When I was looking for a new apartment a while back, I couldn't help buy notice all of the advertising for these Lower East Side luxury apartments with affordable rents. The ads were everywhere - subway posters, AMNY, NYT, everywhere. With promises of private parks, cafes (including a Dunkin Donuts!) East River promenades and free outdoor concerts all withing my price range. But when I poped out Google maps, all I could see was the giant project:
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Stuy Town (officially Peter Cooper Village - Stuyvesant Town) was named for Peter Stuyvesant was the director general of New Amsterdam and owned a farm on the site. was originally built in 1947 to house returning veterans from WWII. It covers 80 acres, from 1st Ave to Ave B and 14th St to 23 St. 35 Towers with almost 9000 apartments. They tore down 600 buildings to make it. It's huge.
Luckily for me I decided I didn't want to live in a 70 year old project and decided instead on Park Slope, Brooklyn. Shortly after I made my move Stuy Town started making daily headlines in New York. Now I'm really glad I didn't move in, and not just cause Park Slope is the best neighbourhood in the city.
Stuy Town was originally endorsed by Robert Moses and built by Met Life. In 2006 Met Life sold it to Tishman Speyer Properties/BlackRock Reality for $5.4 billion - the biggest real estate deal in American History. First they went about jacking up the rent to tenants in rent stabilized apartments - classy. The problem was that they were receiving tax breaks from the government, so they weren't allowed to do that. A class action lawsuit later and the owners owed some $200 million in back rent.
Next the owners defaulted on their mortgage in January, 2010 and I have no idea who's in charge of it now, but lots of people (including some pensions and retirements funds, and the church of England) got fucked out of a lot of cash. I'm guessing it's a long wait to get your leaky sink fixed there these days.
That being said, Stuy Town fascinates me. It's this giant city within a city - a terrifying project from the outside, but inside lined with parks and trees, cafes and middle class tenants - one of the great contrasts that is New York. Looking down 14th Street from the outside:
Nice fountain:
20th Street Loop:
I got completely lost and disoriented in there. Every building is the same, no matter where you look, just giant redbrick buildings in every direction, placed at odd angles. I thought I was exiting the complex at 14th Street and Avenue C, but in fact I found myself looking at Peter Cooper Village - Stuy Town's cousin on 20th street.
It took me a while to figure out why I could see Madison Park - nice view of the new One Madison Park Tower (no stranger to its own real estate shenanigans):
Graffiti Truck:
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