MhattanSnob's Profile
- Ted Monjure
- 1887
- Manhattan
- Brooklyn Heights
- Rental
- Rich Man
- Male
- 45
Author's Posts
June 15, 2008
Bleeker Street Syndrome
As the Brooklyn civilization advances, I thought it might be worthwhile to caution the citizenry about a phenomena we've had here in Manhattan. There was a time, about 8 years ago when Bleeker St between Hudson and Christopher was a charming collection of small and unique business - antique stores, craft stores, book stores, a frame shop, even a Kim's video store. Then the gentrification started - and one day the Italian restaurant closed, and then Clarey & Co antiques, and then Kim's video... all mysteriously shuttered. And we all sensed something coming. That something was the Mallization of Bleeker Street. Now in the place of these neighborhood centric stores,we have Cynthia Rowley, Ralph Lauren (2 stores), Coach, Juicy Couture, Brunelli Cucinello (sic), James Perse, Marc Jacobs (2 stores). The rarified money crowd now trots up and down Bleeker, clearly not citizens from the area, with their high-powered tans, polo shirts, flashing gilded watches, and Hedge Fund gazes... they seem to be wondering where the Chauffer was off to. Oh well, that;s what happens - you live in a place like this for years because it ISN'T all this crap, and what you get is all this CRAP. So my friends, be wary of too much success in your revitalization plans - The Fortune 500 are not too far behind you, ready to push those commercial rents to the sky, and put you back in a rarified shopping mall. You can just move to the East 60's if you need that.
May 31, 2008
All Too Top Drawer
This is a charming site to be sure. I wonder though that the theme of real estate might be a bit chancy. I've worked on mortgage bond trading desks for 16 years, and we in the biz are pretty sure there's something downright approaching The Great Depression in our midst. Those massive price collapses in the rest of the USA are slowly creeping toward New York City - with Manhattan looking like the epicenter of a massive crash. I've always liked visiting Brooklyn, a somewhat saner life than Manhattan...but I suspect the 'Good Times' are a comin to an end. How long before the credit panic finally eats into the local real estate market? I had a broker in Manhattan try to sell me a studio for $600,000 that the owners only bought 3 yrs ago for $375,000. It was a man & wife. Like, I'm really going to give these gentrifying shits $225,000 just for making monthly payments on their mortgage. Well that's been almost a year ago, and the price cuts haven't moved it. Sounds like San Diego to me... ta ta.