Dear Lucas,The community of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village is taking a stand for tenants citywide.
With the long-term ownership of the property still up in the air, the tenants are sending a clear message that they intend to be at the center of any plan to decide the future of their homes. As the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, tenant groups frequently face organizational challenges, "but that isn't true about the one representing tenants of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village."
Last weekend (as you can see in the video above), I helped the Tenants Association gather signed "unity pledges" from their neighbors -- a document that serves as an illustration that this community is cohesive and united around its shared principles. In just one month, as the Wall Street Journal reported, "Residents in more than half of the 10,500 occupied units have signed 'unity pledges' to give [the Tenants Association] their backing, as it pursues a plan that could allow residents to buy their units at discounts or remain as rent-stabilized residents."
This is a major show of support. Critically, it also shows potential financing partners and others that this body is organized and able to move forward to promote their interests. With tens of thousands of residential units across the city at risk of default, these tenants are a model for other communities in how to be engaged in determining their own destiny.
Sincerely,
Daniel R. Garodnick
211 East 43rd Street, Suite 2004
New York, NY 10017
(212) 818-0580