Christmas in (and out of) New York

One of the things I've missed since moving to New York has been the Christmas lights. Sure, once in a while you get the occasional family that rings their windows in lights--but you just don't get the kind of displays a standalone house can afford. In Manhattan, at least. Once again reminded that the majority of the city is not contained in the little island on which I live, Lynn, a friend, and I journeyed out to Brooklyn in search of the famous Dyker Heights Lights.

Walking into the neighborhood from the subway station in Bay Ridge, our first impression was of a typical urban residential neighborhood. The streets were in a grid pattern, as much of Brooklyn is, and the houses were modest middle-income two-story homes. Delving deeper, however, revealed the true character of Dyker Heights: Huge Mediterranean-style villas, brimming to the edges of the properties. Greek- and Roman-inspired statues, fountains, and temples. And Christmas displays that must surely warm the hearts of everyone over at ConEd.



The owner of this house, dressed in a snowman costume was greeting children with mint candies. His wife was dressed as Elmo. He told us that it took him two months to put together this year's display, and that he has to rent a storage unit solely to store his Christmas decorations the rest of the year.





Other folks opted to simply cover every surface with lights.





Street after street of displays like these fill the neighborhood. These few pictures hardly do it justice, but I found myself trying to pick my jaw off the ground and forgetting about the camera in my hand. This neighborhood has grown such a reputation for itself, that PBS filmed a documentary on the Christmas phenomenon. The residents we ran into were proud of their displays, and rightly so. If you ever need a quick shot of good, old-fashioned, exorbitantly excessive Christmas lights, they've got you covered.

Lynn and I flew out to Michigan for Christmas, hoping for a bit more snow and to see the family. The snow was sparse, but the family was not. Merry Christmas.

All Quiet

I haven't written anything in the last several days, mainly because there hasn't been much to write about. Their was much talk and dissention about what to do with the Port Authority's settlement, mainly revolving around the liability release everyone was required to sign to get their money. The PA kind of forced the hands of the residents when it announced that last Saturday would be the last day to get the settlement immediately. After that, anyone who wanted to get their settlement would have to file it with law firm representing the PA--and it would be any one's guess how long the process would take from there.

It seems that most residents, myself included, ended up going to the PA's Claims Office on Saturday, signed the release, and walked away with their settlement. I can't speak for most, but I know some residents are just glad to put this whole thing behind us. And it seems to have worked. While I cannot know for certain, it looked as if the vast majority of residents took the settlement.

One unfortunate consequence of this is that the budding tenants' association also seems to have lost a little steam. If the majority of residents took the settlement, they may feel that the association has little purpose now. (It's stated purpose was to deal with the aftermath of the flood, then expire after three months.) The election of officers has been extended indefinitely, as votes are not coming in from a majority of the residents who initially signed on board.

Meanwhile, things really have calmed down. The building is almost entirely back to normal, with a few minor quirks still being worked out. Lynn and I bought our very first Christmas tree, and have had a grand time decorating it. It is, essentially, life as usual.

Tenants' Association

The 90 West Tenants' Association is now officially underway. (If you're a resident and haven't joined yet, please head over to the 90weststreet blog to find the sign-up form.) The organizers have reported that with over two hundred members, the TA is so far representing about half of the residents of the building. Bylaws for the organization have been drafted and adopted, providing for five officer positions (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Media Liaison). There will also be a ten-member Negotiating Committee composed of the five officers and five additional Members-At-Large.

The nominations for the five officer positions were posted yesterday, and I was surprised to find that I had been nominated for all five positions. I had also received a seconded nomination for the position of Media Liaison, placing me on the ballot officially. This came as quite a surprise to me, as I had not volunteered or nominated myself for any of the positions.

Unfortunately, I feel that I must decline the nomination. Of all the officer positions, I feel the President and the Media Liaison are most important. The Media Liaison will have to make solid contacts throughout the media, and keep them interested in our story. They will have to present the residents of the building in an accurate way, and find ways to fight the all-to-easy stereotype of "rich people who want more" (which we are not). It is a daunting task, to say the least, and I feel that I simply do not have the experience to tackle it.

I considered it, overnight. I questioned whether I could rise to the challenge and figure out how to do this job. But the simple truth is that this is a critical time for the TA, and it needs to be done correctly from the very beginning. I would love to test my skills as a Media Liaison, but not on an organization that is just starting out.

Another big consideration for me is simply the time involved. Some positions certainly require a larger time commitment than others, and I feel that Media Liaison requires the most amount of time. Building contacts with so many media outlets will take a lot of work and time. And with my job, teaching swing dancing up at Columbia University, and serving as National President of Mu Beta Psi—not to mention planning a wedding—I could not reasonably devote as much time to the TA as that position deserves.

However, I would like to be active in the TA. I feel that I could fit well into one of the Member-At-Large positions, and will be running for one of those. The many officer nominations from my neighbors have encouraged me, and I hope that I can best serve them as one of the MALs.

The TA has a long road ahead, but I feel that we're off to a very positive start.

90 West Claims Center Speaks

This just on their blog:

We are prepared to resolve claims. We are located at the Ritz Carlton, Room 417. Our hours of operation are:

Thursday, December 6 3PM – 8:30 PM

Friday, December 7 3PM – 8:30 PM

Saturday, December 8 8AM – 6:00 PM.

The Claims Hotline (1-866-902-3276) will remain active until further notice.

Since the 90 West Street building was certified by New York City’s Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD) for occupancy on Tuesday, December 3, 2007, we are resolving claims for a total payment of $6,000 per unit. This represents the $750 per day for the days of November 26, 2007 through December 2, 2007 – a total of 8 days. If you have special circumstances that prevented your return on December 3, 2007, please refer to Point 5 below. Please only bring documentation if your claim exceeds $6,000. As we have stated to many of you, this system is designed to streamline the process. For scheduling purposes, please send an e-mail to 90West@Jratpa.com if you are coming in so we can coordinate your visit.

In order to process a settlement, you will be required to do the following:

1) Visit the Center and bring a government issued photo identification and a copy of your lease.

2) Sign a Release, which will be posted on our website for review. Each lessee and, if applicable, sub-lessee per unit must sign the Release. The only exception will be for military deployment.

3) Only lessees with a valid lease or sub-lease between November 26, 2007 and December 2, 2007 will be eligible. This is designed to establish that the tenant filing the claim has standing to receive the payment. Any questions can be referred to the Claims Center.

4) Lessees(s) with a lease start date of December 1, 2007 will be eligible for a two day allowance, for a total of $1,500. If your lease end date is November 30, 2007, you will be eligible for a four day allowance, for a total of $3,000.

5) For those tenants whose total claim exceeds $6,000, you may provide documentation in the form of bills and receipts with an itemized list describing your claim. Your documentation can be dropped off at our Center. Include all contact information and your Apartment number. We will contact you in the near future to resolve your claim.

6) Any tenant who filed a first-party claim with any type of insurance carrier will have to specifically notify the Claims Center regarding that claim. Payment cannot be issued until we have documentation of your first-party claim.

We still don't get to see the details of this mysterious release form. But hopefully they'll post it soon.

Community Board 1 Meeting Tonight

This was just posted at the 90weststreet blog.

THERE WILL BE A COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETING TONIGHT TO DISCUSS 90 WEST

Financial District Committee
DATE: Wednesday, December 5, 2007
TIME: 6:00 PM
PLACE: Community Board #1 Office49-51 Chambers Street, Room 709

Agenda
2) Update on 90 West Street by Peter Levenson, Partner, 90 West Street

I received this information from Tom Goodkind, a member of the Community Board, and he would like the residents to be present for this meeting to get information on residents’ experiences, good and bad, so that the Community Board can work in assisting 90 West residents and put recommendations in place for the future.

I won't be able to make this meeting, it's too early. But I would strongly recommend anyone who can attend do so.

And That's That

This was just posted on the building's website:

Dear Residents

We are happy to report that all the environmental tests that have been preformed have come back negative. That means that there is no evidence of any of contaminants in the residential areas of the building. Furthermore we have received the water testing report which also showed no traces of contamination. These tests show that water which is coming out of your tap is just as pure as in every other location in Manhattan. All the test results have been posted on the web site.

Yesterday we met with all relevant city agencies including the Board of Health and the Department of Environmental Protection. They confirmed that we have done everything needed to reoccupy the building and have no further concerns.

We are extremely sorry about what happened. We have done everything possible to minimize the inconvenience, and we are very happy to welcome everyone home for the Holidays.

90 West Street

Meanwhile, the Riddle Associates blog has promised the protocols for handling claims today. Keep an eye on that blog to see how things will proceed from here.

Water Test Results In

Building management just posted this on the building's website:

We just received the results of the testing performed on the drinking water. All results were negative for any presence of Total Coliform or E. Coli.

We also received the test results of the areas on the upper floors that required additional cleaning after our preliminary testing on November 30. These results also came back negative of any Total Coliform or E. Coli.

We are waiting for the results of three additional areas that were re-tested in the mailbox area and two elevators after the preliminary test. As soon as the results of these tests become available they will be posted.

Please see attached report.

These tests were performed by Professional Environmental Services.

It's good to have confirmation, certainly. Though I have to admit, I belong to the group that was not overly concerned about the water. I believe that neither the City's HPD nor the building management would have cleared the building to allow residents back in if there were concerns. The liability that entails would be staggering.


Edit 4:49pm.

The water test update was quickly followed by this:

Please see attached lifting of the vacate order by HPD

Here's the relevant excerpt:

You are hereby informed that vacate order #61805 issued for the above-referenced premise [90 West] on November 26, 2007 has been rescinded as a result of a vacant building survey inspection concluded on December 3, 2007. It was reported at that time that the hazardous conditions cited in the vacate order have been sufficiently abated.

Home

Lynn and I moved back into apartment this morning. We took the train in from Connecticut and took our stuff down to the apartment before heading off to work. First impressions were very positive. The lobby had the distinctive ammonia smell of cleaning agents, no surprise there. Our hallway's carpet had been cleaned, and smelled fresh. Entering our apartment, we were happy to find that everything worked. Electricity, heat, even the water was running clear.

We are both very happy to be home, and looking forward to relaxing in our living room tonight, and sleeping in our own bed.

Latest Update

This was posted to the building's website around 7:12pm:

90 West Residents

New York City’s housing office has advised us that residents can now reoccupy 90 West Street.


Please note that the sewage leak happened at a time of sustained rain and high tide and that the water did not rise above the cellar level.


As discussed we have retained our own environmental testing company. The company advised extensive tests to determine if there was any residue on the floor from the flood. We preformed a round of preliminary tests to determine the background level of contaminants. The test showed that most of the building was clean. We used those results (which are posted on our web site) to plan the final phase of cleaning. We decided based on the tests to clean all the public hall carpets before the residents return. The hallways are complete. The cellar has been cleaned and re-cleaned. Work will continue down there for a few months. We will be replacing doors and painting all the surfaces. We will be installing new equipment in place of temporary equipment. We will also be installing additional dehumidification equipment.


With the water now running we have ordered water quality tests. Both the DEP and our Plumbers have advised that the possibility of water contamination is extremely remote. The results of the water tests will be available from the lab tomorrow afternoon. Until we have the final results you should refrain drinking or cooking with the tap water. The results of the water test will be made available as soon as we get them.


The bottom line is that we want you to feel safe when you return to 90 West Street. If you decide that you want to wait for the results of tomorrow’s tests then you should stay in your hotel until Wednesday. The PA has not confirmed they will reimburse you for the additional night however, we will do everything in our power to make sure your additional expenses are reimbursed.


90 West Street.

A few residents have expressed concerns about the water and air quality, hence the last paragraph of the notice. Lynn and I are definitely moving back in tomorrow, leaving Connecticut early in the morning to drop our stuff at our apartment before work. We're both tired of moving around, and anxious to be in our own place again. It will be good to be home.

90 West Re-Opening

2:15pm

Dear Residents,

Welcome Home!

We are pleased to announce that we will reopen tomorrow, Tuesday, December 4th at 7am. We look forward to seeing you then.

90 West St Management

Homeward bound!

Edit 4:40pm:

Cable and internet services provided by Time Warner are functioning properly.

90weststreet Blog Now Open

I spoke too soon. The point has been brought up that there are some benefits to non-residents being able to view the blog. It will remain public for the time being.

So Far, So Good.

Building management sent another update at 12:30pm

Dear Residents,
We are happy to announce that everything is on schedule. The electrician has one final certification to make. We all expect this to be successfully completed before 2pm today. We will confirm by 2pm that 90 West St will reopen Tuesday morning.

90weststreet Blog Now Private

The 23 contributors of the 90weststreet blog, of which I am one, have decided to restrict access to the blog to "invitation only." This means anyone other than the 23 contributors will need an invitation to view the blog. This was done to provide a forum for residents that is reasonably private while discussions are continuing about options.

If you are a resident and wish to access the blog, contact one of the blog contributors to receive an invitation.

As this is my personal blog, I will keep updating with my own experiences, and information that building management, the Port Authority, etc., make public. I will not be posting insights into the budding tenants' association or other residents' opinions, unless the association also begins making public statements and those residents choose to comment here of their own volition. I'd like to make the distinction that this is my personal blog, and should not construed as representative of the other residents, or of the new tenants' association.

Looking Forward to Tuesday

Building management has posted another update, confirming that Tuesday is the day.

Construction Update

Repairs are proceeding on schedule. An army of electricians worked again thru the night and we are now turning power on in the building. The elevators are being tested and adjusted. Four elevators will be operational when the building is officially opened on Tuesday morning. Last night plumbers connected new pumps and now the building has hot and cold water. We will be cleaning carpets in all the public hallways and cleaning the lobby and elevators tonight and tomorrow. There will be additional security and maintenance personnel at the building on standby for at least a week. We will be making final inspections and preparation throughout the building to welcome all the residents back on Tuesday. We hope to have our final email blast tomorrow before noon to confirm that 90 West will be back in service as of Tuesday morning.

Looking forward to welcoming you back

Meanwhile, Derek of the 90eweststreet blog has noticed that the Claims Office setup by the John Riddle Associates on behalf of the Port Authority has setup a blog of its own. The address is http://riddle90westclaims.squarespace.com/. At the moment, it does not contain any new information, but hopefully this will change soon. The main concern of many residents is whether accepting this settlement forfeits our rights to claim any other damages that may result from this incident down the road. It would be more reassuring to have all of the "fine print" presented somewhere.

Snow on Sunday

90 West has posted the report from DeSimone stating that there is no structural damage to the building. The full report is on the building's website. Here's the relevant excerpt:

DeSimone Consulting Engineers visited the site for a preliminary visual inspection on November 28 and performed a thorough follow-up visual inspection on November 29, 2007. The entire subcellar and cellar levels and underside of the ground floor were checked. No evidence of structural distress was noted.

Note that DeSimone Consulting Engineers was the Structural Engineer of Record for a major renovation of this building that occurred in 2002. Our office is familiar with the structural systems of the building.

I have to admit that I never expected there to be any structural damage. The building, down to the sub-basement level, is upheld by steel columns encased in terra cotta block. I do understand how some people would worry about this, though, based on the neighborhood we live in.

It snowed overnight in Connecticut, and I awoke to a wonderful winter scene. (Completely unlike the last two years, with no snow until January last year, or the year before.) There is about an inch of fresh snow on the ground, and large fluffy snowflakes drifting their way down as well. Winter can be so lovely. I wonder if it snowed in New York.

Meeting #2 Summary

I just returned to CT from the second information meeting that building management held, and I now remember exactly how much I dislike the West Side Highway. Why not take the FDR, you wonder? There's construction on that one, too. Ah well.

This meeting was far less attended than the first. This is could be because it was a Saturday afternoon, people are more scattered around the city now, or people are simply happy with the updates they're receiving from building management and the blogs. I just thought it was interesting how fewer people there were. Before the meeting, some of the folks organizing the tenant's association were handing out flyers, I'll post the contents of the flyer in a comment to this post. I also met Derek, the creator of the 90weststreet blog, and Stuart, who is a contributor and active commenter over there.

The meeting began as P---, the building manager, and a couple other building staff filed in while one resident was addressing a concern of his to the audience. We were later to discover that with them was representative of the Office of Emergency Management who has been working at the building since this began on Monday.

P--- began with a summary of the building status thus far, re-stating that the building should be ready by Tuesday. Here are the highlights:

• Gas service has been re-certified and reconnected to the building, and every apartment will be reconnected by the end of today. This means that if anyone is returning to their apartments to gather things, it is incredibly important not to turn on anything that uses the gas. Ovens and dryers should not be turned on, as this will release the gas into the apartment which could cause problems once the electricity comes back on.
• ConEd has brought in another generator to make sure the building is heated now that the temperature is dropping. There continues to be an elevator in use, and lights on in the hallways.
• Management has bought new pumps for the water system, and will be testing the water for potability. While the testing will be happening within the next couple of days, the resulting report will not be available until Wednesday.
• A large industrial cleaning company has been hired to thoroughly clean every surface of the flooded areas. All doors down there will be replaced, and all surfaces repainted. They are also looking into adding dehumidification and air purification to alleviate the sulfur odor that sometimes creeps in.
• All carpets throughout the building will be cleaned, although this is most likely going to happen after residents move back in.
• The same engineering firm that restored the building in 2003 has finished its structural report, finding no structural damage. This report will be available to residents on the website.
• The one utility that may not be fully restored by Tuesday is the phone service. This may take more time to reinstate.

P--- said that ConEd will be powering up the building starting today, and will be running tests tomorrow and Monday. Management will send an update out when the building is ready, leaving enough notice for those in hotels to settle their checkout times, etc.

P--- then took questions about the building situation, which really didn't bring any new information out, with one small exception. Because the Port Authority had no representative there this time, P--- talked briefly about the leverage this situation may give us in dealing with future problems with the Port Authority. Notably, this may help us reduce the noise that has grown louder and longer at the WTC site. P--- mentioned speaking with a reporter from WNYC about our building, and that reporter spoke directly to the Governor of New York about the situation between 90 West and the Port Authority. It will be interesting to see if this amounts to anything.

Speaking of the PA, P--- then read a statement from the PA that he had received only minutes prior to the meeting. This statement was essentially a lump sum settlement offer from the PA to the residents. They are willing to offer $750 per apartment per day we are not in the building. If we do move back in on Tuesday, this comes out to $6,000 per apartment (for a total of $2.46 million). This number is based on the PA's estimate of out-of-pocket costs. Anyone with costs more than this amount is welcome to bring receipts to the PA Claims Office at the Ritz Carlton. Of course, there are many details missing from this offer at the moment, but P--- assured us that building management would formalize it and present it to the residents as soon as they can. There were a few concerns about how long this would take, but residents, P---, and the OEM representative all said that they've had very positive experiences with the PA Claims Office thus far. A few more questions were fielded, but they mainly had to do with claims that residents wanted to make. The answer to all of these was to take it to the Claims Office.

Rent will not be charged for the days we're not in the building. Once everyone has moved in, management will sent out new bills that show this credit for December's rent.

At one point, the OEM representative spoke briefly in an effort to assure residents that everything would be worked out in a timely manner. He began by commending the efforts of the building management, and the residents cut him off with applause. The applause lasted a while.