Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 30th, 2011 We have covered this subject before in LUXURYLETTER: Manhattan and New York City sidewalks are constantly covered with hideous, unsightly construction sheds and scaffolding. Always dark, somewhat sketchy, and often covered with graffiti, the sheds leave much to be desired, which is why the Department of Buildings… [Read More]
ARE WE ALL GUILTY OF SEVERE HYPOCRISY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 23rd, 2011 Are we all too quick to pass judgement without taking a long hard look in the mirror? This week saw two amazing instances of mass judgement: Firstly, everyone everywhere, especially in the press, voiced their OUTRAGE at Rupert Murdoch and his organization’s hacking misdeeds….of course, NONE of… [Read More]
SILICON VALLEY’S DAYS NUMBERED? TECH IS COMING TO NEW YORK!
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 19, 2011 In another strong attempt to spur business growth in the New York area, forward thinking (not-focused-on-re-election) Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced details today of a request for “universities near and far” to submit proposals to build or expand a science and engineering campus in the city—a project he… [Read More]
GRIDLOCK HIGH TECH COMES TO MANHATTAN: MAN vs. TECH
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 19, 2011 The traffic clogged heart of Manhattan is getting a state-of-the-art bypass operation — with city engineers now directing Midtown traffic flow by typing a few keys in a Queens control room. Mayor Bloomberg yesterday launched the first-of-its-kind, real-time, congestion-busting system, which allows the engineers to control traffic lights… [Read More]
WEST CHELSEA’S FUTURE AS AN ARTS CENTER?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 15, 2011 The question arose this week (and many times before) about the future of West Chelsea as an Arts Center: will West Chelsea go the way of Soho? Will Gagosian become the Gap? Will Prada replace Paula Cooper? Chanel replace Cheim & Reid? “The biggest difference between Soho’s… [Read More]
SPELLING MANSION SELLS + CLOSES
Most expensive US house closes.
NEW YORK CONSTRUCTION COSTS/ECONOMY SET TO RISE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 8th, 2011 The past few weeks have been a hive of activity with developers snapping up development sites throughout the city: yes, the new development market is waking up and it is waking up with a LOUD BANG. These are some of the projects in the pipeline: The Drake… [Read More]
MORE BANKER FOLLY…..OR THE SIGNS OF HOPE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 4th, 2011 Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co have started modifying tens of thousands of mortgages where the banks deem the loans especially risky, even if the borrowers have not asked, the New York Times reported yesterday. In some cases, the banks are slashing the amount… [Read More]
SO WHATS SO GREAT ABOUT USA REAL ESTATE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 4th weekend, 2011 As we pause in the middle of the year I reflect on what is great about the USA, and specifically what is so great about American real estate. Here is my list: 1) You don’t have to know the royals to build something: Unlike… [Read More]
TOY BUILDING SELLS – WITKOFF IS THE WINNING BIDDER
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 30th, 2011 The Witkoff Group won in the bidding for the Toy Building, the Madison Square Park landmark once slated to be condominiums by developer Yitzhak Tessler. Supposedly the bidding was fierce with competitive bidders S.L. Green and Macklowe losing out on the purchase of this magnificent structure that… [Read More]