Stuyvesant Town / Peter Cooper Village
Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village — totaling 110 buildings with 11,250 apartments over 80 acres — were constructed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company to provide affordable housing to the middle class, particularly to families of soldiers returning home from World War II. Nearly 60 years later, families with deep roots in the neighborhood remain the backbone of the community.
Typical monthly rent is no longer $76 as it was in the late 1940s when Stuyvesant Town opened, but the complex is still inhabited primarily by rent-stabilized tenants. "Market rate" tenants now compose about one quarter of the population — with rents ranging from about $2,600 for a one-bedroom apartment to some $5,000 for a three-bedroom apartment. Market rate tenants recently saw annual increases on their rents in the range of 16 to 25 percent upon renewing their leases.
In October 2006, MetLife sold the property to real estate developer Tishman Speyer. When MetLife first announced that it was putting Stuyvesant Town / Peter Cooper Village up for sale, Council Member Garodnick spearheaded the formation of a tenant-backed investor group to purchase the property with the goal of maintaining it as affordable housing for the middle class.
While that bid was ultimately unsuccessful, it brought affordability to the forefront of the discussion on the sale. The tenants' efforts, backed by elected officials at all levels of government, made Stuyvesant Town / Peter Cooper Village a rallying cry for middle-class housing and inspired other communities around the City to take control of their own futures. Even now, Council Member Garodnick and other elected officials continue to encourage Tishman Speyer to demonstrate long-term affordability for this community.
Council Member Garodnick has also worked closely with the Department of Transportation to improve the safety of pedestrians — particularly seniors — at the intersection of 20th Street and First Avenue, where a recent accident caused the death of a beloved 83-year-old neighbor.
Finally, a growing number of buildings in the City, including Peter Cooper Village, have implemented electronic key cards with tenants' photographs on them — keys which are not only used for entry, but can log data on tenants' movements. In June of 2006, Council Member Garodnick introduced legislation that would safeguard the privacy of tenants by prohibiting the requirement of photographs and other biometric information on electronic key cards, limiting the duration that landlords can keep data on tenants entering and exiting a building, and requiring landlords to provide equal access for Sabbath observers.
Council Member Garodnick grew up in Stuyvesant Town / Peter Cooper Village, where he continues to live today.
