[Toilet & Bowels]

everyone knows it's easier for girls to get into places without ID

[Cantankerous]

it also helps if you know the owner.

[tesla69]

some things really suck here

http://curbed.com/archives/2008/06/04/lengthy_east_village_mansion_battle_ends_almost.ph p

[Cantankerous]

Originally Posted by tesla69

some things really suck here

http://curbed.com/archives/2008/06/04/lengthy_east_village_mansion_battle_ends_almost.ph p

what a bunch of fuckery. those people deserve to be shot.

[tesla69]

New York landlord Alistair Economakis's fight to rid the five-story tenement on 47 East Third Street of its tenants has disturbed me, but it hasn't surprised me. That's because I have known Alistair's family for many years now. You see, I have the misfortune of being his first—and eldest—cousin.
Alistair was always a rich brat. I remember once, in some village in southern Greece, he stuck his five-year-old head out of his father's—my uncle's—car, and, encouraged by his guffawing dad, shouted insults at elderly women, calling them "hags". I nearly slapped my little cousin's face for that. I regret now I didn't.
The apple doesn't usually fall far from the tree. My uncle Alexander (Alistair's father) is a philandering old playboy who idolizes the worst in America—including the robber barons of the 19th century. Back in 2005, when I first learned of the scandal brewing in New York around the Economakis name, I asked my uncle if it was true Alistair was trying to evict people from the building in the East Village. His answer, word-for-word, was: "Yes, and good for him—most of the tenants are Jews anyway. He'll make a killing when he sells the building."
Shocked? You shouldn't be. It's almost impossible to be filthy rich and not be a rotten scoundrel inside. After all, behind most great fortunes lies a crime. But Alistair and his wife Catherine Economakis (who is much wealthier than my cousin, and is the real force behind the scenes) will reap what they've sown. Their crime will come back—again and again, for as long as they live—to haunt them. Of this I haven't the slightest doubt.
My cousin, who grew up in Greece and England, wraps himself in the American flag and evokes the U.S. Constitution to "justify" his family's need to live in 60 rooms, in a 11,000-square-foot home. I've read the popular outcry, the indignant outrage. Yet what do people expect from the likes of my cousin and his wife? Crying "shame!" or noting the irony in the fact that Alistair's mother-in-law is a Columbia University dean who teaches urban studies, of all things, is an exercise in futility. I can assure you they aren't at all fazed by such criticism.
So many good people bemoan the legal ruling allowing the eviction to take place. This is naïve. Who makes the laws, after all? The government does. And what is the government but the representative of a country's ruling class? What do low-income tenants expect from the enemy, after all?
Yet what goes around tends to come around. You can spit on the collective—as Alistair and Cathy Economakis have done, but it's quite another thing when the collective turns around and spits on you!
Low income tenants of New York! Run the Economakises—and all human lice like them—out of town! Turn their "American dream"—a dream at your expense—into a real nightmare! Give them no quarter! Make it physically and psychologically impossible for them to evict you! Send THEM packing!
Evel G. Economakis,

Athens, Greece
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=30373593&postID=73182455727376562 5

Support for the July 11 protest against the Economakis family for instance is growing . Now the organizers of that protest intend to protest not just at 47 e 3rd street but will take to the streets and march to the NYU dorm on 3rd and Bowery then to the John Varvatos store , then to the Bowery Wine Co. to claim some of the free pizza promised in the "Observer "story by the BWC owner ,then to the Ludlow , then to Red Square on east Houston , then to Tompkins Square Park for a speak-out , then to the Christodora to demand that the swimming pool be opened to neighborhood children and then finally to Union Square Park .
http://neithermorenorless.blogspot.com/

[!@#$%!]

so i read the both sides of the story and while the dude comes across as a real asshole, it makes me wonder, why can't a person do whatever they want with their property? i mean-- imagine if say you couldn't wear your underpants because the law forced you to rent them to other people for a penny a week. wouldn't you want your fucking underpants back? well, maybe not those, but you'd wanna buy fresh ones ha ha ha.

i am a renter, so i know the inconvenience something like this creates, but i also think that this is what happens when you rent a place-- you obviously don't own it, and while the law protects you to an extent, it doesn't give you unlimited rights over the place, does it? so regardless of what manner of asshole this guy might be-- isn't this a question of property rights, when all is said and done?

i love the flexibility that renting affords me. if i wanted a permanent place to live, i'd buy one. i know that renting doesn't allow me full control of the property where i live so i have to accept those limitations in my economic choice.

now, i understand shit is different in new york-- but is it different enough to justify overthrowing a basic principle of our economic system?

[Derek]

How hard is it for British people to move to the States? I've heard there is a lot of paperwork involved.

I'd really like to move to NYC after college, Scotland is very very very uneventful.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Originally Posted by Derek

How hard is it for British people to move to the States? I've heard there is a lot of paperwork involved.

I'd really like to move to NYC after college, Scotland is very very very uneventful.

it's not easy, getting a green card can be tricky, it helps if you have an employer willing to back your application for one and have a couple of grand to pay for the legal fees.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Toilet & Bowels

it's not easy, getting a green card can be tricky, it helps if you have an employer willing to back your application for one and have a couple of grand to pay for the legal fees.

the legal fees went up from $1K to $3K last year, plus lawyer costs, it can be expensive.

so if you work say for the bank of england it can be easier than if you wanna be a roadie.

but there are other avenues, such as student visas, etc.

[tesla69]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

so i read the both sides of the story ...SNIP....now, i understand shit is different in new york-- but is it different enough to justify overthrowing a basic principle of our economic system?

No one OWNS their property anyway, they just rent it from the State. I guess the basic economic principle you refer to is that housing is a privilege, not a right.

The baseline is that 16 affordable units - rent controlled in some part - were taken out of the market so one rich family can live in the entire building in 60 rooms. I wonder if the City will reward them by reducing the tax rate on the building.

I predict the owner will be so impatient to flip it he will try and circumvent the residency requirements and get sued successfully then (in San Francisco, a landlord kicked out an apt full of people I knew so he could allegedly live there but in 6 months he was renting again at double the price - they all sued and got a lot of money - the landlord was only required to maintain the property as primary residence for a year).

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by tesla69

No one OWNS their property anyway, they just rent it from the State. I guess the basic economic principle you refer to is that housing is a privilege, not a right.

The baseline is that 16 affordable units - rent controlled in some part - were taken out of the market so one rich family can live in the entire building in 60 rooms. I wonder if the City will reward them by reducing the tax rate on the building.

I predict the owner will be so impatient to flip it he will try and circumvent the residency requirements and get sued successfully then (in San Francisco, a landlord kicked out an apt full of people I knew so he could allegedly live there but in 6 months he was renting again at double the price - they all sued and got a lot of money - the landlord was only required to maintain the property as primary residence for a year).

they rent from the state? is that cuba?

yeah the entire family etc as i said it's pure assholity-- i'm not in favor of their greedy, asshole ways-- but isn't it ultimately their shit to do what they want with? if i wanted to stay forever where i live, i'd buy from the landlord.

i know renters laws are kind of socialistic, and they might make sense in some contexts, but i'm generally against price controls of any kind, and believe that the market regulates itself just fine.

of course it seems unpleasant to say to people "sorry, your free lunch is over", but living in the middle of manhattan is a fucking luxury. i say give manhatan to the rich and let's start a new fucking city elsewhere.

nutley, new jersey, maybe.

[Cantankerous]

....but i do own my apartment.

or so i thought?

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Cantankerous

....but i do own my apartment.

or so i thought?

you renting?

[Cantankerous]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

you renting?

no. i won't ever have to pay a red cent.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Cantankerous

no. i won't ever have to pay a red cent.

so it's your property?

beware of renting it out in nueva york then, or you might never be able to return, if tesla has his way... i'd check w/ a lawyer or something.

[Cantankerous]

i do believe that i am the owner of that unit.
i'm never going to rent it out to anyone. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE etc.

[acousticrock87]

I'm visiting NYC in August for like a day. I go upstate about every year, but never been downtown. Looking forward to it.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Cantankerous

i do believe that i am the owner of that unit.
i'm never going to rent it out to anyone. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE etc.

but if you gonna live in england you could rent so that you don't lose money-- you still have to pay property taxes, maintenance, etc.

however, if tesla has his way, you'll have to rent it for $500/mo for eternity and never be able to return.

or so i understand?

you need a legal loophole.

anyway, enjoy whatever you end up doing.

[_slavo_]

The closest I was to New York was DC. Now I regret never having visited that city.

[Cantankerous]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

but if you gonna live in england you could rent so that you don't lose money-- you still have to pay property taxes, maintenance, etc.

however, if tesla has his way, you'll have to rent it for $500/mo for eternity and never be able to return.

or so i understand?

you need a legal loophole.

anyway, enjoy whatever you end up doing.

okay, what do you mean by "maintenance"
because i'm not paying dudes to come in and fix stuff or anything