Stuyvesant Town

Stuyvesant Town as well as the adjacent Peter Cooper Village is a large residential development that opened in 1947 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is a sprawling collection of red brick apartment buildings with housing project-style architecture stretching from First Avenue to Avenue C, between 14th and 20th Streets. Stuyvesant Town has 8,757 apartments and with its sister development Peter Cooper Village they have a combined 110 buildings, 11,250 apartments, and over 25,000 residents. It is bordered by the East River on the east, the Gramercy neighborhood on the west, the East Village (or Alphabet City) to the south, and Kips Bay to the north. This area is notable for historic Stuyvesant Square, a two-block park surrounded by the old Stuyvesant High School, Saint George's Church, and the Beth Israel Medical Center.

Related Topics:
Peter Cooper Village - Residential development - 1947 - Lower East Side - Manhattan - Brick - Apartment - East River - Gramercy - East Village - Alphabet City - Kips Bay - Stuyvesant Square - Stuyvesant High School - Saint George's Church - Beth Israel Medical Center

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Dubbed "Stuy Town" by many of its residents, this apartment complex has been home to many New Yorkers seeking an escape from Manhattan while still being immersed in the city. Often described as an oasis in the city, the complex is home to trees, grass, and 12 parks open to use by its residents. Famous Stuy Town/Peter Cooper residents include Paul Reiser, of "Mad About You" fame, and New York Restauranteur, Drew Nieporent. The famed Stuy Town waiting list, which was incredibly long was abolished recently and Metropolitan Life has spent millions on renovations for the ailing complex.

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Metropolitan Life built the complex as housing for returning World War II veterans. The notorious Gashouse District was demolished to make room for the complex. Paul Reiser grew up in Stuyvesant Town and Bernie Goetz lives there as of 2005. It spawned the first anti-discrimination housing laws in the United States after it was found in the 1950's that African-Americans were being denied apartments on the basis of race. Despite its progressive influences, the complex to this day remains largely white Roman-Catholic.

Related Topics:
Metropolitan Life - World War II - Veterans - Gashouse District - Paul Reiser - Bernie Goetz

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A subject of recent controversy over the actions of MetLife in attempting to turn the complex into "luxury apartments," Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village have become the front line for rent control battles in New York City. Until recently, the under-$2,000/month rents for 1br and 2br apartments in the complex were in tune with market rates in Manhattan. In recent years the Alphabet City and Lower East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan have seen a surge in popularity and in property values, and as of 2005 the market rate for 2br apartments in Stuyvesant Town surpassed $4,000/month. Residents who have lived in the apartments for several years are thus paying thousands less than market rate due to rent control laws, and in turn MetLife has come under fire for attempting to drive older residents out through largely unlawful actions. The opposition to MetLife began with a small protest in the center of the apartment complex in the summer of 2001, and quickly grew into an organized effort to resist many of the major capital improvements that MetLife regarded as necessary for the complex, but which many residents just felt were being completed with the sole intention of raising rents. (New York City law states that one of the only ways to raise a rent over the $2,000/month rent control limit is to associate a rent increase with a major capital improvement to the property, or to hold an apartment vacant for at least 11 months). Recent renovations, such as a highly controvertial photo-ID key-card key replacement system, have had residents speculating that MetLife is preparing the complex for sale, either to NYU, a different owner, or to the residents themselves as a co-op.

Related Topics:
Rent control - Alphabet City - Lower East Side - Major capital improvements - NYU - Co-op

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