IPNTA Newsletters

January 2003

What Have We Done Lately?

Here's what IPNTA has done in the past few months, since our last big tenants meeting in October:

• To pay for lawyers, consultants, and ongoing negotiations with politicians and others, we had $140,080 in our bank account as of December 20.
• We retained the law firm of Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph to prepare various documents and otherproofs relating to the management of IPN.
• We retained another law firm, Kalkines, Arky, Zall & Bernstein LLP which has extensive experience in housing development and finance issues.
• We collected many tenant complaints which we will present to HPD and all other important parties to block, or at least slow down, the sale of IPN to real estate multi-millionaire Laurence Gluck. Gluck has publicly stated his intention to remove IPN from the Mitchell-Lama program, and charge market rents. You know what that means.
• Our president, Neil Fabricant, has testified at numerous public hearings at City Hall and in Albany about our fight to save our homes.
• We participated in a March on City Hall in December—during a snow blizzard—along with others who support affordable housing, to demand saving IPN's tenants' homes from the so-called “free market” rents.
• We mailed 5,000 postcards to City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, and NYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, to save our homes.
• We met with various politicians to press our cause.
• We received heavy media coverage of our plight and goals in the New York Times and on CBS TV.
• We contracted Julie Miles, who has been coordinating efforts at public relations, demonstrations, communications and so much more. She’s done a terrific job.
• We attended monthly meetings with community groups like the WTCRC (World Trade Center Residents Coalition) and received full support from the members who run the tenant associations of other downtown neighborhoods: Wall Street, Southbridge Towers, Battery Park City; South Street Seaport; etc.
• We held weekly Executive Board meetings to brainstorm, update and build on strategy.
• And we had monthly floor captain meetings to keep floor captains in the loop so they can answer your questions.

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