Conde Nast is in the final stages of negotiating its new office space lease in the new World Trade Center building….this means if you see a fabulously rail-thin figure hiding behind a Birkin bag, power-walking in a southerly direction, it may just turn out to be Anna Wintour, the empress of Vogue, who will officially… [Read More]
NEW YORK HAS THE MOST MILLIONAIRES, BUT….
In to-days Wall Street Journal, a tally is made of the number of millionaires (those with at least $ 1million in investable assets) in the major cities of the US: New York ranks #1, and has almost as many millionaires as Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington and San Francisco…combined! The number grew almost 19% in 2009. BUT, $ 1million… [Read More]
ARCHITECTURE SHIFT: IS THE GLASS BOX TREND OVER?
“New Yorkers may be burnt out on glass buildings,” architect James Carpenter said in a recent New York Times article. With over more than 30 years as a glass artist, he is now more focused on using the material not as mere enclosure, but as a tool for manipulating light. The debate still rages on… [Read More]
JOB CREATION IN NEW YORK CITY BEATS REST OF US.
CRAIN’s reports: After more than a year in which Greenhouse IT couldn’t land a single sales meeting, the company has finally gotten its foot in the door at city businesses over the past three months to pitch its workstation, server and network-management services. “The good news is, companies are ready to talk,” says Simon… [Read More]
WATCH OUR SUB-ZERO: HERE’S THE NEXT CHIC APPLIANCE!
First it was granite counters, then stainless professional appliances, ESPECIALLY a Sub Zero fridge, then Crestron sound system, and so on and so on….: Could the latest-greatest amenity for you home be the car charger? What about this ultra-sleek-apple-chic charger from GE? Designed by Yves Behar, we think it looks great. With Tesla a publicly… [Read More]
BLACKPAD AND I-PAD: HOME AUTOMATION AND BROKERAGE CHANGE FOREVER:
With Research in Motion’s announcement today that they are developing a similar device to Apple’s I-Pad, we should feel certain that home automation and real estate brokerage will more than likely be entirely controlled by these devices going forward. And why not? Unlike cell phones, the larger screen is much easier to read, and much… [Read More]
CHARLIE RANGEL AND RENT CONTROL
While aggressive evictions are reducing the number of rent-stabilized apartments in New York, Representative Charles B. Rangel enjoys 4 of them, including 3 adjacent units on the 16th floor overlooking Upper Manhattan in a building owned by one of New York’s premier real estate developers. The Harlem building where Representative Charles B. Rangel has four rent-stabilized units…. [Read More]
BIGGEST NEW YORK BIDDING WAR OF 2010
The MANHATTAN BIDDING WAR has returned: Carlos Slim, reportedly the wealthiest man in the world, just won a bidding war on the Duke Semans Mansion at 1009 Fifth Avenue in New York City. His winning bid of $44 million outbid a Russian bidder whose bid was around $37 million. This is the largest multiple bid sale of 2010, and an… [Read More]
THE JUMBO IS BA-ACK!
In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, it is reported that New York and the rest of the country, is experiencing the return of the JUMBO MORTGAGE…..Not long ago, many big banks were turning away New Yorkers seeking jumbo mortgages. This summer, however, banks are competing for the business, creating a wealth of new products and… [Read More]
THE ROLLER COASTER DECADE – LUXURLETTER EDITORIAL
THE ROLLER COASTER DECADE It is becoming increasingly apparent that we live in turbulent times: the see-sawing we are experiencing in markets (and life in general) appear more acute and exaggerated these days, and I fear we have entered a decade of constant ups and downs. With every bit of good news that emerges, so… [Read More]