I am involved with contractual negotiations on a daily basis, even though in New York real estate contracts are handled by lawyers. In most real estate contracts, certain obligations have to be met by both sides, and failing to do so has consequences. Maybe its time for this type of Contract with America, as opposed to the BS political pandering and promises that seemingly have no consequences except for the (slight) possibility of being voted out of office……think Charlie Rangel.

The Right says we should cut taxes and decrease spending:  why not draft a contract that does these things…..but this time do so with specific consequences?  What if the Right are actually correct on this front and lowering taxes and cutting spending is indeed the solution to our huge deficits, unemployment and slow growth? Why not agree to a 2 year contract/window of opportunity whereby corporate taxes and income taxes are lowered and spending is cut……then, if after 2 years, the economic growth, unemployment figures and deficit do not improve by mutually acceptable, pre-negotiated numbers, those who received the tax breaks have to pay back all their tax savings….with interest. Just like most contracts?

Similar contracts could also be drafted whereby any corporation that hires outside of the USA instead of inside the USA loses all its tax breaks automatically?

Maybe gay marriages should indeed be banned if the American family starts to disintegrate because of gay marriage……although surely that disintegration started many decades ago without the assistance of gay marriage?

Why is it that all of us have to live by contractual obligations but politicians do not? Its time for us to rectify a broken system, and maybe if everyone had to put their money where their mouths are, we could start to resolve the bigger issues?

Who says government has to be the sole driving force for change? Coca-Cola, Nike, and more than 30 other companies have cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 100 million metric tons since 1999 under a partnership agreement with the World Wildlife Fund, according to a new report: That’s twice as much as the current annual emissions of the entire country of Switzerland! Her in New York City, everywhere you look you can see tangible evidence of the same thing:  Natural gas-powered and hybrid busses (largest fleet in the US), hybrid cabs (and cars), buildings switching from dirty oil-burning boilers to natural gas, a greater focus on energy-efficient lightbulbs…..and the list goes on. Yes, government has fueled this in many ways, but more importantly it is evidence that government and industry can produce magic when they work together in harmony.

The companies are part of the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers program, in which companies partner with WWF and set targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The targets must be more ambitious than previous goals set by the company and should place companies ahead of their competitors in reducing emissions. WWF provides guidance to partner companies on ways to reduce their carbon footprint and address climate change. Other members include HP, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Lafarge, National Geographic, Natura, Nokia Siemens Networks, Novo Nordisk, Sprint, Tetra Pak, Sony, Supervalu, and Volvo.

New York by its very nature actually produces one of the lowest carbon footprints per person because of the high-rise nature of the city (stacked housing is much more efficient that individual houses), high reliance on public transportation. The average New Yorker produces about a third (7.1 tonnes) of the emissions that an average US citizen produces. New York City accounts for only 1% of United States greenhouse gas emissions while housing 2.7% of its population.  The average American is responsible for 19.8 tonnes per person, and the average Chinese citizen clocks in at 4.6 tonnes. The average British citizen is 9.7, although Australia clocks in at over 20 because of its reliance on coal for energy. Surprisingly, energy affluent countries in the Middle East such as thr UAE and Bahrain produce over 30 tonnes per person!

Mayor Bloomberg wants to cut emssions by 30% by 2030: So where does real estate come into all of this? The biggest gains are to be made in making buildings more efficient as they produce almost 80% of our emissions. Already LEED certification has become an item of prestige when buying in a new building. Tighter insulation (good windows), removing leaky window AC units, converting buildings to clean burning natural gas, solar or wind powered heating and cooling, improving the efficiency of all vehicles, both consumer and commercial, installing high tech energy managment systems, green roofs will all play a big part.  Already, the average New Yorker consumes less than half of the electricity of someone who lives in San Francisco and nearly one-quarter the electricity consumed by someone who lives in Dallas.

And why should we care? Not only is this good for our health, which could reduce the need for healthcare, but from an economic standpoint, reduced spending on energy, allows more money to flow into the economy for other things.

Now if only we could eliminate those pesky smokers who pollute the sidewalks of Manhattan with their disgusting habit…..have you noticed how they only inhale about 20% of the smoke they create?  The remaining 80% is blown into our faces, or left to ooze out of their dirty cigarettes for all of us to inhale…..

A few days after the Occupy Wall Streeters protested economic inequality in May Day rallies across the U.S.A, a study has concluded that the ability to become rich may depend on where you live….and New York is at the top of that list!
Residents of three East Coast states — Maryland, New Jersey and New York — were the most likely to move up the earnings ladder from the bottom and the least likely to fall from the top, according to a study released by Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonpartisan research organization based in Washington. Louisiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina had the worst prospects for so-called economic mobility.

CVS is coming to the corner of Tenth Avenue and 23rd Street in the new Sam Zell rental building. This ends rumors that a Citarella was coming. While a CVS is certainly not a Citarella, I do think its addition to the neighborhood is extremely useful: Right now West Chelsea residents have to walk quite a distance for a CVS-type store…..and those visiting the HIGHLINE PARK will find it even more useful. Thankfully Forrager’s came to 22nd Street and Eighth Avenue!

Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani — prime minister of the oil-rich Persian Gulf nation of Qatar — was rejected in his $31.5 million attempts to buy a pair of 907 Fifth Avenue apartments once owned by the recently deceased eccentric heiress Huguette Clark. Although boards have no obligation to reveal the reasons for their decision, rumor has it that the building shuddered at the thought of the Sheik’s diplomatic immunity, the many children he planned on housing there, not to mention the costly and time-consuming mammoth combination renovation required. The Sheik should not feel badly: board rejections are something all are used to in the crazy New York real estate market…..it has happened to even the whitest wasps!

Do buildings of this ilk prefer creepy doll collections over kid collections? Does Copper trump oil? Maybe Sheik is simply not chic enough for Fifth Avenue……

The Monarch butterflies have landed at the HUDSON RIVER PARK. ….but aren’t they supposed to come in June? Yesterday while strolling down the park I witnessed thousands of these magnificent butterflies scattered over the magical lavender-colored beds of Catmint, New York’s equivalent to Provence’s lavender. Were they really Monarch’s or are they the impostors disguised as Monarch’s who know how birds avoid eating them?

Every year the monarch makes a long journey thousands of miles south to escape the harsh winters of the North. The monarch butterfly begins its migration in September and travels for 30-45 days. Monarchs originating east of the Rocky Mountains and as far north as Canada make their way to the quiet, cool mountains of the Transvolcanic Region in central Mexico, about 60 miles west of Mexico City in the state of Michoacan. Migrating monarchs can be observed along the City’s beaches and coastal parks. Monarchs from New York City travel as much as 2,100 miles, averaging 50 miles a day, to reach their destination by the end of October. Resting in the chilly treetops, the butterflies hibernate for four months, covering oyamel fir trees (Abies religiosa) in thick layers that resemble black and orange leaves. During this period, the monarchs sit quietly with their wings folded, living off of fat reserves.

When the weather warms, usually in March, the monarchs come out of hibernation and mate. After mating, they begin their return trip to the southern USA. There they lay their eggs on milkweed plants and die, entrusting their offspring to fend for themselves. The milkweed is an important food source for monarch caterpillars. As the larvae gorge themselves on the leaves, they accumulate the milkweed’s toxic cardiac glycosides and become poisonous to birds and other predators.

After about a month of feeding, the caterpillars pupate and metamorphose into adults. The adult monarchs continue the journey north and also lay eggs. By late June, the third generation of monarchs reaches New York City, but this year they arrived in EARLY MAY. What exactly does this mean? This fourth-generation spends its time storing energy from nectar so they can make the long journey to Mexico in September. Will they leave later this year?

Ah, the joys of observing nature at its best in the park Downtown New York never thought possible.

Yesterday was one of those rare and wonderful days where I could take off some time in the afternoon to enjoy a CITY DAY: I met a good friend for lunch at Jean Georges (exquisitely renovated in ONE week – all contractors and designers take note – by the inimitable Thomas Juul Hansen). Then it was a leisurely walk past the stores of Time Warner to the Museum of Arts and Design, one of my favorites.

After taking in some rather remarkable works involving dust, dirt, glass, ceramics and more, we strolled along Central Park South, and thats when things turned ugly…… firstly we stopped into an ‘Art Gallery’, presumably one catering to the new-rich-lottery-winner or tourist-with-big-cash: several of the garish works of ‘art’ appeared to have been constructed with the same sparkly Michael’s MJ Designs puff paint that the ‘artist’s’ Mom’s had used on her home made T-shirts. It made me yearn for my wonderful West Chelsea 24th Street block jam-packed with some truly great art. Then it was on to the Plaza, where a new Men’s boutique has opened, Angelo Galasso. Does this exquisitely appointed store only cater to super-rich fat Russians or any tacky Guido who wishes to differentiate themselves from the masses with layers of Alligator and excessively detailed fine Milanese tailoring? The excess was blinding.

Exiting the Plaza, walking past the layers of glitzy Bentley’s, Ferraris and the kind of cars people notice, we walked past Bergdorf Goodman. The windows at Van Cleef & Arpels were littered with large, abrasive watches embellished with diamonds, colored stones, snakeskin and possibly every other deign thought all planned to be caked onto the wrist of whom…..Snooki?  It was at that moment that I realized the world is being Snookified. After that it had become obvious how so much of the retail world was showcasing product whose design teams were obviously in some way beholding to the JERSEY SHORE ESTHETIC, something that has seeped into design culture in the most horrible way. Some of the most refined stores were definitely being influenced by these new Kardashianesque Reality TV ‘style icons’. UGH!

We settled at the Peninsula for tea, a wonderful haven from the throngs of tourists who obviously came to our little town to buy a piece of Snookiville, whether on Fifth Avenue or Canal Street (they are beginning to look rather similar!). Picking up the Financial Times, I read a story how the BRIC countries’ esthetic may start influencing the West. They have already, but lots of the jazzy, flashy, tacky, massive-wrist-watch-culture we are seeing can proudly be attributed to our own cultural icons. And how will this impact New York real estate? My friend pointed out how a good volume of the people buying this tacky crap usually don’t save their pennies and rather buy things they can easily display such as watches and cars….

Just like a virus, Snooki is in our system and I’m afraid, she ain’t leaving soon.

When Warren Buffet speaks, I listen: To-day he said the tepid economic US growth is directly related to the housing market. The minute construction picks up, so too will the economy as construction fuels job growth and spending. Right now I am aware of several thousand new apartments in advanced planning stages for New York: construction has either just started or is about to begin. That means unemplyment will drop and the New York economy should improve noticeably over the course of the next 12 months…..

Mayday celebrations re-kindled the fuel of Occupy Wall Streeters to-day and it made me wonder:  Is Western society becoming more socialist in its thinking while traditional communist countries embrace capitalism?

China, Russia, Georgia and other traditionally communist countries are thriving with a capitalist spirit that is elevating millions out of poverty with economic growth that outstrips all expectations. Obviously corruption is rampant, although that has certainly not escaped Western-style capitalism. Yet here in the good ‘ole USA we see a larger group of people yearning for somewhat socialist principles, especially a large group of the Occupy Wall Streeters. Just like the Tea Party, they are a mixed group, so no-one should label them with one train of thought. Groups of this kind always attract extremist radicals (the curse of our planet) that muddy the message.

Government employment keeps rising. Frustration with the system ‘not providing enough’ keeps growing. We all scratch our heads why job-growth is slow, yet blind ourselves to the fact that there is massive job creation for US companies….but in other countries. The young educated graduates are outraged that there are no jobs for them, even though their qualifications and education have not prepared them for this new world order driven by math and science. We simply don’t like to accept hard truths. We expect to receive the exact same retirement benefits planned 50 years ago when life expectancy was considerably lower. We are surprised by Apple’s massive profits, only to discover that a good chunk of their profits are derived by (legal) tax evasion. Many are shocked that rents rise: surely with growing insurance, labor, tax, fuel and energy costs rents should stay the same forever? We are even more surprised that Walmart had to make large bribes to operate in Mexico….shocking!

So should we be shocked by this more recent growing social unrest?  Does it represent a trend? Probably not: with high unemployment, frustration with a system that hides from the truth, and extremists on the left and the right, we should not expect calm and order. Will luxury Manhattan real estate have to plan for tighter security and more discretion? Will the thinking of the communist regimes of the East infiltrate the West? Its unlikely, although who on earth would have imagined Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Rolls Royce, Chanel and Rolex thriving in COMMUNIST China?

I know its early, but each year December rolls around and we are all scrambling to write Christmas and Holliday cards and plan gifts: if only we had started earlier in the year! This year, an election year, planning for December is lots more important.

At the end of 2012, $ 1 trillion worth of discretionary spending and $ 2 trillion worth of tax cuts (The Bush tax cuts)expire….and this is aside from a massive US debt. Worse, a plan to address this looming crisis is seemingly impossible to implement in a lame-duck session because of the pending elections. So if a strong plan is not put into place in the month of December, it is more than likely that the US will be thrown into a recession in 2013, making December 2012, the December that could be known as DIRTY DECEMBER.

Many argue that the Bush tax cuts were unfairly advantageous to the rich and this may certainly be true: right now in a fragile recovery however, I’d rather be practical than right. If the goal is to collect more dollars in taxes, the focus should be on the dollars not the percentages. A growing economy always grows tax revenues, so collecting a higher percentage in taxes on a shrinking economy of lesser income is simply not smart.

So while those pesky Christmas and Hanukah cards loom, remember another as important (if not slightly more important) deadline that could affect us all……maybe call your Senator’s office and give them a friendly reminder that just like you and I, we all have responsibilities that simply cannot be avoided.