Manhattan Club Lawsuit

jimt355 wrote:

We need to continue pushing the AG until we get a satisfactory outcome. I am totally fed up with TMC and being held hostage for this horrible deceptive investment.

jimt335,

"I am totally fed up with TMC and being held hostage for this horrible deceptive investment." we are being held hostage and ill-informed by TMCNY and others. irene smalls, in this redweek.com forum suggests we all write (to appropriate parties) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS. (see her recent comments about this in redweek forum.) SHE'S RIGHT!////////////: WE DO NOT HAVE DIRECT ADVOCATES FOR US MANHATTAN CLUB SHAREHOLDERS.....BASICALLY, WE'RE ON OUR OWN; HOWEVER, THERE'S SOME STRENGTH IN NUMBERS, I.E, IF WE ALL GOT TOGETHER WITH FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS (SENT TO APPROPRIATE PARTIES) WE MIGHT GET SOME MUCH-NEEDED INFORMATION TO MAKE INFORMED AND SUITABLE DECISIONS REGARDING OUR FUTURE WITH THE CURRENTLY SCAM AND FRAUD RIDDEN MANHATTAN CLUB. THE QUESTION IS: JUST WHO IS/ARE OUR ADVOCATE(S) WHO CAN WE TURN TO FOR ANSWERS TO OUR COMMON QUESTIONS ........................SOMEONE WHO CAN GIVE US DEFINITIVE ANSWERS, NOT GUESSES OR SUPPOSITIONS AS TO MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS, INABILITY TO MAKE NEAR-CONVENIENT RESERVATIONS, ET AL.......?

KEEP IN TOUCH,

CHRISV126

Hello Irene,

Another good suggestion from you. Thanks again for your activism in the TMC situation.

Please let us know the gist of the information in your filing and what you asked for as well as to whom you sent the letter. I wonder if being out of state would make me ineligible to file with the NYAG, but I could certainly file in my own state (TX). I have not come across any other Texas owners, but if anyone in this forum knows of other owners, please let me know how to get in touch with them. Many letters would be much more effective that one.

Janet

..

Yes, it’s a scam. Stay away from it.

How about the fact that the terraces for the penthouse units are so noisy from air conditioner vents that one has to shout to be heard when out there. The one facing the south is a little quieter, but constantly sunny, making long term stay in summer daylight impossible.

Below is the link to send a Freedom of Information Request for our purposes. Last time we tried it was for amendments to our Offering Plan and the cost of 25 cents/page made the request cost several hundred dollars! That was just for pages of Amendments from 2009-2012. We did not pursue because err could not give specifics on exactly which documents we wanted at the time (aka, it was overwhelming). Several more amendments have been filed during each year since. That's why we scratch our heads!

Hopefully, a request for the list of owners with ACTUAL names and addresses would be more doable. ACTUAL NAMES/ADDRESSES needed or even EMAIL ADDRESSES (such we know the AG has becauseof the survey) NEED TO BE REQUESTED OR WE'LL GET TMC ADDRESSES!

https://www.ag.ny.gov/freedom-information-request-form-coop-condominium-hoa-and-time-share-plans?wssl=1

They may or may not respond with a request for payment. I have NO idea how many pages a list of owners would be. If we ALL send requests, they Will take notice, however.

Also Important! Please remember that we all have Powers of Attorney filed giving TMC under both the Timeshare Board and Condominium Board the right to do whatever they want. Check your paperwork or your deed on NYC ACRIS if you can't find these copies. We were tricked into signing based on, in our case, "We just need this to correct any paperwork so you don't have to come back into NYC to sign corrections."

Does anyone know HOW to remove these POA's so we have to be advised of any and all changes?

Thanks Corinne

.

I was told that the POA was necessary for TMC to take care of paying taxes on my behalf.

I foolishly fell for that story; nevertheless I believe that was out and out fraud.

.

We need to know what information we can access and plan what information we request. There are several TMC owners with expert legal knowledge on these proceedings. I suggest we ask for their counsel on Freedom of Information Act requests pertinent to the AG's investigation to optimize our efforts.

Here is the contact info I used for my Freedom of Information Act request on The Manhattan Club for the New York State Attorney General's Office:

New York State Attorney General’s Office Freedom of Information Act Request Attention: Juanita France 120 Broadway 23rd Floor New York, New York 10271

I will check and make sure this info is still relevant and locate a phone number if I can. Irene Smalls

Hi Corrine,

Here is the contact information I used. Requests have to be in writing. I am checking to make sure this is the current info. I will update this info based on what I find.

Foil Request Juanita France 212 416 8101 l Foil Freedom of Information

Irene Smalls

irenes93 wrote:

We need to know what information we can access and plan what information we request. There are several TMC owners with expert legal knowledge on these proceedings. I suggest we ask for their counsel on Freedom of Information Act requests pertinent to the AG's investigation to optimize our efforts.

Here is the contact info I used for my Freedom of Information Act request on The Manhattan Club for the New York State Attorney General's Office:

New York State Attorney General’s Office

Attention: Juanita France 120 Broadway 23rd Floor New York, New York 10271

I will check and make sure this info is still relevant and locate a phone number if I can. Irene Smalls

irene, in addition to your constructive suggestion re "Freedom of Information Act Request" i would hope that those ".... several TMC owners with expert legal knowledge on these proceedings..." come forward (with or without identification) and give us all some, perhaps legal-conjecture about consequences of our possible actions like not paying maintenance fees. that would be of great help to many of us. also, "We need to know what information we can access and plan what information we request. " other than the full list of current TMCNY owners, what other information do you suggest requesting and from whom?

chrisv126

Hello All,

Here is the updated information for Freedom of information requests from the New York Attorney General's Office. Tara McAnuff handles all requests now. Her number is: 212 416-8101. Emails are permissible. Here is the email to use: reffoil@ag.ny.gov

Here are the links:

ag.ny.gov/bureau/real-estate-finance-bureau

https://ag.ny.gov/freedom-information-request-form-coop-condominium-hoa-and-time-share-plans?wssl=1

Irene Smalls

I checked with an attorney on how to best use Freedom of Information Act Requests in regards to the Manhattan Club Scam Operation and the NY AG's ongoing investigation. There is an exemption from FOI requests for ongoing investigation info. Which means we can not use FOI to get info on an ongoing investigation—once the investigation is complete, we can get information—for now—only the stuff filed with the Court is public and subject to TMC owner's Freedom of Information Act Requests.

does anyone have any definitive information..............ANY INFORMATION, DEFINITIVE OR NOT, about the ag's investigation, information, lawsuit..................ANYTHING legal between the NYSAG AND TMCNY? it seems that even during the madoff investigation/lawsuit, there was news somewhere in most media every day; why is this case so different? the "NO NEW IS GOOD NEWS" simply doesn't work. we're all left in the dark about how we should proceed individually or as a group concerning all of our issues with the INFAMOUS MANHATTAN CLUB, and we need help NOW from mr schneiderman.

keep in touch,]

chris

irenes93 wrote:

I checked with an attorney on how to best use Freedom of Information Act Requests in regards to the Manhattan Club Scam Operation and the NY AG's ongoing investigation. There is an exemption from FOI requests for ongoing investigation info. Which means we can not use FOI to get info on an ongoing investigation—once the investigation is complete, we can get information—for now—only the stuff filed with the Court is public and subject to TMC owner's Freedom of Information Act Requests.

Here is the response I received from the AG's office in reference to a Freedom of Information Request for Manhattan Club documents.

Please be advised that your FOIL request is being denied because the list you seek is not maintained by our office, but rather is maintained by the court and, pursuant to New York Public Officers Law § 86(3), court records do not constitute agency records subject to disclosure under FOIL. Please note, however, that a list of court filings made in In re Inquiry by Eric T. Schneiderman (Eichner), Index No. 451536/2014 (Sup. Ct. New York Cnty.), is publicly available through the New York State Unified Court System’s website (available at https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcivil/FCASSearch).

An interesting side note: TMC owners 65 years or older are eligible for the New York State Department of Taxation and Revenue Basic STAR Tax Relief program on real property in New York State. Timeshares are considered real property. It amounts to up to a 25% reduction in real estate taxes on real property.

Submit Form RP-425 Application for School Tax Relief (STAR) Exemption to your local assessor. By signing the form, you are attesting that your income for the tax year referenced in Question #1 of the application form was below $500,000. (New York City and Nassau County residents please refer to the section below for the application and instructions)

http://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/property/star/apply.htm

irenes93 wrote:

An interesting side note: TMC owners 65 years or older are eligible for the New York State Department of Taxation and Revenue Basic STAR Tax Relief program on real property in New York State. Timeshares are considered real property. It amounts to up to a 25% reduction in real estate taxes on real property.

Submit Form RP-425 Application for School Tax Relief (STAR) Exemption to your local assessor. By signing the form, you are attesting that your income for the tax year referenced in Question #1 of the application form was below $500,000. (New York City and Nassau County residents please refer to the section below for the application and instructions)

http://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/property/star/apply.htm

I believe in order to qualify for the STAR exemption, the residence must be your primary residence (owner occupied).

janeth379 wrote:

I was told that the POA was necessary for TMC to take care of paying taxes on my behalf.

I foolishly fell for that story; nevertheless I believe that was out and out fraud.

janeth379, re the manhattan club, if you even think an action on their part is fraudulent, you can be quite sure IT IS!

keep in touch,

chris

almost every post in this recent redweek.com forum is interesting and constructive; however, there is NOTHING that i've read to date that offers owners anything to give us concrete information regarding our tenuous position as victims of the manhattan club. we still are being manipulated by the fraudulent manhattan club without a leg to stand on. NO DOUBT, the MC is savoring every second of our dilemma while they continue to increase our maintenance fees exorbitantly (dunning some of us in the process adding usurious late and other fees, since we haven't paid our maintenance fees, and that includes me.) the reservation process hasn't changed to our advantage as far as i know. so, short of not being able to make any further sales of shares, eichner and company are still doing what the attorney general has them in court for: literally stealing our money and not giving owners what they paid for. just how long is this going to continue? where do we go from here? WHY HASN'T ANYONE WITH LEGAL EXPERTISE (WITH OVER 18,000 SHAREOWNERS OF THE MANHATTAN CLUB) COME FORWARD EITHER ANONYMOUSLY OR WITH NAME DISCLOSED, HERE IN THIS REDWEEK.COM FORUM, OFFERING US SOUND LEGAL ADVICE AND SENSIBLE INTERPRETATION OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE AG'S/MANHATTAN CLUB LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. those of us with media and other public exposure experience should be using more vigorous measures to get information that we so sorely need.

HEY OWNERS, IS THE ENEMY SUCCEEDING? MY GUESS IS THAT THE ENEMY IS ON ITS WAY TO ITS WAYWARD, FRAUDULENT, SCHEMING GOALS, UNLESS WE CAN GET THE INFORMATION NEEDED TO STOP THEM. THE ENEMY ENJOYS WATCHING US SQUIRM KNOWING THAT THEY APPEAR TO HAVE US CAPTURED AND TURNED BACK AT EVERY "ESCAPE HATCH." (REMEMBER, WE CAN HARDLY EVEN GIVE OUR SHARES AWAY.....OUR SHARES IN ONE OF THE MOST DESIRABLE LOCATIONS IN MANHATTAN.) THERE ARE OTHER FRAUDULENT ENTITIES WHO WANT UP-FRONT MONEY.....OR A FEE.....TO "HELP" US TO BECOME RELIEVED OF OUR DEEDED RIGHTS TO OUR OWN PROPERTY. WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? UNLESS YOUR A BONA FIDE PHILANTHROPIST, YOU DON'T SIMPLY GIVE YOUR PROPERTY AWAY NEEDLESSLY.

keep in touch,

chris...............stepping down from his soapbox!