A Superintendent at 510 Amsterdam Avenue (85th Street) said in a lawsuit that he was fired after refusing to snoop on rent-regulated tenants. Now elected officials want to hear from tenants at all buildings managed by Pine Management, which owns at least 31 properties in the city, including several on the UWS. The Super, Jorge Perez, says he was not told to snoop on tenants at market-rate apartments, according to WPIX.
“Snoop tests as explained by my property manager at the time would be to open up tenants mailboxes, photograph the mail, send the photos to the owners. Enter the tenants apartments, photograph any medicine that might be in the medicine cabinet,” said Perez.
This Monday and Tuesday, elected officials are holding meetings with tenants.
Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal is holding one Monday night at 6 at 230 West 72nd Street, Suite 2F. “If you live at 208 West 88th St., 211 West 88th St. or 510 Amsterdam Ave., please attend this important meeting to learn more about how we can protect your rights. Please RSVP by contacting 212.873.6368 or rosenthall@nyassembly.gov”
Councilmembers Helen Rosenthal and Mark Levine and Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell are holding another meeting on Tuesday at6:30 at Goddard Riverside (647 Columbus Avenue). There will be lawyers on hand.
Pine Management did not respond to our request for comment.
Has this been reported to police? Postal inspectors? What super has been asked to do is certainly illegal. Has anyone found their mail opened or their apartments been trespassed by supers or others?
What have legal authorities done?
Isn’t tampering with mail a federal offense? I have no idea what mail might have been stolen, but they left my medicine cabinet open with some contents spilled on the sink.
All true. I live in one of their buildings further uptown.
This is why when people complain about stabilized tenants, it shows they really have no idea what they’re talking about. This is is the kind of abuse that goes on in the name of gentrification. Follow up on this story and on any other landlords even THINKING of looking the wrong way in a stabilized tenants direction.
I didn’t live in a rent regulated building of theirs but I lived in another one and they are complete slumlords. I’m not at all surprised.
They are absolutely slumlords. I lived in a Pine building for one terrible year, and they were the worst. It was bad from the beginning–the day I was supposed to move in, I went to collect my keys and was told the apartment wouldn’t be ready for “another week or two.” I had a U-Haul full of stuff, and no other option but to do what they said and take the place “as is,” ie: filthy with peeling paint and roaches everywhere. (They told me I’d have to re-paint the place myself, which I did.) The building was always dirty, the stairs were falling apart, and we had rats (not mice, RATS!) I’ve moved a few times since then, and now I always specify to the realtor that I don’t even want to look at/consider anything managed by Pine!
Pls contact me
I had this issue in TWO diff UWS bldgs–
~one an O [redacted] Group R/C property.
~other in UWS Co-op –this one is ongoing
and my co-op ignores 90% of DAILY EVIL.
All trouble coincided with purchase of
R/C Bldg by O [redacted] Group. Purchase Spring 2013. Trouble followed rapidly; continues to now
NYS A/G has O [redacted] on its Aggressive Eviction watchlist. Believe it is after me as I challenged it for my ancient defenseless mom
I exposed its evil–incl 25 + HPD Violations
Apt had NO, none HPD violations for SEVENTY prior peaceful years!!
Both homes include[d] vandalism and theft
Unproven belief: Bribery or blackmail is O [redacted] weapon of choice
R/C rent jumped from $1,650/mo to, per reliable rumor, $9k /mo. after tenant vacated due to her death.
That’s US$ One Million in Ten yrs sans rent increases !
NYPD#24 has stood down 100% re “my” daily apt invasion crimes at the co-op
NYPD#24 quite indiff re R/C property crimes.
Might NYPD#24 brass be incentivized to stand down????
Any others with similar troubles?
Oh nice, so one owner is finally getting the proper return on their investment. Hope the 9k rumor is true. No reason to co-opt private property to offer falsely cheap rent by government dictate.
Pine Mgmt. manages several buildings in the UWS (several on 80th street). They are not stealing mail or taking medicine. Their concern is that several rent controlled and rent regulated apartments are being illegally sublet. The purpose of photographing mail or prescribed medication would reveal who actually resides in the Unit.
What makes this particular incident disturbing is that some Supers (who work for Pine) have been disputing over their wages. I don’t know if the Super’s accusations are credible or just a negotiation ploy to settle out of court. Other Pine supers have been approached by lawyers to inquire if they want to join the suit. Regardless if there is any validity to this, doesn’t paint Pine Mgmt. in good light.
Good Luck sorting this one out.
Their purpose is to evict rent stabilized tenants and let the apts go market rate. The super’s complaints, whatever the motivation, are accurate – they are doing these things – they’ve been done to me.
How do you know they’re not stealing mail while they’re rooting around in your mail box? Hello identity theft. What right do they have to go into my medicine cabinet and access priviate and intimate information?
Who gets snail mail in this day and age?
seriously? your mailbox is always empty?
Yep.
Take a look at this building. It’s ugly and grimy and likely unsafe.
It should have been torn down years ago and replaced with a modern and more efficient building that can house more tenants – thus lowering housing costs for everyone.
However, because these tenants are rent regulated this building can’t be replaced.
I’m not in favor of landlords illegally harassing anyone but they probably have legitimate grievances that there are people illegally occupying these apartments.
All these lawsuits, investigations, inefficiencies and pandering politicians are the inevitable result of NYC’s insane rent regulation laws.
More housing doesn’t mean lower rates..definitely no in the New York Universe!
When Apartment Rents increase, prices on the Market for Market-Rate apartments go up.
These people are d-bags trying to illegaly evict legal tenants who have the law on their side. They don’t care about subletting as long as the rent paid is market rate. No market rate subletters are being harassed. And how exactly does putting up new buildings translate into affordable housing for everyone? All the units would be market rate, people would be homeless and they’d still be d-bags.
The greater the supply, the lower the price.
Maybe you should take a basic economics class.
Besides, how do you know the landlord is trying to “illegaly (sic) evict” anyone?
If there are people who keep these apartments as second homes or are subletting to others then the landlord is legally entitled to kick them out.
Whenever there is rent control an illegal black market is inevitable.
my next door neighbor illegally uses his cheap rent-stabilized apt. as a second home/city crash pad and sometimes airbnb’s it for a lot of money. This isn’t that uncommon. We reported him and hopefully he’ll get evicted. Apparently another neighbor also reported him and another illegal RS tenant in the building. Eventually, market-rate renters will become willing helpers in the move to get these illegal renters out.
Sherman, your knowledge of basic economics is indeed basic and despite your skills as a spelling troll, you’re wrong. So unless you are one of these tenants or one of the dbags from management, you don’t know what you’re talking about.
No one should be entering anyone’s apartment without their specific press used knowledge unless it is an emergency, i.e. Flooding, fire etc! And opening someone’s mailbox by anyone other than the mailman or occupant or someone designated by the occupant is illegal I’m believe! I’ve heard may horror stories about Pine management as well as some of the other managing agent/companies on the UWS. Many of them are waist deep in dirty dealings and shady practices all in the name of development. They are pushing tenenats out any way they can so that they can jack up the rents to astronomical rates! FYI not everyone in a rent controlled/stabilized apartment is paying dirt cheap rent!
I myself am paying $1600 for my apartment which my mother has lived in continually since 1969! Granted at current “market value” what I pay is a mere drop in the bucket but being that I’m don’t have a 6 figure salary there would be no way to afford my apartment. What Pine Management is doing is morally and ethically wrong and I totally believe ILLEGAL!!!
and you deserve falsely cheap rent why? because your…mom? Sounds a bit like the aristocracy in shows like Downton Abbey to me. “Why do I have this big house/title/money?” “Lineage”
I can’t afford (on my non-6 figure salary) housing in tons of buildings which is why I live in a very small walk-up. If only I had been born into the right family!
She deserves to pay cheap rent because all these lefty politicians who are pandering for her vote tell her she’s entitled to pay cheap rent.
and so ALL RENTS should be for millionaire rates??/
yeah..that works and creates an moving economy..
right….
You and your mom have been living in a rent controlled apartment since 1969.
Incidentally, you mention you’re paying $1,600/month but you don’t mention how big the place is.
In any case, for decades other residents of NYC are paying artificially bloated rents subsidizing you and your mom’s lifestyle which you admit you can’t afford.
Now that is “morally and ethically wrong”.
If you can’t afford Manhattan then get out! You have no divine right to live here.
There are plenty of cheap apartments in The Bronx.
Sorry..no..there is no more cheap apartments in the tri-state area. You need to commut outside bout 30-40 miles to find something affordable. That era is over.
More housing does NOT mean chaper houseing. There is no market in NYC except a greedy market. New York is not and enver was just for the elite. If you do not like your local services below at street level…and do not want to pay inflated prices for a bag of potato chips..I say YOU GET OUT.
You will not have services..if people cannot afford to live in your area that PROVIDE those services. They will find work closer to their homes.
+1
well said, Sherman
sherman really does not know what he is talking about. and a few of you sound quite jealous that you don’t have a rent stabilized apartment. but, i digress.
i live in a pine mgmt building and the only people who rented out as bnb were market value tenants trying to pay their high rent. this went on for months with people coming with their gigantic suitcases and staying for short periods. so pine’s idea that rs tenants are illegally renting out their apartments is quite wrong in this instance.
The rent is too damn high!
Draft Jimmy McMillan!