Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 4th 2014 Did you notice during the snowstorm how poorly the streets in Manhattan had been plowed? Mayor de Blasio proudly exclaimed in a press conference that Queens and Brooklyn and the outer boroughs were the focus of City snow plows: is the TALE OF TWO CITIES that he so vehemently… [Read More]
DEAR MR. DE BLASIO: WHY ARE BROOKLYN’S REAL ESTATE TAXES SO MUCH LOWER THAN MANHATTAN’S?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on September 26th, 2013 With Brooklyn pricing on the rise (Dumbo and Brooklyn heights are now two of the costliest New york neighborhoods), and Brooklyn’s infrastructure looking awfully similar to Manhattan’s (and in many areas much better), why are their real estate taxes so much lower than Manhattan’s? Is Bill de… [Read More]
TREES SPROUT EVERYWHERE IN MANHATTAN
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 11th, 2013 Which bird made this tree sprout out of the side of a midtown New York building?
BUSHWICK WAS HOT THIS WEEKEND: AP CAFE OPENS ON TROUTMAN
Posted on June 2nd, 2013 Bushwick, the uber-cool artists neighborhood a few stops past Williamsburg on the ‘L’ train, sweltered in the heat this weekend with an Artist’s open studio event. Hundreds of artists opened their studio doors to visitors……and while it was hot outside, it was even hotter inside. There certainly was some wonderful… [Read More]
WHAT IS MIDDLE CLASS IN MAHATTAN?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 20th, 2013 The New York Times did an interesting piece this weekend trying to answer the question: What is MIDDLE CLASS in Manhattan? The answer remains muddied. In a city where the cost of housing overwhelms all other costs, where you live and how much you are paying for… [Read More]
ARE THE CURRENT TAX LAWS UN-CONSTITUTIONAL?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on December 18th, 2012 While Washington debates what is rich in the USA (we are up to $ 400k/year now….thats rich with 2 kids in Manhattan?), without any adjustment made for cost of living for the city you live in, no-one seems to want to address the dirty truth of how… [Read More]
WALKER TOWER $50m PENTHOUSE FINDS A $ 95m BUYER: RUMOR OR REALITY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on September 17th, 2012 Rumor has it that the $ 50 million penthouse at 212 West 18th Street (Walker Tower) has gone to contract with a rather rich oil+gas guy from Texas…..and the rumor goes further ….that he combined additional units to make a $ 95m combination penthouse. If this rumor is true, this… [Read More]
THIS IS WHAT LIES UNDERNEATH NEW YORK
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 24th, 2012 This is what Manhattan is built on…..the picture above shows chunks of granite that were blasted out of the basement of a townhouse being renovated and shows just how intensely solid the foundation of a good chunk of Manhattan is. It is also a message about how… [Read More]
COUNTRY-WIDE REAL ESTATE MARKETS EXPLODE: A RUSSIAN INVASION?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 20th, 2012 As news broke this week that the Thomas Juul Hansen designed penthouse at One 57 (157 West 5th Street) sold for around $ 90 million, a new record for New York City real estate pricing, I am in California observing other markets. And all I can hear… [Read More]
MEDIA INACCURACIES – IS IT GETTING WORSE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 8th, 2012 Is the media in its attempts to remain profitable in a digital world diminishing in accuracy? NBC highlighted this phenomenon this week with the Trayvon Martin shooting. With fewer staff and less time to report accurately and check facts, and with so much information out there, I… [Read More]