Posted by Leonard Steinberg on March 7th, 2014 Today the Euro is trading around 1.39 to the dollar and the pound about 1.67, making New York increasingly ‘cheaper’ for the global rich who have grown in numbers over the last year as the world’s economies expand. Those Ultra High Net Worth Individuals whose combined assets… [Read More]
AVENUES SCHOOL SOLD?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on March 6th, 2014 Rumors swirling that AVENUES SCHOOL has been sold to the Fisher Family (THE GAP)? And they are adding space!
ART AND REAL ESTATE
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on March 6th, 2014 The Art Shows are in town and the next few days in Manhattan will be verrrrry art-focused. As always, the art crowd at the Armory Show were quite ‘arty’, mostly adorned from head-to-toe in black with seriously serious conversation the order of the day. I enjoy looking… [Read More]
THE NEW YORK BUILDING BOOM IS BACK!
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on March 4th, 2014 If you thought every block in New York was experiencing construction, you are right: the word on HOUSING PERMITS is in and it indicates a return to pre-recessionary construction levels. The combined number of New York City housing construction permits jumped 71% last year, even though the… [Read More]
LUXOFLATION: THE WORLD JUST TUNED IN
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on March 3rd, 2014 The World has finally caught onto what I have been talking about for years – LUXOFLATION – the excessive inflation on luxury products, including real estate. In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, an article addresses the subject specifically related to retail. Despite expanding into new markets, the… [Read More]
5 INSANE DOUBLE STANDARDS
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on March 1st, 2014 Here are some crazy double standards to ponder….. 1) NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden has sought refuge in Russia (the world’s shining bastion for human rights) from the abusive horrors of the US spying on its citizens…..while Mr. Putin boasted during the Sochi Olympics that every e-mail, text and phone call… [Read More]
NEW YORK ROAD RAGE
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on February 27th, 2014 We have all complained about the condition of our New York roads before, but at times we may have felt we were whining: we were not. Its really that bad according to a new report released by TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based national transportation organization. Have you ever driven… [Read More]
REAL ESTATE TAX LAWSUIT: DEBLASIO’S PARK SLOPE PAYS LOWEST TAX
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on February 27th, 2014 In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, Josh Barbanel writes about a class-action lawsuit launched posing a constitutional challenge to New York City’s complicated property-tax system, a formula that has mystified skyscraper owners and renters for a generation. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303801304579407651052464532?mod=WSJ_NY_MIDDLETopStories&mg=reno64-wsj It is charged that the system unfairly affects blacks and… [Read More]
THE COST OF OBESITY
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on February 26th, 2014 So many New Yorkers were outraged by Mayor Bloomberg’s efforts to curb obesity by posting nutritional and caloric content with all foods sold (now a world-wide trend), limiting the size of sugary sodas, banning trans-fats, etc. They said he was being too invasive with people’s ‘rights’, yet… [Read More]
THE COLD STATE OF HOUSING
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on February 25th 2014 Has the success of the housing market in the past few years been a result of ultra-cheap money and artificial demand because REIT’s and investors have bought large swaths of housing stock? Housing starts in the U.S. dropped in January by the most in almost 3 years as… [Read More]