Fwd: [New post] After asbestos confirmed, investigation continues in Flatiron

How nice of H.S.I. to bring this to the attention of tenants in the building. How nice that they also neglected to suggest keeping windows closed to prevent lots of airborne asbestos from settling in tenants' rooms... especially those with vulnerable lungs.

Just bringing this up because for the 2 or 3 of you who DON'T know, asbestos has been known to be a cancer-causing agent for decades, and it causes LUNG cancer first.

This just creeps me out in light of the recent memo listing 6 tenant deaths in a matter of weeks. Let's try to keep the death rate down.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Town & Village <comment-reply@wordpress.com>
Date: Friday, July 20, 2018
Subject: [New post] After asbestos confirmed, investigation continues in Flatiron
To: emilyholiday@gmail.com

Sabina Mollot posted: "   By Sabina Mollot In the wake of Thursday's steam-pipe explosion, the city has confirmed the presence of asbestos. Sixteen inspectors from the Department of Environmental Protection have been tasked with investigating the presence of any asbesto" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on Town & Village After asbestos confirmed, investigation continues in Flatiron by Sabina Mollot Con Ed employees accepting bagged clothing at 22nd Street and Broadway (Photo courtesy of Con Ed)   By Sabina Mollot In the wake of Thursday's steam-pipe explosion, the city has confirmed the presence of asbestos. Sixteen inspectors from the Department of Environmental Protection have been tasked with investigating the presence of any asbestos in nearby buildings while the site of the explosion is also being monitored. On Friday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued an air quality health advisory for the whole city through 11 p.m. The agency's warning noted that active children and adults as well as anyone with respiratory problems reduce "prolonged or heavy exertion" outdoors. The public is still being warned to stay away from the immediate area, where there are still emergency crews at work. Read more of this post Sabina Mollot | July 20, 2018 at 12:43 pm | Tags: asbestos, Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Environmental Protection, department of health, FDNY, Flatiron, Flatiron BID, Flatiron District, MTA, street closures | Categories: Con Ed, Emergency Alert, Flatiron, Flatiron BID, Flatiron District, Uncategorized | URL: https://wp.me/p1yUha-5cU Comment    See all comments Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Town & Village. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://town-village.com/2018/07/20/after-asbestos-confirmed-investigation-continues-in-flatiron/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

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"You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better." - Anne Lamott

Fwd: Rent Increases = Displacement

Note that they discuss a 0% rent increase for SROs. There was a 0% increase for SROs LAST year, too, but here at the Kenmore, HSI decided to give us all rent increases BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRUCTION WE'VE ALL BEEN ENDURING. Watch out for more dirty tricks this year.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Met Council on Housing <info@metcouncilonhousing.org>
Date: 2018-06-26 20:24 GMT-04:00
Subject: Rent Increases = Displacement
To: Emily Brown <emilyholiday@gmail.com>

Emily -- The Rent Guidelines Board just voted to increase rents on a 1.5% One Year lease,  2.5% on a Two Year lease to 2.5%, and 0% for Single Room Occupancy and residential hotels.    This rent increase, while a set back, will not stop us from our real goal building tenant power and strengthening the rent laws. Help us continue to fight for tenants rights throughout New York by donating as little as $5.00. This rent increase, no matter how small, will lead to evictions and displacements. We are saddened that the Rent Guideline Board did not listen to the hundreds of tenants that testified on the need for a rent freeze. Landlords have made profits for the twelfth year in a row, while our incomes have not kept up. "To grant landlords an increase at a time when there are 60,000 people living in shelters, and the average family is paying over a third of their income in rent in one of the most expensive cities in the world and landlord's profits have outpaced inflation while our wages have not, is not only morally wrong and bad public policy but it is an abdication of the RGB's sole purpose which is to prevent rent profiteering" said Ava Farkas.  Met Council member leader Fredrick deBour of Brooklyn added "With a city-wide affordable housing crisis and landlords once again raking in record profits, a rent increase is just not justified."  We with you will continue to build tenant power and strengthening the rent laws. Help us continue to fight for tenants rights throughout New York by donating as little as $5.00. Rockland County did successfully have a rent freeze for the third year in a row, while Nassau County voted for 1% for 1 year leases and 2% for 2 year leases, and Westchester voted for 2% for 1 year leases and 3% for 2 year leases.  La Junta de Ajustes de Alquiler acaba de votar a aumentar las rentas de un contrato de arrendamiento de un año por 1.5%, un contrato de arrendamiento de dos años por 2.5% y 0% para la ocupación de habitaciones individuales y hoteles residenciales.  Este aumento en el alquiler, aunque nos retrasa, no nos previene de nuestra meta verdadera de fortalecer el poder del inquilino y las leyes de la renta. Ayúdenos a continuar luchando por los derechos de inquilinos en todo Nueva York con una donación de tan solo $ 5.00.  Este aumento en el alquiler, sin importar cuán pequeño sea, producirá desalojos y desplazamientos. Nos entristece que la Junta de Ajustes de Alquiler no haya escuchado a los cientos de inquilinos que testificaron sobre la necesidad de un Rent Freeze. Los propietarios han obtenido ganancias por el 12% año consecutivo, mientras que nuestros ingresos no se han mantenido.  "A permitir un aumento al propietario en el momento en que hay 60,000 personas viviendo en refugios para indigentes, y una familia promedio está pagando más de un tercio de sus ingresos en renta en una de las ciudades más caras del mundo y las ganancias del propietario han superado la inflación mientras nuestro los salarios no han crecido lo mismo, no solo es moralmente mala y una política pública mala, sino que es una abdicación del único propósito del RGB, que es evitar el lucro de la renta", dijo Ava Farkas.  El líder de Met Council, Fredrick deBour of Brooklyn, agregó: "Con una crisis de vivienda asequible en toda la ciudad y los propietarios una vez más obteniendo ganancias récord, un aumento en el alquiler simplemente no está justificado". Nosotros con usted continuaremos desarrollando el poder del inquilino y fortaleciendo las leyes de renta. Ayúdenos a continuar luchando por los derechos de los inquilinos en todo Nueva York con una donación de tan solo $ 5.00. El Condado de Rockland tuvo un congelacio de renta exitosamente por tercer año consecutivo, y Westchester también votó por el aumento 2% para contratos de arrendamiento de 1 año y el 3% para contratos de arrendamiento de 2 años y La Junta de Ajustes de Alquiler de Nassau votará para el aumento de 1% para contratos de arrendamiento de 1 año y el 2% para contratos de arrendamiento de 2 años.  Met Council on Housing http://metcouncilonhousing.nationbuilder.com/ Met Council on Housing · 168 Canal St, FL 6, New York, NY 10013, United States This email was sent to emilyholiday@gmail.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Met Council on Housing on Twitter or Facebook. Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders.

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"You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better." - Anne Lamott

Fwd: Notify NYC - Fire

Well, thankfully it wasn't at the Kenmore. But I wonder how bad the air quality has been all day, or whether anyone else in the building is getting these notifications.

Expect a few more ambulances pulled up out front tonight.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Notify NYC <noreply@everbridge.net>
Date: Mon, May 28, 2018 at 4:41 PM
Subject: Notify NYC - Fire

Notification issued 05-28-2018 at 4:40 PM. Emergency personnel are on the scene of a three alarm fire located at West 23rd Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan. Expect smoke, traffic delays, and a presence of emergency personnel and vehicles in the area. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene advises avoiding smoke exposure from structural fires by closing windows while indoors and reducing outdoor activity where smoke is present. People with heart or breathing conditions such as asthma may be more sensitive and should seek immediate medical attention if they experience a worsening of their condition, shortness of breath, or chest pains.

To view this message in American Sign Language (ASL), العربية, বাঙালি, 中文, Français, Kreyòl Ayisyen, Italiano, 한국어, Polski, Pусский, Español, اردو or ייִדיש : http://on.nyc.gov/1kdbhe2.

To refer your friends and family to this service please visit http://www.nyc.gov/notifynyc

To modify your notification settings visit http://on.nyc.gov/zNSx2c

Please contact NotifyNYC@oem.nyc.gov with questions or concerns.

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"You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better." - Anne Lamott

I’ve been banned from the community room, computer lab and the 15th floor library for 30 days by Ralph Garcia because of “grievances” regarding a YouTube post (Commotion in the Community Room) I put up on the Kenmore Confidential YouTube channel. It shows Lisa in the community room screaming abuse and obscenities at Eddy Wong; the clip I posted starts with her calling him a Chinese motherfucker. A little background: I’d been in the community room one evening, and Eddy Wong was seated near the tv. He’d fallen asleep in his chair after eating his dinner. Lisa walked into the room, and started slamming her cane on the counter, waking Eddy up - and then she started screaming at him. The whole episode was completely unprovoked: as I’ve already pointed out, the man was ASLEEP in his chair when she came into the room.

Garcia’s issue with me is apparently connected to the “rule” stating that nobody can take pictures or videos of other tenants in the building without prior permission from H.S.I. That’s nice. We’re all on camera when we’re in the halls and common areas of the building, but those cameras have never protected anyone BUT H.S.I. They also don’t capture AUDIO, and my video does... and the 2 minute clip I posted shows Lisa at her worst - making racist comments and harassing another tenant for no reason at all except that she’s a nasty person. She’s actually worse when she’s got her card crew in the community room - Anna Barnes (who doesn’t even live in the building any more, but is a regular visitor) and others in that group have made a habit of targeting their neighbors for at least the past decade, and staff and management does NOTHING to stop them. It’s disgusting. What hasn’t been addressed is the drinking that goes along with their occupation of the community room when they’re playing cards - and alcoholic beverages are also prohibited. Apparently, whoever’s supposed to be watching the cameras down at the front desk is completely missing the bottles of wine that Lisa’s daughter brings in concealed in brown paper bags, and the vodka in little travel size bottles that get mixed with orange juice in cups, and whatever beer Chris brings in... and the drunker they get, the louder and nastier they get.

I don’t care about the ban; as I pointed out to Garcia during out meeting, I can pick up a wifi signal from the community room just by standing in front of the building, because the signal comes right out the window. I can also go up to the corner and get free wifi from Freehand, the new boutique hotel that took over the George Washington (and they have some nice, comfortable benches to sit on, too). There are a dozen other ways to pick up a legal, free wifi signal within a 5 block radius of the building, so being banned really isn’t a problem for me. My access to the internet isn’t being restricted.

What IS an issue, though, is that while Garcia is “punishing” me by banning me from common areas of the building, the crack dealers are still doing a very regular and brisk business inside and outside the building, and nobody regulates their activities. Last time I checked, this was ILLEGAL. But that doesn’t seem to matter to H.S.I. They like their pet crackheads. Lisa & company are allowed to run the community room unchecked: I’m not the only tenant who’s had a problem with them. The front desk staff cooperates with them and enables them, too: Lisa has them on a tight leash, and when she’s too lazy to get off her fat ass, she calls downstairs to get one of the workers to bring her a nice cool soda from the refrigerator.

I’m not taking the video clip down. I’m not apologizing, either. If I have to have another conference with Mr. Garcia about this, I’ll be recording it and posting it to the Kenmore Confidential YouTube Channel - and will do the same if I catch any flack from Lisa or her cohorts. Just putting you all on notice.

Several tenants have told me, over the past few months, that they have had difficulties getting job interviews and housing outside of the Kenmore and that they feel that their ADA rights have been violated. There's a way to make a complaint about this - it's apparently a slow process, but it's probably worth it. I'm posting the info below - and you can also follow a link:  https://www.ada.gov/filing_complaint.htm

Search ADA.gov

 

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How to File an ADA Complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice

You can file an Americans with Disabilities Act complaint alleging disability discrimination against a State or local government or a public accommodation (private business including, for example, a restaurant, doctor's office, retail store, hotel, etc.). A complaint can be filed online using the link below, or by mail, or by fax.

To file an ADA complaint online:

Online Complaint Form | (en Español)
Instructions for submitting attachments are on the form.

To file an ADA complaint by mail:

US Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section – 1425 NYAV
Washington, D.C. 20530

To file an ADA complaint by fax: (202) 307-1197

Please keep a copy of your complaint and the original documents for your own records.

Common Questions About Filing a Complaint

1. How can I file an ADA complaint with the Department of Justice?
2. What information should my ADA complaint include?
3. What accommodations may I request if I cannot prepare my own ADA complaint because of my disability?
4. What happens after my complaint is received?
5. How can I find out the status of my complaint?
6. What happens if my complaint is referred for possible mediation?
7. What happens if my complaint is opened for investigation?
8. How will the information in my complaint be used?

1. How can I file an ADA complaint with the Department of Justice?

If you believe that you or another person has been discriminated against by an entity covered by the ADA, you may file a complaint with the Disability Rights Section (DRS) in the Department of Justice. You may submit your complaint online or by mail or fax. (Letters and packages sent to the DRS by U.S. Mail are delayed for security screening.) All new complaints are subject to processing and review.

2. What information should my ADA complaint include?

Provide the following information:

1. Your full name, address, the telephone numbers where we can reach you during the day and evening, and the name of the party discriminated against (if known);
2. The name and address of the business, organization, institution, or person that you believe has committed the discrimination;
3. A brief description of the acts of discrimination, the dates they occurred, and the names of individuals involved;
4. Other information you believe necessary to support your complaint, including copies (not originals) of relevant documents; and
5. Information about how to communicate with you effectively. Please let us know if you want written communications in a specific format (e.g., large print, Braille, electronic documents) or require communications by video phone or TTY.

You may use the ADA online complaint form for any ADA complaint, but you are not required to do so.

3. What accommodations may I request if I cannot prepare my own ADA complaint because of my disability?

If you are unable to write because of your disability and are unable to submit a complaint online, by mail, or fax, the Department can assist you by scribing your complaint by phone or, for individuals who communicate by American Sign Language, by videophone.

Contact the ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (voice) or 1-800-514-0383 (TTY) to schedule an appointment.  Please be advised that it may take two weeks or more for Department staff to contact you. 

4. What happens after my complaint is received?

After the complaint is received and reviewed, we will inform you of our action, which may include:

1. Contacting you for additional information or copies of relevant documents;
2. Referring your complaint for possible resolution through the ADA Mediation Program;
3. Referring your complaint to the United States Attorney's Office in your area for investigation;
4. Referring your complaint to another federal agency with responsibility for the types of issues you have raised.
5. Investigating your complaint; or
6. Considering your complaint for possible litigation by the Department of Justice.

We cannot investigate or litigate every complaint. If we are unable to take any action on your complaint, we will send you a letter telling you this.

5. How can I find out the status of my complaint?

We review each complaint carefully. Because we receive a large volume of ADA complaints from people throughout the United States, our review can take up to three months. If you have not heard from us by the end of this three-month period, you can find out the status of your complaint by calling the ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (voice) or 1-800-514-0383 (TTY). A member of our staff will contact you to tell you if your complaint has been received and if it is still under consideration for possible action.

6. What happens if my complaint is referred for possible mediation?

The ADA Mediation Program is an important part of ADA compliance.  Using professional ADA-trained mediators throughout the United States, mediation is a confidential, voluntary way to resolve ADA complaints fairly and quickly.  Types of complaints most appropriate for this program include barrier removal, program accessibility, effective communication, and modification of policies, practices, and procedures.  If we determine that your complaint is appropriate for mediation, we will contact you and the entity you complained about to find out if you are both willing to participate in mediation. 

7. What happens if my complaint is opened for investigation?

If your complaint is opened for investigation, an investigator or attorney will be assigned and will contact you to obtain additional information.

During the investigation, the attorney or investigator will not necessarily make a determination about whether or not an ADA violation has occurred. If he or she believes there is a pattern or practice of discrimination or the complaint raises an issue of general public importance, DRS may attempt to negotiate a formal settlement of the matter, or may file a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of the Unites States. We do not act as an attorney for, or representative of, the complainant.

8. How will the information in my complaint be used?

The personal information will be used primarily for the Department of Justice’s authorized civil rights compliance and enforcement activities. DRS will not disclose your name or other identifying information about you unless it is necessary for enforcement activities against an entity alleged to have violated federal law, or unless such information is required to be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, or disclosure is allowed through the publication of a routine use in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a. To further the Department’s enforcement activities, information DRS has about you may be given to: appropriate Federal, State, or local agencies; Members of Congress or staff; volunteer student workers within the Department of Justice so that they may perform their duties; the news media when release is made consistent with the Freedom of Information Act and 28 C.F.R. § 40.2; and the National Archives and Records Administration and General Services Administration to perform records management inspection functions in accordance with their legal responsibilities.

Providing DRS with the requested information is voluntary except that failure to provide such information may result in DRS being unable to process your complaint.

For other questions, call the ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (voice) or 1-800-514-0383. ADA Specialists are available to answer questions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time). On Thursday, the Information Line is staffed from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).

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Fwd: Are You Ready To Apply For Affordable Housing?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Affordable Hsg Online <info@apartmentsmart.com>
Date: Sunday, May 20, 2018
Subject: Are You Ready To Apply For Affordable Housing?
To: Emily Brown <emilyholiday@gmail.com>

Get Ready to Apply to a Waiting List Applying for affordable housing can be complicated, and these guides have been written to make that process easy to understand. Check your email tomorrow for the latest news on Waiting List Openings. >> Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Guide The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program is the most well known and sought after housing program in America. Program participants pay 30% of the household's monthly income towards rent, and the rest is...continue reading here. >> Public Housing Guide The Public Housing program provides affordable rental apartment communities and scattered homes and apartments (known as "scattered sites") that give rental assistance to participants. Called the Total Tenant Payment (TTP), program participants pay either...continue reading here. >> Source of Income Discrimination Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher holders across the country find it difficult finding a suitable rental home. Many of these failed rental searches stem from landlords who have blanket policies against accepting Section 8 voucher holders. In most areas, landlords are...continue reading here. Contact Your Congressperson On February 12, 2018, the Trump Administration released its Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Summary. The White House is proposing an $8.8 billion cut representing a massive 18.3% cut. Take a minute to tell your Congressperson to fully fund America's affordable housing needs by completing the short form here. Your message will go directly to your local Congresspersons. >> Contact Congress Here Affordable Housing Online is not affiliated with any apartment community, public housing authority, or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). We are a news and information source, and do not manage any affordable housing programs. Follow Us On Social Media Don't forget to join our social media community. Just click on the icons below and Like, Follow, or Subscribe to our social media posts. View in browser Copyright © 2018 ApartmentSmart.com, Inc. and Affordable Housing Online, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email alert because you opted in at AffordableHousingOnline.com, an ApartmentSmart.com site. Affordable Housing Online, 1813 Sweetbay Drive, #9E, Salisbury, MD 21804, United States Update your subscription — Unsubscribe

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"You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better." - Anne Lamott

YouTube!

Kenmore Hall has a YouTube channel now - go to YouTube and open the Kenmore Confidential channel. 

If you (or anyone you know) wants to share a story or be interviewed, send an email to kenmoreconfidential@gmail.com 

videos about the building...

There's a new YouTube channel called Kenmore Confidential. Videos about the building are being posted on a regular basis. Open YouTube, and type Kenmore Confidential in the search bar. Check it out!

The Sky Is Falling...

On April 11th, maintenance staff at Kenmore Hall started removing the ceiling tiles throughout the lobby. A memo had been posted the evening before informing tenants that part of the lobby would be off-limits during the morning hours on the 11th, 12th and 13th. By Friday the 13th, most of the tiles were gone from the ceiling throughout the lobby, and what's visible in the dropped ceiling area is a nasty, dusty collection of wires and pipes. This mess was left exposed over the weekend.

A similar memo went up referring to a closure for the lobby on Monday, April 16. 

A tenant allegedly saw maintenance workers shaking an assortment of dust and dark dirt loose from the exposed areas - and then the area being swept but not mopped - around 8:15 Monday morning. And we haven't seen any memos about WHY the ceiling tiles have been removed, what kind of work is being done, and when the tiles will be replaced...

But I wonder if the Department of Buildings is aware of the situation. Kenmore Hall still has two active Stop Work Orders in place: one is for electrical work, the other is for plumbing work, and I'm just curious because, you know, there are all those wires hanging out - and what appear to be plumbing pipes...

In late July, 2017, the rear of the Kenmore Hall lobby was modified so that tenants couldn’t use it - a “temporary” shed was erected, allegedly to accommodate tools and equipment needed for modifications to the elevators. According to a memo that was posted on bulletin boards throughout the building at the time, the shed was only going to be up for a week.

As of April 18, 2018, the shed is still blocking off the rear of the lobby, and work on only ONE of the elevators has been completed.

Work is currently underway on a second elevator. Elevator #1 (the one that work has been completed on) is not accessible to tenants; only staff is allowed to use it. This means that - in a building with over 320 units and tenants - only two elevators are available for tenant use. On many days, during business hours, tenants have to make due with just ONE elevator. At other times, the two working elevators often “hang” on one floor or another midway up the building while some inconsiderate tenants hold the doors while they chat with neighbors, or worse yet, put objects like bicycles or bags in the doorway of the elevator to hold the elevator while they purchase loosie cigarettes or drugs from their neighbors.

Obviously, this creates an intolerable situation for other tenants who need access to the elevators. It’s impossible to anticipate how long tenants will have to wait to be able to get to the lobby or the floors they live on. It’s frustrating to be delayed getting to appointments because of this. It becomes a very serious issue if a tenant has called an ambulance due to serious illness and the EMS workers cannot get to them in a timely manner. In addition, the building has many disabled tenants who use wheelchairs; they clearly do not have the option of using the stairs, but when only one elevator is working, this often translates into additional delays for many while the wheelchair user gets to their destination and frees up the elevator (only one or two slim people can get on while the elevator is occupied by a wheelchair user). This is not meant to be a criticism of anyone using a wheelchair, by the way: the elevators are very small.

H.S.I. staff and management hasn’t seen fit to let tenants know how long the situation with the elevators is going to continue. And tenants are expected to continue putting up with paying full rent even though building services have been reduced for an indefinite period of time. Anyone else see a problem here?