"Many Zone A buildings have managed to maintain good relationships with residents while recovering from the aftereffects of Hurricane Sandy, offering things like rent abatements and realistic timeframes for when apartments would be habitable again. 1 West Street is not one of those buildings." - Curbed
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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Matthew Bobrow, et al., v. Ocean Prime, LLC, et al.
Regarding the lawsuit, Matthew Bobrow, et al., v. Ocean Prime, LLC, et al., Index No. 150612/2013, filed on January 22, 2013 against the owners and management companies of 1 West Street –
Please send documentation of actual expenses that you incurred during the evacuation and period of displacement (October 28, 2012 to December 1, 2012) directly to the attorneys. These documents include receipts, invoices, bank statements, credit card statements showing charges, checks, temporary lease agreements or anything else that shows the expenses you incurred during that time. All information will be held in strict confidence and you can redact specific information or items, as well as bank account and credit card numbers from statements and documents that you send.
Send the documents directly to jchristensen@lawicm.com and/or Brittany@lawicm.com or contact them with any questions you may have about the class action lawsuit.
Ms. Ramos claims that The Moinian Group cuts corners on safety, evades good job standards and pays low wages, and even provides its workers with fake Occupational Safety and Health Administration work permits, among other shady business dealings.
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Joe Moinian’s partner in Ocean Prime LLC, can’t stand the disgraced developer, either!
From a resident:
“FYI, I spoke to Jeffrey Gural, chairman of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, today. Please note that I do not work for Newmark Grubb, or have any personal or professional connection to Mr. Gural whatsoever; I simply emailed him about my frustration with these outages and he gave me a call.
Like us, Mr. Gural seems fed up and disgusted with Moinian. He said it was unbelievable that we haven’t heard from his partner in Ocean Prime, Joe Moinian, ONCE since Sandy. Mr. Gural couldn’t give me an explanation for Mr. Moinian’s behavior, though he certainly didn’t argue when I suggested he shouldn’t do business with him any more!
Mr. Gural told me the reason they haven’t been able to schedule the outages at more convenient times (for the residential tentants) is because everything is tied together (i.e., commercial + residential). They have considered doing it in the middle of the night, but decided that, in case of fire or emergency while everyone was sleeping, it would be disastrous. Mr. Gural said that if there has to be another outage, he’ll “figure something out” that is more appropriate for the residential tentants.
Although as a minority owner he should have been on top of the situation from the beginning, Mr. Gural said he was preoccupied with the commercial space (which his firm manages, unlike Ocean Prime, LLC, in which he just has a financial stake) and assumed that Moinian & Elliman were handling the residential situation appropriately. When he found out that wasn’t the case, he decided to take over.
He was very forthcoming with his frustrations with the situation, and he was also earnest and seems empathetic.”
Thank you, Build-up NYC!
As you will see in the most recent media (see below), Build-up NYC has been integral in getting the public officials involved in the Moinian issues.
Curbed
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/02/06/moinian_fail.php
Michelle Szeneitas responds to a tenants’ question…
Tenant: “That code (“ONE WEST RATE” or “ONEWESTRATE”) isn’t working on the website. Please advise.”
Michelle: “Call them”
At least she responded. Though apparently she couldn’t be bothered with punctuation. Or a helpful attitude. Or useful information.
Thanks, Michelle!
Building manager won’t respond to you?
Don’t feel bad; she ignores the Manhattan Borough President, too!
“I have been doing my best to stay abreast of issues at 1 West in the news but please forward anything you think may be informative. I just left a message with Michelle Szeneitas to discuss this planned shut-off and request that they postpone it to a mid-week, mid-day timeslot. Unfortunately, I have not heard back from Ms. Szeneitas in the past so am hoping to be able to speak with her soon.”
Build Up NYC invites tenants in Moinian buildings to join a conference call with Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio.
THE MOINIAN GROUP GETS ‘F’ FROM NEW YORKERS
“New York City – February 7, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Hundreds of supporters joined elected officials,construction, building operations, and maintenance workers to give The Moinian Group failing grades on tenant relations, safety, financial stability, vendor relations and good jobs at the corner of Broadway and Barclay streets.”
Moinian Fail
1 West Street residents aren’t the only ones who are mad as heck at landlords the Moinian Group. Add to that list: the tenants in all their other buildings, construction and maintenance workers, local politicians, and seemingly just about everyone who has come into contact with them. A “consortium of elected officials,” including Christine Quinn, will convene outside City Hall today to condemn Moinian with a report card [click the image on the right to enlarge] that gives them an F in every possible category. Looks like someone is going to have to repeat the grade 2012
Sunday Funday
Once again, Moinian, Douglas Elliman, and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank choose to be disruptive, for apparently no particular reason at all. Instead of a Thursday at 10:30am, they choose Sunday at 8am. IN THE MIDDLE OF WHAT PROMISES TO BE A BLIZZARD. SO IT WILL BE COLD. Thank you to Joe Moinian, Jeffrey Gural, and James O’Connor for their wonderful handling of the (dis)repair of 1 West Street.
This is to let you know that the next building generator shut down has now been scheduled for Sunday, February 10th beginning at 8am – 1pm. This necessary service will affect all three generators powering the building. This is to be considered a complete power system shut down, please plan accordingly.
NYC pols give Moinian an ‘F’ on landlord report card
Moinian has allegedly defaulted on hundreds of millions of dollars in loans on nationwide properties, racked up safety violations, failed to pay millions of dollars in fees and bills to vendors and contractors, paid low wages, and provided improper maintenance and repair to buildings, the report card said.
The Moinian Group cuts corners on safety, evades good job standards and pays low wages, even providing its workers with fake Occupational Safety and Health Administration work permits, among other shady business dealings, Ms. Ramos said.
Group Grades The Moinian Group With a Big Fat “F”
The report card grades the developer – with letter grade “F” across the board – on tenant relations, safety, financial stability, vendor relations and the creation of good jobs.
Three NYC Renters File Post-Hurricane Class Action Lawsuit
Several individual Manhattan buildings—1 West, 2 Gold, and the Greenwich Club Residences—have filed lawsuits in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, alleging that building management failed to deal adequately with storm damage.
Three Manhattanites seek Sandy-related damages from landlords across New York
“The crux of the plaintiffs’ argument is that, under New York Real Property Law, landlords and management companies are obligated to keep their premises habitable for every lease at the property. “This obligation is not excused even by natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy,” the complaint said.”
