assassins

This is an image of a flyer that was designed by one our TA members for a meeting this past December. The Tenant Association of 118 and 120 East 4th Street decided to post them in our respective buildings the day before. We were then, and still are, very interested in meeting the new neighbors. Welcoming them to our street, making them aware of their rights, and the quirky, shady, funny things that go on here and there. The flyers were posted in the late afternoon on the day before the meeting. By the early morning of the following day, the actual day of the TA meeting, all flyers were removed without expanation from our buildings. The meeting went on as scheduled, but with a Stranger in attendance.

The Stranger said he lived in Yonkers, but was moving to the city. He said he was moving into an apartment in 120. It was an apartment that was under construction and was not going to be habitable for another 2 months. The Stranger explained this oddity by telling the group that he was making arrangements with Time Warner Cable. He told the TA he noticed the flyer for the meeting that same afternoon and decided to attend, to see, and get to know everyone.  Hmmmm,  its funny how all the  Flyers were physically removed from the premises before he could have actually seen one. How did the Stranger know about the meeting?

May Day Every Day

 HuffPost New York for more photos