Pistilli complaints stretch across the borough

From the Daily News:

Tenants at several Queens and Brooklyn properties owned or affiliated with the Pistilli family complained of shoddy construction and, in some cases, vermin. Residents also said it was difficult to get issues resolved swiftly.

But Joseph Pistilli, co-owner of the Pistilli Realty Group, which owns or manages the properties, disputed the charges, saying his company "never" disregards tenant problems.

Tenants beg to differ.

Joseph Pistilli conceded there are water issues at the former Eagle Electric Building at 19-19 24th Ave. But the leak has been identified, and will be fixed by the fall, he said.

"I'm not going to tell you that some of those complaints are not legitimate," he said. But, he added, "We are not slum landlords."

His companies own or manage about 10 properties in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, he said. He added that he was unaware of many of the complaints.

"If people have these problems, they should be calling our office," he said. "They can ask for me directly, and I will make sure that their problem is dealt with immediately."

That wasn't the case for Daniel Cardoza, 24, who lives at 41-06 Case St., in Elmhurst. He said it took the company two months to fix his bathroom ceiling leak.

Jesse Diaz, 25, whose cousin lives at 58-35 Granger St., in Corona, also complained of leaks.

"The conditions of some of the apartments are disgusting," Diaz said.

Photo courtesy of Miss Heather

The truth about Pistilli Riverview East

Hey, when you aren't getting anywhere by writing letters or making phone calls, why not blog about your problems so the whole world can read about them?

Check out The Truth About Pistilli Riverview East.

Hey Pistilli, you've got a little leak there...

From bojack7325 on YouTube:


This is what your apartment will look like every time it rains at a Pistilli residence in Queens. Hoping a local city councilman or woman can see this video and take action. We have called the management company, including Michael Pistilli several times over the last 2 years about this problem and nothing is happening. Renter and buyer beware of this serious flooding issue in apartments in this building.

From Sassy8305 on YouTube:


Awakened at 5 am by the worst leak thus far. This has been a situation since 2008 and the building has not been repaired. The super says the building is not waterproof and that workers have been hired to waterproof the building. He's been saying that since 2008.

Pissed off residents have formed the Stop the flooding in Pistilli Riverview East Facebook Group.

From the Queens Gazette:

The Astoria Civic Association held its 77th annual Judge Charles J. Vallone Scholarship Dinner and Dance on Saturday, April 10 at Riccardo’s by the Bridge, 21-01 24th Ave., Astoria.

Community Board 1 District Manager Lucille T. Hartmann and Joseph Pistilli, founder of Pistilli Realty Group and president of First Central Savings Bank, were honored during the ceremony. The festivities began with cocktails from 7 to 8 p.m., immediately followed by the award presentations. Astoria Kiwanis President Linda Perno served as the event’s chair and was assisted by former City Council Speaker Peter F. Vallone Sr. and Borough President Helen M. Marshall who made a special guest appearance.

A Queens native, Pistilli founded Pistilli Realty Group in 1975 and is currently chief executive officer. The company owns and operates approximately 40 commercial and residential buildings in the New York City area, containing roughly 4,800 units and about 250,000 square feet of commercial space. Some recent acquisitions include two high-rise apartment complexes known as Sky View Towers, containing 225 apartments in Woodside and the former Steinway warehouse located at Ditmars Boulevard and 45th Street in Astoria.

“Joseph Pistilli is a man who devotes his life to making Queens look beautiful, and for that we are truly grateful,” Marshall said.

Another fine Astoria crapscape

From Curbed:

Haven't we seen this Astoria house of horrors before? We couldn't find it in the archives, but there can only be so many houses so photogenically trapped by storefronts and encroaching development in one neighborhood. Even if we've chatted about this little guy there's still the matter of the big new dude next door. It's 31-19 Newtown Avenue, from New York City's most popular unknown architect Gerald Caliendo. The developer is prolific Queens builder Pistilli Realty, known for stirring up strong emotions and the occasional botchjob. A building permit circa '06 said this would be a 10-story health care facility, but it certainly has that faux-loft look, and numerous complaints and violations during construction have referred to the building as residential.

Meanwhile, Newtown Pentacle roamed and rambled around Hallets Cove and found more crap:

Ultimately, the shocking scale of these new structures dwarf the surrounding neighborhoods- blocking the panoramic views and open skies of a formerly 2 and 3 story cityscape, where a large structure was 5 stories. Philosophically, I tend to regard LeCorbusier style tower parks (and gated communities on the whole) as anti-democratic and very bad for the future of the Republic, as it tends to isolate political centers away from each other and foists an unsustainable population onto local streets and sewers. Like many of these new towers, parking amenities are planned into the structure, but that too brings more traffic onto the local streets which were not designed to handle the increased load. Quality of life in the City of New York is more than just law and order, lords and ladies of Newtown, it’s streets and sewers and electrical infrastructure.

Thank God for the Vallones and the Department of City Planning. What would Astoria be like without them?

Pistilli still a real pisser

Curbed directs readers to a post on Broker Tales which reviews the Pistilli Riverview East in Astoria. My favorite excerpt:

Did anyone from the Chamber of Commerce go inside this building before awarding them an award in a Rehab category in 2007? Should these types of conversions be done only by great architects and real developers with great design teams?

Curbed also reports that there are now (gasp!) renters at the Powerhouse.

See previously: Pistilli a real pisser

Pistilli presents parking problem

From Astorians:

Back in the days when Pistilli was pitching the Riverview to the neighborhood, many of us expressed our concerns about parking. A new building with so many units was going to create some problems. He assured us that there would be parking in the building which would alleviate this issue. Fast forward about four years - we have a serious parking issue in the neighborhood, especially in the summer with all those visitors to the park.

It is understandable if the people who own/rent units would like to save some money by parking in the streets. If that is the case, and if the garage is not being used to it's fullest capacity, why doesn't this man simply offer parking as part of the rental/ownership package? Why not think about the community and also make it worthwhile for someone to live there? I am so angry that Joseph Pistilli basically lied to us about the parking situation!