Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 10th, 2013 Founder of LULULEMON Chip Wilson said the unthinkable the other day: he suggested that those stretchy see-through-ish yoga pants were not for all body types: HOW DARE HE! Obviously some of his production delivered excessively sheer product, for which he apologized. Its not enough. It seems everyone… [Read More]
THE QUEST FOR ULTRA-PRIVACY
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 8th, 2013 We just listed a rather exceptional penthouse on Hubert Street in Tribeca at the brand new pre-war conversion 250 West Street that boasts a feature very few buildings can provide: ultra-privacy. The penthouse is accessed via a private drive-in drop-off entrance……from there you enter a completely dedicated… [Read More]
MAYOR-ELECT DE BLASIO AND TAXES: THE REALITY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 6th, 2013 Its official: Bill de Blasio is the mayor-elect of New York City. Getting elected was relatively easy, but now its down to work. He is smart enough to know that botching Bloomberg’s successes will almost certainly lead to a fiscal mess and prevent the very things that… [Read More]
HUGE TAX REDUCTION COMING FOR THE HOLIDAYS! IS OPEC THE FED?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 4th, 2013 On Good Morning America this morning a big news item was about gas prices plummeting, closer to $ 3/gallon. When the correspondent was asked why, the answer was somewhat disturbing to me…. she said it was because the economy was not doing that well and this would be… [Read More]
NEW YORK REAL ESTATE TAX MESS EXAMPLES
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 4th, 2013 This week’s Olshan Report showcases 23 properties that went to contract in the past week over $ 4million….including a 2013 record for the penthouse at 212 West 18th Street. While the pricing of these properties may be impressive, what is even more so is the huge disparity… [Read More]
LUXURYLETTER IN TODAYS NEW YORK TIMES!
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 3rd, 2013 LUXURYLETTER De Blasio editorial in this morning’s New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/nyregion/reconsidering-view-of-de-blasio-as-threat-to-the-wealthy.html
FLOOD WALLS: AN EXCELLENT MEASURE AGAINST FUTURE STORMS
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 30th, 2013 After Sandy, many buildings decided that as part of their preparedness for future flood damage they would install flood walls: well, here is one being erected in Manhattan as a test showing just how large and strong these walls really are. These massive barriers are designed to… [Read More]
MASS SURVEILLANCE: MASS STUPIDITY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 26th, 2013 The world is AGHAST at the revelations that the US has been monitoring phone calls and e-mails across the globe, as if spying and intelligence gathering were something very new to our planet. The Germans (with their deep history of isolation?)are especially perturbed about this subject: really???… [Read More]
THE HIGH END TEAR-DOWN
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 27th, 2013 A report released recently shows that many houses in the Hampton’s are being torn down again to be replaced by much larger ones, fueled by a very strong high end market. I have often heard buyers of old dilapidated houses wishing they had torn down the old… [Read More]
MULTIPLE BIDS FOR WEST VILLAGE APARTMENT
Posted on October 26th, 2013 A rather nice apartment with a large terrace located at 99 Jane Street, designed originally by CookFox architects to be a rental building, came on the market last week for $8 million. By the end of the week, a contract was signed after multiple bids for shy of $10 million……about 25% over the asking… [Read More]