2025 Annual Meeting – Save the Date!

Posted on by Anna Bain

GTA Annual Membership Meeting & Board Elections
April 16, 2025
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Join from home or wherever you are – Zoom link will be provided

The Gateway Tenants Association will be hosting our annual meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, April 16th, at 6:30 pm. We will be joined by elected officials, and we’ll cover issues affecting Gateway, election of the 2025 GTA Board, and time for Q & A. Submit your questions here. 

We highly encourage you to consider running for the GTA Board! We especially need market-rate tenant representation. If you are interested, market-rate or otherwise, please reach out to gatewayplazata@gmail.com – we’re happy to answer any questions you have.

Running for the Board is easy:

There is power in numbers – please join or renew your GTA membership today – $25 per year.
We invite all Gateway residents to join the GTA. Our very existence depends on the participation of the tenant population. The larger our membership, the greater our power and influence. Let your voice be heard and join others toward the betterment of our community!

ICYMI (in case you missed it): *NEW* Frequently Asked Questions page

  1. Rent increases and the Good Cause Eviction law that may apply to your apartment!
  2. Quasi-rent stabilization at Gateway
  3. High utility bills
  4. Let us know what questions you want to see answered: Give Us Your Thoughts

GTA STATEMENT ON GOOD CAUSE EVICTION 

Posted on by Shannon

On April 20, 2024, Governor Hochel signed the Good Cause Eviction (GCE) law into effect.  

DISCLAIMER: This statement does not constitute legal advice. Any tenant who wants to know how GCE applies to their apartment lease should contact a lawyer. GTA does not provide legal advice. This statement is for informational purposes only. 

The GCE law provides that, for covered apartments, the landlord cannot evict a tenant without “good cause.” Under the law, the landlord is effectively required to offer renewal leases with rent increase that are not “unreasonable.” A rent increase is presumed unreasonable if it is above the inflation index or 10%, whichever is lower. For New York City, the inflation index is defined as 5% plus the annual percentage change in the consumer price index (CPI) for all urban consumers for all items as published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for New York-Newark-Jersey City. For 2024, this CPI is 3.82%, so, absent extraordinary circumstances, rent increases in covered apartments are limited to 8.82% in 2024. 

The GCE law applies to market rate tenants in all apartments in New York City buildings built before 2009 such as Gateway with very limited exceptions. One exception is the so-called “Luxury Exemption” where the apartment’s rent (before any increase on renewal) exceeds certain thresholds, as published by the New York Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). On May 4, 2024, DHCR published the following thresholds – if an apartment’s rent is at or below these numbers, the apartment should generally be covered by GCE: 

$5,846 – studio 
$6,005 – 1-bedroom 
$6,742 – 2-bedroom 
$8,413 – 3-bedroom 

GTA believes these published thresholds may be incorrect, and is seeking clarification on that issue. For now, however, these are the thresholds that DHCR says apply. 

The GCE limitations on renewal rent increases became effective April 20, 2024. Any market rate tenant whose renewal lease became effective on or after April 20, 2024 should review their renewal offer for applicability of and/or compliance with GCE. 

The GCE law provides tenants with other protections beyond the limits on rent increases. Many law firms and tenant advocacy groups have published summaries of the GCE law. Plugging “New York good cause eviction” into one of the major search engines will generate links to additional information. One useful source is: https://legalaidnyc.org/get-help/housing-problems/what-you-need-to-know-about-new-yorks-good-cause-eviction-law/ 

Questions from Membership Meeting

Posted on by Shannon

Please see GTA responses to the remaining questions that we did not have the time to address at the membership meeting.  

Question: 

Is it possible to convince mgmt. of the necessity to post the numbers of our buildings on or closer to South End Ave? Taxis, deliveries, visitors spend untold hours going up and down looking for us. 

GTA Response: 

We will bring this up with management at our next meeting.  Thank you for the suggestion. 

Question: 

My questions were about gateway staff over an elevator leaving us with 2 instead of 4. Can they do work during non-work hours and if you asked them, what did they say? 

GTA Response: 

We have discussed this with. Management.  They do attempt to do this but are not always successful. They told us that they now throw recycling down the shoot, and it is divided at the bottom.  Also, they are not picking up as often as before.  We will raise it again with management at our next meeting. 

Question: 

Can someone please address why mgmt. will not be more proactive with managing the elevator disruptions? Namely publish the schedule for when an elevator is out of service for recycling pickups, moving in or out. Many tenants can be flexible when they dog walk or do laundry and would do so if they knew an additional elevator was out of service.  Can recycle pick-ups be limited to no more than 30 min per session. 

GTA Response: 

We have discussed this with management and have asked that notification be sent to affected residents. They were not agreeable to this suggestion but will raise it again.    

Question: 

I am not sure if this has been brought up before. Does anyone have any information about the lovely dumpster that has been sitting in the ring road for the last 5 years at least?  I have reached out to mgmt., and they only advise that I should email Tuminia.  He does not respond.  It’s unsightly and smells during the summer. 

GTA Response: 

We will discuss it with management at our next meeting and report back. 

Question: 

What is the plan for elevator upgrades in buildings with only one elevator? 

GTA Response: 

We asked last time but they were not sure yet.  According to Greg email on Feb 22nd, below was his report 

Low Rise Elevators – The low-rise elevators modernization project is scheduled for the spring of 2025.  We are finalizing details with the elevator contractor to confirm how long the 345, 265 & 385 elevators will be out of service.  With each of these buildings having only one elevator we want to be completely transparent with all residents as to the time frame these buildings will be without an elevator.  There may be an option to reduce the work schedule from 15 weeks to 8 weeks. Once we receive the final scope of work, we will begin to contact every resident in 345, 365 & 385 to accommodate their needs accordingly. 

Question: 

During your next session with mgmt. Discussing security, please inquire about getting cameras in the stairwells.  

GTA Response: 

We have requested cameras in stairwells, but they were not agreeable to this suggestion.  

Question: 

Can someone address the cost of utilities? 

GTA Response: 

The electric bills at Gateway are so high primarily because tenants pay for their own heat (electric) in the winter and air conditioning in the summer; in many residential buildings, heat is supplied by the landlord and included in the rent. Gateway buys electricity and then submeters it to the tenants. Your electric bill will include the number of kilowatt-hours consumed and the per-kilowatt-hour price being charged. Under an agreement that Gateway has with the Battery Park City Authority, Gateway is not permitted to make a profit on submetering electricity to tenants, and the BPCA performs audits annually to make sure Gateway adheres to that agreement.  

ConEd provides a portal on its website where you can compare your actual Gateway electrical bill with what the same amount of electricity would have cost you if you bought it directly from ConEd. That web portal is: 

https://www.coned.com/en/accounts-billing/your-bill/rate-calculators/submetering-bill-calculator

Although the GTA Board has not done a scientific sampling of tenants’ electric bills versus the ConEd portal, we have done spot-checks, and those spot-checks have shown that the Gateway bills were less than what it would have cost to have bought the electricity directly from ConEd. 

Question: 

I was told I cannot opt out of the health club. How can I? 

GTA Response: 

If you are a market tenant, you can’t.  We have mentioned this in many of our meetings and they are not willing to waive the fee for market rate tenants. They charge this fee as part of the Amenities rider and it is for use of health club, 4th floor roof deck, Business center and north lawn.  If you are QRS, you only pay if you choose to use the health club. When the Amenities Rider first appeared, GTA raised objections to this Amenities rider with Greg Tumminia (Gateway General Manager). Although he defended the Amenities rider as consistent with market for the market rate tenants, GTA continues to believe that this Amenities rider is inappropriate for all tenants, including market rate tenants, and is advocating for removal of this rider for all residents. 

ANNUAL MEETING and BOARD ELECTIONS

Posted on by Shannon

GATEWAY TENANTS ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL MEETING and BOARD ELECTIONS
FEBRUARY 29, 7 PM
Via Zoom

Click here to join meeting: GTA Meeting Link Webinar ID: 815 5608 0276

The Gateway Tenants Association will be hosting our annual meeting via Zoom on Thur., Feb 29th at 7pm.  We will be joined by elected officials and guests who will talk about issues that affect Gateway. Scheduled to attend: Congressman Daniel Goldman, State Senator Brian Kavanaugh, State Assemblyman Charles Fall, Council Member Christopher Marte, Battery Park City Authority President and Chief Executive Officer, Raju Mann.
 
At this meeting, the election of the next GTA Board will take place.

MARKET RATE REPRESENTATION NEEDED ON THE GTA BOARD
WE ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY MINDED RESIDENTS WHO WANT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES THAT CONCERNS THEM TO RUN FOR THE BOARD.

If you want to put your name on the ballot, please provide a paragraph on why you want to serve and send it to gatewayplazata@gmail.cm by February 26th. A list of the candidates will be sent before the meeting but we will accept nominations at the meeting as well.

Updates from the GTA Board will be presented followed by a Q and A. If you have any questions and would like to submit beforehand, send to gatewayplazata@gmail.com

THERE IS POWER IN NUMBERS
PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW YOUR GTA MEMBERSHIP
We invite all Gateway resident to join GTA. Our very existence depends upon the participation of the tenant population.
The larger our membership, the greater our power and influence.
Let your voice be heard and join others toward the betterment of our community!
Dues are just $25 per household per calendar year so join NOW. You have to be a member to vote.
Click here to JOIN NOW!

MARKET RENT SURVEY

MARKET RENT SURVEY
(previously reported in January newsletter)
During fall 2023, GTA conducted a survey of tenants’ experiences with renewal lease rent increases, focusing on the body of tenants who are not covered by the Quasi Rent Stabilization (QRS) Agreement. We received 171 responses. To place rent increases in the context of the overall economy, the annual rate of inflation for 2023, as measured by the Urban Consumer Price Index, was 4.1%.
Over three-quarters of the rent increases stated in tenants’ renewal offers were greater than the rate of inflation – specifically, 77% of survey respondents’ renewal offers were greater than 5%. Most renewal offers were substantially greater than the rate of inflation, as summarized in the following table:
Share of Respondents Renewal offer increase amount
77% greater than 5%
65% greater than 10%
47% greater than 15%
32% greater than 20%
On the good news side of things, tenants who tried to negotiate renewal increases were often successful in achieving lower increases, sometimes significantly lower. Roughly two-thirds of respondents reported that they tried to negotiate renewal rents, and of those, roughly half reported being successful in achieving a renewal rent lower than what had been proposed by management.

Lessons that can be drawn from the survey include:

Don’t just accept the renewal rent increase contained in your lease renewal offer – try to negotiate. One successful negotiation approach has been to present management with evidence that similar apartments are being offered at rates lower than what is being requested of the tenant at renewal. You can see what Gateway is currently offering for rent at its website, gatewayny.com.
In the absence of legal or contractual limits on renewal rent increases, tenants are at the mercy of unpredictable market forces that take little account of how long a tenant has made an apartment their home or how timely the tenant has been in rent payment. If the landlord believes a new tenant would pay 20% or more in rent than a current tenant is paying, the landlord is likely to demand a 20% or higher rent increase at lease renewal.
The renewal rent increase experience of Gateway tenants demonstrates the importance of enacting Good Cause Eviction legislation that has been repeatedly introduced in the New York Legislature, but which has not passed. This legislation would limit rent increases to an amount tied to the rate of inflation. For example, NYS Senate bill S3082 introduced in the 2021-2022 Session would limit rent increases to the greater of 3% or 1.5 times the rate of inflation. If you believe these protections are important, please contact our State Senator, Brian Kavanagh (https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/brian-kavanagh), our Assembly Member, Charles Fall (https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Charles-D-Fall) and Governor Kathy Hochul (https://www.governor.ny.gov), and urge them to enact Good Cause Eviction legislation.

UNOFFICIAL NAME CHANGE

Since the complex is now known as “Gateway” rather than “Gateway Plaza,” we are calling the organization” Gateway Tenants Association” or “GTA”.

Our contact information and social media will remain the same.
The website will continue as gpta.org,

The email address as gatewayplazata@gmail.com.

The Twitter handle will remain @GPTA_BPC and Facebook as Gateway Plaza Tenants Association.

Building Community

Posted on by Shannon

Our mission
To work together to build and maintain a high quality of life in our community in every possible way for the tenants of Gateway Plaza.

Our history
The Gateway Plaza Tenants Association was created in 1982 to respond to tenant-related issues at Gateway Plaza, the largest residential complex in Battery Park City. Over the last three decades, GPTA has accomplished a variety of goals, including negotiating long-term rent-stabilization agreements with the landlord, thereby preserving Gateway as a family-friendly residential community for people with diverse incomes.