Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President Critical of Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Failing To Provide Promised Assistance For Main Street Retail Town Hall Meeting
The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) did a great job organizing the October 20 Main Street Retail Town Hall Meeting. Here's a video of the Town Hall Meeting.
However, RIRA President Matt Katz was critical of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) for failing to provide the assistance they promised for the event.
Below is a message Mr. Katz sent to RIOC President Leslie Torres and other RIOC Staff explaining why.
I am very disappointed that the arrangements we discussed and agreed upon (see below) were not accomplished. Erica, I’ve tried to contact you all day today, by phone, email and in person, but without success, to confirm these arrangements. Finally, at 5:00 p.m., I asked Public Safety to let me into Good Shepherd to check on the set-up. Nothing had been set up. We carried out our meeting with microphones provided by Island organizations and with two hours notice. We moved our own furniture, which is usually no problem, but is when I am recuperating from abdominal surgery.The email referenced in Mr. Katz's message was a RIOC staff person agreeing to provide the necessary equipment for the Town Hall Meeting.
Erica, had you told us that you would not provide the meeting props we required, we would have made our own arrangements, but with two weeks notice instead of two hours. You are Community Liaison; I am the elected representative of the community. I expect to have my phone calls returned, especially as I don’t abuse the privilege. I don’t’ expect my wife, who is an officer of RIRA, to be told she doesn’t have an appointment when she drops in at 591 Main Street to ask if you have a spare moment on the day of an important event.
We had a standing room only crowd this evening, with well over 300 residents in attendance. My comments to them about the lack of cooperation from RIOC were not the only barbs thrown your way this evening. RIOC has been painted as incompetent, given the inability to maintain a commercial sector on Main Street. This evening’s failure has not enhanced your reputation.
Matthew M. Katz
President, RIRA
I asked RIOC to comment but have received no reply yet. Will update if RIOC chooses to reply.
Here's what Mr. Katz said at the Town Hall Meeting on this subject.
You Tube Video of Main Street Retail Town Hall Meeting
UPDATE 10/26 - Mr. Katz adds:
I wanted to follow up my email sent post-Town Meeting last Thursday. Today, I met with Leslie, Fernando and Erica to air my issues regarding the set-up for the meeting. We compared email communications, and it was clear that the cause of our difficulties was a series of miscommunications, incorrect assumptions and unclear language on the part of all the participants, including Hudson/Related, during the days leading up to the event. I believe we are on the same page now and that we can use our mistakes as a learning experience to prevent similar glitches in the future. We shall all strive to be more specific when discussing the elements, including tech support, of future programs. RIRA and RIOC have been producing excellent programs together (the 9/11 Memorial being the most recent) for many years now, and we agreed that it is essential that our efficient working relationship be maintained. Regards,Mr. Katz met with RIOC staff yesterday.
Matthew Katz
President, RIRA
54 comments :
Hmmm... ever since the district rezoning debacle I have a very hard time to respect Mr. Katz and his complains. I think it's called karma :) Also, I think he's a bit rude, no?
I'm curious what the actual agreement was between Ms. Wilder and Mr. Katz, maybe RIOC can clarify.
Mr. Katz is piling on the negative words on RIOC, and it seems to me that Mr. Katz has no problem criticizing non-residents
(most RIOC staff) and non-elected RIOC Board members. Meanwhile Mr. Katz does
everything to avoid acknowledging that it was "elected" resident RIOC
board members, led by Mr. Jonathan Kalkin and the RIOC Real Estate committee, who brought us the retail
deal that residents and the WIRE are complaining about.
Really, there's a double standard in complaints. Speaking of which ...
I also note that Mr. Katz uses the word "incompetent" with respect to RIOC and the retail space, meanwhile when I've used the word "incompetent" to describe some members of the RIOC Board, RIRA attempts to censure me for that. (Note: My complaint was their letter to the Governor that, as directors, made a legal assertion, yet none of them are lawyers and they had no legal advice, i.e., they did not have the "competency" to make that legal assertion.)
Mr. Katz focuses attention on the Big Bad RIOC and diverts attention from his recent mistakes on the redistricting testimony and the complaints from Lappin, Kellner, Serrano, and Krueger.
Nobody is listening to Matt Katz anymore. He has disrepected so many professionals that everyone is distancing themselves from him. It's time for him to go away!
BTW: Since when is a Municipality responsible for providing sound systems to a residents association? If you want to host a meeting, than you are responsible for setting up what you need.
"I am the elected representative of the community. I expect to have my phone calls returned.... I don’t’ expect my wife, who is an officer of RIRA, to be told she doesn’t have an appointment when she drops in at 591 Main Street..." Listen to yourself. You sound like you are a boss at RIOC. I hope they're laughing at you as you carry on like you and your wife run the island. Well, you dont!
RIRA is spoiled and thinks they are entitled. Well, apparently you are not. That stuff only worked when Steve Shane was here and he was fired... get the picture!
Stop whining Matt! Especially after all the crap you have been stepping in lately.
I was at the meeting, for the actual presentation, and liked what I saw. Roosevelt Islanders are notorious whiners and it is to be expected that there will be complaining.
Fair enough. So let me ask a question: Should we just dismiss the complaints? RIVAA and other Island organizations, are they whining?
According to H-R, an Art Gallery -cum- Boy Scouts Room -cum- Thrift Shop -cum- Dance Hall all fit on the second floor of 504 Main. I don't think H-R has really thought about how organizations might co-exist in the same space.
I've heard that RIOC is required to discontinue the seniors' shoppers bus because of a contract provision in the master lease agreement. (I'm waiting for written confirmation on this.)
I also point out that while Mr. Kramer complains that the prior arrangement was a political process (community pressure on RIOC) with subsidies (uneven rates, some paying no rent at all), the new arrangement is also a political process (H-R gets to decide which merchants, regardless of the community's needs) with subsidies (e.g., Starbucks and Duane Reade stores would not be able to stand here on their own if there weren't cross-store subsidies with other properties, and not all rents will be the same to achieve the political goal of H-R).
In other words, it's not like we've graduated to fair-market-only plan, we've just moved to someone other than RIOC making decisions, and we have less clout with the new decision-makers.
Oh, and don't forget that RIOC is paying for renovations. According to RIOC CFO Steve Chironis at the RIRA meeting, H-R will put up the money, but RIOC won't draw its share of rent until the renovations have been paid for with merchants' rents.
Said differently, we could have had a better deal merely outsourcing this via a commercial managing agent (collects rent, enforces leases, finds new tenants), and kept some control of who uses the space and rent reductions for special needs, which would have addressed almost all the concerns about RIOC's past operations and planned well for the future with a modern retail strip. <-- Yes, I pointed this out a year ago.
What makes you think that we would have had more clout with a commercial managing agent? I think we would have had less.
The commercial managing agent, just like a residential managing agent, works as directed by the owner (in this case, RIOC).
Let's objectively look at the chronology here.
1. RIRA, in the person of Katz, arranged the meeting for residents and Hudson to discuss the retail initiative.
2. Good Shepherd was booked as a large meeting hall.
3. RIRA, in the person of Katz, anticipating a large attendance, asked RIOC to provide a sound system (for whatever reason).
4. RIOC, in the person of Wilder, agreed to provide it (for whatever reason).
Flash forward to the day of the event. RIRA checks the meeting room and finds the sound system has not been delivered.
If RIOC is able to furnish Manhattan Park with a sound system when it holds its open meetings there, for example, the first meeting attended by newly appointed Sal Ferrera, why was RIOC suddenly unable to provide a sound system for this event?
Could it be that Katz failed to confirm the equipment and date? He documents the arrangements in an email exchange?
Maybe the hard-working Erica Wilder was so exhausted by the preparations for the Fall for Arts weekend, which ended on Saturday, October 15, she was unable to execute the arrangements on Thursday, October 20.
Is it possible that in the flurry of plans for the yet-to-occur Halloween parade on October 28, Erica Wilder "forgot" to tell her colleagues to set-up the sound system equipment on October 20?
Perhaps, more nefariously, RIOC wants to sabotage the possible input of residents into the retail plan and inhibit the success of the Main Street revitalization.
There's no reason to attack Katz for making the arrangements with RIOC for a much-needed sound system well in advance of the event.
That RIOC failed to hold up their end of the agreement, for whatever reason, is inexcusable.
I don't find that a convincing argument.
I see the point of removing the glass. Arcades in commercial corridors in New York City do not work. This is not rue Rivoli, nor is it Bologna. A more open space has a much better chance of succeeding and the removal of the glass will help. At one time, there were more benches adjacent to the glass. They were removed and filled in as planters.
Hudson-Related has a vested interest in Roosevelt Island that an independent contractor would not. It is to their benefit if the Southtown residents can be induced to spend some money in Northtown. They have so far shown themselves to be responsive to the community. If we end up not liking what they put in, we will show them with our pocketbooks.
Well, we don't really know what the agreement was, do we? So far we've heard one side of the story. Maybe RIOC forgot. Or it was due to miscommunication? Maybe Ms. WIlder was out sick and nobody covered for her? I will not point fingers until I hear both sides.
The additional planters were put in some years to deny young people a place to chat or congregate. But some benches stayed - luckily.
The benches H-R has in mind have no backs to them, and look quite uncomfortable, even if they are clever. They will not make for comfortable areas in which to catch up with neighbors. I guess that is the point. H-R wishes to deny the community a free, comfortable place to congregate or relax, it only wants those kinds of places available for a price, in other words at a cafe or at a cafe outdoor table.
Doing this will not transform Main St into Southtown. Nothing Kramer does will transform it - because the ethos of Main St is entirely different from that of Southtown. Main St does not have the feel of a giant luxury housing development such as Southtown, Main St is more human-scale. A key element of the design concept is the glass panels and comfortable benches.
If Kramer really wanted to transform Main St, he'd take advantage of these existing unique features and build on them - he could introduce glass panels like those in the rue Rivoli, or in Bologna. All sorts of enhancements could be added to the walkway without taking away the community interaction space of the benches and panels. Kramer for now is only thinking business and denying the Main St residents their own common and free space in their walkway. The removal of the benches and panel will have a negative impact on the community. Removing those panels and benches will not bring additional customers to Main St; an exciting face-lift of the glass panels and retention of the benches might.
Let's take an intellectual trip to some tourist destinations nearby: Coney Island - nice benches, free benches; also nice big free amenities with seating in the pavillions in the sand. Battery Park City Esplanade - plenty of nice free benches. Rockefeller Center - benches. In fact, anywhere you can think of, from vest-pocket parks to plazas provided by developers in exchange for building tall buildings, to new parks such as Gantry State Park or even the park Ikea developed alongside NY harbor in Redhook, there are comfy benches, often times tables, all for free. That is because the community and workers at lunchtime may wish to sit outside for free and city planners etc understand this and thus provide comfy benches.
In fact, Kramer hasn't provided open public space in most of Southtown except for the Commons, which is not particularly inviting. So now that formula - of banishing the public sphere - is going to be imposed on Main St.
Tram Rider, that would be Katz' side of the story. Since he has attempted to retract his original email over what he calls "miscommunication", couldn't it be that the miscommunication was on his part. Maybe RIOC denied his request for some reason. Maybe it was Hudson-Related who was to provide the equipment. Or, maybe he just assumed he would get whatever he wanted. Read his latest update... "incorrect assumptions" would clearly have to be on his part. Either way, I don't see how this guy, who thinks he's entitled, can just demand stuff from anybody. And, his wife is no different.
And in no way did Matt apologize for his tone he used in public about this topic. Typical. I wonder if he apologized for the e-mail at least?
I could disagree with almost all points you are making. This really just comes down to a matter of taste and beliefs on what will do good to make retail profitable in this island.
There are plenty of free benches on the island, including many surrounding the Southtown green space. Not inviting? I'm sure that the families who give it hard use and the kids playing on the grass would disagree.
Main Street is more human-scale!?! That is the first time I've ever heard that description! Usually, it's compared to East Berlin.
Having seen the east side of the wall (up close it looked so thin), Eastwood and other WIRE buildings would have been considered luxury housing.
Could you explain which part is not convincing? I can't tell if you don't believe commercial managing agents (CMAs) exist; or that CMAs collect rents, write/enforce leases; or that owners are involved in the decision-making; or maybe something else?
Frank
I don't understand you. H-R has shown plenty of interest in working with the community. Maybe if you spent more than 10 minutes at the meeting you would have seen this. You made a token appearance and seemed totally disinterested. The fact is, H-R is the best thing to come along to RI retail and has shown extreme sensitivity and a desire to improve the current deplorable situation. Why the criticism and back handed logic? Do you really think outsourcing via any commercial agent would be better than H-R which has a true vested interested in the success of the retail? Seems like you had your mind made up already. Certainly you haven't vested the time to think this through.
Hey LaRoche
Why don't you go away with your stupid comments. Why are you blaming Katz because a sound system that was promised for an extremely important town meeting, one that impacts every RI resident, was not delivered by the organization that runs this island?
Hey RIOC? Any of you care to respond?
Frank -- why are you wanting to relitigate this? You know full well your idea has disadvantages just as the H-R solution has advantages. It's difficult to take you seriously if your approach is argue that a CMA is obviously the better solution and only idiots don't recognize that. And of course, that horse done left the barn, so really, what's your point?
Hey Frank
Who's done more for the poeple of Roosevelt Island than Matt Katz? Can you answer that question honestly? Or are we just going to get more FF rhetoric-language designed for persuasive argument but lacking in meaningful content. You put forth a lot of conjecture and general statements trashing the efforts of Katz and others, but quite frankly that's all you contribute. I don't see you attending any redistricting meetings or getting involved at all to the level Katz is involved. You're all talk Frank. Talk is cheap.
455 Resident, you haven't been reading the emails. Matt Katz clearly states he made "assumptions" so how can you say it was "promised"? Yes, I agree the meeting was important, but it was organized by RIRA not RIOC. As far as I can follow, Hudson-Related is working on behalf of RIOC in this venture. Maybe Matt should have been asking them to bring what they needed to present at the meeting.
Katz "assumed" Rioc would provide the sound system they "promised". Are you critisizing Katz and RIRA because they gave RI residents a chance to express their opinion? RIRA organized the meeting at the request of H-R.
In response to "455Resident" and "JPH19", if you carefully read my comments, you'll see that I had acknowledged attractive features of the H-R plan. Furthermore, you'll see that my comments in this thread are in response to **Westviewer**, who is saying people are just whining.
Really, either we ignore the complainers or take some/all complaints seriously.
My point here is: if you're complaining about the H-R plan, then you should have been complaining a year ago to RIOC's Real Estate committee that they (or the RIOC Board) didn't discuss, review, or incorporate your concern. Considering the complaints by other people, I'm pointing out the decision-making issues and such related to THEIR concerns.
So to be really clear, my comments above are NOT a complaint to H-R, but an echo back of the implications made by the complainers. When "JPH19" says "It's difficult to take you seriously if your approach is argue that a CMA is obviously the better solution and only idiots don't recognize that.", I'm pointing out: if you in the audience had a complaint, they you should have made that point a while ago, i.e., Mr. Kramer and H-R are the wrong people to complain about the decision to have a Master Lease. Of course I don't think "only idiots don't recognize that [a CMA is a better solution]", there are pros and cons.
Again, to be really clear, my present concerns are: (1) the arcade should have similar functionality to limit the weather (H-R can have any architectural design), (2) the selection of merchants match the varying
economic strata of the Island.
I could only attend for 10 minutes because I had teaching and parenting obligations that night. I came not to speak, but to see if the meeting was well-attended (which I had hoped for). I've watched portions of the videos and hope to complete them soon. Although Mr. Katz asked me if I wanted to raise issues at the meeting, I chose not to ... I felt my points had already been expressed, and I felt that with all the people in attendance, H-R and RIOC needed to hear a broader sense of the community.
I asked RIOC last Friday for a comment on what happened at the Retail Town Hall meeting and to respond to Mr. Katz's remarks. So far, they have chosen not to respond publicly.
They have chosen not to respond publicly to many questions recently.
First, I don't think Mr. Katz would welcome a contest of Who Has Done The Most For Roosevelt Island, many of us have volunteered for decades in many areas, so no need for comparison.
Second, Mr. Katz, Mr. Hamburger, and I helped plan the meeting with H-R, including meeting with Mr. Kramer and Mr. Jackson to discuss format, agenda, and such.
Third, I participate in RIRA's Planning, Island Services, Government Relations, Democracy, and Constution/By-Laws commiteess. I'm the Chair of the Planning Committee and you can see our Programme of Work at "http://www.riraonline.com/committees/planning", which includes the efforts on Southern Development (i.e., the Stanford/Cornell project); Blackwell Park Planning; Long-Term Financial Planning/Budgeting for Roosevelt Island; Amendments to Roosevelt Island's General Development Plan (GDP); Island-Wide Evacuation Plan; Main Street and Retail Planning; Roosevelt Island Waterfront Planning. Soon, I will be working on an analysis of the 2010 Census data for Roosevelt Island. For years, I (along with Mr. Katz and Mr. Hamburger) have worked on the Red Bus service with RIOC. I am a member of Roosevelt Island's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
Fourth, I volunteer/donate time/money/etc. to many Island organizations, including Main Street Theatre, Island Kids, RI Youth Program, RI Seniors Association (recent Casino Night), RI Disabled Association, Island Cats (see posters in current Rivercross display), RI Historical Society, RI Jewish Congregation, Cabrini Catholic Church, etc. ... and that's just the short list for 2011. I donate most of the Red Bus poster ads for Island organizations (take a look next time you ride the bus). This is my fourth year volunteering teaching/mentoring 6-13 year olds in the RIYP Robotics afterschool science activity, last year the Roosevelt Island team came in 7th of 24 teams City-wide, and we won First Place for Teamwork.
I'm very active at many levels, and I'm hands-on. I (and my kids) work on at least one Act Of Kindness every week; recently, we washed the windows at the Cabrini Thrift Shop, we'll do it again soon.
In summary, your statement "You're all talk Frank. Talk is cheap." isn't true; and most people value hands-on volunteer time. By being involved in much of Roosevelt Island community for several decades, I am able to be better informed and make that "persuasive argument", an attribute you seem to like about me. :-)
Whether you donate time/money, wash windows, or help little old ladies across the street, none of this makes you a community leader or advocate. It doesn't even make you a nice person, just someone who performs good deeds. And all those committees you belong to means nothing. Anyone can join, it's what you do with it that matters. Most committee members don't even want your participation. They are tired of your disparaging remarks and harbor great animosity towards you because of it.
Katz is a bridge builder. You however burn bridges, and it won't be long before anyone wants anything to do with you whatsoever.
FYI - you lost the election. It may be time to give up the smear campaign.
What was the purpose of asking "Who's done more for the poeple of Roosevelt Island than Matt Katz? Can you answer that question honestly? ... You put forth a lot of conjecture and general statements trashing the
efforts of Katz and others, but quite frankly that's all you
contribute. I don't see you attending any redistricting meetings or
getting involved at all to the level Katz is involved. You're all talk
Frank."?
I treated your question as genuine (you might not know me) and I answered you honestly, as you requested. But you weren't genuine, you said I was all talk: you already knew about me (but had incorrect information), and you knew I had substantial accomplishments.
It seems you had no intention to discuss an issue of substance, you sought to transform this into a bunch of personal complaints ... yet you complain about a "smear campaign". What hypocrisy! Sorry you're so sour. However, there is an upside: I'm glad we learned more about you. :-)
Frank
First, I may have missed something but what exactly are your accomplishments? I see a lot of posturing but not a lot of substance. And if you mean you're highly accomplished at trashing Matt Katz, than I wholeheartedly agree. You're the best at that. And you've managed to recruit and persuade a bunch of blogspot idiots into believing your lies, and to this I take exception.
So what was the purpose of asking the question "who's done more for the people of Roosevelt Island than Matt Katz? " The purpose was to get you to think. To try and appeal to someone who, at some point in the past, actually did some good for the community by reporting on some of the incompetency with RIOC. Yes Frank, I will acknowledge you were effective in that role. But somewhere between then and now, you've lost your way - COMPLETELY.
So what's it going to be Frank? More of the same FF rhetoric? Or a new and improved FF, one that learns to get along and be more constructive instead of disparaging his peers? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Stay tuned everyone!
Still entertained by your comments ...
- you're concerned about disparaging peers, yet you say "you've managed to recruit and persuade a bunch of blogspot idiots into believing your lies"
- you complain about and discount reports of conversations (hearsay), yet you believe YOU have the power to read the minds of others
and so on.
Yet I've shared information; I've been polite; I've listened to and allowed myself to be informed and persuaded by people; I've answered your questions genuinely and honestly.
It seems you want me to post a comment in the style of *yours*. Sorry, I'm not like you, nor do I want to be.
I've never seen benches at Southtown - except in the Commons. The rest of the lawns look like they "buffer" the very private, exclusive, expensive development from the hoi polloi of the street. Am I right or am I right?
If anybody can figure out how to make retail profitable on RI, all the more power to them. Obviously, the State of NY gave up on that concept long ago, which is exactly why the biggest space on Main St was let out to a charitable, non-profit - the Thrift Shop - since it's impossible to even imagine any rational business renting 4,000 square at up to $50/sq ft (as Kramer has indicated) in an area with so little traffic.
RI is even less busy than your average outer-borough bedroom community, because the availability of the shuttle bus means up-Island residents do not even have to walk through the Main St retail strip to get home after work, and Southtown residents have most of what they need -- the equivalent of a convenience store -- at the DR.
In most other areas, this walk home through a shopping strip spreading out from a subway stop would represent an opportunity to stop at a deli to pick up groceries or to buy some kind of take-out, or at least eye merchandise for possible later purchase.
Although those residing on Main St may pop into stores on Main St, since they're convenient, why would Octagon or Southtown residents do so? Both of these populations do not need to walk through the supposed commercial strip on RI - Main St. - on their way home from work, because of the way the Island was set up. It is actually never convenient for these populations to visit Main St. If the Red bus was made free (again) then you might possibly see more non Main St residents shopping on or simply visiting Main St. The free shuttle bus concept linked with severely limited private automobile traffic made sense for RI. It's a shame both of these concepts were gradually phased out or abandoned long ago.
The lack of traffic linked to a predominantly moderate-income population is why NYS never pushed the concept of commercialization on Main St., instead recognizing that it was best to let it stay laid-back, relaxed, with a few businesses here and there. And even with those businesses, the reality of the market/geography/pattern of development on RI dictated that the State of NY could not be a dictator in terms of enforcing rent collection; otherwise, the community would be deprived of resources such as the General Store, and the non-profits.
RIOC made a big mistake in taking on H-R as the Master Leaseholder or even signing on to the master leaseholder concept. The State of NY is still responsible for the good of the majority of residents on RI, and especially Main St, who are of moderate income.
If inexpensive stores like the General Store, the non-profits, etc., are forced out, it will be to the detriment of the biggest stake-holders on RI - the mass of moderate income residents, the hundreds of C-G workers (most of whom are not rich or "upper class") and of course, the coming tsunami of college students and ancillary workers. We all know students usually have to take out loans to go to school, and the college ancillary employees are not exactly rich. The thin layer of actual professors (as opposed to adjuncts, who are paid much less) and high-level college administrators, means, on balance, the addition of either a Cornell or Stanford campus to RI will add hundreds to the population of moderate- or even low- (& possibly indebted) residents, and not many to the rich layer, meaning the need for inexpensive stores will continue even after the campus is built.
The front entries of the Southtown buildings are on the east side of the buildings. The lawns are the "backyard." Do there need to be benches in every open space? There are plenty of benches on the commons, and lining the paths along the East River. If you think Southtown is expensive and exclusive, take a look at the NY Times Real Estate section one Sunday.
It's nice that you like it this way, but many others would prefer something else. People are not limited to shopping in their immediate neighborhood if something attractive beckons elsewhere. I am convinced, as I am sure that you not, that people from as far away as the Octagon and Southtown might be tempted to take a 10 minute walk or bike ride to, say, a good bakery, right here on the island, or buy a bottle of wine for dinner. People of moderate and modest income who live here now do not seem to complain about paying the exorbitant prices the deli charges for poor quality. Maybe they will pay the same, possibly less for possibly better quality. I'm happy to give H-R a chance to provide a pleasant street of shops, something that the island has never had. If they fail, we can go always to back to what we have now.
I don't think a purely commercial agent without any vested interest in the island would be more responsive than H-R, which has more at stake than just the bottom line of the the stores. They also want the island to be attractive to the residents of their buildings. Someone without a connection to the island would care only about collecting rents from the shopkeepers.
To Westviewer, I understand your points, so let me ask a serious question: If an entity has a stake in (say) Southtown, what kind of measurable difference would you expect to see? <-- Please respond, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this question.
[Some hypothetical s ...]
If that entity catered only to Southtown residents, say a major appliance store that only carries items that ONLY work in Southtown buildings (would probably not work for Manhattan Park or WIRE buildings), and it displaces (say) the lower price nail salon in Eastwood (but the Southtown nail salon is too expensive) ... are those kinds of results the best outcome for the Island?
And pretend the reverse happens: an entity that has a stake in Manhattan Park or WIRE buildings puts up several 99-cent stores and a Palace Fried Chicken (think 21 Street), yet it provides no better dining options because it looks to cater to lower income purchases. The reasoning of "having a stake produce a better outcome" doesn't seem to work, right?
Disclaimer: I'm speaking with broad brush strokes and oversimplified generalizations. The point is to show that having a stake in one set of the buildings, regardless of which building it is, might not produce the best results for the Island. And there are a variety of incentives for CMAs to get the results one (RIOC) wants.
Finally, as I heard from RIOC CFO Steve Chironis at the RIRA meeting, H-R will be putting up the money for the improvements, but ultimately RIOC will be paying for them by withholding their draw of the merchants' rent. In other words, H-R's interest in the transaction is not too different than a CMA, and RIOC pays for improvements in either case.
The main difference is that RIOC is relinquishing its decision-making role, and the residents' ability to influence that process ... something we should all be happy/accepting about, right?
Oh sure, I know - people come to RI when they are priced out of Manhattan. That's no excuse to make the spacious "backyard" of Southtown off limits to everyone - even Southtowners - by omitting seating. What is with that?
In Northtown, you can walk all over as you please -- there are no private or semi-private "backyards" - even the building courtyards are accessible. That's what makes Northtown interesting and progressive - the shared, community space, as in the Eastwood walkway.
Southtown instead hogged the space that should have been made more park-like and communal, in order to entice a more well-heeled crowd, to somehow reassure them they would never have to come into contact with "them" - the less well-off from Northtown.
I guess H-R had to do that to reel in buyers for their expensive condos. For H-R's gamble - that of transforming RI into a "high-class" island with the likes of a chi-chi shopping strip named "The Shops on Main Street" -- the wonderful spirit of the island, as an inclusive, class-less community, was shattered.
To remedy the situation, H-R should immediately install seating throughout Southtown, especially in the "backyard", as well as accessible pathways to let the public rest and enjoy the park-like areas, just like they can in the rest of the island. There should be no park-like areas out of bounds to everyone because of no paths & no benches. Also, have substantial facilities within Southtown open to all - such as youth facilities. This will go a long way to integrating the moderate-income people into Southtown.
Of course, it remains to be seen if H-R's gamble will eventually pay off. If not, the planned gentrification of RI by H-R, with dividends to be reaped down the line in the form of increased revenue from revamped stores and more buyers & renters for Southtown, will be just another RE gamble that failed.
Your examples are completely unrealisticand you are assuming that RIOC is capable of doing a good job when they have proven over a period of some 35 years that they can't. H-R is responsive and continues to ask for input from the community
If you have further ideas about what should be on Main Street, you should let them know.
Maybe so. Of course people go out of their way for competitive price/quality.
You must consider though that the current businesses are more than simply stores by now - they are "scenes" or social contexts in and of themselves. These merchants know so many people by now - they chat with them, extend a little credit if necessary. That's the essence of a neighborhood.
H-R should leave the existing stores alone and concentrate on finding tenants for the empty spaces. I doubt if a new deli, which will have to pay thousands more in rent a month to Kramer, will really be cheaper than M&D. I have no problem with M&D's quality.
And how could the Thrift Shop possibly give all it's meager earnings (meager because it charges so little for items) to help the poor if it first has to pay rent to Kramer? Kramer is really setting up a "It's a Wonderful Life" type of scenario here on RI -- Morality vs greed. Especially sad around Holiday time.
The rent on the Thrift Shop would be $200,000 a month if Kramer began charging $50/sq foot for its space. There is no business that will ever earn that much on Main St. Even a large chain will think twice because of the likely losses due to the bad location.
Sprucing up Main St is OK, but the shared space of the walkway -- benches and glass panels -- should be left alone. New stores could be lured to set up shop in the empty store-fronts (which is all we, the RI residents, wanted in the first place - not the mass destruction of the struggling existing commercial tenants/businesses on Main St) but rents for the new businesses should be moderated to make up for the lack of foot traffic.
Because there is never going to be enough foot traffic or auto traffic to generate the kind of revenue to pay $200,000/mo rent, the Thrift Shop might as well stay where it is. That spot is basically unrentable because it would be impossible to pay the rent demanded by Kramer given business conditions on RI. This was undoubtedly the reason the State of NY basically donated the space to the non-profit Church for its charitable thrift shop effort. It would have remained empty otherwise, at least now it is put to good use raising money to help the poor.
Even under Kramer, the Thrift might as well stay as is, a charitable enterprise, dedicated to helping the poor people on the island. That might also be a nice gesture by Kramer toward the moderate-income population of RI his plans now "threaten".
Let's face it,Westviewer, Frank done out-argued you!
Maybe the horse has left the barn -- if so, we'll see if Kramer's Main St upgrade really takes off.
A community is much more than a "mallified" shopping strip, which may or may not succeed. Many malls these days are either closing altogether or have to search for non-store tenants to fill empty spaces, because of the economic downturn. People nation-wide are on a frugality kick; plus, there are millions unemployed or underemployed.
Kramer thinks a new coat of paint and some chain stores will turn everything around on Main St? ROFL. We shall see.. :)
Re Cabrini Thrift Shop window-washing - I'd be happy to volunteer to remove the scotch tape traces of goo from the windows. Not a difficult thing to accomplish. Let us know when you will be back washing the windows, I'll show up with Citrace (which removes all sorts of goo or gummy residue) and paper towels, and the windows should be sparkling clean in no time!
What a ridiculous reply IMHO. Katz a bridge-builder?! LMAOROFL. Gimme a break - he wasn't much of a bridge builder to the elected officials who called him out on his redistricting testimony dis (actually lies) about Serrano etc. Also - did Katz ever bother to get any feedback from RI before presenting that testimony? No - another example of absolutely no bridges being built, no communication with the community etc. The facts speak for themselves.. Katz is the one who is an embarrassment on this island, not Frank.
Nobody asked for Main St to be destroyed with a blunt instrument - literally and figuratively -- with glass panels & benches smashed to pieces, and existing businesses forced out. RI got much more than they asked for, with Mr. Kalkin's brilliant idea of the Master Lease - they will lose their community space, lose the inexpensive merchants, lose even a place to pray -- just so Kramer can make money. Very nice.
All RI ever wanted was to have the empty storefronts filled in again - nothing more, nothing less.
If anybody - RIOC etc - could have gotten the existing businesses to "improve" their looks, fine. They should have signed leases with businesses and done all the things we know they didn't do. The business might have done more if they had been given leases. But we didn't need a Master leaseholder to have leases signed. And having paint aplied or windows washed -- and all the deferred maintenance -- is a minor point in the end.
Because what Kramer wants to do is apply the cut-throat economics of Manhattan (where there are already tons of empty store-fronts due to greedy landlords) to us, a speck in the East River with nothing in common with most neighborhoods in NYC, an island with a special set of circumstances that Kramer does not seem to "get".
It's funny that you and others continue to beat the dead horse regarding Katz redistricting testimony. And Senator Serrano was so upset that he paid a visit to Matt and his wife last week at their home. So whether Matt genuinely thought RI would be better off being part of another district, or just wanted to light a fire under Serrano, is not the point. The point is he gets involved for the betterment of the community. Katz is at the forefront of every positive community action that takes place. And when any of our elected officials need to dialogue, whether it be Serrano, Kellner, or Maloney, they call Matt. None of them would ever dream of calling Frank for anything. He is not recognized as a community leader like Katz. There is no comparison between these two men.
You, on the other hand, are just like Frank. An eternal nay sayer that contributes nothing except negative criticism. One only has to read your extremely biased and ridiculous comments to see this.
Hey Westviewer
Can't you see your wasting your time trying to reason with little miss kitty and Farance? Sound sensitive logic doesn't penetrate the brains of those two. H-R is doing their best to revitalize a community that is in desperate need. How they could possibly turn this into a negative is beyond me.
Oh sure, Serrano calls Matt - and not something printable.
H-R "improves" RI by destroying it: No glass panels to protect us, no benches to let us rest, no shoppers bus to Queens so we can save money, and no Chapel on Main St where we can thank God for the "improvements" of H-R.
Revitalize - more like destroy! Ha, ha, ha.
I took some pictures of the Eastwood arcade the last time it rained: it's a pretty clear pattern that the windows protect the walkway from the rain.
I have some similar concerns as ChesireKitty: (1) I don't believe a spruce-up will get more people buying, (2) I don't think traffic from Octagon or Southtown will significantly increase merely because of the spruce-up, (3) H-R should fill the unused spaces first (which might increase traffic).
I'm not sure if I posted this already, but here are some thoughts I shared with Mr. Kramer mid-September:
FF> ... So you're saying that even if the rents are higher, the merchants will
make up for it with the higher volume. Thanks for the clarification.
FF> Just out of curiosity, would you agree that the steady state of
businesses is reaching the right equilibrium of growing while maximizing
profit? Or said differently, if there is no growth potential, then all
that is left is maximizing profitability ... money spent on anything
else (e.g., fancy store windows) that doesn't add to growth or
profitability is wasted money, right? So when Jennifer Connelly's "Dark
Water" was shot on Roosevelt Island and they dressed us up as a "dump",
some of that dumpiness is still present: the cleaners didn't change
their store front from the dumpy one the movie crew painted on. The
cleaners made their fee from the movie, yet even a dumpy painting didn't
diminish their business ... certainly the movie crew would have
restored/refurbished it. <-- supports my equilibrium comments,
right?
FF> My hunch is that there aren't many retail dollars to spend. I would be happy to be proven wrong. Good luck to you!
CheshireKitty, a small correction: when they are talking sq-ft prices, they are probably annual prices, not monthly prices, e.g., $50/sq-ft * 4000 sq-ft / 12 months = $16,667/month (still too much for thrift shop to pay).
$35 - 50 per square foot is an annual rent not a monthly rent, and it's only a target.
Then it would be around 16 or 17 thousand a month - that is still a lot of money, and that's before having to pay salaries etc. The Thrift is totally volunteer run and all its earnings go to charity. Considering how difficult it will be to find a business that will be able to generate more than 17,000 a month in that spot, as well as additional profit to pay employees, the Thrift Shop should stay where it is IMHO.
That's what makes Northtown interesting and progressive - the shared, community space, as in the Eastwood walkway.
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