tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55384795505999801072009-07-07T05:33:25.127-07:00A fun look at the mad, mad, mad world of New York City Real EstateDavid Elgrablihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04483949754984553532noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-7748332952781957702008-10-13T10:18:00.000-07:002008-10-14T10:55:47.337-07:00

So you think you've seen the scariest the NYC real estate market has to offer? Then you ain't seen Chupi-cabra of the West Village! Why so scary? Let's just say it isn't blood from a goat that it's sucking...Something about the duplex and triplex luxury apartments in the Palazzo Chupi, the big pink unit artist/director-turned-architect Julian Schnabel erected on West 11th Street, has potential

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-76449762249265355712008-10-09T09:21:00.000-07:002008-10-14T10:53:11.927-07:00

On October 1, the New York Times effectively pronounced the NYC real estate market boom dead—dead, dead, dead. The exact time of death will certainly be contested as some industry insiders will continue to slam their fists against the market’s bruised chest shouting, “Live, damn you!” whereas others delivered their eulogies months ago. Nevertheless, everyone is hoping the postmortem will reveal

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-33597549415188029172008-09-30T18:23:00.000-07:002008-10-04T11:47:39.332-07:00

Nothing equalizes people like an infectious disease. Even the emotional wounds of a tumultuous love triangle can be soothed when all three scorned and pained lovers take a good look at one another and realize that they all have the same cold sore, just on opposite sides.Is it too far a stretch, then, to believe that the healing of the ailing New York City real estate market could begin with

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-60566278454411667342008-09-22T20:35:00.000-07:002008-09-27T10:09:49.149-07:00

In a city like New York, “underground” can mean a lot of good things: cutting edge music, avant guard art, exclusive happenings, and/or harmless fun of the illegal variety. When it comes to NYC apartments, however, “underground” is much more likely to mean: illegal sublet, mildew, powerful enemies (real and/or imagined), relapse, outstanding warrants, overgrown alligators, a career in the arts,

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-89046957185861955102008-09-09T10:27:00.000-07:002008-09-14T10:47:44.869-07:00

In recent months, even the most unflaggingly optimistic New York City real estate insiders have been finding it increasingly difficult to pass off the NYC real estate market’s symptoms of the property value pox devaluing the rest of the nation as an empathy pimple.As in medieval times, when hair-shirted Europeans flogged themselves to appease angry gods and hasten an end to the Black Death, many

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-65912453608749760342008-08-30T13:57:00.000-07:002008-09-01T13:26:41.650-07:00

When it comes to danger, without the threat of imminent natural disasters or even indigenous poisonous critters that many other major metropolitan areas of the US enjoy, for decades, crime was really all New York City ever had to make living here exhilarating in that death-defying sorta way.But now that the FBI has rated NYC America’s Safest Large City for several years running, your cozy

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-1630393718153469982008-08-29T13:45:00.000-07:002008-08-31T10:20:54.598-07:00

If the word “staycation” (“staying home” + “vacation”) were a person? By now it would probably be a chalk-outlined stain and peculiar odor on the doorstep of a NYC apartment building where the neighbors didn’t see or hear nothing. And if you happen to be one of the 36% of New Yorkers forced to postpone or cancel this summer's travel plans due to high gas prices and the weak dollar, I wouldn't

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-62313920146961970532008-08-18T18:08:00.001-07:002008-08-30T15:42:32.518-07:00

Few NYC apartment dwellers can probably recollect being more nostalgic for the “bad old days” of the violence- and vice-ridden Brooklyn waterfront than when they heard MTV would be installing the The Real World’s ragtag cast of equal opportunity racist, sexist, and homophobic moppets in a renovated luxury apartment on Red Hook’s Pier 41. But walling off the drunken twenty-somethings in a

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-10006883428233926462008-08-01T13:13:00.000-07:002008-12-09T21:41:26.605-08:00

Without a doubt, the hot topic for July has been the speculation about meaning of the second quarter market reports, which--like the first quarter--showed that NYC real estate prices are at a record high, but sales are down from this time last year.If that isn't a mixed message, then what the heck is or isn't it? Is NYC just some sort of conceited jerk real estate market? Or has it been hurt

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-28015276832162687122008-07-17T15:20:00.000-07:002008-12-09T21:41:26.781-08:00

Yep, a New York City heat wave’s truly amazing ability to turn all forms of matter—animal, vegetable, mineral, gaseous (I’m looking right at YOU, gaseous!)—sticky, stinky, and angry should have earned it an honorary Law of Thermodynamics all its own by now. But until that day when every physics textbook is rewritten, only those who’ve experienced soaring temperatures in virtually any NYC

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-40870212786942763472008-07-06T13:52:00.000-07:002008-07-29T19:51:27.159-07:00

Jonathan Prager is a funny guy—“ha-ha” and “strange.” A professional comedian and singer, Prager admits to the New York Times:“I’m sensitive to noise, emotions, electromagnetic vibrations. You name it, I’m sensitive to it.”And while navigating the NYC real estate market is never easy, and any single horse in Prager’s personal trifecta of pathos could make finding the downtown Manhattan apartment

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-91012269985696764022008-06-29T19:37:00.000-07:002008-07-19T16:38:29.224-07:00

If you’re relocating to New York City for the first time or simply moving from one NYC neighborhood to another, you might find yourself wondering whether you will be leaving the good times behind you forever…But fear not! You can’t throw a rock in any NYC neighborhood without having an even bigger rock hurled right back at you! And, if that’s not your idea of a good time, then you’ll be glad to

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-48941357444413820292008-06-19T15:03:00.000-07:002008-07-19T16:35:51.035-07:00

If you’ve been playing the blood sport that is NYC real estate for more than a nanosecond, you’ve probably already learned—the painful way—that the most indispensable piece of protective equipment you’ll need to stay upright in the field is a big, steel-reinforced cup. But once you’ve got that essential bit of armor strapped snugly over your tender emotions, you can calibrate your priorities to

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-27579337115930972622008-03-03T06:59:00.000-08:002008-07-19T16:34:07.007-07:00

If you’re doing it right, your search for a new home should take you through NYC neighborhoods you probably never visited before. If the very thought of the ground you’ll be covering exhausts you, just be glad you’ll be slogging your way through a city as rich in sounds and sights as New York.Depending on the neighborhood, you’re likely to hear a wide array of accented English. Keep an ear out

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-67483834806257954792008-03-02T17:36:00.000-08:002008-07-19T16:51:52.793-07:00

Despite the uncertainty in the real estate market elsewhere in the country, the New York Post reports that a number of buildings in NYC are offering perky perks and sweet, sweet swag to tempt potential buyers to indulge.Some buildings allow buyers to charge their down payments on their American Express cards, which can translate into all sorts of goodies through reward points. Said one flushed

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-8215135076092669492008-03-02T12:01:00.000-08:002008-07-19T16:53:18.727-07:00

Residents of the most fashionable, high-end NYC apartments have made an art of being unimpressed by the celebrities next door, even when the inevitable hijinks ensue.After all, enduring the deranged shrieking of a high-profile nervous breakdown or stepping over the burnt-out candle stubs and puckered photographs of an impromptu shrine are minor inconveniences when compared to the sharp increase

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-46628890828967153682008-03-01T18:55:00.000-08:002008-07-19T16:54:13.520-07:00

Bone Homes [TV]Exclusive photo of the two human femurs uncovered last month that brought the Washington Square Park renovations to a bone-grinding halt.Home Bones [NYM]Last year, New York Magazine published these shots of NYC apartments and spaces, true diamonds-in-the-rough. Totally worth another look--just the beautiful tonic for anyone battling real estate fatigue.No Guts, No Glory! [NYP]

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-48900678253813900852008-03-01T14:11:00.000-08:002008-09-22T08:13:38.630-07:00

Sorry, Leigh-Taylor Smith, aka "Miss Brooklyn" 2008, but there is no NYC neighborhood or borough called “Whateversville” in the middle of the East River, you either live in Brooklyn, or you don't—and you don't. Ms. Smith tells the Daily News:“I’m only one stop away [from Brooklyn]…”NYC Geography 101: "One stop away from Brooklyn" is not Brooklyn. It is one stop away from Brooklyn. In Ms. Smith’s

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-4286518975046243592008-03-01T08:27:00.000-08:002008-08-12T09:43:58.227-07:00

Unelected, but somehow anointed “East Village Mascot,” Parker Posey, just traded in her final shred of bohemian street cred when she sold her 1845 brownstone on East 10th Street and purchased a “big girl”, one-bedroom co-op on Fifth Avenue.Ms. Posey’s relocation, might confirm some observers’ belief that—despite her prolific career in low-budget, independent films in the early- and

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-32368058334383418642008-02-15T20:25:00.000-08:002008-12-09T21:41:27.507-08:00

"The Bowery" was once synonymous with the natural habitat for intoxicated ne'er-do-wells whose rich language and traditions and legendary hospitality toward outsiders were celebrated in the lyrics of a popular ditty:The Bow'ry, the Bow'ryThey say such things and they do strange things,On the Bow'ry! The Bow'ry!I'll never go there any more.-"The Bowery", by Charles H. Hoyt and Percy GauntIn the

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-4223324949952323992008-02-15T14:41:00.000-08:002008-08-20T13:27:55.931-07:00

Ok, picture this: a creepy little guy surrounded by porno mags and skin-flicks he "produced" himself, living steps from playgrounds and schools in a double-wide with a leaky roof... Hey, come back here! Did I say "picture Florida?"Nope, that would be New York City rainwater pouring through the roof of Bob Guccione's 22,000 square foot double-wide Penthouse--I mean, combined townhouses--and

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-65218037963969617642008-02-11T11:02:00.000-08:002008-07-19T17:00:52.183-07:00

Now that she is comfortably settled in her sweet-deal-of-a-one-bedroom in Brooklyn Heights, actress-turned-interior designer, Catherine Brophy, tells the New York Times that it was her unique ability to sense the feng shui, or the flow of energy through the apartments she saw during her hunt that guided her to her present gem.“[The apartment she sought] had to have the perfect energy and good

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-30222705169788540192008-02-11T10:49:00.000-08:002008-07-19T17:01:40.603-07:00

“Is Gossip Girl Dangerous?” queried the New York Observer’s Tom Acitelli of the CW television program, a mere nano-second before supplying his own foam-flecked “Yes” to the deceptively rhetorical-appearing question.I didn't want to write this about the CW show Gossip Girl, but I feel I have to before it's too late.Yikes! Does it preach hatred and intolerance? Does it encourage violence, drug use,

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-42406005976574530732008-02-11T10:41:00.000-08:002008-08-20T13:25:39.755-07:00

Now that your Super Bowl party is going to last all year long, it’s never been more important to consider the impact of all those wings-sauce stained paper napkins and red plastic beer cups on the great planet that brought you the great NY Giants: yep, Mother Earth!Some websites have really super tips on how you can throw an eco-friendly Super Bowl party that your friends will think is on the

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538479550599980107.post-28453653394849772172008-02-11T10:26:00.000-08:002008-07-19T17:05:54.003-07:00

While real estate firms are reporting that apartment prices topped record highs in 2007, some critics claim these dollar-based values belie Manhattan properties’ actual, plummeting value as measured in secret buried treasure. In an article appearing in the NY Sun, Julie Satow reports:None of the reports from the real estate industry values the apartments in gold, but the gold value of apartments

Yanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199151435594396052noreply@blogger.com0