LuxuryBlurb
Posts Tagged ‘Occupy Wall Street’
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 10th, 2012
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.
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
 Posted by Leonard Steinberg on MAYDAY, 2012
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?
Sunday, October 30th, 2011
 Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 30th, 2011
With “the 1%’” under attack by “the 99%” and OCCUPY WALL STREET spreading around country and the world, I think the next really important feature to any high end building will be high security and discretion.
So while the first 10 years of the new millenium for New York real estate amenities was all about Sub Zero fridges, Viking stoves, Waterworks bathrooms, pet spa’s and Toto talking toilets, I think the next batch of high end super-luxury buildings should seriously evaluate tight security as a priority. While ‘the 99%’ have targeted Wall Street for their excessive wealth, lets not forget the football and basketball stars, pop stars, internet stars, etc who have made equal, if not greater fortunes, paying similar taxes and shielding income wherever possible, not hiring too many people either…. All these people will be looking for homes where security is well planned and executed without their home feeling like a prison. Discrete design without excessive flash and outward displays of wealth will be an important consideration too.
At a recent Board meeting the subject came up as to whether our building had a PANIC BUTTON in the unlikely event of an ‘attack’. Further research showed we did not have an easily accessible panic button, although this is being installed. I wonder how many other buildings have panic buttons? I wonder how security prepared some buildings are that house more multi-millionaires per square foot than anywhere else in the world?
What makes a building truly secure? (Well maintained)Technology can certainly help. Bullet proof windows? Gated, enclosed drive-in entry points? Guard dogs? Finger print access pads? Vaults for belongings? 24 hr monitors everywhere?
This renewed security concern is more easily addressed in a New York building than in an individual home in the suburbs: the high cost of high security is more palatable when shared by several homeowners……this should make New York a desirable location for future ‘high security home’ developers.
Saturday, October 15th, 2011
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 15th, 2011
As OCCUPY WALL STREET continues, I feel its connection to the real estate world and how location is everything. Do these demonstrators know nothing about how one block can make all the difference in New York? Firstly, the title is about as accurate as WOODSTOCK, the era-defining music festival that never really happened in the town of Woodstock at all, just close by. These demonstarations are somewhat mis-located: almost like buying an apartment in Gramercy Park, yet being unable to see a single leaf of the park. Or living in Tribeca, but living in a building East of Broadway?
I understand the average salary of all those working on Wall Street currently is around $ 70,000/year, certainly not the fortunes that qualify as the target audience. Of course abongst bankers, that average is closer to $ 340,000.00/year. Frankly, I always thought the real wealth of Manhattan was focused more in Mid-town? Scarier is the fact that this group has LOTS in common with the Tea Party movement, although I do think (joking aside) that many of this group’s grievances (which as yet are badly focused) are somewhat legitimate. Until this great country of ours acknowledges the huge disparity in incomes between the super-rich and everyone else, social unrest will continue. But it had better become intelligent soon. $250k/year in Manhattan is not rich. And if everyone who is rich is removed from Manhattan, the parks will wilt, the public services will be destroyed, and worse: large chunks of real estate transfer taxes will be removed from the State’s coffers, adding further pain to the already struggling state…..remember Manhattan supports the rest of New York State? We cannot forget that while certain super-rich individuals escape the Federal taxation the masses support, but no homeowner in New York escapes real estate taxes. About 30% of Manhattan is owned real estate, and those owners are paying LOTS in real estate taxes. LOTS. A typical 2,000sf apartment pays around $ 24,000 per year….. A 5,000sf apartment could pay 50k per year or more. Townhouses and some apartments do pay lots less (unfairly) which is a disgrace.
OCCUPY WALL STREET should clearly identify what they are for rather than what they are against. It’s easy to complain. It’s really tough to provide solutions. Realistic, workable solutions. Naive dreaming is the last thing we need right now. Maybe we are all learning to adjust to a new terrifying reality: Is man being replaced by machines en masse now? And are those who control the machines automatically reaping the biggest rewards, bigger than anything we have ever seen or known because no-one ever imagined the human consequences of an un-re-educated population in the MASS computer age?
|
Secured underground parking and access code foot entry are already popular. Security patrols and concierge service are helpful as well. Good lighting and location are valuable, any more than that leads me to an unbalanced sense of paranoia!…