June 16, 2012
Dear Community Member,
Unfortunately, this weekend an inflammatory post was made on Facebook by Mike Kunitzky of Launchpad (http://www.facebook.com/
The post starts by saying that Stacey is employed by the realty firm MySpace. This is not true, Stacey is an independent real estate broker who recently started working out of the MySpace offices. The post goes on to make allegations of illegitimate practices on the part of MySpace and makes the claim that Crow Hill Community Association (CHCA) did not respond to complaints about these practices. No member of the community has ever complained to CHCA, it was only Mike Kunitzky who approached CHCA with concerns that MySpace was forcing people out of their apartments.
CHCA contacted and expressed these concerns to Council Member Letitia James who arranged a meeting with MySpace. MySpace, the Council Member and CHCA sat down and reviewed the issues that had been raised. MySpace represented that they were not involved in any illegal, predatory or discriminatory practices. MySpace expressed they wanted to support the community and participate in FAM, our merchants association. CHCA made it very clear that while we welcomed them to join in our efforts, if we were to receive any complaints about their practices, we would act to help those affected navigate the legal and political channels available to resolve their complaint. CHCA has always been committed to supporting tenant’s rights and has devoted whole meetings to this issue, featuring elected representatives who detailed how the community can utilize their offices to fight unfair tenant/landlord practices. CHCA also regularly posts tenant advocacy information on our blog.
With respect to the loss of our community garden, CHCA spearheaded the cleanup of the lot and then organized starting a community garden knowing that the community would be squatting on private property and could be asked to leave at a moments notice. LaunchPad’s Facebook post was written to raise questions about the circumstances surrounding our having to leave the space. When the landlord asked that we vacate the property, no one, including Stacey Sheffey knew who intended to purchase the property.
The members of the Board knew that Stacey was taking a desk at MySpace and there has never been a concern that there would be a conflict of interests. Stacey is a highly principled individual and her love for and commitment to this community is evident in her service to it both as a CHCA Board member and as a member of Community Board 8.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, we hope that we have addressed any concerns that were raised and if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
The Board Of Directors, CHCA